Thoughts/experiences of the Integra DPS-8.3 Universal DVD Player?

[Chris D]

I've taken quite a bit of interest in the DPS-8.3 Universal DVD player that Integra makes. http://www.integrahometheater.com/mo...&class=DVD&p=i It's apparently been on the market for 9-12 months, but I can't find too many reviews or opinions on it. From the front and looking at specs, it looks very similar to the 8300 model that Onkyo makes, (go figure--same owning company) but looking at the rear panel, the DPS-8.3 adds several neat gadgets like the BNC component outputs, which I could really use. I also like that you can create a full 7.1 analog output for DVD-A and SACD by copying the side surround analog outputs to rear surround analog outputs! This would be great on my Parasound controller, with 7.1 analog inputs.

I went to a local Integra dealer who showed it to me in action with the movie Vertical Limit, and it looked fine, but hard to really tell anything without side-by-side comparisions with other models and such.

I like the looks of the DPS-7.3 DVD player as well, but it doesn't do SACD, so it's not a universal player. http://www.integrahometheater.com/mo...&class=DVD&p=i

Anyone have any experience with this unit? Know of reviews posted?




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

[Burke Strickland]

Chris –

The Integra DPS-8.3 Universal DVD does look like a worthy piece of gear – I’ve kind of had my eyes on it too, unless something “newer & better” trips me up next time I walk down the path of HT upgrades. :>) That’ll be a while, so it may happen that another unit will come out with even more enticing features at a more attractive price, but for now the Integra still looks like a class leader. (For instance, I like the way it routes critical signals internally via heavy duty wire instead of traces on a circuit board.)

To see where it fits among its competition:
What you need to know about Home Theater – Top Eight Universal DVD Players

http://hometheater.about.com/cs/dvdlaserdisc/tp/aatpdvdasacda.htm

Here are a few reviews you might find interesting:

Stereo Times

http://www.stereotimes.com/trans080503.shtm

Stereophile Guide To Home Theater

http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?121

Home Toys Review

http://www.hometoys.com/htinews/feb03/reviews/integra/dvd.htm

Sound and Vision Equipment Reports (page three in review of three players)

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=457&page_number=3&preview=

And if you get one, please let us know if you like it as much as the reviewers did! :>)

Burke

[Chris D]

Wow, thanx for the plethora of info, Burke! Lots of links there. One thing that concerns me is a reference from many people that the video output isn't the best. Not all reviewers said this, though.

I find it interesting that in your first link, Burke, the Pioneer DVD players took the #1 and #2 slots, the Onkyo #3, Marantz #4, Integra #5, and Denon down at #7. Not what I would have expected!

A few things I left out for info-- Both the Integra and Onkyo models are THX Ultra Certified. The Integra retails for $1200, the Onkyo $800, I think.




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

[Chris D]

Ohhhhh, not good. I checked out the Secrets website with DVD shootout results. The Onkyo DV-SP800 (which as I mentioned is the same model as the Integra 8.3 with less back panel features) and the Marantz DV8300 were WAY down the ranking, almost at the bottom, scoring only 38 out of 100 on the video tests. (audio not taken into account) This could be my answer:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b...deInt=0&mpeg=0

Onkyo - DV-SP800 (Auto1)



MPEG Maker: Mitsubishi
MPEG Model: Unknown
Deinterlacer Maker: Pioneer
Deinterlacer Model: Unknown

MSRP: $1000.00
Website: http://www.onkyousa.com



Auto1

Passed Borderline Failed Not Tested
Blacker-than-Black
YC Delay
3-2 Cadence, Film Flags
3-2 Cadence, Alt. Flags
Film Mode High Detail
Recovery Time
Motion Adaptive
Layer Change
Responsiveness
Chroma, 3-2 Film Flags
Chroma, 3-2 Alt. Flags
Chroma, 2-2 Film Flags
Chroma, 4:2:0 ICP
Video Levels
Image Cropping
Sync Subtitle to Frames
3-2 Cadence, Video Flags
3-2 Cadence, Mixed Flags
2-2 Cadence, Film Flags
Bad Edit
Video to Film Transition
Incorrect Progressive Flags





This is another player based on a Pioneer design similar to the 45A and 47A, though not exactly the same as either one. Like both of those players, it can play SACD and DVD-A as well as DVD-Video.

Deinterlacing

The deinterlacing on this player, like the Pioneers and the Marantz, is poor, especially at this MSRP. There really is no other way to describe it. It is, at the core, a flag-reading player with a cadence-reading solution for sequences where the progressive flag is not set. However, because it has little or no bad-edit detection, the player combs on tons of material.

The Basics

The downside of using another company's platform as a starting point for a player is that it inherits all of the flaws of the original. In this case, because of its lineage it suffers from the Chroma Upsampling Error, badly.

In its default position the white is around 102.5 IRE. This is just outside of our window of passing. It is possible to get it back down to a correct level with the player's own adjustments, though most consumers will not have the scope required to get this correct. Below is a screen shot of where we set the white level and sharpness to obtain the correct white level and flattest frequency response. We do want to note that we saw a bit of contouring when we started to lower the white level, which suggestions this is being done in the digital domain and may in fact be causing problems.



The mid section is a bit hot, but not outrageous.

The component timings for both Y-Pb and Y-Pr were within spec and this player is capable of reproducing below black picture information.

There were 4 lines cropped from the bottom of the image. We feel that any amount of pixel cropping from the top or bottom is unacceptable. There is no technical reason for it - the 480p spec allows for 480 visible lines, and 476 is 4 too few.

The layer change takes around 1.25 seconds to complete under the worst case scenario. We rated the overall response time of the player a 2.5.

When used with the Sony 10HT, there are faint vertical lines on-screen, probably as a result of outside interference leaking into the ground. We were able to get rid of this by pulling the luma cable out just until the shield was no longer touching. The Sony S9000ES had what looked like the same issue and Sony actually came up with a fix for it. Perhaps the same fix would work for this player.

As with its close siblings from Marantz and Pioneer, we just weren't impressed by this player, especially at its price point. That it is THX certified reduces further the credibility of THX as a certification standard.


Video Frequency Response
Onkyo

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