Folks: Follwing are some of the DVI/HDMI/COM Upconverting DVD Players. I shall continue to update this post on new player options and their release date (as that info is made available). If I have

missed some, please let me know and I shall add them.



DVD Player Release Date Upconversion Region MSRP Best Price @ Universal Network
Free $ (Check store/website) Player Capable


[list=1]

Momitsu V880 Deluxe Available COM/DVI Yes 259 Extremephono/HiviZone No No
Zenith DVB318** Available DVI/COM* Yes 249 Amazon/Gochnauers No No
Denon 1910 Available DVI ?? 269 Tweeter/Crutchfield/Abt No No
Samsung 841 Available DVI ?? 249 Amazon/BB/Newegg No No
Samsung 941 Available HDMI ?? 299 Amazon/ABT Elec Yes No
Panasonic S97 Available HDMI ?? 299 J&R/Onecall DVD-Audio No
Bravo D2 Available DVI ?? 249 Vinc No No
Sony DVP-NS975V Available HDMI ?? 299 J&R/Onecall SACD No
Denon 2910 Available DVI/HDMI ?? 729 Tweeter Yes No
Denon 3910 Available DVI/HDMI ?? 1299 Tweeter/Crutchfield*** Yes No
Pioneer DV59-AVI Available HDMI ?? 1600 ?? Yes No
LG DVB418 Available HDMI ?? 199 Best Buy No No
NeuNeo HVD108 Available COM/VGA Yes 199 NeuNeo Website No No
Toshiba SD-5970 Available HDMI ?? 199 ?? No No
Onkyo DV-SP1000 Available HDMI ?? 1999 Crutchfield ?? Yes No
Bravo D3 Q1 2005? DVI ?? ?? Vinc No Yes
Momitsu V880N Available COM/DVI Yes 379 Extremephono/HiviZone No Yes
AVeL LinkPlayer2 Available COM ?? 249 Iodata website No Yes
Oppo DV971H Available DVI ?? 249 Extremephono No No








* Zenith's new Firmware disables upconversion over component! Therefore new lot shall not have upscaling over component.
** Zenith's New Firmware disables upconversion over component! Grab the few remaining while you can at Amazon/Gochnauers/Best Buy or other online retailers.
*** NeuNeo Player does not have DVI/HDMI and therefore no upconversion over them.



DVD Players Product Information

Momitsu V880:
http://www.momitsu.com/dvd_880spec.html

Momitsu V880N:
http://www.momitsu.com/dvd_880nspec.html

Bravo D2:
http://www.vinc.com/product.asp?ID=56&PID=21&SEQ=2

Samsung 841:
http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=DVD-HD841%2fXAA

Zenith DVB318:
http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/downloads_pdf/DVB318.pdf

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=421473

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=411532

Panasonic S97:
http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11251&catalogId=11005&itemId=71539&catGroupId=11059&modelNo=DVD-S97S&surfModel=DVD-S97S
http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/pressroom/cont2.asp?Filter=12&cont_id=578

Sony DVP-NS975V:
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid==?ProductSKU=DVPNS975V&Dept=hav&CategoryName=hav_DVD_DVDPlayers
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002KQR28/qid=1091711958/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl23/103-4491388-6073452?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846


Denon 1910, 2910 & 3910
http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/products.asp?l=1&c=4

LG DVB418
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1087341116425&skuId=6738257&productCategoryId=cat03013&type=product
http://us.lge.com/index.do

NeuNeo DVD Player
http://www.neuneo.com/products/DVD/hddvd_feature.asp

Toshiba SD-5970
http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvd/product.asp?model=sd-5970

Samsung 941
http://product.samsung.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=DVD-HD941%2fXAA

Onkyo DV-SP1000
http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=DV-SP1000&class=DVD&p=i

AVeL LinkPlayer2
http://www.iodata.com/usa/products/products.php?cat=HNP&sc=AVEL&pId=AVLP2%2FDVDLA&ts=2&tsc=

Pioneer DV59-AVI
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/product/detail/0,,2076_15020671_30442807,00.html

Oppo DV971H
http://www.extremephono.com/Oppo_DV971.htm





[/list=1]


Master Threads for the above players on the forum


Momitsu V880

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=405786

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=390833


Momitsu V880N

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=344021

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=422467


Zenith DVB 318

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=328403

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=400480

Denon Players

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=422108

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=368827


Samsung 941

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=422282


Samsung 841

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=350992


Samsung Players

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=350992

Bravo D2

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=406356

Bravo D3

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=394135

Panasonic S97

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=463025

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=409422

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=412731&highlight=s97

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=347960

Sony DVP-NS975V

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=462166&perpage=20&pagenumber=1
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=428992&highlight=sony+hdmi
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=465186

Denon 1910

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=437950
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=441939

Denon 2910 & 3910

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=431354&perpage=20&pagenumber=22
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=422108
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=368827

LG DVB418
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=426637

NeuNeo DVD Player
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=461430

Samsung 941
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=471637&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

Onkyo DV-SP1000
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=468036&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

AVeL LinkPlayer2
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=484807
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=459759

Pioneer 59-AVI
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=494699

Oppo DV971H
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=491306&highlight=oppo
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=482239
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=493616&highlight=oppo

Thanks mallu2u,

I believe continually updating the information on your first post (particularly the expected release date) will be a great summary area for the many threads on the several highly anticipated upscaling players.

This could be a big time saver for those of us trying to keep an eye on several of the players. Thank you for your time in establishing this thread and hopefully mantaining the information. I will try to help as I can along the way.

My current setup:
TV = Panny 50LC13; native res = 720p
AVR = Pio Elite 45tx
current DVD Player = cica '98 Sony 5xx 480i

What would be fantastic is if some who knows some of the players above can post the current Pros & Cons.
Additionally if someone can post pictures of the above players.


My Current Setup:

TV: Sony 60'' XBR TV
Receiver: Yamaha Receiver
DVD Player: Panasonic CV51 & Pioneer 563A
Satellite: D*

When you say updated version for the DVB318 you mean firmware only, not a model replacement such as a 319 or something like that?

Mallu, you might think about adding a line under each one listing major features, like: output on DVI, HDMI, or Component (or all); DVD Audio support, Coax/optical audio out, adjustable output resolutions, etc.

Isn't there a Bravo unit too?

miniz: I mean the same player but an updated firmware since Zenith is currently testing a new firmware that fixes the white crush issues.

AcuraCL: Added the two Bravo players. About the features. You're right, I shall collect info on the features of the above players so that I can add to the post. Do you know some of the features of the above players? It would be great if everyone contributes regarding what they already know.

So..if people send info as

Player Name

Player Info:

Pros:

Cons:


I shall then also appen the original post with basic info of the players.

Thanks for your great suggestions!

For completion, you might want to add a currently widely available Samsung 841 (and maybe even 931).

Or ... I dunno ... pros and cons could get long, as could a feature list ....

Maybe you could try it with a link to the spec page for the unit.

Momitsu V880:
http://www.momitsu.com/dvd_880spec.html

Momitsu V880N:
http://www.momitsu.com/dvd_880nspec.html

Bravo D1:
http://www.vinc.com/product.asp?ID=31&PID=21&SEQ=1

Bravo D2:
http://www.vinc.com/product.asp?ID=56&PID=21&SEQ=2

Samsung 841:
http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=DVD-HD841%2fXAA&selTab=Specifications

Samsung 931:
http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=DVD-HD931%2fXAA&selTab=Specifications

Zenith DVB318:
http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/downloads_pdf/DVB318.pdf

No links on the "not yet introduced" units yet ....

Wow! What amazing information AcuraCL. You rock!

Originally posted by Grolsch
For completion, you might want to add a currently widely available Samsung 841 (and maybe even 931).

True! Just did that. Avoiding 931 since we already know it has issues and we want to look forward to better options.

Originally posted by mallu2u
Wow! What amazing information AcuraCL. You rock!

It's a lot more fun than what I'm supposed to be doing ....


(back to work ACL !!)

:)

I was going over the Momitsu 880N player Manual today just for fun and I am suddenly very interested in this player. I hope they deliver on time and with good performance. The upside to this player is a lot due to its networking capability. I sincerely hope they work on improving their graphical interface.

I have the Zenith DVB318 comming tomorrow and the displays I will be testing it on is my Sony XBR800 36" DVI and a X1 via component.

I had a hard time deciding on which player cause everyone says this is the one....etc

the Zenith was best cause the DVI and component. if they fix the white crush that will be great. Im not expecting magic and hope im pleasantly suprised as the sony is a smaller CRT and the X1 is not true HD but if it can be a big leao from my Pioneer 563A in progressive I will be a happy camper. I wish I didn't sell my XP50 before I got the X1. on my Sony it just wasnt that much a difference(although I could see if I really looked)compared to the Pioneer from 11ft away.

still im excited to see what the Zenith can do. it really came down to a unit that would work on both my displays.

I'll wait for the new Denons to be out...

There's also a Sony with HDMI out coming in Sept.

mallu and beaker,

Thanks to you guys for the idea of creating this thread.

My situation might be a little different from you guys, but I am in the market for a new DVD player.

Here is my set up:

Sammy DLP TV
Yamaha RX-2400
HD931
V880

Anyway, in about 2 - 3 month, I am getting a projector and needs to get a DVD player with it.


These are the projectors on my list:


Infocus 4805 - Native Resolution 854x480 DLP
Panny AE500 - 1280 x 720 LCD
Sanyo Z2 - 1280 x 720 LCD


If I go with the Infocus 4805, then I would probably need a DVD player that can do custom resolution (or maybe not), that leaves me only with D2 and V880/N.
But since I already have the V880, I don't really want to get another one.


So Here are my list:

Denon 1910 (go by the history of denon players, they have really good de-intercing and good Core, so this is on my top list)
Sammy HD941 (SACD and DVD-A, I know I don't use it, but it's better to have it than not having it, will see the reviews when it come out)
Brovo D2 / D3 (D2, to me, it's like a moded V880, I will probably keep a eye on D3, but will see what happens)
Zenith DVB-318 (Everyday I'm reading people saying good thing about this player, and there are so many happy owenrs out there, so ....)

---------------------

OK as for V880 - (there are tons of reviews about this player, but here is my list of pros and cons, by the way, I am a big fan of V880)

1. No HDCP over DVI - this might be a big deal for some people with DVI display that dont have HDCP, if you want to use DVI, there are only couple players that would work, and V880 is one of them.
2. Up convert over both component and DVI.
3. Doesn't streatch 4:3 format.
4. Region and macrovsion free (you can set to any region you want, or set to 0 and set it back as many time as you like, BAAM, even though I only have 2 DVD that is not region 1, but just so I have this feature is a plus).
5. Plays support wide range of formats (Dvix, +, - , all of them :) ).
6. No EE
7. No black (DVI) and white crush.

Name me another player that got all these with this price tag????


Down fall of V880 -

1. IR code conflicts with Pionner stuff (Can't do nothing about it, so if you own a pioneer equietment, look some where else).
2. We all know about the loader issue (But you can replace it with a lite-on 166s loader, and the "how-to" is all over the forum).
3. Black level over componet sucks (at least to me, but I use DVI and DVI only, that's why we all getting a DVI player right :) ).


----------------------

HD931 --

1. Farodja Chipset (Good de-interlacing, I watch DVD movies on this player only with DVD disc that is badly flag)
2. It scores pretty good on Secret HIFi.
3. I like the remote (but I know many people hate it, I am so use to it that I can close my eye and access any function I want)
4. man, I don't know what else to say.

931 - down fall

1. BAD Black and white level (It bothers me).
2. Grainny picture quality (It bothers me really bad, that's when I made up mine mind to get the V880).
3. EE (but I never saw it, unless someone can help me to look for it).
4. Lip sync issue (But it never happen to mine player).



###############################

I will be use the DVI player and the projector 100% for DVD movies only. So I'm looking for a player with a good core and de-interlacer.
As you can see that I have 2 DVI players for 1 TV, I don't want to do the same again. So, this time I will do my homework before I pull the trigger.


Any questions, suggestions or flames...

Welcome

Baja

Well count me in with being a person looking for a DVD player currently.

I however am only doing component connection to Tosh TN50X81 RPTV at 480p.

I believe the Zenith 318 upconverts for component so the threads on this player I started reading a few days ago.

Is there any other players that I should be looking at given my connection and playback with the links that were supplied? I'm currently trying the Sammy HD841 and for $200 I'm quite pleased with the PQ versus other players I have tried so far.

robertc,

If I were you choosing between 841 and 318, I would take the 841 back and order the 318. The 318 up converts both component and DVI, and from what I read, no Black and white crush over component, and it's got Frarodja chipset.

