Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Time for a new DVD player...

Seems like the 2 year old $800 Ef'n POS Denon 2910 died this evening....I never did like the thing.

Any suggestions on a new player? I've been totally out of the loop regarding the new formats and players since I completed our system a couple of years ago so I'm open to any and all suggestions.....Blu Ray, HD DVD, anything.

I know I'll never buy anything Denon again.

I don't have any recommendations on a player other than to say that if you're looking at Blu-ray or HD DVD, I think they both still need to mature. Between load times and missing features in current models, I think my recommendation would lean toward just getting an Oppo for now and perhaps getting a high-def player early next year. Of course, I was impatient. I have a Toshiba HD-A1 first-gen HD DVD player, as well as a PS3 for Blu-ray. They both play back the movies well enough, though it seems like specific title issues continually crop up on the Toshiba, and it has to be resolved with firmware updates. I haven't run into any playback issues with Blu-ray other than if you get the slightest fingerprint on it, you have to wipe it off before the PS3 will recognize that a disc has been inserted.

Anyway, maybe someone with experience with the second-generation standalones can chime in.

By the way, what connections will you be using to your receiver/processor?

I'm in a similar boat and currently considering the following from Oppo Digital.

DV-980H

Thanks Charles, I'm using an H/K 635 AVR so the connections can be anything other than HDMI. I'd love to have a high def player but I'm also not too sure of the formats right now so anything dependable will fit the bill. I do remember a couple of folks around here really being pleased with the Oppo players...do they support SACD/DVD-A?

Yes, they do, and I'd probably go for the model Stymie linked to.

Stymie, that Oppo 980H looks like a no-brainer...can that only be bought on-line?

Hmm, I've never seen an Oppo in a store, but hey, you can order it by mail with their offline order form, if that counts.

You can buy directly from Oppo or Amazon, but there may be other places as well.

Oops. Misread your question. I think it may be on-line only.

Thanks Stymie and Charles, I just ordered the 980H directly from Oppo....it should be here in a couple of days.

I guess I'll have to keep an eye out for the high def players here in a few months.

Richard,

The 980 is the SD player I would buy, if I were looking for one. It is the ONLY SACD player that will output DSD over HDMI (you’ll want this eventually).

If you really want to jump on the HD/BR bandwagon, dig deep, because it starts a chain of events that will all cost you coin.

Is your TV 1080P with an HDMI input?

Toshiba has announced their third generation HD/DVD players. Should be shipping them out before Christmas. I’d wait for one of them before buying any of the others. Or, you could pick up an HD-A2 for under $200 right now.

BR players out right now all miss something. Either on the video side or audio side. The PS3 is the only thing that does everything well, plus they keep spitting out firmware updates on this thing every month or so.

You’ll need a new receiver or pre /pro. Again, I’d wait till closer to the end of the year to buy one. There are a whole slew of new audio processors coming around the bend, including some trick looking Pre/Pros with HDMI 1.3.