What makes progressive scan better??

[barona]

I had a few questions on this matter since there are so many progressive scan DVD players now available.

What should I be looking for on paper to try and narrow the search before I travel to stores for demonstrations??

Faroudja or Burr-Brown chips??
Video DAC 12/54, 14/108??
2:3 pulldown

It doesn't have to include SACD. Are the mega-changers a bad route?? I currently have a Panasonic DVD-RP56, the picture and sound aren't bad, a huge step up from my old Pioneer 414. I could spend about $1500(US) if there is something out there that could perform better.

[Andrew Pratt]

This site explains the benefits of progressive very well

Progressive scan explained

And this one is a shoot out of many of the popular DVD players on the market today. The ones to beat are the Panasonic RP82, Panasonic RP91, Pansonic RP72 and the Denon 1600's.

Secrets DVD benchmarks and the latest Results

[David Meek]

Jeff,

Pr@'s first link points to a page created by a Brian Florian. It's the single best explanation I've seen for describing the difference between interlaced and progressive displays.

As far as players go, I switched from an RX-V80 to an RP-91 and was stunned by the improvement in the detail and smoothness of the picture. The RP-82 is supposed to have an even better picture than the -91, but there aren't any to be found right now - literally. The Panny X-30 IS available and has the same chipset as the RP-82. I have to admit I'm a Panasonic kind of guy with respect to DVD players. All three I own are Pannys (an old A-110u, too) and I've had no problems and been VERY satisfied. The Denons have the "chroma bug", but some models have a software patch that corrects it. I think the Pioneers may still have the chroma problem but I'm not sure.

All in all I'd say the RP-91 is one to look into. It's still an excellent performer, it has video scaling capability (it's based on the older Genesis chipset) and it has a coaxial digital audio output, plus it's build quality is better than the -82, -30, etc. Probably, the absolute best available PQ would be the X-30, but it's build quality doesn't inspire any good feelings and it only has an optical digital audio output - no coax.

Hope this helps.




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[barona]

Thank you for that article, it was very helpful.

David, I can't seem to find the X-30, are you talking about the XP-30. And what about the XP-50, any good??

I can find the RP-91 for $429(US)
XP-30 for $200(US)
Are these good prices??

Has anyone heard about or have the Marantz DV8300?? I read a few things about this being an excellent player.

[Brandon B]

Merc is selling his RP-91. Contact him quick.

http://www.hometheatertalk.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000765.html

BB

[David Meek]

Jeff,

Sorry, I've lost my P's - now if my Q's go, I'm in big trouble! :crazy:

Yes, I meant the XP-30. I'm not familiar with the Marantz line of players. How'd they do in the comparison?

Yes, those are good prices. I paid a bit more for my RP-91 (well, my wife did) and still consider it a great deal for what I got. YMMV. As far as the mega-changers go, they are awesome convenience and storage-wise and Lex seems VERY happy with his. My one concern would be whether the drive/pick-up mechanism will yield the same quality of image that a single-tray unit would.

Just 2 more cents. . . .




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[barona]

Well I'll go test a few and see how they compare. I recently purchased the Rotel 1066 and the sales advisor was telling me about the Marantz. It seems to do everything(SACD, D-Audio,THX Ultra Certified) but carries a $1500 tag. I'm not really into SACD and think the whole THX Certification is a way for someone to make a few extra bucks. I'm torn between the convenience of a mega changer versus single but don't want to lose qualty.

[Lex]

I don't feel that my changers sacrifice quality, but then I don't run a progressive scan source either. If you do, then the Elite 301 disc changers may not be for you as I don't believe the new one is progressive, but I could be wrong. But then maybe you were talking about a 5 disc, that's a different world entirely.

Lex




Cable Guy DVD Collection

[SteveG]

Well I'll go test a few and see how they compare. I recently purchased the Rotel 1066 and the sales advisor was telling me about the Marantz. It seems to do everything(SACD, D-Audio,THX Ultra Certified) but carries a $1500 tag. I'm not really into SACD and think the whole THX Certification is a way for someone to make a few extra bucks. I'm torn between the convenience of a mega changer versus single but don't want to lose qualty.

The Marantz 8300 is a pretty good DVD player, and a better DVD-A and SACD player. But it is based on the Pioneer 47A (not the 47Ai) and thus has the same "chroma bug" problem as that player. Some of us cannot abide the bug, now that we see it. Here is a link to an article describing this probem in depth: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...ug-4-2001.html




Steve Goff

[barona]

Thanks Steve,
I found that article very helpful. I had no idea about the CUE bug but I'm glad I know now. My current Panny got a pretty good review and I'm happy with it. Looks like I can research some other way to improve my HT.

Thank you to everyone else that has been helping me on this topic, I've learned a lot about HT in the past month or so from following various threads on this website.

[David Meek]

Fred, the chroma bug is a real issue to a lot of people, but those of us with Panasonics haven't had to deal with it - THANK YOU GENESIS!!! As I've been fortunate enough just to have Panny's, I haven't tried to sensitize myself to it, even so, it's quite noticable on some home systems.




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker