Guys,
Just a quick question. A few online retailers continue to stock the Denon 2900 (quantities limited?). I heard that the video processing engine on this player is very good. I believe the successor model (2910) has DVI/HDMI inputs, but the decoding engine is not as good?

I wanted to buy a universal DVD player that would work well with my Denon 3910 and M80 system. Which one would you recommend? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks very much.

Ananth

you might try doing a search, I believe Vegasvic compared both of these models thoroughly on a recent thread. If I am not mistaken the 2910 is an upconverting player that will take 480i or 480p and upconvert to 720p or 1080i via DVI or HDMI. I don't believe the 2900 does upconverting, however, if I recall, Vegasvic thought the 2900 had a better picture just via progressive scan. Mileage may vary depending on who you talk to...I would also recommend checking out http://www.avsforum.com as there have been many threads regarding both of these players...

Randy

The 2910 uses a newer faroudja chip that has the ``macroblocking bug'' which, depending on your display, varies from unnoticable to unwatchable. The AVS forum has tons of discussions regarding this issue.

Sirquack/Haanhvu,
Thanks -- I'll check on avsforum. I tried to search in the Axiom HT forum for '2900', but wasn't successful in locating pertinent hits, hence my post

Appreciate it.
Ananth

Ananth,

There's some recent info here

Ananth, if you look search on the AVS forum and look at the link that Ajax provided, you will find a wealth of information.

The 2900 has a smooth/film-like (still sharp), almost 3D picture with vibrant colors and the picture "pops" out. The 2910/3910 have a sharp, less vibrant picture that looks more 2 dimensional.

Unfortunately, this whole thing wil be greatly influenced by 1) the TV you have, 2) your ability to adjust the DVD player into the approporiate settings and 3) the most important thing, similar to audio - your eyes and my eyes see different things when looking at the same pictuer. It really ends up being pretty subjective.

I did the A/B thing on the 2900 / 2910 and the 2900 was a no brainer choice. Coach2369 did the same A/B and after much switching back & forth, he chose the 2910 (by a whisker??). Cime in here Coach.

Frankly, Crutchfield has the 2900 at a price where you can commit Grand Theft DVD Player. I'd steer you to this unit because it uses the Silicon Image chip, but your eyes will need to speak to you.

Not sure if I helped, but please do the research. Also - try and find somewere you can do the A/B thing.

In reply to:

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Crutchfield has the 2900 at a price where you can commit Grand Theft DVD Player

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Where are you seeing this? I've looked on their site under Denon items, scratch & dent, and the outlet.

Wow - looks like they finally ran out of them for the holidays. Sorry - they were there last week. Might be worthwhile to check in their Outlet store over the next 2-3 weeks for any holiday returns. Also, ecost is a pretty good source for refurb units (authorized Denon etailer).

My local Magnolia Hi-fi had their open box 2900 available for $500. I'd check your local shops. You should be able to get a 2900 for under $600 nearly anywhere. (since it's a discontinued model)

I went back and forth on the 2910 and the 2900. I ended up liking the picture on the 2910 better via the DVI input. I just had my Hitachi 57t500 ISF calibrated last week and I am enjoying the picture quaility I am getting. I just wish I would have had waited until my TV was done before I did the comparisons. But oh well!
I think it comes down to what you like when you watch your system, not what people tell you is good and bad...:)

Ray,
The DVD player is intended to work with a rear projection DLP TV like the Samsung HL-P4663W (to be purchased in the near future). From all I could gather on avsforum, the 2900 has a solid build, great audio quality, and decent video quality.

I see two scenarios:
a. connect the 2910 to the Samsung HLP4663 via HDMI, and use the TV's circuitry to decode and display the video signal.

b. connect the 2900 to the Samsung TV via component video, and use the decoding engine on the 2900 to generate the video signal for display on the TV.

Assuming there are no signal losses on the component video cable, which would result in a better picture?

I'm going to try to locate a local retailer that has both models of course to do an A/B test if possible.

Ananth

Ananth,

Your assessment of the 2900 is correct, but the video quality is significantly better than "decent" . The Silicon Image (SI) chip they use in the 2900 is superior to the Faroujda chip, which is very good in it's own right. After much auditionng of the 2900 vs. 2910, with appropriate Avia-based tweaks to the TV, the 2900 wins (to my eyes) hands down.

You may want to take a look at the Home Theater HiFi DVD Shootout [. This is generally regarded as the best/primary source of DVD player ratings information.

