New Denon DVD Players for 2003/2004

[Chris D]

YES! These things have been showing up bit by bit on Denon's website over the past few weeks (http://www.denon.com) and will start shipping over the course of the next month or two.

Clearly, we're reaching a new level of DVD player features available to the public. With things like universal capability with DVD-A and SACD, DVI output with HD-resolution upconverting, IEEE 1394 Firewire connections, and RS-232 ports, these things look SWEET. Denon looks like they're leading the way again in making high-quality products that are bringing the latest technologies down closer to the consumer level.

Me, I'm all about the new 5900. Still rather pricy, so right now it doesn't look quite feasible. But they're even putting BNC connectors on the component outputs--oh, yeah, baby. Very interesting that the DVI output is currently disabled due to the DVD Forum, just like the current Marantz, but could be enabled in the future when it is approved.

It should also be pointed out that the HD output does NOT mean that this is high definition DVD. Only the original DVD picture upconverted to 720p or 1080i, which still looks great.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[clm811]

Chris,
You wrote that "regular DVD will be upsampled..." in your post about the 5900. Will this upsampled signal be available from the "component/ YPrPb" outputs? I have an HDTV which only has "Component" inputs for progressive/HD signals(no DVI)... -chas

[George Bellefontaine]

I'm looking forward to seeing more dvd players that feature a DVI output at a reasonable price. I know a lot of folks are hot to trot for the Bravo player, but it does have issues, as does the Samsung. I wan't DVI, but I'd like to see out around for awhile.




My Homepage!

[Chris D]

Chas- Just going off of what little information is posted on the Denon website so far. DVD player info can be found at:

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/products.asp?l=1&c=4

This is the part of the 5900 that pertains to component and DVI:

Wideband relay switched component video outputs • Variable Black Level (Setup): 0 and 7.5 IRE • Passes below-black (PLUGE) on progressive and interlace outputs • (1) DVI-D (HDCP) Output with selectable 480p/720p/1080i output (DVD-Forum has not approved DVI output at this time, so this output will not be functional. Once Forum approved, an upgrade be made available) • (2)Component Video outputs, 1 with Gold BNC connections •

Don't know, but the "wideband relay switched component" part sounds promising for sending upscaled video. Not definite at all, though. I imagine if you wait 30 days, we'll have more info on this thing.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Sonnie Parker]

I have e-mailed support at Denon and asked this question.

I'd love to jump on ordering one of those refurb 2900's but believe the 5900 might be more to my liking if it turns out to be what they say it will.

Maybe in a year or so ecost.com will have a refurb sale on the 5900's. Still $1500-$1600 or so street price might not be too unrealistic for a universal player of this caliber with a MSRP of $2K.






SONNIE

Cedar Creek Cinema

DVD Collection

BFD Comprehensive Setup Guide

[RedStep]

Could someone explain DVI to me... ops:




RedStep
We are truly a product of the decisions we make

[HowardGjr]

DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface. It's a connection specifcation that allows for the transmission of display data between devices. It's an Open IP (Intellectual Property) specification of the DDWG.

The objective of the Digital Display Working Group is to deliver a robust industry specification based on Open IP that defines the digital interface between digital displays and high performance PCs.

DVI is a little confusing because it comes in a couple of flavors; Straight Digital (No Chaser) and Digital an Analog. It also comes in single and dual link.

Dual Link DVI supports 2x165 MHz (2048x1536 at 60 Hz, 1920x1080 at 85 Hz). A dual link implementation utilizes all 24 of the available pins.
Single Link Single Link DVI supports a maximum bandwidth of 165 MHz (1920x1080 at 60 Hz, 1280x1024 at 85Hz). A single link implementation utilizes 12 of the 24 available pins.

Take care
Howard

[Gordon Moore]

Ya know Chris it's funny. I posted a thread in Tower of Power asking whether people thought that these new DVD players are making a HTPC unnecessary?

I guess for people with digital projectors maybe the answer is starting to lean towards yes. I guess it will be a "wait and see" scenario to determine if the scalers in the DVD player are even remotely close to as good as what a HTPC can do.

But the Samsung and now the Denon look promising on spec.

later,

Gordo




"A RONSTER!"

[JonMarsh]

I think it's great that some of these features are starting to trickle down to DVD players, like upsampling to HD resolutions. Makes it feasible for those without the computing wherewithall or patience to enjoy better performance - IF - the upscaling is done well. 'Course, those of us with HTPC have been enjoying progressive DVD and upscaling for 5 years, now!

Now, digital projectors have had upscaling via Genesis and other chip sets for some time, for example, the Sony 10HT series, and many others since then. But, a couple of years ago I helped a guy in San Jose investigate/ setup a 10HT with HTPC, and we compared two modes- 480P from PC to the Sony, and 1280X720P from the PC to the Sony, and the latter was clearly the winner- when the projector "upsampled" 480P, it had a more pixelated look and had some artifacts related to the upconversion.

This variability in re-sampling is also very evident in conventional flat panel displays- though NEC makes some nice panels, the re-sampling in the NEC MultiSync 1810 I have sucks compared with my Iiyama or Samsungs of the same time. Now, NEC has improved things, too. This is just to say you have to check out what you're getting into.

So why do I like HTPC's still? Well, if I want to upgrade the scaling or DVD performance, it takes little more than a video card upgrade and/or an upgrade to the software player. Yes, more tweakish, but then, my current gear is actually picked (as HTPCs go) to NOT be tweakish. Which is why I use NVDVD on a 5600 Ultra (lots of hardware DVD support, including full MPEG decoding). The PC platform is an nforce/athlon, which boots up in less than 15 seconds, and is pretty dang quiet with my choice of power supply and CPU cooler. More in a separate post later this week.

Bests regards,

Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[Gordon Moore]

More in a separate post later this week

We'll be waiting Jon
Sounds like a fun little project you got going on. Nvidia's little player is not everyone's first choice. Usually the Theatertek comes to mind first... so it's an interesting choice I'm sure we'll hear more about. A lot of people were whinning about the copy-protection...I'm guessing things improved???




"A RONSTER!"