Originally posted by mismatched
how do you get to Auto 1 vs 2 settings in the menu. novice here!!

m

PS Now I know why we Denon owners need these threads. The Denon owners "manuals" are just awful!!

Auto1 is the default setting out of the box. To change the settings hit the 'setup' button in the bottom left corner of the remote. The setup menu will appear. Go to the third option from the left and there you will see the different options for Auto1, Auto2, Video1 etc. Note that these settings ONLY make a difference if the 'Progressive' Video output setting is toggled a few options above. If you are using the 'Interlaced' setting, the Auto1/Auto2/Video options don't do anything.

Another Novice question.

When setting my 2910 to 1080I, should I set the Menu settings to "progressive" or "interlaced" or does it not matter?

Thx,
Claude

Originally posted by mismatched
how do you get to Auto 1 vs 2 settings in the menu. novice here!!
...PS Now I know why we Denon owners need these threads. The Denon owners "manuals" are just awful!!

Page 33 in the manual.

Originally posted by 95 Silver TA
When setting my 2910 to 1080I, should I set the Menu settings to "progressive" or "interlaced" or does it not matter?


AFAIK, it shouldn't matter. I have mine set to 720p via HDMI for DVDs, and keep the setting on interlaced, so that I can use the Zoom picture setting on my Samsung for viewing letterboxed 4:3 SVCDs via component (it will only Zoom 480i, not 480p).

Originally posted by bruce73
Page 33 in the manual.

you can understand the manual???!!!

Hello, this is my first post, and I hope that someone can help with two problems of mine.

I have a component video connection between my 2910 and a 4:3 analog television. The problem is that when I am viewing letterboxed DVD material, there is a thin white horizontal line at or just below the bottom of the film - the line is close to the divide between the film and the lower black bar. (Actually, even when I am watching something with 2.35:1 ratio, the white line appears where the bottom of a 1.85:1 film would appear.) When I experiment and use the Video Setup to change my TV type to Wide (16:9), then the line disappears, but the images are squeezed, regardless of whether I have the squeeze mode on or off. The white line is still there when I use an S-video connection instead.

I determined that my unit's firmware is version ESS6720-4, and have contacted Denon to ask for the newest version, which I believe ends in -5.

I have a second, less major problem, which is that when I play a CD on the 2910 and am recording that disk to a blank CDR in my Pioneer CD recorder, sometimes 2 or more tracks are joined together as a single track. This may be related to something I notice while watching the 2910’s onscreen display. Usually the display (when showing elapsed time) starts at 00:00 as a track begins. Sometimes, however, when I am playing consecutive tracks in the 2910, I see one track’s full elapsed time followed by 00:01 as the next track begins. Again, I do not know if this is related to the problem of recording a CD played on the 2910.

Thank you.

Originally posted by ac388
Do you guys think the rush to buy a 2910 will stop now, when Benchmark said it only had a 86 rating, while everybody expect it will be close to what 3910 got ???

Well, the 3910's suggested retail is $1299 and it scored a 93, and the 2910's suggested retail is $679, and that scored an 86. If you broke down the difference in price versus the difference in score, it would work out to about $88.57 per point. Is the difference really worth it? Besides, the Shootout did conclude its review of the 2910 by saying: "Overall, this is another solid offering from Denon and currently the most recommend unit of their line below the DVD-3910."

i've had the 2910 since almost the first day it came out...I'm glad I haven't read any of this thread really because I'm very happy with mine, flawless picture thus far and superb audio!

-ELmO

I would agree although I have only had mine for about two weeks. But listening to Kathleen Battle and Christopher Parkening right now with the volume turned up (wife is out shopping) and it is wonderful. I would imagine that the 3910 is even better but .....

And watched "Hero" on DVD the other night and my wife is now convinced that getting all this new HT stuff including the Samsung 5674 (WOW!-and I dont work for Samsung) was worth it.

Huge sigh of relief

m

2910 is a great value, has best price-to-performance ratio (in my personal opinion); and is reflected in it being very often on backorder at many authorized dealers.

I actually found the Secrets descriptive reviews to make the players sound VERY similar. The slight CUE is the only thing that has made me nervous but I have yet to see it in program material.

Yeah tell me about the backorder issue!!

Originally posted by bferr1
Well, the 3910's suggested retail is $1299 and it scored a 93, and the 2910's suggested retail is $679, and that scored an 86. If you broke down the difference in price versus the difference in score, it would work out to about $88.57 per point. Is the difference really worth it? Besides, the Shootout did conclude its review of the 2910 by saying: "Overall, this is another solid offering from Denon and currently the most recommend unit of their line below the DVD-3910."

Don't get me wrong, I have a 2910 now n quite happy with it. But I am saying where were those guys now, when they said the 3910 n 2910 had same picture quality after comparing them side by side.

Originally posted by gtbdevs
Is the 2910 located in any B&M stores in Northern NJ, I have this unit on order from Crutchfield, which they don't have in stock.

This afternoon, the estimated receive date was 12/30/04, I just checked the website, and now the estimated date of arrival is 1/14/05.

I can't wait that long, I tried 6th ave electronics, but for some reason they don't have the 2910 according to there website.


Any place else I can look?

TIA


6th Ave. Electronics B&M stores have a tremendously larger inventory than what is sold online. I bought my 2910 from there for an excellent price(Lower than any web price I have seen). Check it out.

Thanks,

But, I did find it in STOCK at abt electronics, they are an authorized DENON dealer.

You might also want to try **********. Though they are not listed as an authorized Denon dealer, they are. They have a special dealer status and the Denon products come with full warranty. You would have to call them up (talk to Sean or Steve) about this.

Another plus: the prices are much better than anywhere else.

Deeptrouble

did ********** have teh 2910 in silver in stock??? That is my problem, backordered blues!! And have you ordered from them previously??

thanks

m

PS I went to the Av123 site and could not find any Denon porducts listed and could not find a search their site button???

Yes. They have silver in stock (at least when I ordered from them).

You will not find Denon products on their site. They are not supposed to advertise/expressly state that they are authorized Denon dealers. You can find their toll-free number on their contact page. Give them a call and they will process your order (ask for Steve or Sean). You can ask them why they are not listed on the Denon page.

I have ordered a Denon AVR 2805 and DVD-2910 from them. Awesome service. They offer you a 30 day, no questions asked return policy too. You wont be disappointed.

In fact, I received a silver 2910, but I wanted black. Steve shipped me a black one as soon as I called him about it. I received the black today and the silver went back to them with the same UPS guy.

Hope this helps.

Deep

I talked to Steve and they do NOT sell Denon products individually but only when bundled with their other products.

bummer,

mismatched

Aah!! Is that the thing?
I had ordered all my speakers from them too.

Too bad. Sorry about that.

Could use some help!

I just received my 2910, build date is 11/04, checked the firmware, it has the -4.

Went to the Denon product upgrade page, entered my model # and serial #, it said, that there are no upgrades for this model?

Isn't the -5 firmware available from the site?

Does anybody happen to have the file, that they could send me?

TIA

PS - Don't want to make any setting changes until I have the -5 loaded.

Thanks, again.

email Denon contactservice@denonnj.com

and ask for the firmware -5 for the 2910 (CD_. They ship it out very fast!

When I am listening to a CD, SACD or DVD-Audio disk, and I hit the Search button to go backward, the music will only go search back as far as the beginning of that particular track, not into the ending of the previous track. Thus if I want to search toward the end of a 20-minute track, I have to start at that track and search in the forward direction.

Do all 2910s behave like this? Thanks.

