Mike, Sorry if I planted an unwelcome seed.
Link Police:
Oppo's Benchmark Test score and comments
I have a Denon 2910 as well as the Oppo. I tend to watch DVDs on the the OPPO, and use the Denon for music, particularly SACDs and DVD-As (though the Oppo WILL play DVD-As).
I, by no means, could be considered a discriminating viewer when it comes to the PQ of DVD players. I'm not real hip to edge enhancement, and all that other technical stuff. I don't look for those flaws cuz if I find them, then I'll be finding them all the time and spoiling the movie experience. I'm a fan of the "ignorance is bliss" theory
. I really don't notice much difference in the PQ of the two machines. That doesn't mean there isn't any, just that I don't notice it.
The thing about the Denon I prefer is it's build quality. It is just a more solid, quality built unit which, at 2 to 3 times the price, is as it should be. If the price was the same, I'd definitely go for the Denon, even though the Oppo is rated higher in the Secrets Benchmark Test.
However, there are three factors that lead me to recommend the Oppo over the Denon. The first is the aforementioned price. $200 is a great price for a player that does as well as the Oppo.
The second is the FANTASTIC Oppo customer service, and the effort the company has made to listen to purchaser's complaints and rapidly address them with firmware updates, if at all possible. Some things just can't be corrected in the firmware.
The third is the fact that Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players are just around the corner, and, of course
, I'll be succumbing to the upgraditis itch and getting one (after the prices come down and the bugs are worked out). If I were buying now, I wouldn't want to spend a ton of money on a player that will be replaced sometime in the next year or two. However, my Denon will not be out of date, because I use it for all my music listening, particularly SACDs and DVD-As.
So, under the current circumstances, the Oppo provides just about all anybody could ask for in a DVD player.