Baja

Hi All,

Can someone list some important features and specs, compare 1910 ans S97 to see if the S97 is worth the wait (november).

Thanks

Baja

Baja,

No other options at this point for upscaling?

I'm thinking of ordering the 318. Bringing the HD841 back is gonna hurt because I know what I have and the 318 is sight unseen and I cannot try it from a local retailer in NJ. I know about the store in PA that carries the 318 so I can order it.

From the release dates listed above, it will be awhile I suppose on upcoming models including the HD941.

So far the HD841 has played most any DVD pretty damn good but I may kick myself not trying the 318 with all the recommendations I've seen on this player. Not quite sure what my Tosh RPTV can handle though so don't know if I'd get a better picture.

The Denon 2200 since it is a universal player has me curious be it is lots more money and I need to research what capability that player gives for PQ. Trying it with a NJ dealer is no problem as I know of two local to me.

robertc88, better check my latest post here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4070309#post4070309

I just got a Zenith 318 yesterday to possibly replace my year-old Bravo D1. Bottom line is the D1 is staying...

robert,

Sure, there are all the up-scale DVI players as an option.

question - are you using component or DVI? from your last post sounds like you're using component. Base on what I read here on the forum, the 318 has better picture quality over component than DVI, it has really good black and white level; unlike over DVI which it clip white.

Last post I was trying to say - if it was me, I'll go with the 318, Secret HI-FI it scores better on the core testing than the 841 and it has better de-interlacing. The 841 did not pass Blacker and black and the 318 did. And plus many people are very happy with the 318 here. So my opinion is base on what people say about this player.

I demo a 2200 last year october, and compare it to 931 -- sorry, I wouldn't go that route! I'll keep my 931; 2200 no thanks (that's just me, your display might look different).

Baja

Maybe I am putting too much importance on this but I think that the ability to adjust resolution and refresh is an important one to note here (so as to achieve 1:1 pixel ratio)

I need any little nugget of info that would help me quantify the value of 1:1 pixel ratio ( I use a sony HS-10 FP). Since I am not purchasing an 880 I guess universal (dvda/sacd) is more important to me in the end.

Are there any players at any cost right now or coming very soon, that suppport user configurable DVI and are universal players?

The 941 looks like the answer to my problems, except no adjustable DVI out. :(

Baja,

I have seen the Sammy 931 at Best Buy available open box. There are some threads regarding comparisons between it and the 841. I am only utilizing a component connection 480p. Perhaps the 931 would give a better picture?

I don't want to sabotage this thread with discussions based on specific players I'm personally interested in but to get some feedback would be good. I'm hearing on another thread when someone wrote Samsung to inquire on release date of HD941 amongst other issues. That rep from Sammy stated no issues with 841 as far as they knew so I don't have a good feeling regarding the upcoming HD941.

I decided I won't go the mail order route for the DVB813. I want a player I can try and return right to the place I bought it if it is DOA or I don't like it. That is the case with "G" on the 813.

The 841 from what I remember does pass the black test through component, not DVI though. Another thread stated that the 813 through component 480p wasn't all that great. No matter since I not buying something I can try at home and return to the place I bought it if not satisified. So far the HD841 running component 480p is my best experience regarding PQ and no issues so far I have encountered with that player with that connection type regarding discs not loading, frame freezes, auto dropouts during playback, which I've run across on other players I tried.

Thanks for the feedback on your experience with the Denon 2200. I really don't want to spend that kind of money but at least there are two dealers close to me so I have the opportunity to check out that player. Cannot say the same for the DVD318.

Originally posted by iamnotmad
Maybe I am putting too much importance on this but I think that the ability to adjust resolution and refresh is an important one to note here (so as to achieve 1:1 pixel ratio)

I need any little nugget of info that would help me quantify the value of 1:1 pixel ratio ( I use a sony HS-10 FP). Since I am not purchasing an 880 I guess universal (dvda/sacd) is more important to me in the end.

Are there any players at any cost right now or coming very soon, that suppport user configurable DVI and are universal players?

The 941 looks like the answer to my problems, except no adjustable DVI out. :(

I'm pretty sure the Momitsu 880 can be configured with customized output resolutions.

robert,

If your TV does not have DVI, (IMO) don't even think about trade your 841 in for a 931 - the farodja DCDi only work through DVI on the 931; component through on 931 is bad. Unless someday you're gonna upgrade the TV to have some DVI input display device.

The DVB-318 suppose be really good over component, at lease that's what I read here. I think the 318 is best suited for your need (just so you know, I don't own a 318, but from what I read, this is only my opinions).

1. It's got the Farodja DCDi, and you know your're getting a good de-interlacing chipset (so you don't have to worry about the de-interlacing performance).
2. it can up scale through both Component and DVI. Someday if your want to up-grade your TV with a DVI display device, you'll be able to use this player.
3. And it's only $200 bucks, get your money well worth it (name me another player with all these and with this price tag?).

But there are few down side about this player that I think you should know.

1. it crops the frame, streatch 4:3 movies.
2. it has "so so" mpeg performance.
3. white level sucks over DVI (but since you're gonna use component, this won't be an issue).

Oh yeah, about some people saying 318's PQ vs D1/ D2 /V880 - Here is my take on this:
D1/D2/V880 all use Sigma all in one chipset, it has one of the best MPEG decoder, but an "OK" de-interlacer. So there is a trade off - one player is got the best de-intercing chipset, but a "so so" mepeg decoder, and the sigma base got really good mpeg decoder, but a "so so" de-interlacer.

Anyway, there isn't a perfect DVD player out right now yet-
even a $2000 5900 is got some issues.
1. streatch all 4:3 materials
2. Edge Enheancement.
3. Macroblocking.

So for now is - what player is the best money we can buy??

That comes down to those players mallu2u listed on the first post.

Baja

I am in the same boat regarding a new DVI player, preferably with DVD-A and SACD.

I think Baja's post sums up the current situation pretty well.

Well guys hopefully my reading of posts in the DVD player forum is over for a while. My hand was forced yesterday when my old Sony DVP-530D started acting like a insane maniac. It turns itself on, closes the tray without a being told too, won't open the tray fully (pulls back after half way), etc... It seems to be a little better today but have not even tried to play anything on it or trust it yet (might go to bedroom and try with some CD-RW VCDs I don't mind if it eats).

Anyways it's my only player (not going to count PS2) so my wife is very cool and even offered to let me go with the Pio Elite 59avi if we found it < 1k. But after sum hunting and thinking we decided a cheaper option would work for now ( then in a year or so get what I really want (at that time)).

So I was forced to go with the Zenith DVB318 from the "G". Got a great price and I hope it arrives before the end of this week.

I could not go with the V Inc. D1/D2 or V880 players due to the IR conflicts with my reciever. That leaves the infamous Samsung players which I would not touch with a ten foot pole (I hate audio sync issues and do not want black crush among other issues).

So now my trust in is Zenith (LG) to get out a firmware update for the 318 to slove the white crush over DVI. I will test outputing 720p over both Component and DVI (calibrating each connection seperately with DVE) to decide which to use for now.

Beaker,

You made the right choice to go with dvb318 for your setup. I read that many people who own the V880 with pionner TV or Receiver, when they turn up the volume the V880 shut off or something like that - that would bother the crap outta me.

When or after you get your 318, I know for sure that you will still visit here daily, I know this, 'cause after I got all the HT stuff, I thought it to myself - that's it. But NO... Look at me, I've been bite by the HT BUG. :)

Hey be sure you let us know your first impression about your new toy.

Baja

Bruman Do post your impressions on the Zenith Player.

Originally posted by bruman
I have the Zenith DVB318 comming tomorrow and the displays I will be testing it on is my Sony XBR800 36" DVI and a X1 via component.

I had a hard time deciding on which player cause everyone says this is the one....etc

the Zenith was best cause the DVI and component. if they fix the white crush that will be great. Im not expecting magic and hope im pleasantly suprised as the sony is a smaller CRT and the X1 is not true HD but if it can be a big leao from my Pioneer 563A in progressive I will be a happy camper. I wish I didn't sell my XP50 before I got the X1. on my Sony it just wasnt that much a difference(although I could see if I really looked)compared to the Pioneer from 11ft away.

still im excited to see what the Zenith can do. it really came down to a unit that would work on both my displays.

Thanks for the detailed info Baja. I really did want one consolidated thread and therefore started this one. I shall add more info to the top one from time to time and I get to hear from info an any of the above players or new DVI-players.

Originally posted by BajaFishin
mallu and beaker,

Thanks to you guys for the idea of creating this thread.

My situation might be a little different from you guys, but I am in the market for a new DVD player.

Here is my set up:

Sammy DLP TV
Yamaha RX-2400
HD931
V880

Anyway, in about 2 - 3 month, I am getting a projector and needs to get a DVD player with it.


These are the projectors on my list:


Infocus 4805 - Native Resolution 854x480 DLP
Panny AE500 - 1280 x 720 LCD
Sanyo Z2 - 1280 x 720 LCD


If I go with the Infocus 4805, then I would probably need a DVD player that can do custom resolution (or maybe not), that leaves me only with D2 and V880/N.
But since I already have the V880, I don't really want to get another one.


So Here are my list:

Denon 1910 (go by the history of denon players, they have really good de-intercing and good Core, so this is on my top list)
Sammy HD941 (SACD and DVD-A, I know I don't use it, but it's better to have it than not having it, will see the reviews when it come out)
Brovo D2 / D3 (D2, to me, it's like a moded V880, I will probably keep a eye on D3, but will see what happens)
Zenith DVB-318 (Everyday I'm reading people saying good thing about this player, and there are so many happy owenrs out there, so ....)

---------------------

OK as for V880 - (there are tons of reviews about this player, but here is my list of pros and cons, by the way, I am a big fan of V880)

1. No HDCP over DVI - this might be a big deal for some people with DVI display that dont have HDCP, if you want to use DVI, there are only couple players that would work, and V880 is one of them.
2. Up convert over both component and DVI.
3. Doesn't streatch 4:3 format.
4. Region and macrovsion free (you can set to any region you want, or set to 0 and set it back as many time as you like, BAAM, even though I only have 2 DVD that is not region 1, but just so I have this feature is a plus).
5. Plays support wide range of formats (Dvix, +, - , all of them :) ).
6. No EE
7. No black (DVI) and white crush.

Name me another player that got all these with this price tag????


Down fall of V880 -

1. IR code conflicts with Pionner stuff (Can't do nothing about it, so if you own a pioneer equietment, look some where else).
2. We all know about the loader issue (But you can replace it with a lite-on 166s loader, and the "how-to" is all over the forum).
3. Black level over componet sucks (at least to me, but I use DVI and DVI only, that's why we all getting a DVI player right :) ).


----------------------

HD931 --

1. Farodja Chipset (Good de-interlacing, I watch DVD movies on this player only with DVD disc that is badly flag)
2. It scores pretty good on Secret HIFi.
3. I like the remote (but I know many people hate it, I am so use to it that I can close my eye and access any function I want)
4. man, I don't know what else to say.

931 - down fall

1. BAD Black and white level (It bothers me).
2. Grainny picture quality (It bothers me really bad, that's when I made up mine mind to get the V880).
3. EE (but I never saw it, unless someone can help me to look for it).
4. Lip sync issue (But it never happen to mine player).



###############################

I will be use the DVI player and the projector 100% for DVD movies only. So I'm looking for a player with a good core and de-interlacer.
As you can see that I have 2 DVI players for 1 TV, I don't want to do the same again. So, this time I will do my homework before I pull the trigger.


Any questions, suggestions or flames...

Welcome

Baja

Originally posted by robertc88
Baja,

No other options at this point for upscaling?

I'm thinking of ordering the 318. Bringing the HD841 back is gonna hurt because I know what I have and the 318 is sight unseen and I cannot try it from a local retailer in NJ. I know about the store in PA that carries the 318 so I can order it.

From the release dates listed above, it will be awhile I suppose on upcoming models including the HD941.

So far the HD841 has played most any DVD pretty damn good but I may kick myself not trying the 318 with all the recommendations I've seen on this player. Not quite sure what my Tosh RPTV can handle though so don't know if I'd get a better picture.

The Denon 2200 since it is a universal player has me curious be it is lots more money and I need to research what capability that player gives for PQ. Trying it with a NJ dealer is no problem as I know of two local to me.