How do I determine the firmware version of my player?

Originally posted by NUPE009
How do I determine the firmware version of my player?

1. Turn the small power button off on the front of the unit.
2. Hold down the PLAY and OPEN/CLOSE buttons on the front of the unit, both at the same time.
3. Turn the power back on and continue holding the buttons for 3 seconds, then let go.
4. After "II LOADING" shows on the display, press the 3,2,6,5 buttons on the remote (in that order) and then press the MENU button to see the version (continuing to press the MENU button 4 more times will give all of the info).
5. Power off to exit.

Originally posted by gtbdevs
Could use some help!

I just received my 2910, build date is 11/04, checked the firmware, it has the -4.

Went to the Denon product upgrade page, entered my model # and serial #, it said, that there are no upgrades for this model?

Isn't the -5 firmware available from the site?

Does anybody happen to have the file, that they could send me?

TIA

PS - Don't want to make any setting changes until I have the -5 loaded.

Thanks, again.

I just downloaded the -5 from Denon today. Followed the excellent instructions and had no problems with firmware update.

Initially, I was a bit upset after reading the Secrets scores, but support is only one of the many things NOT included in the score that makes me glad I paid the extra dollars for the Denon.

Originally posted by Gooddoc
...Initially, I was a bit upset after reading the Secrets scores, but support is only one of the many things NOT included in the score that makes me glad I paid the extra dollars for the Denon.

I agree. I also factor into my take of the Secrets review that it is very comprehensive and any "flaws" are most likely things that someone with my modest knowledge and HT setup would never notice. Bottom line, I'm very satisfied with my purchase.

After all the research here and bought the 2910, the difference of Picture quality compared to my Bravo D1 is minimal (talking about $179 vs. $650), I am thinking
maybe my Sammy DLP did a pretty good job in scaling so the PQ difference is not
that much. Then here comes the DVD-Audio part, 3 of my 5 DVD-A disc were not recognized by 2910. And the DVD-A disc that can be played - the 6 analog multi Channel analog input to my Pioneer Elite sounds way worse then using the PCM digital input.

IMHO - if your TV has a good scaler and you already have DVI equipped DVD player then the upgrade may not be worth it, what is your thought ?

As a Xmas present, can someone tell me if there is a "region free" version of the 2910 firmware newer than version -2?

Thanks,

Octavio

I wonder if the shootout was done before or after the firmware upgade to -5? If you look at the shootout table, the places where the auto 1/2 did not fare well was the areas that the firmware fixed, namely the chroma bug. Don't know if this would make the scores for the 2910 better?

I just got my 2910 connected up to my hlp4674, popped in Last Samarai & Finding Nemo, the picture just blew my wife and I away! Very happy customer...

Originally posted by mayhew
...the areas that the firmware fixed, namely the chroma bug.

This has been stated several times. However, in the .pdf file that accompanies the ~5 download, the two points listed as being addressed by this upgrade are:

1. Installs HDMI v.1.1
2. Correction for no DVD-A menus on DVI output

I can attest that I can now see DVD-A menus via HDMI where I couldn't before. But I have yet to see anywhere on Denon's site a mention of a fix for the chroma bug, green push or the like.

Just curious to know exactly what the firmware upgrade fixes.

I purchased my 2910 last weekend and I'm still not sure if it is all that I expected. The PQ only seems to be good during close up shots. Any wide angle or far off shots are grainy and lack sharpness. Are there any settings that I should modify in order to improve the PQ for those shots. I have tried changing the sharpness settings on the player but have not noticed any difference. It is connected over DVI to a Samsung HLM507W.

Originally posted by NUPE009
I purchased my 2910 last weekend and I'm still not sure if it is all that I expected. The PQ only seems to be good during close up shots. Any wide angle or far off shots are grainy and lack sharpness. Are there any settings that I should modify in order to improve the PQ for those shots. I have tried changing the sharpness settings on the player but have not noticed any difference. It is connected over DVI to a Samsung HLM507W.


Several people have written about this graininess or rougher/sharper type image the 2910 produces. It seems to be a part of the 2310 Faroujda chipset. Its not as bad on some material as others. It does sharpen the picture and it appears you can see more detail.

I don't like it, thought i did get used to it somewhat.

But you should post your display equipment and seek advice on your setttings.

Try Component. The HDMI of the Denon (OR the HDMI on my toshiba, likely the latter) produces a terrible picture. Major EE (when sharpness is at zero) and ghosting. Component looks superb...

-ELmO

HDMI produces a terrlble picture!!?? What display are you using? My 5674 Sammy looks terrific on HDMI especially after the firmware update!

I have 2 sets of those composite cables (Video, L & R). Can I use these to connect the analog audio outs from the 2910 to the receiver?

Will I need to get those high priced wires instead? Will I hear a big difference if I do?

Originally posted by DeepTrouble
I have 2 sets of those composite cables (Video, L & R). Can I use these to connect the analog audio outs from the 2910 to the receiver?

Will I need to get those high priced wires instead? Will I hear a big difference if I do?

In most cases you'll see that the Video cable is of a more robust nature than the L&R audio ones i.e. thicker. What I did was buy 3 sets of L&R just audio to make sure that they were all the same, connected with them and it sounds great. No need to go overboard with the cables as the DACs in this player are quite exceptional - I've re-invented my CD collection since getting this player. Now hearing things I never heard before.

P.S. Merry Xmas to all you 2910 owners, this unit together with a 2805 were great presents to myself :D

MY Display is a Sammy HLM507w DLP set. It does not have HDMI so I am using DVI. I've used the AVIA DVD to calibrate the set but the PQ just doesn't seem to be that of 650.00 player. I purchased the 1910 first and wasnt satisfied with it so I decided to go with the 2910 but I haven't seen much of a difference from the 1910. I'll spend some more time playing around with it today and hopefully I'll see a difference.

Toshiba DLP, samsung is a good set - but not that great for PS2 games (that's why I didn't buy it) - non progressive scan games on PS2 produce lag on samsung and are not that fun to play with.

Toshiba had electroni enhancement and mad ghosting with the HDMI input (PC or 2910). Component looks superb, though.

-ELmO

mismatched - did you upgrade to version 5 using your HDMI input or did you use composite/S as per instructions?

My 2910 looks awesome! Graininess will NEVER be totally taken away. You cant correct whats in the original recording. So underexposed outside shots might always be grainy.


People looking for answers about what version firmware is current and how to install..Look here...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=484547

I know its a pian but in the 40 pages of relipes on this thread, a lot of these questions have already been answered.

I posted this on another thread but maybe on the thread above, we should post the answers to most asked questions! Ill edit the first post to add things on...

Originally posted by BenF12400
mismatched - did you upgrade to version 5 using your HDMI input or did you use composite/S as per instructions?

yeah I did it with HDMI and it works fine as per a directive from a Denon service rep. Just follow the directions that came with your CD (and have been posted on this thread) and watch the display on your DVD player after you insert the disk. It takes about a minute or 2...

I purchased a 2910 today and, from the quick watch on it and my Samsung HLP5674 via DVI of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the picture looked fantastic. I've got an issue with my TV's HDMI connection, so hopefully that will be rounded out via repair on Thursday.

My Q is this ... I'm having a hard time justifying the ~$650 on the player when I'll be using it solely for watching DVD movies. No SACD, no DVD-Audio. Are there comparable players on the market that you could recommend purely for DVD video, or is this Denon really superb on the video front in that price range?

