Hi all,
Everyone here has been so helpful in pointing me in the right direction. My next purchase is a new DVD player. In you opinion what do you consider the top three DVD players on the market under $400. If there is a Dvd player over $400 that you like is it worth spending extra on it.
Thanks,

Denon's line of DVD players seem to be the standard by which most others are compared these days.

The DVD-2900 has been universally hailed as a really great player. It plays back pretty much any disc you throw at it. CD, DVD, SACD, DVD-A, as well as all your bootlegged burned cd's and dvd's. Original MSRP was $1000, but you can usually find one for under $600 through Ecost & Dakmart (refurbs) or used on audiogon.com

The Oppo has been being called a giant killer in the video quality department. (As long as you use the digital outputs (DVI or HDMI). At only $200 you could afford to use the Oppo as your dvd player for it's superior video quality, and still afford a stand alone cd/sacd player for audio.

Have you checked out HometheaterHifi's website which has a shootout of just about every DVD player out there? Link

For anything under $400 I would recommend either the Oppo OPDV971H or the Panasonic S97. I currently own the Oppo as well as some other members including Ajax while Sirquack and others own the Panasonic and love em. Both are fine choices and if you want the VERY best then go for the Denons which are pricey. Other owners love the Denons and swear by them but they were out of my budget.

You might investigate the Denon DVD-1920.

SACD
DVD-A
HDMI ouput
CD/CD-R/CD-RW Playback
DVD-R/RW Video
DVD+R/RW Video
DCDi™ by Faroudja Progressive Scan Decoding Engine
Burr-Brown Audio DACs

It can be had for as little as $299 plus shipping at etronics.com

I love my Panasonic S97S HDMI upconverting DVD player. If you have a HD television or projector capable of 720p or 1080i, DVD's upconverted (scaled) to the higher resolutions are better than 480p. You will have to have an HDMI or DVI port...

DVD technology is a mature technology these days. Therefore, the differences are going to be mostly in the feature set and the decoders. for $400, any player you get will perform oustandingly. I think that the DVD player you choose should depend on your needs.

For example, do you have an HDTV with DVI? If so, consider an upconverting DVD player. That is, unless you find the decoders in the TV are top notch and you want to use them. In that case, any old 480i player will do - your TV's superior electronics will de-interlace your 480i image, convert it to 720p (or whatever) and display it - that is all the upconverting players do - they convert the signal to match that of your display (hopefully). Both sets of electronics are prone to error. But both sets are going to do the same thing. It is just a matter of when, in the chain, you want to convert the signal.

Therefore, unless you're really into SACD or burned DVDs (which are still fairly rare - and which should still play on most newer DVD players), I wouldn't blow a ton on a player.

Quality must be taken into account - but assuming decent connections which aren't causing audio pops and fuzzy video, consider going with a recognized name-brand in a 1 or 5 disc carousel and be done with it.

I agree with Capn Pickard, however, one feature set I'd look for is individual DACS for each of the output channels instead of a single DAC for all. Marantz has some very nice players at reasonable prices, so does Pioneer. I don't think the Pannys have individual DACS, but I am a fan of Panasonic products and their quality/value ratio.

I also like Sony products for sound quality, but, if you're into high resolution audio formats, you won't get DVD Audio from Sony, just SACD.

I have a pioneer. I hate it.

It's not one of their top dvd players by any means, but I still hate it. Slow as #$#@%.

I will be using a Denon 3805. With all the talk about HDMI and DVI is the best way to wire my equipment going to be component cable from cable box and dvd player to receiver then to the TV?
Thanks

Well since you have a 3805 then all component could be routed through it but if you get a dvd player with DVI or HDMI it will have to be directly connected to the tv.

For instance, my Oppo has video processing via the DVI and not to the component. In most of the reviews for the Oppo they highly recommend using the DVI port. With my old setup, everything was component which was all connected to the Denon. In my new setup the Oppo has a direct DVI -> HDMI connection to the tv while everything else (sat and old dvd) are component to receiver.

Unless you get the new 3806 or 4806 which have HDMI switching, you should use a direct connection to the tv for video if you chose to purchase a DVI/HDMI player.

Now what if I also have a Hidef cable box. Does the dvd player have priority over the cablebox as far as having the best possible picture?
So much to learn, so little time.
Thanks

Hmmm come to think of it my HD satellite receiver also has DVI. Since I knew the Oppo has significant differences from its DVI and component connections I had to use the only HDMI port on my tv for it. I havent verified but I assumed my HD sat box would have similar video output via component or DVI. Not the case with the dvd player.

Now I'm gonna have to play around with my sat box to determine if I can notice any differences using the DVI vs component.

Also, I'd want to stress that there is little or NO major difference between using component or DVI/HDMI. Alan has run tests and feels the same way. I've read some articles and the only difference is to enable copy protection. I'm sure there are minor differences since component is analog while DVI/HDMI is digital but many people haven't found them. The Oppo is a unique case since the Foroudja video processing is only utilized with the DVI.

But to answer your question, it comes down to what you prefer, the cable box or dvd player. If your tv only has 1 input then its really up to you on how you want to wire it. I would recommend the cable box to component and IF you get the Oppo definitely use the DVI connection.

Another alternative (which I'm also entertaining) is sell the old Denon and buy the new 3806/4806 to have HDMI switching. That damn upgraditus bug keeps nagging me

I have a Cambridge Audio Azur 540D. It is great for movies, but it excels for audio playback. If you plan on using this as both your cd and dvd player you should take a look at this player.

> http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/assets/documents/azur_540d_spec.pdf#search='cambridge%20audio%20azur%20540d'


Disc Types: DVD-A, DVD-V, MP3,
CD-RW, CD-R, CD,
Kodak Picture CD
Outputs:
Audio: 5.1 Audio, Stereo Downmix
Digital: Coaxial Optical
Video: Composite, Video, S-Video,
RGB on Scart,
Component Video
Audio Systems: LPCM (CD) 16-bit/44.1KHz
Dolby Digital 5.1
24-bit/96kHz
DVD-Audio 2 channel
24-bit/192kHz
DVD-Audio 5.1 (MLP)
24-bit/96kHz
Video Systems: PAL or NTSC interlaced
or non interlaced
(progressive scan)
D/A Converters: 24-bit, 192kHz
Video Amplitude: 1.0Vp-p (75Ù)
S-Video Output Amplitude: Y:1.0p-p (75Ù),
C:0.286Vp-p (75Ù)
Frequency Response: 5Hz-30kHz (+/-3dB)
Signal to Noise Ratio: > 100dB
THD: 0.003% (A weighted) @ 1kHz
0.01% (No weighting) 20Hz 20kHz
Max. Power Consumption: 20 Watts
Dimensions (W x D x H) : 430 x 310 x 100 (mm)
Weight: 4.6 kg/10.1 lbs