Robert: You can get the Zenith DVB 318 at BB online/store as well. That ways you can try it out and see if you like it. If u have to order it online at BB, then u can always return it at a local BB store. (This is coz BB sells it for way over other online retailers) Now my thoughts are that Zenith will outperform Samsung easily. I would therefore definitely recommend enith over Samsung, just as Baja did.

Originally posted by BajaFishin
Beaker,

You made the right choice to go with dvb318 for your setup. I read that many people who own the V880 with pionner TV or Receiver, when they turn up the volume the V880 shut off or something like that - that would bother the crap outta me.

When or after you get your 318, I know for sure that you will still visit here daily, I know this, 'cause after I got all the HT stuff, I thought it to myself - that's it. But NO... Look at me, I've been bite by the HT BUG. :)

Hey be sure you let us know your first impression about your new toy.

Baja

Only the V880N from Momitsu is going for resolve the Pioneer IR conflicts. Even the updated V880 shall not resolve those conflicts for now. Maybe later. Since I do not have a Pioneer receiver, I am still open to the updated V880. And yes, please do post your early impressions on Zenith for us.

Originally posted by wblynch
Robert, consider that the Zenith dvb-318 will upconvert to 720p or 1080i over component where the Samsung won't.

The driving force behind the Zenith right now is that capability. Most of the 318 owners are using component upscaled to 1080i and prefer it to the DVI.

In my case, I cannot use DVI because my plasma is not hdcp enhanced. So the component settings provide a marvelous picture for me.

Good luck in your search.

wblynch: You have both V880 and Zenith, right? If yes, could you please post your impressions- rather pros//cons for the two players?

I have posted before but real quickly here are my observations. (keep in mind that I am unable to compare the DVI from Zenith due to HDCP).

For my setup, I have found the Momitsu delivers its best picture at 720p over component.

The Momistu at 1080i over component is way, way better than the Zenith at 1080i.

Momitsu:
+ Better picture quality than Zenith
+ Can change output resolution while movie is playing
+ Does not modify original aspect ratio
+ No HDCP over DVI
+ Custom resolutions
+ Contrast/Brightness/Shaprness settings
+ Simple to set macrovision and region settings
+ Periodic Firmware updates freely available and field installable

- Junky 50 cent remote that feels like it's made of cardboard.
- At times doesn't respond to remote. Especially when overheated.

Zenith 318:

- Must stop movie to change output resolution
- Can not change output resolution from remote.
- Goofy remote layout with strange "jog" dial
- Take a long time to "boot up".
- No real upgrade to firmware. (may or may not be available)
- If overheated, movie playback becomes very unstable and erratic.

Thanks Wblynch! Great info. Is there any issues with Menus and/or Subtitles with Momitsu..I remember reading somewhere they both are pretty bad for Momitsu. Is that true?

Originally posted by mallu2u
Thanks Wblynch! Great info. Is there any issues with Menus and/or Subtitles with Momitsu..I remember reading somewhere they both are pretty bad for Momitsu. Is that true?

I don't know of any issues. I don't use those features much so I can't really comment.

Well I read somewhere that subtitles/menus looked horribly big, etc on Momitsu. Could you please check that for me?

Folks: As some of you may know, V880N from Momitsu and V880 have got delayed once again and shall now be available in Sep'04 and not August. :-( I shall update the info above.

Well the Zenith I believe is $249 at BB! Too rich for my blood and also no hi rez formats.

mallu2u,

I think you have been trying some of the same universal players $200 or so that I have in the last month. I think the Sammy HD841 gives the best picture from what I tried so far. I'm not thrilled on the audio so I have decision to make. I started out with audio playback quality being my main focus with PQ being secondary. Now I rather have better PQ but I still would like a hi rez player.

It sure seems that I'm going to put this whole search off for awhile and wait till more universal players are released.

BTW, I believe I read in a HT magazine that Sony will be releasing a host of DVD/SACD players in the near future. No DVD-A but the price seemed quite attractive. I thought in the article that some players would upscale the video too!

wblynch, thank you sir, that was great info.

Looks like robert is gonna stick with the 841 - Okaay, have fun with the new toy. :)

Enjoy - DVI Player(s) :)

Baja

Anyone know what happen to V880N?
They just change the release date to september. When I purchase my V880 back in novemver of last year, the V880N already on the Manowa's website, now it's almost 1 year, they still havn't release it yet.
ARE WE CHASING SOMETHING THAT IS NOT GONNA HAPPEN?
this player is not on my list (yet), but I feel for those people who have been waiting for this player months.

Baja

Baja: Even Extremephono did not give any reason why it got delayed and therefore we do not yet know other than it could be a chip issue that both 880N and 880 use since even the 880 is being delayed along with it.

I am now in the process of adding master threads for the above DVD players where one can get detailed info and discussion on the above players..

I just want to say thanks. I have found this information very useful.

Originally posted by JasonBourne
I just want to say thanks. I have found this information very useful.

I am glad to hear that. Seems it is doing its job well then!

I think the HD841 has won the race for me up to this point. I don't have the luxury of trying the DVB318, Momitsu, or Bravo players as I want to deal exclusively with B&M whereby I can easily return the player if not satisified. That narrows my playing field considerably but...

The picture I'm getting on my Tosh TN50X81 is excellent with the HD841. Maybe it is just synergy betwen the two components.

Perhaps I should try a player a more expensive player to see what I'd be missing with a component 480p connection. The upscaling models over component are not available on B&M store shelves as far as I know so perhaps the higher priced players is the way for me to find out what the capability is with the RPTV I own!

Originally posted by robertc88
I think the HD841 has won the race for me up to this point. I don't have the luxury of trying the DVB318, Momitsu, or Bravo players as I want to deal exclusively with B&M whereby I can easily return the player if not satisified. That narrows my playing field considerably but...

The picture I'm getting on my Tosh TN50X81 is excellent with the HD841. Maybe it is just synergy betwen the two components.

Perhaps I should try a player a more expensive player to see what I'd be missing with a component 480p connection. The upscaling models over component are not available on B&M store shelves as far as I know so perhaps the higher priced players is the way for me to find out what the capability is with the RPTV I own!

I just bought and tested the Zenith DVB318 online as a possible replacement for my 15 month old Bravo D1. In my setup (using a Samsung DLP) the Bravo clearly has a better picture over the DVI than the Zenith does with either DVI or component out, plus it does not stretch 4:3 material like the Zenith does, so I decided to keep my Bravo. I was able to sell the Zenith on eBay within 2 hours of listing it at no loss at all, and sent the unit with the original sales receipt so the buyer can be covered by the Zenith warranty. No problem.

I'd like to try the Zenith against the HD841 but I'm not willing to buy it through the means available.

Who carries Bravo and Momitsu? Is this another case of going through online retailers or ebay? Those players appear to get good marks but I never see them on B&M store shelves.

Yes, the Bravo and Momitsu units are available online only - as far as I know. I'm pretty sure you can return the Bravo to V Inc. if you buy it from them directly (not from eBay) and then decide you don't like it. Not sure about the Momitsu return policy.

newbie here... been reading all of your comments on these players. now that we're sitting almost at the end of july, do you guys recommend waiting for the new players? perhaps the Sony DVP-NS975V? i am very tempted to go with the momitsu? i have a Aquos 37G4U display.

Originally posted by jlee121212
newbie here... been reading all of your comments on these players. now that we're sitting almost at the end of july, do you guys recommend waiting for the new players? perhaps the Sony DVP-NS975V? i am very tempted to go with the momitsu? i have a Aquos 37G4U display. The Bravo D2 has added brightness/contrast/color level controls for DVI output if you Aquos is missing those controls.

robertc88: Better u get Bravo from Vinc and Momitsu from Extremephono so that you can return them if you do not like these units. remember that you shall need to pay the return shipping. make sure they both have a no-obligation (re-stocking, etc) shipping policy.
BTW: Jim Noyd (who answered on this thread is the best person to talk abt Vinc (Bravo players) since he is closely associated with this company)

Originally posted by gshelley61
I just bought and tested the Zenith DVB318 online as a possible replacement for my 15 month old Bravo D1. In my setup (using a Samsung DLP) the Bravo clearly has a better picture over the DVI than the Zenith does with either DVI or component out, plus it does not stretch 4:3 material like the Zenith does, so I decided to keep my Bravo. I was able to sell the Zenith on eBay within 2 hours of listing it at no loss at all, and sent the unit with the original sales receipt so the buyer can be covered by the Zenith warranty. No problem. Can you offer any examples of how the PQ of the Bravo D2 was better than the Zenith DVB318?

Originally posted by jlee121212
newbie here... been reading all of your comments on these players. now that we're sitting almost at the end of july, do you guys recommend waiting for the new players? perhaps the Sony DVP-NS975V? i am very tempted to go with the momitsu? i have a Aquos 37G4U display.

I certainly do recommend waiting for the above players to come out. Momitsu and Zenith are great choices today but even they shall be coming out with an updated version of their players soon...check the first post on this thread...I have release dates with these players there...

thanks mallu. I know I should wait... guess I am just overly anxious.

Originally posted by Jim Noyd
Can you offer any examples of how the PQ of the Bravo D2 was better than the Zenith DVB318?

And screen captures would be great to show this, if u can!

Originally posted by jlee121212
thanks mallu. I know I should wait... guess I am just overly anxious.
Me too esp since I am still living with my Pansonic CV51 (way old) and in the interim bought Pioneer 563A. But u know its worth the wait since atleast u shall get a better..more stable player. And its not a very long wait..( I know it seems to be...but its all relative!!)

Finally managed to display the information in the first post neatly!

Originally posted by Jim Noyd
Can you offer any examples of how the PQ of the Bravo D2 was better than the Zenith DVB318?

Yes, Jim... here is what I wrote in another thread last week (only I have a D1, not a D2):

"Well, after five or six hours of testing last night, and unfortunately for the Zenith DVB318, there is simply no doubt that my Bravo D1 has a much clearer, more detailed and less artifact-ridden picture. I tried the Zenith at 720p (native screen resolution of may Samsung DLP) and at 1080i using the component outputs. It did look better than using the Zenith's DVI out (which I find really odd... DVI is supposed to bypass all the analog processing and therefore be a higher quality, more accurate signal).

But no matter... there is still the black smearing/ghosting problem (although it was less noticeable) and what I can only describe as very slight image "wandering"... it appeared to move around a bit (not a rock solid, stable playback). And, of course, there is the annoying fact that the Zenith stretches 4:3 DVD content (with kid's stuff, older movies, etc. this is a real pain in the a**). You have to reset the TV from "wide" to "normal" for the aspect ratio to be correct. And if the DVD is a widescreen letterbox (non-anamorphic) 4:3, the zoom function on the Zenith introduces some very weird scaling artifacts when you zoom vertically with the incremental adjustment to correct the aspect ratio. Also, it appears the Zenith overscans (crops) the borders of the image too much... you definitely can't see the entire frame.

I hooked my Bravo back up to the DVI and left the Zenith connected to the component ins to do an A/B... there is no comparison. At least with the Samsung DLP rear projection display, the picture quality of the Bravo is much more detailed, clear, stable, and has no scaling problems or other artifacts (unless they are on the DVD itself - i.e. compression grain, blocks, color banding, etc.)

I have to conclude that the Zenith DVB318 does have a pretty impressive picture over the analog component outputs. If you do not have a DVI input on your HDTV or it is a more forgiving display type than DLP (like direct view CRT, plasma, etc.), then the Zenith should be fine, as long as the 4:3 stretch thing doesn't bother you.

As for me, I will stick with my D1 for now. I haven't had any loading problems or other issues with mine and it is over a year old now. Maybe I'll have a look at the D2... FWIW, IMHO, YMMV"

Originally posted by mallu2u
And screen captures would be great to show this, if u can!

That would be tough to do, now that I've sold the Zenith. But if the DVB318 had performed better with my display, I certainly would have kept it.

I have just bought a Bravo D2 and quite pleased with the PQ using DVI. Although I went from A Toshiba 2801 to the Bravo. Also the Bravo D2 seems to have a decent build quality, at least it weighs more than my Toshiba.

Thanks, so the 318 does crop or overscan DVDs with DVI output. Secrets couldn't report on it as Kris doesn't have an HDCP display. Did it crop on all four sides? And what percentages? This can be frustrating if you want 1:1 pixel mapping and you're missing a portion of the image.

Originally posted by Jim Noyd
Thanks, so the 318 does crop or overscan DVDs with DVI output. Secrets couldn't report on it as Kris doesn't have an HDCP display. Did it crop on all four sides? And what percentages? This can be frustrating if you want 1:1 pixel mapping and you're missing a portion of the image.