The best alternative is probably the panasonic S97. I bought it to try it out--also hoping to find something for less than the price of the 2910. The S97 does do some things OK, and a number of people seem to like it. The things that caused me to return it were a pink tinge in the whites (very noticeable in the 'reverse gray ramps' of the DVE calibration disk) and very heavy macro-blocking (much more than the minor MB of the 2910). But you might want to buy on a 30 return, to see if it will be good enough in your situation.

Originally posted by kevinha
I purchased a 2910 today and, from the quick watch on it and my Samsung HLP5674 via DVI of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the picture looked fantastic. I've got an issue with my TV's HDMI connection, so hopefully that will be rounded out via repair on Thursday.

My Q is this ... I'm having a hard time justifying the ~$650 on the player when I'll be using it solely for watching DVD movies. No SACD, no DVD-Audio. Are there comparable players on the market that you could recommend purely for DVD video, or is this Denon really superb on the video front in that price range?

I don't quite understand your problem?? You say the player is fantastic and yet you are questioning spending $650 on it? Then why did you buy it? and why do you like it so much? not trying to be nasty just suggesting that you give it a little more time. And heck maybe you will start listening to high end music to boot

Originally posted by kevinha
I purchased a 2910 today and, from the quick watch on it and my Samsung HLP5674 via DVI of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the picture looked fantastic. I've got an issue with my TV's HDMI connection, so hopefully that will be rounded out via repair on Thursday.


there is advice on this thread, I believe, re: the HDMI Sammy issue

for example I found this in my "archive":

As for making sure you have the right output on the 2910.... there is an HDMI/DVI button on the top left of the remote control that will toggle through: HDMI/DVI off, HDMI RGB, HDMI Y Cb Cr, and DVI. Make sure your display on the 2910 is one of the HDMI outputs. It should not matter what resolution you select (480, 720, 1080). The 2910 should be able to send all three to the Sammy.
And I have the same setup and mine works fine and my 2910 has an Aug 2004 build and wonder if yours is earlier. Did you set HDMI on and the 720P resolution in the 2910 menu? I had the same problem but once I did that it worked fine.

Mine is silver too! I read TJK's message but for some reason when I first set mine up I too could not get the HDMI to work until I forced the 720P, Its worth a try as I thought I had a defective player in the beginning.

I recently temporarily lost the sound on my 2910 (HDMI into JVC Dila) but sound worked via optical; I found that everything went back to normal once I pulled the HDMI from the TV and reinserted it - just an FYI

It's not that I don't think the 2910 is doing a great job ... I was impressed. My Q is more around do I *need* that much player? Can I be happy with something that is less expensive? Of course, only I can make that determination, but it's in trying to figure out what sets the price of the Denon 2910 at ~$650 vs. competing players that's running through my head.

Hell, considering that I'm coming from an XBOX as my DVD player, almost *anything* would be better :-)

He is not the only one justifying the money for the 2910. Between the off color palette, black macroblocking issue and green push alot of people questioned it. Now that those 3 issues have been greatly lessened but not completely cured, esp the green push on some material alot of the purchasers feel much better.

The 2910 has gone 3 firmware revision in just 1-2 months from -3 to -4 to -5. Denon told me on the tech support line as least one more is coming though they did not tell me what for. HDMI stuff perhaps? Whats left of the green push? The graininess?

However, its not that big an improvement over my 2 year 199$ Bravo D1 , which does NOT have the macroblocking issue, green push or color palette issue. It also does not have the graininess issue. I am one of the fortunate ones though, my Bravo D1 has been pretty much problem free.

For those who haven't picked up on it yet, on some film material with alot of natural skin tones and subtle shades of colors like you would see the fabrics in furnitures and fabrics, especially on 60's materials films, some of the color depth isn't quite there. Most people don't even spot it, the current theory is the 2310 faroujda chip giving a more video like appearance is the reason.

The black macroblocking issue is still there but greatly reduced. I have about 300 dvd's and most of all the different star trek series on dvds, where I see the black macroblocking issue still at times, but its very very reduced and usually not very visible in most scenes unless there are lots of shades of near black.

I think what the poster above is saying, is the 2910 really worth that price. To many on this board the price isn't much, but too most purchasers its still a decent chunk of change.

Of the current dvd players, the 3910 and 59avi seem the best in the upper price ranger, and then 2910 is the best stop up from the lower price range. So its in a nice place but still a bit of money.

Then when you consider it was beaten by Toshiba VCR/Toshiba combo the lastest Secrets DVD player benchmarks , it makes one really wonder why these companies just can't this stuff right the first time. The 2910 losing to a vdr/dvd combo still has jaws dropping.

As I said above, the best of the ~$300 players seems to be the panny s97. Simply get one (on a 30 day return option) and see if you like it well enough compared to the 2910 to justify the factor of 2 in price. I did choose to keep the 2910 and return the S97, but it's perfectly reasonable that other people will make the other choice.

millerwill, that's the insight I'm looking for; thank you very much. I'll take a look at the Panasonic S97. At $275, that's closer to my comfort level in price. I'm just not sure I'm going to get the additional $350 or so out of the 2910 as I don't think I'm as hardcore as some here.

But then again, I did shell out decent change for my Samsung HLP5674, so maybe it makes sense to do it justice with the DVD player. My biggest concern is popping serious cash on the Denon only to have HD DVD hit next year and then have to spend again.

Any good suggestions for how to compare the two DVD players in my own set up? Bring them both home and watch the same movies?

And, what is the black macroblocking issue everyone keeps referring to? I understand the green push, but not this macroblocking thing.

Thanks for assisting and the valuable insight!

look lets say that HD DVD players become available next year. how long do you think it will be before the players are affordable and that there is a great selection of HD DVDs to play on your $2000 player??

Seriously these changes do not happen overnite. Look how long it took for the DVD and player to obsolete the VHS and VCR ....

you got a great Samsung (same as I) and you will scrimp a few hundred bucks!!!

I had the 2910 and I upgraded to the 3910 for marginally better video and superior audio

think carefully

Originally posted by kevinha


Any good suggestions for how to compare the two DVD players in my own set up? Bring them both home and watch the same movies?

And, what is the black macroblocking issue everyone keeps referring to? I understand the green push, but not this macroblocking thing.

Thanks for assisting and the valuable insight!

The dvd that I like best for comparing players is 'Master and Commander'. The opening scenes are very dark and will test how the player resolves detail in dark scenes; and 'green push' will be evident if the player is inclined to it. Macro-blocking can be very apparant in the sky of the opening scene (of the ship sailing across the open ocean); the blue sky will be very splotchy if MB'ing is taking place (at least that's how I interpret it, but I'm certainly no expert). And of course, the first canonade is a great test of the sound!

Other people like 'Gladiator', LOTR, etc., so you may have your favorites. Just try them on both players and make up your own mind if there is any signficant difference to you. If you have the DVE calibration disk, it is also good to check BTB with the 'reverse gray ramps' of Title 12, Chapter 14.

I've been quite satisfied with my 2910 (European model), aside from the annoying scaling artifacts in 720p and that it doesn't deliver a proper 1080i-signal over DVI.
The Macro blocking issue I frankly haven't been able to notice and the green push is easlily compensated for on my PJ.

BUT: More and more discs are being rejected by the player! Two days ago I tried "Lion King 3" from Disney (region 2) and it locked during the loading phase. I had to restart the player byt switching off and on the main switch and then load the disc again. After a while it actually loaded the disc.
I've had this phenomena happen a lot with "backup discs" (which might be acceptable) but more and more original discs cause the player to lock during loading!
Also - an entirely new phenomena has arised: Sometimes when it locks during loading, the DVI-signal to the PJ is lost! This started only this latest week, I haven't noticed that earlier at all.