Please note that the 2900 is in the top 10 (counting ties) with an overall score of 90 and the 2910 sits several notches down with an overall score of 86. The key message here is that they are both excellent performers. I have added some info for you to rad below. A gentleman with the web name "umr" articulates the 2900 and it's SI chip much better than I can.

Let me add a couple of bits of informtaion for you to look at here and here . I landed on these threads and others like them and they got me interested in the 2900.

To answer your question, I simply connected the 2900 to my Sony TV via component (and got a much better picture than 2910 via DVI). I let the 2900 SI chip do the work. If you read the above links, umr takes you pretty far down that path technically.

I hope this is helpful without being confusing. Keep us up to date with your efforts.

I've had a 2900 now for 2 months.Although it is a very good player,I can see no difference in the picture from the $125.00 H/K 101 it replaced.I've checked my settings 2-3 times,got new and better component cables ,and no change. In fact the picture is no better then the regular direct tv picture.I have a Sony 36" XBR TV.If I'm doing something wrong ,please let me know.

Have you used the Avia (or similar) disc to calibrate your TV and your 2900?

Ray,
I called around, and a few local retailers appear to have the 2900 in stock. I'm going to try to audition the 2900/2910 tomorrow if possible; however, based on my reading in avsforum, and the secrets shootout, I'm almost inclined towards the 2900.

One concern remains. I believe the 2900 has bass management and adjustable delay for DVD audio, but only bass management for SACD ... correct? I believe the 2910 is no different, and only the 3910 allows adjustable delays for the SACD format. Would you confirm if this is correct.

Thanks again Ray.
Ananth

Ananth, to be honest with you, I didn't pay much attention to the bass management. I knew they all had some form of it, but my prime concern here was for the Picture Quality.

Based on the way I have my remote & receiver set up, I can adjust my sub on the fly, so complicated multi-unit bass management doesn't have much appeal for me.

If you want to get down into the bass amangement details, I'm sure comparing the specs on the Denon site would yield answers for you.

Just fyi. Check out the latest write up on the Denon 3910 at Secrets. There is a lot of detail on how the 2900 compares to the 3910.

Ananth

Ray,
Well, I was in Chattanooga this past week visiting my brother for christmas and New Years. While I was there, he had me go down to Tweeter and help him pick out a surround system for his new theater room. While I was in there, I saw a 2900 hooked up and the manager kept raving about how wonderful of a player it was. There was somebody in there that was deciding between the 2900 and the 2910. Well, the manager told him the he thought the 2900 would be the better player for the type of TV he had. The guy told the manager that he was going to go check a few other players out and he would be back. I asked the manager what TV he had and he had a Hitachi similar to mine. Then, I asked him what the price was and he said he would sell it to me for 399.00. So, I BOUGHT IT and now I have a 2910 I have to sell because I am out of the return policy period on it! I don't know what the price would have been if I wasn't with my brother because the player was marked at 799.00. I am guessing it was lower in the system. My brother ended up spending almost 10,000 on speakers and a receiver....
I thought I would share that with you... I should have gone with the 2900 from the beginning...lol

At $399, I could use a spare!!!

Ditto...actually just a good DVD player would be nice...

WhatFurrer

Ray,
I put in an order for the 2900 at www.listenup.com. They had the 2900 brand new for $599. Thought that was a pretty good price?

I found so many posts on avsforum that highlight the capabilities of this player that I went ahead and just placed the order ...

Ananth

Ananth, that's very exciting and a great price. I think you'll be very pleased with the 2900. Let us know how it works for you.

I've been reading more and more and it certainly seems that although the naming convention would seem otherwise, it's the 3910 that's "replacing" the 2900. The 2910 is more along the lines of the "old" 2200.

So comparing the 2900 with the 2910...in most cases the 2900 is going to win.

I may have to keep my eyes out for a bargain on a 2900 myself.

Pretty close spiff. For some reason, Denon chose to recalibrate their lines (DVD and Receiver). The 2900 actually sits between the 2910 and 3910 and gets about 80% of the distance to the 3910. The 3910 sits between the 2900 and 5900 and gets about 60% of the way to the 5900. The upcoming 5910 (at a large MSRP) will trump everythiong.

My comparison numbers might be off a bit, but you get the gist. The 2900 and 3910 are the ones that should be compared, with the 3910 getting the edge. The 2200 and 2910 should be compared, with the 2910 getting the edge.