Hi, Guys:

I found out the DVD player is the weakest link in my HT system: M60tis, VP150, SQ8s and Yamaha RX-V2600. I would like to buy a good DVD player around $200-300 range.

Thanks,

I just picked up a Panasonic S97s which has the HDMI plug and is rated very high along with the OPPO DVD and Samsung. LG also makes a high end DVD player but I think the Pani is one of the best available. It is very sleak and nice looking and performs very well.

What DVD player do you have now (year and make, please).

I really don't think that your DVD player is going to make much of a difference if it was purchased fairly recently.

Assuming you go digital for sound and let your receiver do the decoding, you can take the audio issues out of the equation.

Next, depending on your TV and its age, DVD players these days are pretty much uniformly good at rendering progressive pictures. Assuming you don't buy a $19.99 no-name brand bargain basement player, you're going to get a good decoder that will display a nicely sharp picture. Differences start to show up as faster load time, faster speed on layer changes, other functionality features, etc. As far as basic picture goes, most models in the $100 range will perform just as well as those in the $300 range. HDMI and DVI hook-ups will likely change the above analysis, as will DVD players that upconvert. But for a basi player with component outputs and progressive scan capability, I woudl feel comfortable recommending anything from a company with a recognizable name (in electronics) for about $100.

Thank, guys. I have a Sony DVD player (NP50 somthing) i bought 3 year back. It was around $90 that time from Bestbuy. What i want is a DVD player which can play DVD-A and SACD. I found that Denon DVD-1920 meets all my needs. I am wondering if you guys could recommend other similiar price range DVD player with the ability of playing SACD and DVD-A.

Thanks again,

denon makes some of the best dvd players period, when i buy a single disk dvd player, i will be buying a denon...

I second the Panny S97S, to me it had a better picture than some of the Denon's costing much more.

If you're into SACD, etc., then you should probably disregard my above post. I really know nothing about that area. But, if you're just going for a stand alone, one function device that plays DVDs, its hard to go wrong with a known brand model.

I bought the OPPO and have been quite pleased with it.

I have an old Panasonic, which is in storage, a Pioneer 563A and a Denon DVD 2900 which doesn't work so well. Of the 3, the Panasonic has the best picture quality, but wont play anything burnt. I'm using the Pioneer at the moment, but wish it was the broken player.

I too have the Panny S97 and love it. Look at the features, if it has what you need/want, it is solid and provides a great picture and clear sound. Well worth the money.

Hi I am also thinking of upgrading my dvd to get better sound quality. I too was thinking about the denon 1920 since it has dvd audio and sacd but the 1920 doesnt have any hdcd decoding. Is hdcd decoding a neccessary option if your reciever has it? The denon 2910 has all three audio formats but cost almost double. Thanks

My understanding is that if you route digital (coax or optical) signal into the receiver then the receiver will take care of HDCD decoding. If you are using analog connections then the decoding is done by the CD / DVD player.

I currently have the Denon 2900, but I am considering upgrading to a HDMI player to compliment my new H78DC3. I am going to get either the PAN 97S or the OPPO.

I'm buying a new DVD player tomorrow - the cheapest PS player BestBuy has.

What do you do with a malfunctioning $400 Chinese Denon DVD player (model POS)? Goodwill? Burn someone on eBay? Recommendations welcome.

Take to it with a screwdriver with your son and show him what the guts of electronic gadgets look like. Be sure to put all your screwrivers out of reach after you do it, though.

$40 for a new single slot Toshiba DVD player. Wow.

Picture seems a little darker, but it works when I need it to.

When it's time for a new 65" DLP, I'll buy a decent DVD player, I reckon.