I really hate having to return stuff for service. :( Looks like this player will have to be returned after all... Gaaahh... I'm never going to get a player that makes me happy. :(

Originally posted by millerwill
[B]The dvd that I like best for comparing players is 'Master and Commander'. ...... And of course, the first canonade is a great test of the sound!

B]


Just be sure to nail down any valuable items before the canonade (and advise your spouse to leave the room!!)

Originally posted by mismatched
Just be sure to nail down any valuable items before the canonade (and advise your spouse to leave the room!!)

I agree wholeheartedly!

Tried to 2910 today for audio.I really wanted to like it but thought it (sorry owners) sucked.It really bothered me that they would have a fixed crossover at 80hz.Called the Denon tech & asked him if I run my speakers on large,if it would bypass it he had the gonads to tell me that I wouldn't want anything under 80hz to be in my speaker.That anything below that was not music.I'm thinking"this guy gets paid for telling me this garbage?"needless to say I'm still gonna stay with my Sony 999ES for audio.Especially SACD.Another thing,at that crossover point if you're running speakers on large,they sound like cheap radio speakers.I run Maggies & they sounded bad,which is a first.2910 gets 2 thumbs down for SACD

I run audio from the dvd player via a digital audio cable direct to my AV receiver and thus care nothing about the dvd player but it video capabilities.

Does the Denon product update website work? I entered my serial number and it said that there are no upgrades available at this time. I checked my firmware version and it's -2 so I know that there is a later version based on what I've read in this forum. I called Denon support and the technician said that I am supposed to get updates from the website but she agreed to mail it to me

I don't know if it works, I think Denon's website needs to be updated, it's quite plain - hard to read the specs of their equipment too.
-ELmO

NUPE009, I had the same problem last night. After doing it two or three times, it finally took. Couldn't explain why, but it did finally work.

Originally posted by NUPE009
Does the Denon product update website work? I entered my serial number and it said that there are no upgrades available at this time. I checked my firmware version and it's -2 so I know that there is a later version based on what I've read in this forum. I called Denon support and the technician said that I am supposed to get updates from the website but she agreed to mail it to me


They may have the 2910 firmware down. I have called for the -4 and -5 versions on the phone. In once of the calls, the tech said he was 100% sure there would be at least one more if not 2 more 2910 firmware updates.

So maybe one is about to be released. He would not tell me what was in them but did hint something that had to do with HDMI would be it. I know support for HDMI audio or something was just added to the 2910 firmware menus in the last update I think.

Mostly likely a new firmware version is about to be posted on Denon's site.

Originally posted by NUPE009
Does the Denon product update website work? I entered my serial number and it said that there are no upgrades available at this time. I checked my firmware version and it's -2 so I know that there is a later version based on what I've read in this forum. I called Denon support and the technician said that I am supposed to get updates from the website but she agreed to mail it to me

Weird because I entered my serial number 3 nights ago and it said there was an update (-5) available. I downloaded the new firmware directly from the Denon site, followed the CD-burning instructions and it uploaded into my 2910 without any problems.

If anyone wants the -5 firmware for the (US spec) 2910 I would be more than happy to email it to you. Let me know at agm3@sbcglobal.net

Can the 2910 play 'Superbit' dvd's? I'm trying to play 'Lawrence of Arabia' right now, the superbit version, and the sound is fine (DTS) but there is no picture. ???? Thanks for any help!

PS Is there any setting that must be changed in order to play a superbit dvd?

Originally posted by millerwill
Can the 2910 play 'Superbit' dvd's? I'm trying to play 'Lawrence of Arabia' right now, the superbit version, and the sound is fine (DTS) but there is no picture. ???? Thanks for any help!

Yes it can. I played the superbit version of Panic Room on it a few days ago.

Originally posted by NUPE009
Yes it can. I played the superbit version of Panic Room on it a few days ago.

Did you have to change any of the settings from the ones for regular dvd's?

No I didn't have to make any changes to play superbit DVDs. Does it fail on all outputs? I'm using DVI.

Thanks all for replying. I'm now on track! It was just the 'credits' that had no video; I fastforwarded on to the movie itself, and the video was there! And quite spectacular.

Superbit is just a normal DVD, but branded as "Superbit". There is nothing special about it, except presumably more care in the mastering and higher bitrates. Any normal DVD can be made this way, and many are!

they also give you a DTS version on superbit..

Just in case you are interested, Lumagen starts to offer SDI mod to Denon 2910 at $499. Combined with our video processors/scalers that accept SDI inputs, the best uncompromsing picture quality can be achieved. Besides Denon 2910 we also offer SDI mods to other Denon and Panasonic players at this time.

Please check out our web site www(dot)lumagen(dot)com for more informaiton. Go to "Products" then "Services" for the detailed information. You can also send email to support@lumagen.com for any questions that you may have.

Cheers,

Brian

Originally posted by millerwill
It was just the 'credits' that had no video; I fastforwarded on to the movie itself, and the video was there!

I believe that music-without-video is the roadshow overture. Music to be heard before the film starts....

I was wondering if anyone has swapped out the power cable with something else and noticed any changes in its picture quality.

I was told by a Denon tech on the phone that at least 2 more firmware updates are coming. Then I read on here in one of the posts about what it might include.

Anyone know? I know some HDMI stuff was just added to -5.

Also the European firmware versions our -5 seem to be one number ahead, meaning I have heard people refer to the firmware version over there as -6 that is our -5 as far as equivalent functions/fix level.

NEW Denon DVD-2910 owner here...just got it last week.

AWESOME!!!!

It still has the -4 Firmware on it. Built in November 04.
Denon tells me there is no upgrade, although I know there is because I have the -4. Anyone want to send it to me?? Pretty please?

Anyway...I am using the 2910 on a Pioneer 53" Widescreen Rear Projection.
I guess I'm not as big a Home Theater dork as I thought, because I DO NOT see ANY green in the blacks and I DO NOT see ANY Macroblocking. No, I am not blind. I love this player. It BLOWS away my Pioneer (forget the model #, but it was old). I am using Component out and 480p though. Is this the reason I don't see the green and the macroblocking?

So the -5 firmware should help make the picture even better?
I have to see it to believe it because the picture with the -4 firmware is AMAZING. Like I said, I don't see the green or the macroblocking.

Lucky me I guess.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE DENON DVD-2910.

Originally posted by TheSkeptiks
NEW Denon DVD-2910 owner here...just got it last week.

AWESOME!!!!

It still has the -4 Firmware on it. Built in November 04.
Denon tells me there is no upgrade, although I know there is because I have the -4. Anyone want to send it to me?? Pretty please?

Anyway...I am using the 2910 on a Pioneer 53" Widescreen Rear Projection.
I guess I'm not as big a Home Theater dork as I thought, because I DO NOT see ANY green in the blacks and I DO NOT see ANY Macroblocking. No, I am not blind. I love this player. It BLOWS away my Pioneer (forget the model #, but it was old). I am using Component out and 480p though. Is this the reason I don't see the green and the macroblocking?

So the -5 firmware should help make the picture even better?
I have to see it to believe it because the picture with the -4 firmware is AMAZING. Like I said, I don't see the green or the macroblocking.

Lucky me I guess.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE DENON DVD-2910.

As Kris Deering and many members have posted, some types of displays do not show the issues as much as others, in your case, looks like none of them, enjoy your purchase!

You will still need the newer firmwares, -5 contained additional HDMI functionality and a -6 with who knows what is supposedly coming.