Not sure... maybe 2-3% or so. The image was slightly larger (zoomed in) with the Zenith. With the Bravo, you see practically the entire width of the 720x480 frame, and very nearly the entire height (the Samsung DLP may overscan or physically conceal the vertical a bit).

I will chime in and say that I agree that the Bravo gives a better, cleaner, sharper picture than the Zenith 318.

That being said, the Bravo (I have the D1) has problems all its own in terms of reliability as evidenced extensively on this forum.

Mine went out of warranty by three weeks, and the D1 completely stopped working. It makes a grinding noise whenever I turn it on, and the tray will not open. Prior to this, I would get the infamous "lockup" problem during the course of a movie every once in a while (probably 1 out of 3 or 4 movies).

I contacted V Inc. and was advised that they wanted $95.00 before looking at my D1.

Bottom line is that I will wait for the new Denon DVI players to be released. I will use the Zenith on my Mitsubishi which doesn't have DVI, only component.

I fully expect the Denon players to provide both great picture quality and reliability, something that seems to be lacking in these other players.

My choices are boiling down to Momitsu vs Denon 1910 vs Panny s97. Like the super flexibility of Momitsus though but PQ is the key and lets see how Denon and Panny deliver goods. Same is the case with Momitsu when it releases its players in Sep. Seems like I would not be able to buy any player until early november (once early impressions might start coming in). these companies have us waiting for a long time...hope the wait is worth it!

Originally posted by Rob Tomlin
I will chime in and say that I agree that the Bravo gives a better, cleaner, sharper picture than the Zenith 318.

That being said, the Bravo (I have the D1) has problems all its own in terms of reliability as evidenced extensively on this forum.

Mine went out of warranty by three weeks, and the D1 completely stopped working. It makes a grinding noise whenever I turn it on, and the tray will not open. Prior to this, I would get the infamous "lockup" problem during the course of a movie every once in a while (probably 1 out of 3 or 4 movies).

I contacted V Inc. and was advised that they wanted $95.00 before looking at my D1.

Bottom line is that I will wait for the new Denon DVI players to be released. I will use the Zenith on my Mitsubishi which doesn't have DVI, only component.

I fully expect the Denon players to provide both great picture quality and reliability, something that seems to be lacking in these other players.

My Bravo D1 runs fine and has for about 15 months... one thing about my set up is the electrical power is completely cut off to the Bravo when the sytem is shut down. I wonder if this very frequent "re-setting" has resulted in improved reliability for me? I haven't run in to loading problems of the type many describe with the Bravo units. Just a thought...

Originally posted by mallu2u
And screen captures would be great to show this, if u can!

See, I don't believe in screen capture, because most digital camara would clip white and black, and the picture isn't accurate as you see it in live.

For example, I just bought a DImage XT, and I was try to post a screen shot on both black and white level on V880 and 931, but the picture did not look that great compare what the image really is.

Baja

What exactly are they going to improve in the updated Momitsu-september-release-version of the 880?

Originally posted by Reem
What exactly are they going to improve in the updated Momitsu-september-release-version of the 880?

Network capability.

Originally posted by Huskerfan
Network capability.

Yeah but that's the v880N version right. It says in the opening post that the normal version, V880, will be updated in september. What are they going to add/replace?

The V880 September upgrade will have a new (improved?) remote and a new circuit board with separate DACs for component and composite/S-vid output, which should give better component output quality, and I would imagine allow you to play S-vid and component at the same time (won't work on the current V880). Supposedly the Sept upgrade will do nothing for DVI.

I just got my 318 on last Thursday and it looks amazing through DVI at 720p to my Panny 50" RP LCD. I know people say don't use DVI and don't do 720p over DVI but heck I'm doing both and you know what it's jaw dropping amazing picture quality.

Admittedly I got this player because it's the only upscaler that isn't >$1k and will not get wierd IR commands from my Pio reciever and my only previous player almost died.

I will also admitt that when I ran DVE to calibrate my TV with 720p over DVI the player (and TV) were set way to bright. So I had to lower the TVs brightness substainually along with the contrast a little. I will also admitt that over DVI it was very very easy to see the "White Crush" over DVI on the contrast test screen. But I gave it a try anyways and watched "Finding Nemo" and "Shrek" back to back using 720p over DVI and was capivated. So I am ignoring the "white crush" because we did not notice it in a movie yet.

These are just my findings. As for bad units and such, when I ordered through "G" I spoke with him on his volume of sales and he said they get ~ 75-100 calls a day on this player. Were sold out with the stock they had and for the next weeks shipment (last weeks, with my unit) he had already sold 228 of the 250 units they were getting in.

Again just the information that I know about this player.

BTW Make sure you put your audio options to 96kHz and turn that darn DRC Off! With these settings I heard things in Nemo and Shrek I never heard before! Outstanding.

Originally posted by BajaFishin
See, I don't believe in screen capture, because most digital camara would clip white and black, and the picture isn't accurate as you see it in live.

For example, I just bought a DImage XT, and I was try to post a screen shot on both black and white level on V880 and 931, but the picture did not look that great compare what the image really is.

Baja

I just wanted to see the screen captures for looking at menus and subtitle and other issues, etc and not really PQ. You are right PQs cannot be compared with screen captures, unless there is a BIG difference.

Originally posted by Beaker1024
I just got my 318 on last Thursday and it looks amazing through DVI at 720p to my Panny 50" RP LCD. I know people say don't use DVI and don't do 720p over DVI but heck I'm doing both and you know what it's jaw dropping amazing picture quality.

Admittedly I got this player because it's the only upscaler that isn't >$1k and will not get wierd IR commands from my Pio reciever and my only previous player almost died.

I will also admitt that when I ran DVE to calibrate my TV with 720p over DVI the player (and TV) were set way to bright. So I had to lower the TVs brightness substainually along with the contrast a little. I will also admitt that over DVI it was very very easy to see the "White Crush" over DVI on the contrast test screen. But I gave it a try anyways and watched "Finding Nemo" and "Shrek" back to back using 720p over DVI and was capivated. So I am ignoring the "white crush" because we did not notice it in a movie yet.

These are just my findings. As for bad units and such, when I ordered through "G" I spoke with him on his volume of sales and he said they get ~ 75-100 calls a day on this player. Were sold out with the stock they had and for the next weeks shipment (last weeks, with my unit) he had already sold 228 of the 250 units they were getting in.

Again just the information that I know about this player.

BTW Make sure you put your audio options to 96kHz and turn that darn DRC Off! With these settings I heard things in Nemo and Shrek I never heard before! Outstanding.

Thanks for your review Beaker! Let us know if you find anything new (good or bad) abt this player with time.

I guess I should add the new Sony player to this list ..will dig on that info and update this thread...

how many of the above players have HDMI

I have had the Momitsu V880 for three months and am enthusiastic about its PQ. I have mine connected to my 50" RCA DLP via DVI at 1080i and it's PQ is about as close to HD as you can get without being the real thing. By the way, the Bravos and Momitsus use the same chip.

Others have reported problems with the Momitsu's loader but mine has performed flawlessly on that score. I have only a couple of negatives to report: The remote is genuinely awful, so bad that I would not recommend the Momitsu to anyone who does not have or plans to get a good universal remote -- I use a Harmony. The other, less serious, problem is the time and chapter information, which is both limited and fills the screen, instead of conveniently appearing at the top as it did on my old Sony.

Despite its quirks, I have been very happy with my Momitsu and highly recommend it to anyone who does not find the negatives discussed above to be deal killers.

I almost pull the trigger on Infocus 4805, but on the second thought - I haven't decide on the DVD player yet.
I already pick out the projector, screen and the mount. All I need is the DVD player to go with it.
If I pull the trigger today, it would be the 318.
I probably should wait the reviews on HD941 and 1910.

Dang it! I can't wait.

Baja

As posted on another thread I suckered for teh Bravo D1 based on the endorsement here on AV. The player worked fine for about two months and then started locking up after "loading" the DVD and would not play. Since then it has inconsistenly played. WHen it does play the picture is excellent at 720 but jumpy at 1080 (probably because I am running 45 feet and using a repeater). No the player is just plain dead. Based on the crappy service I have decided to not pursue a repair. I will NEVER buy an offbrand product again. I would strongly recommend that someone considering a Bravo DO NOT buy one.

Those who have had good experience will soon enough join the rest of us..........

Andy

Those who have had good experience will soon enough join the rest of us..........

Amen!

My Bravo D1 completely crapped out 3 weeks after the warranty expired. They wanted $95.00 just to look at it!

Originally posted by BajaFishin
I almost pull the trigger on Infocus 4805, but on the second thought - I haven't decide on the DVD player yet.
I already pick out the projector, screen and the mount. All I need is the DVD player to go with it.
If I pull the trigger today, it would be the 318.
I probably should wait the reviews on HD941 and 1910.

Dang it! I can't wait.

Baja

Baja: What makes u lean towards 318 and not Momitsu? I am too waiting for 941 and 1910 to come out!

Originally posted by mallu2u
Baja: What makes u lean towards 318 and not Momitsu? I am too waiting for 941 and 1910 to come out!

mallu,

I already got the V880 and 931, both are use for one tv. Now - I just want to try something new. Base on what I read here, they are so many happy owners here, not only that, this player is sold for less than $200, how can you beat that?

But I'm still deciding - most of the DVI players out right now are silver color, I want a black dvd player, I can't afford 5900 or 59AVI, and D1 is 1st gen. DVI player, so that only left me with 1910. Sounds funny isn't it? sounds like - I decide on the DVD player base on color :)

I don't know :(

HELP ME!!!!

Baja

That makes sense Baja. the wait is too long for me as well. End of September is when I shall be able to make any decision abt the player it seems since late August to Mid September start getting the players and then start reviewing them....the wait is killing me as well. Personally I would like a black look as well..but then I would not really care in the end as long as the player is a great performer.

Does anyone have any info on the Marantz DV8400. This player was introduced some time ago with a DVI port that was not activated. It now says on their website that you can activate the DVI yourself.

updated with the Sony DVP-NS975V player and other informational categories.

Anyone bought the Zenith, Momitsu or Samsung lately and would like to share their reviews on them?

Well guys, my waiting for a player is over. I decided to go with the Cambridge Audio Azur 540D. I do not have DVI capability and don't plan on upgrading my Tosh 50" RPTV any time soon.

Gives a nice picture and I much prefer the build quality and remote over other players I tried from B&M stores. I suppose with those players one gets what they pay for.

No quirks reported from reviews I have read for what I was able to find on this player.

BTW, the rest of my components in my system are black! :)

Good luck and happy hunting!!

Looks like a good player robert. You do not need upscaling over component? Or Denon 1910 should be available this month. Denon 1710 is already available and shall have a good build quality. However, if you already made the purchase, Congrats and Enjoy!

Does anybody have any comments on the LG LST3510A? It is a DVD/HDTV tuner with DVI out.

I am thinking about this one because it would be nice to pick up ABC HDTV OTA for MNF since Cablevision does not have it. I don't want to sacrifice any DVD PQ though.

Bonus would be only having to use one DVI input on TV for tuner and DVD.

Anyone have any experience with this player/tuner?

Thanks,
-Chris

Chris: I have personally not heard of this combo player but the specs look good. - The only thing I see missing is a DTS encoder or pass thru.
- Since it does component upscaling, I am presuming it does DVI upscaling as well.
- And you are certainly right about having one DVI for both DVD player and tuner.
- Not sure what they mean by HDCD? Hybrid CD?
- Since it LG, check whether they publish firmware upgrades on their website. Just in case you see issues...etc.
Overall seems to be a good device, although I am not big supporter of a combo device (since there is generally some sacrifice involved).

it does scale via component but dvi upscaling looks way better!

Originally posted by mallu2u
Chris: I have personally not heard of this combo player but the specs look good. - The only thing I see missing is a DTS encoder or pass thru.
- Since it does component upscaling, I am presuming it does DVI upscaling as well.
- And you are certainly right about having one DVI for both DVD player and tuner.
- Not sure what they mean by HDCD? Hybrid CD?
- Since it LG, check whether they publish firmware upgrades on their website. Just in case you see issues...etc.
Overall seems to be a good device, although I am not big supporter of a combo device (since there is generally some sacrifice involved).

mallu2u,

All good points, thanks for the reply.

According to the manual,
-It does DVI upscaling.
-It supports DTS.
-It has a serial port, presumably for firmware upgrades??
-HDCD Playback
"HDCD is a process that increases the fidelity of both specially encoded HDCD discs and standard Audio CDs. When an HDCD-encoded disc is playing, the special decoder is automatically activated and the HDCD Indicator lights. No user intervention is required.

