Hey gang...

For many years now, I've been happily using a Denon DVD-2800 as my primary DVD player. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago, it died, leaving me with a dilemma: what to buy to replace it?

I looked at getting a Blu-Ray player, but the choices that are out there aren't great at the moment, and I'm not in a position to start re-buying all my movies. So I thought I'd get a decent DVD player and use it as a stopgap for a while. (Such are the compromises we are forced to when equipment dies right in the middle of a format transition...)

The problem with that strategy, though, is that I have a 36" Panasonic Tau tube HDTV of similar vintage to the DVD-2800, which means: no HDMI ports. And no HDMI ports means upconverting players won't upconvert (right?). So players like the OPPO DV-981HD, which offer nice Faroudja video processing like my old Denon did, don't really make financial sense, as you'd be spending a couple hundred bucks and only being able to use the same features you'd get on a $50 Best Buy special.

I thought I was pretty much stuck with the Best Buy special until I noticed this morning that J&R is selling the Denon DVD-758 -- which has the same Faroudja chip as the DV-981HD, plus component out -- for $99 and change!

I wouldn't be able to use the upscaling features, but (assuming I'm reading the spec sheet right) the Faroudja chip would handle 480p over component, giving the same nice picture I enjoyed from my DVD-2800. And when I finally get around to upgrading my TV I could start upscaling with no hassles...

So my question is... what's the catch? Is there some reason to avoid this player and go instead with something like the OPPO DV-980H -- which forces you to give up the Faroudja processing to get a component out -- that I'm missing? My general rule is that when a deal seems to good to be true it probably is, so I'm hesitant to just jump on this one...

I'd spend as little as possible and save for a new TV. :) Faroudja is no longer a "must have". An Oppo 980 with Mediatek will work just as well, and maybe better. The Pio is probably ok, also, on your small TV. Or, you can get a BD player, rent BDs, and see a big difference in PQ compared to SD.

Note: I didn't look at the Oppo site, but 970/980's use Mediatek deinterlacer/scaler and 971/981 use Faroudja. It's been so long I forget, except my 970 does not use Faroudja and does an equal or better job than my Panny XP30 via component.

larry

It's a decent player due to 5.1 analogue out with DD/DTS/SACD/DVD-A internal decoding by the player. Useful for those with older receivers or individual amplified channels, and of course very good video (except for macroblocking on Panny plasmas and Samsung rear PJ DLP's). On Tube HDTV, macroblocking is NOT an issue so for $99 you get Denon's name (looks classy), Faroudja scaling which is pretty darn good, good analogue audio, DivX playback, and 5.1 analogue outs.

Mind you it does not pass DVD-A or SACD via HDMI due to 1.1 HDMI specs (you need 1.2 or 1.3 for that)--only DD/DTS/DTS-ES pass through. It does not decode DTS-ES as it only has 5.1 analogue outs.

Main advantage of Faroudja would be anime, TV series, video-based tittles, flag-waving scenes on test discs. On film-based DVDs, Faroudja would look similar to Mediatek especially at 36" (at 110", Faroudja may be a tiny bit sharper on patterns test discs). Mediatek actually has faster layer change (almost no pause) than Faroudja (noticeable split-second pause).

This player is not easy to make region free where as Mediatek players like Oppos or Phillips are much easier.

Subject to the above comments, my local Costco (Hawthorne CA) is blowing them out for $70! About five were left and some might be available at other Costcos.

I was looking for an inexpensive way to play hours of MP3 podcasts and music on my living room stereo (!) and this was the best and cheapest way I could find.

The bad news is that it does not use the MP3 tags at all! Your MP3 CD or DVD plays everything in folder/file alphanumeric order from file 1 to 999 (limit). You can navigate within folders to jump around.

Playback of JPEG images seems even more brain dead, but this has been true on every major brand I've tested.

OTOH commercial DVD-Video and CDDA and also those burned on R/W media play back as expected. I don't have SACD or DVD-A disc to test nor a high end system to hear the alleged difference.