I just received the -5 Firmware.

Will install it tonight.

I just installed my denon 2910s today, connecting the 6ch analog out to my HK AVR-430's 6/8ch analog in. went to play a SACD, DVD-A and DVD and all of them only play front-left & front-right 2ch audio, even though the 2910 says that all 6 channels are being transmitted. I beleive I've been able to eliminate the reciever as the issue because if I plug in the FL or FR in the SL or SR or even the center channel I get audio out of each speaker... which to me means that the reciever is putting out whatever comes in. I also connected an optical cable and that worked for the DVD and DVD-A but of course not SACD.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get the 2910 to output more then 2ch through analog, I've hit the setup SACD button and it shows multi, the display sees the disc as either DTS, SACD and shows the 6ch speakers. I also have verified that my SACD's are multi-channel too. Stings Brand new day and Dave Brubeck's Time out. One other thing to note is that the volume is WAY low too... I've never needed to go past -30 on my unit, and at that volume it's barely breaking normal conversation volume.

Thanks!

I am reposting this because I have not seen a reply. I have added a bit at the end.

When I am listening to a CD, SACD or DVD-Audio disk, and I hit the Search button to go backward, the music will only go search back as far as the beginning of that particular track, not into the ending of the previous track. Thus if I want to search toward the end of a 20-minute track, I have to start at that track and search in the forward direction.

Do all 2910s behave like this? Thanks.

[Similarly, I cannot search forward to the beginning of the next track. The 2910 salesperson told me that he has never heard of a DVD player that allows you to search beyond the audio track currently playing; however, my old Pioneer DV-333 and a friend's Panasonic DVD-RV31 both do this.]

Alright I'll try in here seeing as the Denon 3910 Owners thread grows way to fast. I've been looking through the forum and googling, but I'm still seeking more clarification:

2910 or 3910?

Display: I'll be using a Samsung 61" DLP (possibley the new 1080p one)

Audio: DVD-A/SACD isn't a huge priority, I don't own any discs now, and who knows that may change, but at the current time I'm not likely to walk into the house, and put on just a CD/DVD, I'd rather turn on my computer, open winamp, check my mail, etc.

Video: Alright obviously I want a nice picture... Apparently the 3910's chip, the F 2310? 3210? something to that affect, anyways... it seems to be kinda iffy....since the 2910 uses a different chip, would I be better off with it?

Differences: Basically the price difference is big, if I could go with the 2910 and still a be a happy camper, I'll do it because man, saving money means more DVD's :)

Connections: Well I've heard the new Samsung DLP's have 2 DVI ports, and 2 HDMI ports (or at least one of each). Is one or the other better? I still have to contact my cable company to see what player they use, and whether or not is HDMI or DVI.

Audio Connectivity: I'm thinking either Optical or Coaxial to the reciever, I have room for both so it'll come down to "pick one", I'm assuming they're both pretty similar. Denon Link is only on the 3910, and as far as I can tell, it's more just a convience factor?

Thanks everyone, your help is very appreciated.

- D

Daphoid, are you set on the 2910? I bought one a couple of weeks ago and am going to be taking it back for the Panasonic S97S.

Why?

After reading both the 2910 and the S97S threads, it would appear that both players provide exceptional picture quality ... and both have the same deficiencies.

The big difference, from what I can gather, is the audio in the 2910 is better than the S97S. But I, like you, am not looking for DVD-Audio or SACD as my primary means of listening to music (though the S97S does play DVD-Audio.)

And the price delta is even greater. I bought my 2910 for ~$625. I've seen the Panasonic for as low as $275. Compare $275 to $1,100 (for the 3910) and that's a lot of coin that can go elsewhere.

And, to provide full disclosure, I was able to buy the Panasonic S97 for ~$185+S&H from a friend-of-a-friend who works at Panasonic, though I was actively working to acquire an S97S regardless. Only difference would have been I would have bought the S97S on a 30-day return to compare it to the 2910. Now, I'm locked on the S97S but I'm confident it will perform well.

So, while not an arguement for a 2910 vs. a 3910, it is an arguement in favor of saving the $$.

My $.02.

My complaint about the S97 compared to the 2910 is the pink tint the s97 has in whites. And MB'ing is signficantly worse in the s97 than the 2910 (especially after the firmware upgrade to xxx-5).

OK, I was able to get it fixed by re-flashing the firmware and then re-initializing the unit. I noticed that in settings if I set my video to "Interlaced" that it seems like the SUB drops out. Only way to fix was re-initialize. Seems like odd little things going on. sometimes everything is perfect, and then other songs it's missing the sub, even if I +10 the Sub on the recievers channel setup it's still practically un noticable...

I'm using 3 sets of Monster THX stereo cables... are these acceptable? or does the 6ch analog connection require specific cables?

Has anyone else experienced issues with the SACD output? DVD-A and DVD seem to be fine.

Thanks,



Originally posted by kring
I just installed my denon 2910s today, connecting the 6ch analog out to my HK AVR-430's 6/8ch analog in. went to play a SACD, DVD-A and DVD and all of them only play front-left & front-right 2ch audio, even though the 2910 says that all 6 channels are being transmitted. I beleive I've been able to eliminate the reciever as the issue because if I plug in the FL or FR in the SL or SR or even the center channel I get audio out of each speaker... which to me means that the reciever is putting out whatever comes in. I also connected an optical cable and that worked for the DVD and DVD-A but of course not SACD.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get the 2910 to output more then 2ch through analog, I've hit the setup SACD button and it shows multi, the display sees the disc as either DTS, SACD and shows the 6ch speakers. I also have verified that my SACD's are multi-channel too. Stings Brand new day and Dave Brubeck's Time out. One other thing to note is that the volume is WAY low too... I've never needed to go past -30 on my unit, and at that volume it's barely breaking normal conversation volume.

Thanks!

Originally posted by kring
OK, I was able to get it fixed by re-flashing the firmware and then re-initializing the unit. I noticed that in settings if I set my video to "Interlaced" that it seems like the SUB drops out. Only way to fix was re-initialize. Seems like odd little things going on. sometimes everything is perfect, and then other songs it's missing the sub, even if I +10 the Sub on the recievers channel setup it's still practically un noticable...

I'm using 3 sets of Monster THX stereo cables... are these acceptable? or does the 6ch analog connection require specific cables?

Has anyone else experienced issues with the SACD output? DVD-A and DVD seem to be fine.

Thanks,


Is this an issue on ALL SACD's ?. If not it could be the result of a bad studio mix on that particular SACD.....

Hey Kring, those cables should be fine. I think what you need to do is go into the setup and change the HDMI setting to 2 channel. This allows the 5.1 output for SACDs and DVD-As. At least that is what worked for me. I am using DVI and Coax for movies so the HDMI didn't affect me anyway. Give this a try and report back.

Rick

fishingeek,

Confirmed here that I can only adjust my multi-channel audio settings with the hdmi setting to 2 channel.

Makes as much sense as the manuan does regarding this.

Hello,

I read the Secret's Benchmark which stated that "Enhanced" black level is the correct setting. What about the IRE setting, should that be IRE 0 or IRE 7.5? I'm using DVI out to a BenQ PE8700. Thanks a bunch.

Chris

Originally posted by gcbrink
Hello,

I read the Secret's Benchmark which stated that "Enhanced" black level is the correct setting. What about the IRE setting, should that be IRE 0 or IRE 7.5? I'm using DVI out to a BenQ PE8700. Thanks a bunch.

Chris
I'm using "Enhanced" as per Secrets's together with 0IRE into a HS10 via DVI. Tried all the various combinations and this gives the best pg.