To enjoy the benefits of HDCD, your DVD/HDTV Receiver must be connected to your A/V receiver via the Analog Audio Outputs. However, if your A/V receiver or surround processor is equipped with built-in HDCD decoding and Digital Audio Output mode is set to stream/PCM on the Setup menu, you may elect to use either the Coaxial or Optical digital audio connections
for HDCD playback."

I'll do some more research, but if anyone else has had experience with this unit, I would appreciate any feedback that you have.

Thanks,
-Chris

The 3510a had a lousy deinterlacer, if that sort of thing matters to you. And overall, my Samsung 931 had a better overall picture, despite clipping blacks.

Still looking; waiting for either the new Denons, or TheaterTek 2.0...

Originally posted by Fellini8.5
The 3510a had a lousy deinterlacer, if that sort of thing matters to you. And overall, my Samsung 931 had a better overall picture, despite clipping blacks.

Still looking; waiting for either the new Denons, or TheaterTek 2.0...

Yes it does.

Would you see the negative effects of the bad deinterlacer when watching DVD's on this unit or when watching 480i/1080i broadcasts received by the tuner? Or would you see it in both cases?

Thanks,
-Chris

I couldn't tune much OTA where I am, so I didn't see anything there. On DVDs though, comb-city and splotchy. You can "force" film mode, but you need to click whatever button it was something like 5 times for every disc you wanted to do it with, and it's recovery time was pretty awful when the inevitable glitch occurred.

Thanks Fellini8.5.

I guess I'll just wait and see how the sammy 941 works out.

mallu2u,

The players mentioned on this forum that upscale through component did not meet my criteria in so far as inclusive of a hi-rez format and being able to buy from a local retailer from their store shelf whereby I could try it and easily return it if there were any problems. My criteria therefore limited my selection of a player.

I was able to find the CA 540D at a local audio dealer whom I had purchased audio equipment from in the passed. Got a good deal and if anything goes wrong within the warranty period, it goes back to his store and I don't have to deal with the manufacturer.

Too bad on the Samsung HD841. It was the best out of the lot that Best Buy and CC currently has to offer. Great PQ but the problems reported on that player gave me cold feet so I returned it.

Im with you on that. Do you know what Zenith DVB318 is available at BB? You can purchase it on their website and if you do not like it, return it at the store. No shipping cost too...something to think abt or compare with your CA 540D.

Where is Pioneer when it comes to DVI?

Bad news for Zenith DVB318 owners. The new firmware, when available shall disable the component upconversion! Therefore beware...unless u really want fixes for your DVI with this player, stay away from this firmware upgrade.

LOL - They call that a firmware UPGRADE???

Sounds like a firmware DOWNGRADE!!!!!!!!!

Just to add to Mallu2u's post on the firmware fix for the zenith 318.... From what I gather it will likely disable the upscale over component (but a tester noted LOTR:TT Ext. still played upscaled over component so that's wierd) but the fixes you do get are substaintiall specifically if you really really want to upscale to 720p.

720p over either connection is reported to have a color bleeding issue (and in White crush if you use DVI) so this fix has some attraction to me as I want to do 1:1 mapping to my 720p TV (w/DVI) with as few PQ issues possible since it is reported that this firmware fix will take care of the DVI white crush, 720p bleed (reported fixed), disable component [ :( ].

This is really one of the firmware updates that you will have to consider your own personal situation (TV set) and think it through completely before doing. I know I am going to think over it even with my argument for it in the last paragraph.

Although I see myself using DVI with my DVD player but even then I would have liked to have the option of component upconversion. Let's see how Denon 1910 is. If its great, then I might just go for that! Otherwise shall be back for Momitsu or Zenith. Panny S97 is wayyyyyyy late (november). They shall loose out on a lot of people who need a player now and have been waiting for a while now.

Hey...do u guys know the MSRPs of the players listed in the first thread? I am thinking of adding that info. Is it useful?

Originally posted by mallu2u
Hey...do u guys know the MSRPs of the players listed in the first thread? I am thinking of adding that info. Is it useful?

It would be very useful.

http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/4422
The DVP-NS975V will be available in September for about $300.

$269 p[re order on amazon, available in October

Originally posted by JasonBourne
It would be very useful.

http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/4422
The DVP-NS975V will be available in September for about $300.
Alright then, shall put this info out there hopefully by tonite or early tomorrow. MSRP. I know I cannot put websites and their prices as its against forum policies I guess. Maybe be able to add a best price @ column ;)

Still have one eye on the Zenith. I believe someone stated Amazon was offering it for $159.99. I haven't checked the price at BB in awhile but I remember you mentioning this resource some time back when I said I didn't want to deal with online retailers.

Originally posted by mallu2u
Hey...do u guys know the MSRPs of the players listed in the first thread? I am thinking of adding that info. Is it useful?

http://www.extremephono.com/momitsu_dvd_v880.htm

has some more MSRPs

Originally posted by robertc88
Still have one eye on the Zenith. I believe someone stated Amazon was offering it for $159.99. I haven't checked the price at BB in awhile but I remember you mentioning this resource some time back when I said I didn't want to deal with online retailers.
Just went on their website. Indeed its $160 there right now. And free shipping.

Greetings

I haven't had time to figure out why Two Towers EE upconverts to 1080i fine via component while films like Clones, Spiderman, Trek lock out. It might be the presence of macrovision which might be the flag ... (Speculation) as not all hollywood films choose to employ the macronugget technology.

In the mid term, I don't think it is inconceivable that some enterprising individual will decompile the firmware and be able to turn the feature back on. This would be much like in the digital camera world where the Canon Digital Rebel firmware was hacked to "turn on" a number of features that were purposely dropped for this camera from the Canon 10D professional camera as the two shared similar firmware.

Regards

Michael: I see Zenith on Amazon at a good price but its back ordered. My Q is how long might it take for this firmware to be released as currently its back ordered at Amazon. I only want to buy from them if that firmware is not already installed.

Greetings

All I know is that they took the comments from the test sessions and have gone back to see if they can address some of the other issues. Rewriting code is not done overnight ... and I would expect that any units made prior to July 2004 would not have this update.

Regards

Thanks Michael.

Ok..am hearing that even Sammy 941 is going to be delayed till November now...

Originally posted by mallu2u
Ok..am hearing that even Sammy 941 is going to be delayed till November now...

Unbelievable.....

coz of issues that were found in 841 and they would look into it to fix them...

updated the msrp and best place to buy the above players on the first page!

Anybody have any thoughts on what would be the best DVI DVD Player (Do not care about Component quality) to connect to my new Benq PE8700+? I have been flipping back and forth on the Bravo D2, the Momitsu, and now the Denon 1910. Also would like to see how the Bravo D3 turns out but it looks like it will come out too late as I am completing my Home Theater by the beginning of October. I have a Denon AVR 3805 so using the Denon Link with the 1910 is attractive. I have heard some bad things about the current line of Denon's though and hope it doesnt carry over to the DVI players. I will be using a Ram Electronics DVI Switch 4x1 to connect my Benq to the DVD player, a Dish Network 921 HD DVR, and an HTPC with a Radeon x800 in it. So any thoughts?

Titus

from what I have gathered over last few months..rule bravo out. keep it to denon, zenith or momitsu. And if u can wait, Panny S97 should be good. Sony might be decent as well. I think I shall dip into one of the first three early next month. cannot wait for panny till nov although I think it might be great as it has a great reputation. In any case most will stop the upconversion over component. Zenith already has (in newer builds) and so will momitsu (sigma chips) some time in future.

Watch out for Denon 1910 to hit stores by end of this month or first week of Sep!

I just placed an order with Crutchfield for the Denon 1910. Their promise date from Denon is Sep 6 (Labor Day), so they'd expect that customers who pre-ordered will get it by the end of the week (Sep 10). The price was a little below what Mallu listed on the first page and included free shipping and had no sales tax. Hopefully, there will be no delays.

On a side not, I noticed that the 1910 comes in both silver and black. Crutchfield still did not have any color information, so I am going to have to call back to get put in a color request. Does anyone have any opinions/theories on color matching (this is far from my ability). The TV I am about to order is the Panasonic 42PWD6UY, which is black. Is there any reason for me not to get a matching color?

Originally posted by jlee121212
I just placed an order with Crutchfield for the Denon 1910. Their promise date from Denon is Sep 6 (Labor Day), so they'd expect that customers who pre-ordered will get it by the end of the week (Sep 10). The price was a little below what Mallu listed on the first page and included free shipping and had no sales tax. Hopefully, there will be no delays.

On a side not, I noticed that the 1910 comes in both silver and black. Crutchfield still did not have any color information, so I am going to have to call back to get put in a color request. Does anyone have any opinions/theories on color matching (this is far from my ability). The TV I am about to order is the Panasonic 42PWD6UY, which is black. Is there any reason for me not to get a matching color?

Thanks for the update. I shall add crutchfield to the list of "best places to buy at" for this player. The price I mention is the "MSRP" and therefore have another column saying "Best Price @" column since I cannot mention that price, accordingly to forum rules I believe.
As for the color, I think thats aesthetics..even I would love to have all black components so that it really blends in, with the rest of my setup. Plus it's the WAF (Wife Approval Factor) for some :) Fortunately I have the veto power when it comes to any "gadget" in the house!

On the V880N thread, it has been mentioned that Momitsu V880 Deluxe and V880N are just around the corner. Might get shipped this week or next week...so watch out....Denon 1910 and Momitsu...almost at the same time..shall be interesting to read the first set of reviews...

Stupid question: Is this thread being limited to under $500 players? Just curious...

No its not..QOB, just thought that most people look for players under it though. I would love to add more to this list. Which ones would you like me to add to the list...one thing though. buying a $2K player certainly does not makes sense to me (like one of those high-end Denons), atleast not yet!!

Added the Denon 2910 and 3910 to the list now...

I have asked the administrators to change the name to 'Upconverting DVD Player Options/Impressions' since that's the true objective of this thread.

Actually, the "DVI" is what caught my interest.

LOL. The information is still for both DVI and Component but wanted to make it generic and therefore made it upconverting...

I'd be happy with anything you want to add. The clue probably would be: How many threads do you see for that one player? Better throw a few Pioneer units on there, too, as applicable, like the 59 Elite, and so forth. ;)

I'm a bit of a newbie, and would like some thoughts on my situation. I bought an open-box Samsung 931 for about $80 for use on a 65" Mitsubishi CRT RP television. I'm less than thrilled with the results.

The upconverted 1080i over the DVI looks extremely grainy and contrasty, compared with the 480p over the component connection. I don't know how else to say it, other than the picture quality is noticably worse at the higher resolution, all digital setting.

Is this the result of using the upconverting player with a CRT, versus a fixed-pixel display like an LCD or DLP? Or is it just my subjective tastes?

Granted, it's only $80, but if all I'm going to use the player for is 480p over component, I'd probably pick another player. This machine is painfully slow. Also, it uses the same remote button to skip chapers, as well as to fast-foward or fast-reverse. THAT is aggrivating as all get out.

If there' s no way I can enjoy better quality from the up-converting player, then I see no reason to tolerate the other annoyances.

Stutsu: This player that you got for mere $80 was not long ago selling for over $250!! The player definitely has known issues but grainy picture seems to be something else. Do u know what is the native resolution of your TV? It is best have 1:1 mapping to the TV's resolution.

There's no question this player was a good deal, price wise. That's why I feel bad for even complaining ...

I'm still learning how these things work, but I THINK the set displays 480p and 1080i without converting, so I guess that would be considered "native."

I just did some more poking around the Mits. website, I saw that the Mits. TV has its own edge enhancement feature that can be selected/deselected for each separate input. I knew the feature existed, but I didn't realize that each input had its own settings. It could be that I still have this turned on for the DVI input.

If that's the case, then perhaps that is part of the problem. It might explain why the picture has an "over Photoshopped" feel to it...

Stustu,

Just for clarification... the native rate of your set is only a single resolution. All incoming formats are scaled to the native rez of your set. Being that it's a Mits... I am fairly certain that the native rez is 1080i. Therefor everything that comes into your set is scaled to 1080i for display on the screen. This is assuming there's not some other weird stuff going on with your setup that I am missing.

Perhaps I am missing something?

Regs,
Jeff

Jeff,

If anyone is missing something, it is me, without a doubt. One month ago I thought it would be cool to have a big TV. Little did I know how much more complicated it is to have a 65" versus the twelve-year old, 20" RCA I replaced.

