Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler CES TV's

or Blu-Ray DVD! Watch out!

Spiff:
I'm in exactly the same boat with my Pioneer as well..

The game plan was a 3910. Then, I started getting a little annoyed that SACD still wasn't approved for the Denon Link. And, as you mentioned, the more and more time passes the less I think a 3910 would be worth it.

I'm still wondering about a compromise by going with the 2910. By many accounts, it's still a fantastic unit and half the cost of the 3910.

My gut feeling is that with a format war and the initial players being in the upper price ranges, there won't be a whole lot to tempt me with the HD players for maybe two years... maybe even a bit longer.

The funny thing is, (completely ommiting feelings of obsolence), I almost feel a little better about spending a grand on a player now and getting what I consider to be mature technology and, in essence, a top of the line player rather than waiting two years and spending a grand on a player that will likely still have room for improvement with the "newish" techniology and be available at a 50% discount six months later!

It's the last piece of my HT puzzle... and I just can't seem to be comfortable in any decision!

Yep...same exact feelings right now.

Perhaps finding a 2900 for about $500 isn't a bad idea for now. Then get a really kick butt HD-DVD player in a year or two when they finally work the kinks out.

Mark, I'm with spiff here. You've seen the other threads lately. I think the 2900 is the better palyer.

I wonder why you did not see any difference between the EDTV and HDTV, I see a huge difference. HDTV is a smooth picture but EDTV has very visible scan lines. I wonder if you were seeing a proper HD image.

Also, Sharp has an excellent new 45" LCD HDTV that is 1080p. it retails for $9000, but I have seen it for sale for around $6000. To me, that is the way to go if you can afford it.

I thought it was funny that two companies both had an exhibition containing a banner that stated "worlds largest TV".

Technically, the first company with their 80" TV was correct for a short while until Samsung opened their booth and unveiled a 102" TV.

After "auditioning" the 3910 in my home for the last few days, I'm going to say it is absolutely worth getting, IF:

- you have an HDTV with DVI or HDMI input
- you haven't recently invested money in a DVD player
- you will be smart and not buy the first HD-DVD or Blu-Ray machines on the market and instead wait a little for the kinks to get worked out (thus the expenditure won't be so close on the heels of another one)

First and foremost, the sound is incredible. It has fabulous DACs, certainly better than my not-exactly-shabby Onkyo receiver's DACs. It has a very sturdy build (as compared to the 2900, even). It also has great bass management, etc., for hi res audio playing. The macroblocking issue is, especially at 480p and 720p, invisible. It is barely perceptable at 1080i (and I mean barely).

I think the improvement in sound - bigger, deeper soundstage, in particular, make it worth justifying the expense of a new upper-tier DVD player even as the new technology dawns. The upscaling digital video output is almost a nice bonus.

I'll also add that the 3910 has digital transmission of hi-res audio, which the 2900 doesn't. Don't use it myself, though, since my receiver doesn't have Denon link or a firewire connection (or HDMI input - only my TV has that).

Thanks for the mini-review. You're not making it easier to not buy now.

Yeah, really.

Thanks.

Now I need an extra grand !

Well, if you're looking for an excuse NOT to get it, the 3910 doesn't seem to cope with DVD+Rs as well as it handles other DVD (re)writing formats. Also, the layer change seems to be ever so slightly longer than I recall with some older Denon models. Still well under a second (maybe .25 sec?), but I seem to recall older models had almost imperceptable layer changes.

That's about all I've come up with, sorry. I'm keeping it!