You should never use "Enhanced" levels, as this expands to PC levels. I don't know where the secrets benchmark says to do this, I'm almost positive it explicitly recommends NOT using Enhanced. I would be very surprised if it said to use Enhanced PC levels.

Second, I'm not sure about the 2910, but I believe the 3910 you should use the 7.5IRE setting with digital output. You may need to test this with Avia PRO or DVE.

"Never" is a strong word. If you have a projector like mine that expects PC levels, I'd rather be doing the expansion in the player than in the projector. YMMV.

Never is a strong word. You can't calibrate the black and white levels of your projector whatsoever? That's quite unfortunate, what projector do you have?

Expanding to PC levels with video is *not* preferred. Sometimes it can be a necessary degradation of video if you absolutely can't avoid it, but it's certainly not preferred. I demand Studio levels always, I would never purchase a display for displaying video that can't handle Studio levels.

Originally posted by ChrisWiggles
You should never use "Enhanced" levels, as this expands to PC levels. I don't know where the secrets benchmark says to do this, I'm almost positive it explicitly recommends NOT using Enhanced. I would be very surprised if it said to use Enhanced PC levels.

Second, I'm not sure about the 2910, but I believe the 3910 you should use the 7.5IRE setting with digital output. You may need to test this with Avia PRO or DVE.

Secrets says to use Studio level, not Enhanced with the 2910:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=121#DenonDVD-2910%20(HDMI/DVI)

My apologies.

So, Normal black, but what IRE setting?

in short: whichever IRE setting leaves the digital outputs un-disturbed. As reported on the 3910 it was 7.5IRE.

The IRE setting technically should have no effect on digital outputs.

While it is dangerous to assume that's right for another player, because it is another Denon, it's more likely than with another player entirely. You should test each setting with a test disc to determine if the setting incorrectly is affecting the digital outputs, and if so which doesn't mess with the levels.

Originally posted by ChrisWiggles
what projector do you have?

Sanyo Z2. While it has lots of options for calibration, it apparently treats DVI input from an HDCP video source the same as a DVI input from a PC source. These are two separate input settings, but the projector appears to expect PC levels on both.

Originally posted by kevinha
[B]Daphoid, are you set on the 2910?[B]

Now I'm trying to decide between the 2910 and the 3910, either would be nice.

*still seeking help*

- D

Can you adjust brightness/contrast at all? I'm not familiar with this projector at all, but it should have these adjustments, no? You can use the dithering to set black level properly very easily.

Yep, I can adjust all the usual items including brightness and contrast, and get into the service menu and adjust bias and gain, etc etc. It's a pretty decent 720P projector. But it doesn't seem to be expecting video RGB levels via the DVI input (even though it's HDCP compliant so they planned for video to be input via DVI).

Of course, I could be crazy so I'd like to hear from someone with instrumentation that this impression is correct.

Can't you feed it Studio levels, then adjust brightness and contrast to match? That's what I was getting at...

Originally posted by Daphoid
Now I'm trying to decide between the 2910 and the 3910, either would be nice.

*still seeking help*

- D

How high a priority is listening to fine SACD/DVDA music in your scheme of things? I have struggled with the same decision and after initially ordering the 2910 I switched to the 3910 for its studier build, isolation features and the superior DACs for decoding the digitized signals. Is it worth an extra $500-600. Hard to say. But in PMing with guys like TJK ( a very senior member!) I am looking forward to the arrival of my 3910 mainly for music's sake!

I have a 2910 on loaner now and I am listening to Willie Nelson's Stardust SACD and it is sweet no doubt. If the 3910 is superior to this which it must be I will most like experience "reltny" defined as a orgasm so intense that one goes into a coma (or passes out at least!).

I am sure this helps you a lot!!

right

m

I see a lot of back and forth here, but I don't understand why.
1. 0 IRE is the correct setting for HD which is what you're essentially doing if your upconverting to HD.
2. Normal - AKA "Studio" is the correct setting or else your blacks and whites get clipped and as a result you don't pass PLUGE - AKA Blacker than Black and you crush whites.

To quote the 2910 Review from Secrets:
The black levels via HDMI and DVI were accurate and offer the choice of Studio (normal) or PC (enhanced) RGB levels. Again, Studio RGB levels are the correct setting and allow for below black and above white information.

To quote an audioholics Review of the 5900. This section was titled - "Performance Set-Up Tip - Set Player to 0-IRE!":
However, by playing around with settings and buttons on the player and remote, we noticed a setting for 0-IRE, which was NOT covered in the Denon Manual. After switching the player from the default +7.5-IRE setting to the 0-IRE setting, the contrast improved considerably. It seems Denon, as do most manufacturers, ship these players with a default setting of 7.5-IRE. The reason is that Denon is appealing to the masses since the majority of people who purchase DVD players own either small or older TV's that produce NTSC standard pictures, and are therefore not able to properly display grayscales signals below +7.5-IRE. This setting essentially clips the signal such that the lowest levels of gray (or black) do not fall below +7.5-IRE. But since most RPTV's and Front Projectors can produce much better contrast ratios and blacklevels it is best to set this player on the 0-IRE setting. One word of caution is that Denon does not do a very good job of highlighting or discussing this setting in their user manual.

I'll try to dig up something, I believe I read in a more authoritative site, which talks about this setting as well.

Hope this helps all those still asking about these settings.

jc3

WARNING!

Bad information from audioholics!

That quote comes from here: http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/DenonDVD-5900Measurements.html

And it's WRONG!

They don't know what IRE is, or what it means, and it appears like they didn't even recalibrate their display to the new player. In any case with analog outputs that are functioning ideally, both 7.5IRE and 0IRE outputs are equally ok. You have to test each individual player as to whether it clips blacker than black (As it may in only one of these settings, or both, or ideally no clipping of BTB at all).

I left out that the 0 IRE setting is for analog output. If you’re using a digital output - which you would be using if you upconverting copy protected material you - this setting is irrelevant.

jc3

Damn! You beat me to my follow up!!!

They're still wrong. They were talking about analog outputs, and they are bonkers. Ideally the IRE setting should have no effect on digital outputs, if it doesn't on this player, then that is good. IRE has nothing to do with digital signals or digital values on the DVD.

Originally posted by ChrisWiggles
They're still wrong. They were talking about analog outputs, and they are bonkers. Ideally the IRE setting should have no effect on digital outputs, if it doesn't on this player, then that is good. IRE has nothing to do with digital signals or digital values on the DVD.

Like I said "Damn! You beat me to my follow up!!!" You posted you reply before I could clarify my earlier post. (I'm a slow typist) :o

jc3

gee and I set my IRE to 0 because I missed the point that if you use HDMI output to your display it makes no difference! Meh... Well at least I was able to switch to normal black mode instead of the factory default Enhanced. I hope that I did that correctly!!!

Originally posted by mismatched
Well at least I was able to switch to normal black mode instead of the factory default Enhanced.
mismatched, I think you have that backwards. The default is Normal.

Oh well I know that it is set to normal black as recommended here and elsewhere. That second beer with Baja Fresh clouded my feeble memory!! thanks for the clarification. Ends correct, means wrong!

Originally posted by mismatched
That second beer with Baja Fresh clouded my feeble memory!!
As long as there was a good reason! :D

twas not just any beer but Deschutes Brewery Mirror Pond Ale, winner of the best beer in the world as awarded by Men's Journal (whoever they are!!??)

Originally posted by ChrisWiggles
Can't you feed it Studio levels, then adjust brightness and contrast to match? That's what I was getting at...