Looking again at the specs on the TV, it indicates there are actually 1200 lines of horizontal screen resolution, so I guess that would make 1080i the true "native" format.

At any rate, I'm anxious to get home and fiddle with the set's own edge enhancement setting - perhaps that's the issue.

Thanks to all for the help.

hehehe... yep. You basically hit the nail on the head. Welcome to our wonderful world. Unlike 99.9% of the rest of the world at large, most of the goober here like myself want to eke out the last iota of picture/sound quality from our setups. The biggest "problem" with this is that the more you learn, the more you tend to nitpick the small things. To quote my wife after seeing me spend 3 straight nights with the DLP once I got it's guts replaced, "Why can't you just be happy with turning it on and watching the tv?" That pretty much sums up all the rest of the world at large.

Best of luck with your tweaking!

Regs,
Jeff

Originally posted by Iceblade
"Why can't you just be happy with turning it on and watching the tv?"


That exactly describes my wife's comments for all my electronic toys too!! Im playing with HDTV (Antennas, Amps), DVD Player, DVR these days :D

lol, funny! haha

bless our wives. :)

Yep... seems to be a rather common occurrance as far as SO's and our hobbies. Let's see... the other two common reactions are the stadard "you are such a goober" eye roll, and the typical "whatever" statement. Of course all three of these can be used together.

"Why can't you just <insert thing that 99.9% of the world would do in this situation>? Whatever! *eye roll* *walks out of room*" :)

Gotta love 'em... and I've got a little 15 month old version of her in training right now. Daddy needs a boy for #2!!! :)

C ya,
Jeff

LOL. Thank god my wife sometimes bring little realism into me in the quest for new technologies..otherwise I would be trying and retuning and trying and burning money..haha.

Just a correction, I think Zenith 318 new firmware only disables component upconversion output for RCE disks. Therefore, you can still get component upconversion output with non-RCE disks or backup copy with RCE removed.

re: wife's opinion re: HT equipment...

Hate to inform everyone of this, but you can't win on the other side either. My wife was originally very skeptical of my HDTV and then subsequent (better) DVD player purchases. Mostly along the same lines of "what was wrong with the old picture", etc., etc.

Well now she's upset with me because I have spoiled her so bad with the improved picture, she can't stand watching anything on the old TV and DVD player now used as a spare! You just can't win. :)

Originally posted by wmallory
re: wife's opinion re: HT equipment...
Well now she's upset with me because I have spoiled her so bad with the improved picture, she can't stand watching anything on the old TV and DVD player now used as a spare! You just can't win. :)

Now you have an excuse to upgrade you spare system as well. I think it's a win-win situation...

Exactly! I took my wife to CC to show her big TVs...showed her Sammy, Sony GWIII and then my fav, Sony XBR 60'' ...she fell for that one immediately...from 50'', we went to 60'' TV in one day! No convincing needed. No arguments...more expensive..why so big...
cannot wait for Denon 1910 or Momitsu to show up now...1st week of September they should be available...I'm excited now...

Want to see the definition of "disinterested"? Tell your wife the following:

"But honey, now we can get 'American Chopper' in high def! "

(BTW, the built-in edge definition was on with my Mits, so that reduced some of the grain I had with the 1080i DVI image from the 931. I played with a few more discs, too, and found some where the upconverted picture was very nice, others not so nice. So, while it's not 100% the greatest thing since sliced bread, I guess I'll keep it")

the trick I found is woman are more interested in visual than audio(some will argue thats the way of us men) but I found when I took my wife shopping for audio, there was no interest aty all. she could care less if it was a 6" dynamic mono speaker audio system. she just does not appreciate it.

when I took her TV shopping, well she was very interested and even picked out the tv she wanted. this was after "we dont need a TV" well she loves the 36" XBR800 and to this day comments once a week how she loves this tv!!!!! she loves that it can do 4:3 and HDTV and she loves the HDTV.

it didnt take much to convice her to buy a projector too. she does think audio is a waste of money but loves the visual..... and they say we are visual beings! :)

Totally agree with you Bruman...

Bruman,

I think you hit the nail on the head.... women are definately into the video aspect of HT than the audio.... atleast my wife is.

Originally posted by chris523
Now you have an excuse to upgrade you spare system as well. I think it's a win-win situation... Yeah, I thought of that as well... Unfortunately, our bank account had other ideas. :(

For those still checking in here, I want to ask your opinion about what your thoughts may be on these upcoming players regarding running component 480p only.

Do you feel these will offer any big improvement over some of the existing DVD players mentioned on this forum continually that folks have rated quite highly?

I had tried a Denon 2200 in a local audio store. I had the dealer connect it to a similar TV I own. I was not all that impressed with the PQ for the price. I understand it is a universal player with audio capabilites so some of the price is based upon that. Then again, I also found a 910 in another store local to me and I wasn't impressed once again with it for the price for the movies I had the dealer try.

Thanks for your opinion!

Robert: I would not say they shall be greatly improved picture but I do know that it shall be enough to easily see the difference in colors, depth, clarify or picture. Thats what happened to me when I changed from my Panasonic CV 51 to Pioneer 563 A player. I loved it. But for its few limitations, I would have kept it. I truly believe a Momitsu V880 Deluxe, Denon 1910/2910 or Panny S97 should truly be good.
And checking is stores is not a great test for a lot of players since one does not know what customizations they might have made. Pick the denon or something similar from a local store so that u can test it yourself and then decide. I always like to do that so that I can truly identify the difference with my eye on my TV/Setup...I shall try the Denon 1910 first and then Momistu

I would like to update the first page to denote that for Zenith players, there shall be no upconversion over component since new players shall have the new firmware already installed.
Do u know of the build-month until which the upconversion holds? March/April?

Mallu2u,

What of DVD player manufacturers Arcam, Marantz, Rotel, etc. etc. ?

I hardly ever see these players mentioned on this forum since I started tuning in about 2 months ago.

Unfortunately, neither Arcam nor Rotel make upscaling players, although Arcam is coming out with an HDMI non-upscaling player.

People in canada have started receiving 1910! Reviews should follow anytime now! Im excited now..after a long wait...new players are coming out...hope Momitsu is released soon as well..

just checked on my order at crutchfield for the 1910... arrival still expected on sep 7. i should have it byend of next week. will post when here.

I have a question for you guys.

If I don't care about component output, and will use DVI only, which one's better? Samsung 841 or Zenith 318 (or LG 7382 here in Canada)

Pricewise they're close here. The Zenith is actually cheaper (by $70)

The Samsung 841 plays SACD and DVD Audio, which the Zenith doesn't. That said, I have a pretty big DVD collection and I have ZERO SACD or DVD Audio. That doesn't mean I won't get them in the future though.

I heard both the Samsung and Zenith have some white crush problem ... Samsung from what I heard even have some black crush problems (again, I'll be using DVI output)

The Zenith stretches 4:3 pictures, but I don't have too many 4:3 DVD's.

WHich one is better for PQ and sound quality if I use DVI output (I have a Toshiba 57HX83 RPTV)?

Thanks,

If both are easily returned, I would buy both and try the Samsung first as it fits your needs better, then the Zenith, and report back here ASAP :D. Return the one you don't like.

samsung 841..does it do SACD/DVD AUDIO?

yes it does.:D

it also does extreme black crush too but not sure you really want that...

i saw one connected to sammy hlp5085, pq was awesome on LOTR ROTK

First review of the 1910 is in. Both good and bad...read here...:http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=441939
Thanks to EVT for that.

Originally posted by mallu2u
First review of the 1910 is in. Both good and bad...read here...:http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=441939
Thanks to EVT for that.

As noted my myself and others in the 1910 review thread, the 1910's inability to show 4:3 material in pillar box format at 1080i seems to be a serious weakness.

Extremephono bumped up the price for V880 Deluxe to 279!! This is ridiculous. They first bumped their price for deluxe even before it was released and then delayed. Now again..seems that I shall give that one a pass, unless it outperforms Denon 1910. Lets see how many takers at that price...

- Momitsu V880 are less than a week away frm shipping while V880N abt two weeks or so
- Denon 1910 has already started to appear is US Stores as well. Should be widely available by 9/08-9/12

Also updated the date for Momitsu V880 Deluxe as Extremephono bumped the price up from 247 to 279!! Says may have to increase more soon due to manf. price increases...

I have this CD/DVD Sony DVP-S360 it has been fine for my Phillips 32" but i'm upgrading to a Sony 70" XBR KDF-70XBR950 soon, will my current dvd player be fine for the bigger TV or do i need to upgrade and any suggestions?

If it were a Sony DVD player would be cheaper for me as i get good deals from Sony, thanks in advance.

Tony.

mallu2u,

You might want to add a category for NTSC to HDTV color matrix conversion accuracy for DVI and component outputs. Some get this right on one output, some on both and some on none. A category for DVI levels that would include computer and/or TV levels. Many TV's cannot support the NTSC color matrix or computer levels at 720p or 1080i. PAL to NTSC conversion would also be nice to know.

umr: I would love to add all that info for the DVD Players...but I am not sure where to get all that info. Can you provide me with that info and I shall add it.?

Originally posted by umr
mallu2u,

You might want to add a category for NTSC to HDTV color matrix conversion accuracy for DVI and component outputs. Some get this right on one output, some on both and some on none. A category for DVI levels that would include computer and/or TV levels. Many TV's cannot support the NTSC color matrix or computer levels at 720p or 1080i. PAL to NTSC conversion would also be nice to know.

Once u move to bigger TVs, u start seeing flaws with the player and movies, that were once not known to u, due to that sharpness and better picture of the TV. Therefore people tend to move up and for support of various DVD formats and for MP3 files, Divx files, etc.

Again, if upgrading, would be better to upgrade to an upconverting player as the picture gets sharper..much like HDTV.

Is Sony is ur preference due to discounts, then there is only one that Sony shall release prob later this month or next month. Info is there in the first thread along with links for details, etc.

Zenith DVB318 and Denon 1910 (in a few days) are good players that are currently available as well. Currently are the favorites...Obviously depending upon the budget there are more options available

Originally posted by mallu2u
umr: I would love to add all that info for the DVD Players...but I am not sure where to get all that info. Can you provide me with that info and I shall add it.?

I have not personally tested all of the players. Here is what I remember on the subject. I am not in the market for a new player so I have not paid a huge amount of attention.

The Zenith 318 has been reported to get the color matrix conversion wrong over component and right over DVI. My LG LST-3510A gets it wrong over DVI and right on component.

The Samsung units get the color matrix conversions wrong over DVI.

The Samsung and Zenith units reportedly output computer levels instead of TV over DVI.

The Denon 5800 and 1910 get the levels and color matrix conversions correct.

Momitsu v880 gets the color matrix conversion correct over DVI and wrong over component. This unit does a nice job of converting PAL to NTSC.

I have ordered a Mitsubishi DLP that upconverts all input to 720p. Given that, what are the advantages of having the DVD player upconvert to 720p? Does it all depend on the relative quality of the TV's versus the DVD player's upconversion?

Originally posted by 2left
I have ordered a Mitsubishi DLP that upconverts all input to 720p. Given that, what are the advantages of having the DVD player upconvert to 720p? Does it all depend on the relative quality of the TV's versus the DVD player's upconversion?

That is one of the main issues. One other is avoiding D/A conversions if possible. Knowing exactly how your TV handles the DVI input is key to this understanding. Some TV's will convert the digital input to analog and others do not. I have not seen electrical diagrams for Mistubishi so I cannot comment on your TV. Other issues you might want to consider include MPEG decoder performance, y/c delay and signal accuracy.

How about for projectors that convert to 788P?? I knew it was going to haunt me when I went with the Sony HS20 rather than the Z2--at least it's got HDMI. Does anyone have a recomendation for pairing a DVD with an HS20? I had a Denon 2200 that was great when it didn't freeze up. I'm now running a super cheap Sony SLV D100 (DVD/VCR--not progressive). It is actualy doing a great job, or rather, the Sony HS20 is doing a great job deinterlacing the 480i analog signal.

The 941 tauts a 766 mode and I could live without a few pixels on through mode, but my HDTV signal would bleed onto my screen's boarder or vice verse. Can the 880 dial in 788p? Would it look good? I'm striving for 1 to 1 mapping from a purity stand point (if not PQ).

If I go with another candidate: I've seen several posts tauting that 720p converts to 788p better than 1080i to 788p becasue 10% stretch beats 30% reduction. Any comments/info? And if so, why would people rave about the HS20s HDTV capabilities vs. the 720p Z2? Sorry for all the questions, they may seem like 2nd grade to many of you, but I can't find definitive answers and I don't want to blow a chunk of change on the wrong machine--especially if another would work better.