Yes, but then the blackest black (bias set as low as possible) is too high. I can still pass pluge if black level on the player is set to ENHANCED and IRE is set to 0, so long as the player's brigtness is increased to +1. And with this setup, the blacks are darker than any other combination of settings, on my projector.

On my pioneer plasma I use the enhanced setting on the 2910, or the blacks are not black enough. The pioneer plasmas use pc monitor specs though I believe.

0 IRE worked well too, but the Enhanced seems a bit better, I suppose one or the other is the absolute correct setting, just do not know.

The concensus seems to be that the pq is very dependant on the device you are connecting too.

Hi - Thanks for all the great info on this site. I've had the 2910 for a couple months now and haven't until recently been able to watch more than 1 movie in a sitting. Now it is locking up after watching more than 1 DVD at a time. I've read other people having this problem but is there a solution or am I stuck? Would the firmware update help? Thanks for any reply.

Originally posted by nathan_h
Yes, but then the blackest black (bias set as low as possible) is too high. I can still pass pluge if black level on the player is set to ENHANCED and IRE is set to 0, so long as the player's brigtness is increased to +1. And with this setup, the blacks are darker than any other combination of settings, on my projector.

Please advise what projector are you using. Thanks.

Sanyo Z2 but YMMV depending what what firmware is on other Z2s, etc. note that I have scheduled a session with instrumentation, but so far this is all based on what my eyes can discern via test patternes.

I wonder if you guys could give me your 'quick' opinion. I have a 2910 connected to a Mits 525 DLP via HDMI. The PQ is amazing. I only have one HDMI port on this set & am getting ready to get a HDTiVo unit which also utilizes HDMI.

With the 2910, what is the general concensus as far as PQ goes over HDMI compared to component? With HDMI, I'm relying on the DACs on the Mits. Which do you think will do a better job?

If I run component - I'll use my receiver (Marantz SR8500) to switch all the video. If I use HDMI - I'll probably use a HDMI switch or a video processor to switch.

Thoughts?

Originally posted by rmeredith
I wonder if you guys could give me your 'quick' opinion. I have a 2910 connected to a Mits 525 DLP via HDMI. The PQ is amazing. I only have one HDMI port on this set & am getting ready to get a HDTiVo unit which also utilizes HDMI.

With the 2910, what is the general concensus as far as PQ goes over HDMI compared to component? With HDMI, I'm relying on the DACs on the Mits. Which do you think will do a better job?

If I run component - I'll use my receiver (Marantz SR8500) to switch all the video. If I use HDMI - I'll probably use a HDMI switch or a video processor to switch.

Thoughts?

rmeredith, I noticed a much sharper (& less grainy) picture when I moved from components to hdmi to my sammy 74 tv from the 2910. Also, just an opinion, but anytime a switch is inserted into an analog signal path, some loss is incurred. May or may not be visible, but some (hopefully very small) percentage degradation will occur (depending on the quality of the switch).
The hdmi switch should have no loss since it's all digital though...

Originally posted by rmeredith
I wonder if you guys could give me your 'quick' opinion. I have a 2910 connected to a Mits 525 DLP via HDMI. The PQ is amazing. I only have one HDMI port on this set & am getting ready to get a HDTiVo unit which also utilizes HDMI.

With the 2910, what is the general concensus as far as PQ goes over HDMI compared to component? With HDMI, I'm relying on the DACs on the Mits. Which do you think will do a better job?

If I run component - I'll use my receiver (Marantz SR8500) to switch all the video. If I use HDMI - I'll probably use a HDMI switch or a video processor to switch.

Thoughts?

I have a 2910 hooked up to my Sony 55XS and I thought that the PQ was sharper and picture a bit more vibrant going from component to HDMI.

Good enough guys. I'll probably use a Gefen HDMI switch until DVDo gets their newly-announced hdmi processor/switch out the door. I wasn't planning on doing video switching with my receiver - guess I won't! ;-)

Anyone know where I can get Firmware upgrade Ver: -5 with the All Region Hack ?

If there is a link to somewhere can someone post it?
Or alternatively I would be hugely appreciative if it could be emailed, PM me if thats possible...

Originally posted by nathan_h
Yes, but then the blackest black (bias set as low as possible) is too high. I can still pass pluge if black level on the player is set to ENHANCED and IRE is set to 0, so long as the player's brigtness is increased to +1. And with this setup, the blacks are darker than any other combination of settings, on my projector.


After going through all pages of this thread, It seems a couple of people recommended these settings but when I tried for my setup, the blacks were still being crushed but to a lesser degree. What worked for me were the settings used by some other owners (which fix the blacks nicely and mostly fix the green push):

The following settings in the player:
Black Levels: Normal (Studio)
IRE: 0
Brightness: +2
Hue: +2
Chroma: +2

After settings these, calibrate your display with a test disc to set black levels (brightness) to not pass less than black and contrast to display the grey ramp without crushing the 2nd highlight and 2nd last shadow point.

It would be good to get feedback from others using these settings.

(and PM me if you can pass on the latest European/Australian -5 firmware)

Another question from this 2910 newbie that wasnt answered in the last 43 pages is:

How do you get to display letterboxed non-anamorphic material zoomed up to the proper aspect ratio over a 16:9 DVI connection?

I have tried all combinations of screen dimensions, squeeze and zoom to no avail?
If I cant fix this its going back to the shop :-(

Originally posted by HumanMedia
How do you get to display letterboxed non-anamorphic material zoomed up to the proper aspect ratio over a 16:9 DVI connection?
If you're referring to 4:3 letterboxed material, the only way I can do it with my Sam 5063 is by sending it via Component/480i, in order to get the ZOOM1 mode (it's not available with Progressive or through HDMI/DVI).

Cant pass 480i or 576i over DVI.

When sent the the progressive versions of these resolutions, zoom does zoom the image but crops the edges off within a 4x3 rectangle.

What are people doing for non-anamorphic disks over HDMI/DVI???

I am putting my 2910 up for sale, anyone have any idea what a slightly used dvd-2910 should go for?

Originally posted by ZZtop
I am putting my 2910 up for sale, anyone have any idea what a slightly used dvd-2910 should go for?

Your views about it - did it not meet your expectations? What are you going to get instead?

About $550 to $570 on ebay (open box of course).

mark

Originally posted by AccuView
Your views about it - did it not meet your expectations? What are you going to get instead?

I felt for 650$ plus tax from the local Tweeter/HiFi Buys it was no improvement over my 2 old year Bravo D1 that already did upscaled DVI.

I am however, one of those people who have never had much of a problem with my Bravo D1.

Anyone with the Australian Rev -5 firmware update???
Im getting desperate as I only have a few more days to decide if I keep the unit. The local distributor wants me to take the unit in in working hours for them to apply the update, but I wont get a chance to do that for months. So I wont get to see if the update fixes some of my issues.

Any Australian owners with Rev -5 out there? You are my only hope.

The last time I enquired, just before Xmas, JLS Electronics (a Denon Authorised repairer) had -4. I've emailed Audio Products (the Denon distributor) and asked what is the current version available in Aus but have not yet received a reply.

ozdvduser:

Do you know where version -4 (valid for Australia) can be found?

Thanks,

Octavio

OK just got the reply re -6 for Aus as follows:

We have only just received version 6 of the software, we have no details of any changes it makes to the DVD2910 but if you have an issue with your machine you are welcome to return it to us and we will load the new version of software on your machine.



Do you know where version -4 (valid for Australia) can be found?