Why hasn't there been any talk about this Toshiba upconverting DVD player - the SD-5970?

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvd/product.asp?model=SD-5970

Apparently it is available now and costs $200 - $250. Doesn't appear to be a universal player but it has HDMI.

Anyone have any idea if Toshiba's "Digital Cinema Progressive 3:2 Pulldown" is any good - esp. compared to DCDi?

Would be curious to know what people think about this player.

Originally posted by EricScott
Why hasn't there been any talk about this Toshiba upconverting DVD player - the SD-5970?

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvd/product.asp?model=SD-5970

Apparently it is available now and costs $200 - $250. Doesn't appear to be a universal player but it has HDMI.

Anyone have any idea if Toshiba's "Digital Cinema Progressive 3:2 Pulldown" is any good - esp. compared to DCDi?

Would be curious to know what people think about this player.

Eric : Surprisingly I missed this one totally...did not even know it existed...I know 5960 was recalled I guess. Toshiba does not do a great job at marketing their players..I do not see this player at BB, CC or Costo...their rertailers..where would one buy it and get it home! No wonder its not talked abt.

Check out this thread - never heard of this retailer...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=444468

Thought maybe I just wasn't reading carefully. In general I find Toshiba is really bad about marketing their products. Surprised this is even on their website - often they don't update their site until months after a product has been out.

There is another upconverting dvd player that you may want to add to your list. At first glance this player looks like a combination of the Bravo B3 and the Momitsu V880N.

Press release for I-O Data's: AVel LinkPlayer 2nd (http://www.iodata.com/usa/news/releases.php?newsID=29&tot=25&ts=4&tsc=21)

Looks like a September release for Japan and October release for the US.

Here's a link to the User Manual (http://www.iodata.com/catalogs/AVLP1DVD_Rev1.0.pdf)

Here is the AVS Forum thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=356713&highlight=linkplayer

Regards

Finally purchased this player from Tweeter this evening. Did not get time to set it up earlier. Just finished testing it a bit. Gotta say..so far its a mixed bag. Currently I have a Panasonic CV51 Player..4 yrs old...non-progressive. I hooked this player up via COMPONENT cable to my Sony 60" RP XBR TV. Review is based on that...I wanted to get its true comparison to old player.

Positives

- setup was very easy
- Bit better colors..not a whole lot
- Fast loader
- Very responsive remote
- Chapter change fast


Negatives

- Not a whole lot of difference in PQ in 480i mode from old Panny
- When changed to 480p mode, slightly better colors...definitely better scaling since I saw some dithering on a particular dvd with old player...very less with this player...liked that
- When in 480p mode, TV does not recognize that the movie is in widescreen mode!!! I have to change the mode manually in TV. Ridiculous. Even my old panny did that right. Works perfect in 480i. Real big negative
- PQ was slightly better...not a whole lot than old panny...colors slightly better..
- Mode to change colors, brightness not very intuitive..colors were pretty low by default. Had to set it at +6 to get them to my liking.
- Resume is only temp and for current movie. Does not have mutiple DVD memory
- Overall Interface is very basic..not at all somewhat sexier that I was have imagined...
- Layer change is pathetic! Player almost pauses for a 1 second before resuming....panny was the same...did not like that

Will try MP3 CD and DVD +RW tomorrow. Need to record one. Will also buy a DVI cable and see what the upscaling buzz is all abt.

In a nutshell, I would NOT buy the player, if I was buying for component only. Nothing really worth spending another 250 bucks...old panny would be fine for that. BUT lets see the DVI now..that is the main reason I have bought this player and am hoping I like to PQ of that.

Let me know if any of you folks have any Qs for me.

Originally posted by mallu2u
Finally purchased this player .....

In a nutshell, I would NOT buy the player, if I was buying for component only. Nothing really worth spending another 250 bucks...old panny would be fine for that. BUT lets see the DVI now..that is the main reason I have bought this player and am hoping I like to PQ of that.

Let me know if any of you folks have any Qs for me.

Which player are you referring too?? Also, do any of these upscaling players, upscale over component, or only HDMI/DVI?

He's talking about the Denon 1910 (this has been posted in several 1910 threads). This player should shine over DVI, but has inferior video DACs compared with the 2910 and 3910, so not too surprising that it is not a killer player over component. The reason to buy it is for DVI, not component.

Isn't it really way to early in the game with DVI? It sure appears there are high expectations from Joe consumer. Wasn't there a thread someone started "I'm convinced all DVI players are bad" or something like that? :)

Player manufacturers seem to be having a hard time lately with just component in comparison to earlier products on the marketplace. Slim pickings for excellent PQ currently IMHO with current players! I'm having a heck of a time with just that currently although I admit I'm having fun trying :)

alpinefool: the Sammy HD841 and HD941 output 768p with timings that won't sync with the Sony HS10/HS20. Your options for 1:1 pixel mapping with your HS20 is the Bravo D1/D2 and the Momitsu as far as I know. I have a Bravo D1 connected to my HS10 using 768p 1:1 pixel mapping and the picture quality is amazing.

Thanks for all the great info.

I am in the market for a new DVD player, possibly an up-conversion to component unit, and am finding all this information very helpful, but a little confusing. I have the Hitachi 36SDX01S 36" Digital/HDTV with 1 component input and 2 VGA/PC inputs. I hope to soon purchase a Yamaha RX-V750 receiver to take advantage of the up-conversion to component so I can use the receiver to switch between DVD player, the Moto 6200 HD STB and the up-converted versions of my Tivo series 1 and VCR. Can the receiver perform the up-conversion to 1080i (meaning I would not need an up-converting DVD player) or would it need to be done by the player itself? Would running the up-converting DVD player through the receiver to the TV down-covert the signal? Also, can an HTPC do this up-conversion through the component out of a good video card? Can you play a DVD in a computer’s drive, run the video signal out the component output to the TV and achieve the same up-conversion you would from the up-converting DVD player?

Originally posted by cpalcott
Thanks for all the great info.

I am in the market for a new DVD player, possibly an up-conversion to component unit, and am finding all this information very helpful, but a little confusing. I have the Hitachi 36SDX01S 36" Digital/HDTV with 1 component input and 2 VGA/PC inputs. I hope to soon purchase a Yamaha RX-V750 receiver to take advantage of the up-conversion to component so I can use the receiver to switch between DVD player, the Moto 6200 HD STB and the up-converted versions of my Tivo series 1 and VCR. Can the receiver perform the up-conversion to 1080i (meaning I would not need an up-converting DVD player) or would it need to be done by the player itself? Would running the up-converting DVD player through the receiver to the TV down-covert the signal? Also, can an HTPC do this up-conversion through the component out of a good video card? Can you play a DVD in a computer’s drive, run the video signal out the component output to the TV and achieve the same up-conversion you would from the up-converting DVD player?

I think what you mention can be done and a lot of members are doing so. There is a HTPC forum (on Avs itself). Ask the Q there and I am sure you shall get a lot of answers and good tips. More members dedicated towards doing that than here...

Originally posted by WynsWrld98
alpinefool: the Sammy HD841 and HD941 output 768p with timings that won't sync with the Sony HS10/HS20. Your options for 1:1 pixel mapping with your HS20 is the Bravo D1/D2 and the Momitsu as far as I know. I have a Bravo D1 connected to my HS10 using 768p 1:1 pixel mapping and the picture quality is amazing.

the specs on the Bravo D2 don't mention output at 768p, only 720p and 1080i. Is this a feature on the D1 that disappeared on D2? I have a GWII and I'm trying to find information about best PQ from upconverting DVD players. Wich one would be the best for me?

The Bravo D1/D2 and Momitsu allow custom resolutions to be specified (with custom timings). This is a very cool feature and is exactly why I'm using the Bravo with my Sony HS10 so I can accomplish 1:1 pixel mapping easily.

Originally posted by mallu2u
Finally purchased this player from Tweeter this evening. Did not get time to set it up earlier. Just finished testing it a bit. Gotta say..so far its a mixed bag. Currently I have a Panasonic CV51 Player..4 yrs old...non-progressive. I hooked this player up via COMPONENT cable to my Sony 60" RP XBR TV. Review is based on that...I wanted to get its true comparison to old player.

Positives

- setup was very easy
- Bit better colors..not a whole lot
- Fast loader
- Very responsive remote
- Chapter change fast


Negatives

- Not a whole lot of difference in PQ in 480i mode from old Panny
- When changed to 480p mode, slightly better colors...definitely better scaling since I saw some dithering on a particular dvd with old player...very less with this player...liked that
- When in 480p mode, TV does not recognize that the movie is in widescreen mode!!! I have to change the mode manually in TV. Ridiculous. Even my old panny did that right. Works perfect in 480i. Real big negative
- PQ was slightly better...not a whole lot than old panny...colors slightly better..
- Mode to change colors, brightness not very intuitive..colors were pretty low by default. Had to set it at +6 to get them to my liking.
- Resume is only temp and for current movie. Does not have mutiple DVD memory
- Overall Interface is very basic..not at all somewhat sexier that I was have imagined...
- Layer change is pathetic! Player almost pauses for a 1 second before resuming....panny was the same...did not like that

Will try MP3 CD and DVD +RW tomorrow. Need to record one. Will also buy a DVI cable and see what the upscaling buzz is all abt.

In a nutshell, I would NOT buy the player, if I was buying for component only. Nothing really worth spending another 250 bucks...old panny would be fine for that. BUT lets see the DVI now..that is the main reason I have bought this player and am hoping I like to PQ of that.

Let me know if any of you folks have any Qs for me.


So the above were my thoughts via component. Now over DVI.


Summary

- Not much difference at all when changed from component to DVI (at 480p)
- No black crush or white crush issues
- Picture is BETTER with black control OFF
- When upscaled to 1080i, Definitely better picture...meaning better Colors, more clarity, sharper image
- Plays DVD +RW effortlessly. Will to try MP3 CD tonite. Want to see the interface.
- User Manual is quite poor for this player.
- It was quite painful to go to the DVD Player to constantly change between component and DVI and then between 480/720/1080 modes for DVI. Wish the remote had that. But that ok since once set, there is not much need to change it, except when watching 4:3 DVD.

But I would like to add, upscaling to DVI even to 1080i was no jaw-dropping experience to me. Based on reviews earlier from people, my expectations were high. But I gotta say, the difference is definitely visible but not earth-shattering. And yes, NO COMPARISON TO HD at all!! HDTV is way better than this player's upscaling to 1080i. I am not sure if 2910 or 3910 shall offer better picture to 1910. I need to get info on that.

In short, I am not sure if Denon 1910 is my answer to upscaling. I have ordered the Zenith DVB 318 as well to compare that should arrive by tomorrow or day after. Will compare the two. I think now I shall also need to compare this player with Panny S97 or Sammy 941 before I decide on it. I did get this player for $230 plus tax and therefore the price is quite good. But I am not seeing much feature/cost benefit in keeping this player.

Let me know if you guys have any Qs.

My folks just got the Sammy HLP 50" DLP set. Would the best choice taking into consideration budget vs. quality be for the DVB318 or the Sammy HD841? How does the scaler in the Samsung compare to the Zenith? I imagine I would prefer the Sammy w/ DVI connection at 720p, right? I read that 720p with the Zenith is not very good.

Thanks for your insight!

Jeff

I would go with the 1910 since, as you say, the Zenith shines at 1080i but not at 720p (which is what you should output since that is the native resolution of the DLP). The Sammy 841 is just not a very good player (the 941 should be a lot better due to a better deinterlacer/scaler).

Thanks BillP.

Just started looking for this online and have yet to find anyplace other than Crutchfield?

CrutchField, Abt Electronics. I shall update the first post as well.

bump

Originally posted by mallu2u
CrutchField, Abt Electronics. I shall update the first post as well.
Updated the above info in the first post...do let me know if and where u find good deals on the above players and I shall continue to update the post.

Originally posted by BillP
I would go with the 1910 since, as you say, the Zenith shines at 1080i but not at 720p (which is what you should output since that is the native resolution of the DLP). The Sammy 841 is just not a very good player (the 941 should be a lot better due to a better deinterlacer/scaler).

Thanks for your suggestion, I looked at the Denon 1910 (well, looked at the specs) , canceled the 318 and went with the Denon. Much appreciated!

Jeff

Newbie question. How do you determine your TV's native resolution. I have the Hitachi 36SDX01S 36" Digital/HDTV with 1 component input and 2 VGA/PC inputs.

I believe native resolutions only apply to fixed pixel displays like lcd's and dlp's. CRT picture tube tv's do not have a fixed number of pixels, and thus no native resolution. Your Hitachi can display all resolutions without relevance to any native resolution.

My Bravo D1 just died. I have a non HDCP TV source. This is a lot of info. I have looked at the mentioned DVD Players, and realize that I am limited to some extent because of the non HDCP issue. I use the DVI to up convert. I am trying to fine the best player considering this issue under $1000. I don't want to go through the troubles I've had with this DVD Player. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

Joe,

You are in an bad spot. The only non-HDCP players are all problematic, inexpensive players (or a very expensive AYRE). Hollywood has the DVD player manufacturers by the throat (and indirectly you..the consumer).

You can try another BRAVO clone (e.g. D2, Momitsu, Zenith). All cheap, all potentially problematic.

Perhaps a compatible, HDCP display is the more value oriented upgrade for you.

Thanks Jeff,
That is what I thought. My Yamaha was $4800 and is still a great machine. I was hoping to find a good upgrade, but like you stated everything of good quality is HDCP. I appreciate your help in this matter.

Posted my thoughts on Zenith vs Denon 1910 here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4380085#post4380085, if you guys are interested.

Originally posted by EricScott
Why hasn't there been any talk about this Toshiba upconverting DVD player - the SD-5970?

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvd/product.asp?model=SD-5970

Apparently it is available now and costs $200 - $250. Doesn't appear to be a universal player but it has HDMI.

Anyone have any idea if Toshiba's "Digital Cinema Progressive 3:2 Pulldown" is any good - esp. compared to DCDi?

Would be curious to know what people think about this player.

Eric: Have you seen this thread? : http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=447994
Bad review for Toshiba player

Originally posted by mallu2u
Eric: Have you seen this thread? : http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=447994
Bad review for Toshiba player

Mallu2u,

Thanks for the link and for your comparison of the Zenith and the Denon. I am not in any rush so I am going to wait for the Samsung 941 to come out - I"m on TVA's pre-order list. If it works well I'll keep it. If not, I'll probably get the Denon or maybe the Sony or Panasonic if they are out by then.

I really want DCDi however and AFAIK, neither the Sony nor the Panasonic have it.

Originally posted by EricScott
I really want DCDi however and AFAIK, neither the Sony nor the Panasonic have it.

The thread for the Panasonic DVD-S97 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=443225) indicates that it does offer the DCDi.

You know a funny thing Eric. Someone has started a thread after they talked to a Sammy Rep that Sammy 941 might not get released at all! LOL. IF that is true, Sammy must have something terribly wrong with the player. On the other hand, most sales reps were generally not very well informed anyway and tend to speculate, which they should not. BB guys are the same...:) Dont have the link to that thread right now but search on 941 and u shall find it. If not, let me know. I am betting that Panny shall be one of the best players around. I am myself thinking of returning the Denon 1910 and Zenith and waiting for the Sony and Panny Players..will be very hard decision for me but I might end up doing that.

Originally posted by Adam Tyner
The thread for the Panasonic DVD-S97 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=443225) indicates that it does offer the DCDi.

Nice. So the Panny is now towards the top of my list - esp. if Samsung never releases the 941 :)

Good Guys is advertising the Sony dvp-ns975v in their flyer today 9.26.04

Originally posted by HTBruceM
Good Guys is advertising the Sony dvp-ns975v in their flyer today 9.26.04

I just saw the good guys flyer at their site and was wondering why they have it now when amazon.com says october?

what is their price for the sony player? link for the flyer please.

It was in their Sunday newspaper insert, in the Portland, OR area. No online links that I know of. It said "New at Good Guys". It was listed for MSRP - $299 (at least that's what I think the MSRP is).

Bruce: Since u live there, could you call them and confirm if they have the player in stock?

Will do, when I get a chance.

Found it at their web site... Click on "See Store Ad" in the upper left corner, type in Portland, OR. It's on page 5 of the flyer, bottom right. It says "in-store only". Here is the detail URL:
http://goodguys.crossmediaservices.com/goodguys/default.aspx?action=browsepagedetail&storeid=2415632&rapid=76267&pagenumber=5&listingid=-2097778077&ref=%2fgoodguys%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3dbrowsepagesingle%2 6storeid%3d2415632%26rapid%3d76267%26pagenumber%3d5

Thanks! Saw it now.

Sorry about the false start..... I just called the store. They have none in-store, now showing back ordered and no ship date.

Originally posted by HTBruceM
Sorry about the false start..... I just called the store. They have none in-store, now showing back ordered and no ship date.

Haha, how the hell did they manage to advertise it then? That sucks.

you guys all seem to suffering a lot. The Zenith DVB-318 does it all. Price, DVI, Component up convert. Using 1080i -- it beats 'em all hands down.
There ain;t any competition.

If it only had HDMI I would get one without a moments delay! Current projector's DVI port is being utilized by the HD Sat Receiver, & the HDMI port is just awaiting for a solid upconverting DVD player. I would imagine there are several others with the same situation!

You can use a DVI-->HDMI conversion cable - no problem. Besides, the Sony uses the HDMI connector.

FYI...the 941 manual is now available - check this post

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4423009#post4423009

Anyone know what chipset the Sony dvp-ns975v will be using?

Anyone have updates on when the Panny HDMI player is going to be released? As I recall, this was supposed to be released this past Spring. This llllllooooooonnnnnngggggg delay is becoming quite disturbing.

Check this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=451730. Apparently, Rider mentions that this player be available mid-oct. However...so far only he has heard this info. I would be happy as well if its true.

Thanks mallu2u. This looks pretty promising.

Serick: Actually this is the thread that mentions that Panny players availability: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=451730 Attached the old panny thread earlier...

Sony's DVP-NS975V is listed at Sony Style (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid==?ProductSKU=DVPNS975V&Dept=hav&CategoryName=hav_DVD_DVDPlayers), and the manual (http://www.sonystyle.com/intershoproot/eCS/Store/en/documents/specifications/DVPNS975V.pdf) is also online. It's listed as shipping on/around November 8th.

thanks for the udpate. Site must have been updated this morning. Was nothing there till yesterday evening. I shall update the first post now.

Why isn't this thread a sticky? Mallu: Contact the mods and ask them to do it please.

Did that Eric. Waiting to hear back from them.

Yes! Finally! :D

I noticed a few things while surfing around tonight. I'd post links (infact I had the whole thing typed out already) but the forum won't let me until my next post.

1) Samsung doesn't even list the 941 on their website anymore.

2) Tonight is the first time I noticed any info on the S97 on Panasonic's website.

3) The LG DVB-418 looks very promising and there is thread about it in this forum.

I'm crossing my fingers that either the S97 or the DVB-418 will not have the HDMI -> DVI black crush issue.

I shall add the LG player on the first post later today. Not sure why Samsung took off 941 from their website. Is this an indication that the player might not be released anytime in the near future. Again, shall mention in the first post.

Updated the first post with LG DVB418 player info as well as bad news regarding Sammy player...

Got an email from Samsung.The 941 comes out in Nov.

Good. I shall wait for the player to be back on the website and then change the info. These companies have a nasty habit of not living up to their promises. Still wonder why they took off the player from website if they are indeed releasing in Nov.

I just got a Panasonic RP62, haven't tried it on anything but an Analog TV yet... will post when I get it hooked up to my X1.

Hey guys, I don't post really here but just to let you know Good Guys has the Sony DVD Player DVP-NS975V. I'm gonna go check it out and see how it is.

John: I am not sure if they currently carry the player (at least yet). I know it was mentioned in a flyer a week back but when a local member called them, they told him that the player is not yet available.
If you do get the player, do give us the good news. :)

Okay, I've browsed through all of the pages in this thread and others that mentions the Samsung HD841.

Maybe the old threads been deleted but what's interesting is that while people say that it has a black crush issue, they don't say whether it happens at all the resolutions or only on the 1080i/720p upconverted video. Or that it happens only on the DVI output and not the component output at the upconverted. So if there's a link that reviews this player extensively, I'd like to know! And that includes reviews of its SACD and DVD/A capabilities!

As far as I know, the HD841 doesn't do Divx. Samsung here has released the HD784 with Divx capability as well as playing DVD-A/V and SACD plus all the other formats there. It looks just like the HD841.


fuad

Originally posted by WriteSimple
Okay, I've browsed through all of the pages in this thread and others that mentions the Samsung HD841.

Maybe the old threads been deleted but what's interesting is that while people say that it has a black crush issue, they don't say whether it happens at all the resolutions or only on the 1080i/720p upconverted video. Or that it happens only on the DVI output and not the component output at the upconverted. So if there's a link that reviews this player extensively, I'd like to know! And that includes reviews of its SACD and DVD/A capabilities!

As far as I know, the HD841 doesn't do Divx. Samsung here has released the HD784 with Divx capability as well as playing DVD-A/V and SACD plus all the other formats there. It looks just like the HD841.


I too would be interested in this. I have been looking at DVI capable DVD players. I looks like the the Zenith/LG is getting the best reviews. But I think it looks a little ugly. I really love the way the the HD841 (and soon to be released 941) look. My only concern with the HD841 is the quality issue. I saw on another thread that there were a lot of returns for thhe 841. Don't much like the sound of that. But if the quality is related to a single batch, then I am not so concerned.

The 841 is a nightmare. Steer clear at all costs. Get the Zenith instead.

Samsung DVD test info:http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all&type=DVD+Player&manufacturer=27&maxprice=0&deInt=0&mpeg=0


Zenith test info: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all&type=DVD+Player&manufacturer=53&maxprice=0&deInt=0&mpeg=0

Get the Zenith and if it's an older model, get the firmware and you'll have the best DVI player easily anywhere near this price range.

Originally posted by Q of BanditZ
The 841 is a nightmare. Steer clear at all costs. Get the Zenith instead.

Samsung DVD test info:http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all&type=DVD+Player&manufacturer=27&maxprice=0&deInt=0&mpeg=0



The above link doesn't say that it's a nightmare. It just say that it's a decent player with a few quibbles.

Again, that "review" only tests the DVD-V capability and not the DVD-A or SACD side of things. Even if there are problems with the DVI output, the review said that its component outputs are fine. I know this is an upconversion DVD player thread but the HD841 is much more than just that.

Still looking for good reviews out there!


fuad

Originally posted by WriteSimple
The above link doesn't say that it's a nightmare. It just say that it's a decent player with a few quibbles.


True, and will the average user notice the difference. I my buy them both and return the one I don't like.


Again, that "review" only tests the DVD-V capability and not the DVD-A or SACD side of things. Even if there are problems with the DVI output, the review said that its component outputs are fine. I know this is an upconversion DVD player thread but the HD841 is much more than just that.

Still looking for good reviews out there!


fuad

Ya, but I think I am looking for DVI. Unless upconverted component is better. Which I don't think is true.

Just a quick reminder the Sammy 841 will not upconvert over component! Only over DVI and there it definately has black crush issues and possibly also white crush issues due to Sammy's poor choice in PC Video format over Video (it's a longer story than that but there's the short of it). The

Zenith 318 with firmware versions before July 04 will upconvert over DVI and component and has no crush issues over component (over DVI it has white crush which is _substatually_ less significant of an issue compared to black crush). If you want only DVI Zenith has the newer firmware that total fixes the white crush but complete disables the upconverting over component.

I have also seen people mention issues with lip-sync issues on the Sammy Upconverting players (I'm sure the 931 had it and I beliieve I read the 841 does also) with play back of DTS tracks. It seems it is signifcant enough to make some return the Sammy upconvert players.

These (among others I have forgotten) are other "quirks" with the Sammy line that are "missing" in other brands upconverts which I believe is the reason "Q" wrote such a harse line about staying away from them. YMMV

Well, good luck to trying to find some really good reviews about any Sammy DVD player out there. Here's a hint: You won't.

Not trying to be harsh about it, but, even just in this forum alone, if you use the search, you're going to call up a hefty number of Samsung DVD bug threads. Some of them are gone now, because the mods cleaned out some older stuff.

I'll say here what I said in another thread: Samsung has yet to make a really good DVD player. I really don't like them in this marketplace at all and I recommend steering clear. That's my $0.02. Good luck.

I think Lip Synch issues could be coz of Sammy TVs than then player. I have heard from so many members who have Sammy DLPs have experienced Lip Synch issues...

Man! I went to Good Guys, and they said they had some that they shipped out but they're completely sold out. I then checked out the Sammy 831? I wan't impressed. So then I checked out the Denon 2910, and I think I mioght get that one instead