It seems Denon or the distributors are not putting it anywhere on the web. The only way down here to do any upgrade is to take your unit to an Authorised Service Centre and they will do it for you gratis so long as you supply proof of purchase.

Thanks for the confirmation, and news on V -6

I hope that fixes chroma (I believe -5 fixes this), synching to the Hitachi (drops on disc insertion/menus etc) and ESPECIALLY the cropped zoom on DVI (which stops non-anamorphic discs from playing full screen properly)

Frustrated. If anyone comes by the Australian or European v -6 in the meantime please PM me.

Originally posted by HumanMedia
cropped zoom on DVI

I thought 2x was cropped too much to use with letterboxed-non-anamorphic-dvds on component and s-video and composite, as well. This is how it was (mis-)designed, right?

Just received my firware -5 dvd from Denon. On the instructions, it says that I have to hook up my dvd to the monitor either with composite or S-video. Right now, I'm utilizing dvi. Does it make a difference? Why do I need to use these types of cables? Not sure what the -5 really fixes...mentions things about hdmi. I'm not using hdmi, so will I see any differences? Thanks

golfster84,

You don't need the composite/S-video connection to do the upgrade. You can monitor how it's going simply from the front of the player. As far as seeing differences without using a DVI/HDMI connection, I'm not sure. It's supposed to fix the chroma probs and green push with those outputs.

I’m sure it posted here, And I’ve looked with no luck!

Can someone please recommended some initial settings they have had luck with on a Sony Grand Wega III. I will most likely fine tune things later, but it would be nice to have a starting point others have had success with.

Thanks

I just got my Denon 2910 and am getting firmware -6 in the mail from denon, My player is on -4 firmware. Do I need -5 firmware? and if I need it can somebody please Email it to me?

I havent seen the official list of fixes for -5 and -6, but here are a couple which I have found between -4 and -6.

* In -6 the 'not passing black' problem that was still there in -4 has been fixed! So there is no need to set your brightness to 1 or 2 in the player in order to get a working pluge to calibrate your display to. So for 99% of cases users can initiatize all of the picture settings in the 2910, set their black to Normal, IRE to 0 then use a calibration disk to set blacks in their display.

* Chroma delay error seems to be alleviated but not eradicated. Will do some more eyballing and use the usual tests (Toy Story 2) tonight to see if this is right or not.

* Rescaling under DVI. As reported in an earlier post this was a pet peeve because under ver -4, non-anamorphic widescreen material cannot be scaled (zoomed) to fit the full screen when connected over DVI (other connections are fine). What did happen is that if the image is 'zoomed' from a 'squeezed' or 480p/576p size, it does scale in both dimensions but the sides are chopped off as though its being cropped into a 4:3 frame. The 'fix' Denon have applied is to remove all zoom functions with a DVI connection. It was previously half working apart from the cropped sides but now its now longer a accessable at all!

* I still find that the saturation is still a bit low (probably more natural) and as a result my Chroma is set to +1

* I have yet to check for green push after update.

*Can anyone post the official list of changes for -5 and -6?

Originally posted by flamboyant1220
I just got my Denon 2910 and am getting firmware -6 in the mail from denon, My player is on -4 firmware. Do I need -5 firmware? and if I need it can somebody please Email it to me?

Each new release contains all previous fixes - no need to apply -5 before -6.

When was -6 released for US?

Originally posted by schtien
I’m sure it posted here, And I’ve looked with no luck!

Can someone please recommended some initial settings they have had luck with on a Sony Grand Wega III. I will most likely fine tune things later, but it would be nice to have a starting point others have had success with.

Thanks

Each display device is different , even the same model, so while I can recommend what your 2910 should be set to, your device will need to be recalibrated each and everytime you make a change (even contrast).

Also the settings will depend on your firmware revision in the 2910, so if you can look that up (and preferably upgrade to latest) then I can make a recommendation for the Denon, but your display will need to be individualy calibrated anyway.

I recommend Digital Video Essentials or Avia for calibrating your display. (You will need access to these to do things properly)

Originally posted by AccuView
When was -6 released for US?

Dont know. There was a rumour that international versions are a version ahead numerically, but functionally the the same as the previous US version. Not sure if this is correct as the fixes in -5 seemed to be the same between the versions.

-6 came out internationally only in the last week, so its probably recently released in the US and as a result is only available by phone request as opposed to the website downloads (which are always behind)

Finally getting my Silver 2910 this Friday to go along with my silver 3805 after waiting for almost two months. Supposedly coming out of Chicago. This is my first venture into higher end audio/video and was wondering if someone could possibly suggested what kind of cables i need to connect the two?(especially to play SACD'S)...and any suggestions on a particular cable vendor would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

"Each new release contains all previous fixes - no need to apply -5 before -6."
Thank You

I have inquired about the -6 version talked about, received the following from Denon.





Version 5 is the most current for your model. There is
a version 6 for the model DVD-3910. Maybe this was a
mis-post on the AVS forum.

Best Regards,

J. McGuinness
Denon Electronics (USA), LLC
19C Chapin Road, Suite 205
Pine Brook, N.J. 07058-9385

Anyone have any problems with disk loading on the 2910? Every now and then my unit will not read a disk. It happened the other night with friends over ... really emabarassing. It was a new disk so it was not dirty or anything.

I still have 2 weeks before my 30 days from Tweeter runs out so I am considering returning the unit for a new one.

Thanks

Originally posted by ChrisWiggles
Ideally the IRE setting should have no effect on digital outputs, if it doesn't on this player, then that is good. IRE has nothing to do with digital signals or digital values on the DVD.

Originally posted by mismatched
gee and I set my IRE to 0 because I missed the point that if you use HDMI output to your display it makes no difference!

In this thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=451561&perpage=20&pagenumber=2

post # 34, Kris Deering recommends using IRE at 0 via either DVI or HDMI. I definitely notice a difference when switching between the two via HDMI (with the 3910). Setting IRE to 0 is like removing a hazy film from the screen vs. IRE at 7.5.

I received my Denon 2910 yesterday and hooked it up to my Denon 3805 receiver. Everything so far is great other than the fact that there is only one volume level, whether the receiver volume is at -80dB or 10 dB: I can change the volume as much as I want, but it remains constant. This is true whether I'm watching a DVD video over a toslink connection or listening to DVD audio or SACD over the analog outs. I've perused the manuals, but so far have not been able to figure this out. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance-

Andy

Originally posted by mdhorne
Anyone have any problems with disk loading on the 2910? Every now and then my unit will not read a disk. It happened the other night with friends over ... really emabarassing. It was a new disk so it was not dirty or anything.

I still have 2 weeks before my 30 days from Tweeter runs out so I am considering returning the unit for a new one.

Thanks

I've loaded about 200 discs (DVD-Rs) and played about 30 start to finish. Never had a read issue. I would exchange yours if I was you.

Originally posted by HumanMedia
Each display device is different , even the same model, so while I can recommend what your 2910 should be set to, your device will need to be recalibrated each and everytime you make a change (even contrast).

Also the settings will depend on your firmware revision in the 2910, so if you can look that up (and preferably upgrade to latest) then I can make a recommendation for the Denon, but your display will need to be individualy calibrated anyway.

I recommend Digital Video Essentials or Avia for calibrating your display. (You will need access to these to do things properly)

Thanks for the help!

I have Avia and will use it for my final calibration. I just received firmware version # 5 from Denon and will be updating to that before making any changes. (I see talk of a version #6. Is there a revision #6? I just received 5 in the mail on the 11th)

Oh I have it hooked up to my Sony Grand Wega III via DVI.

Thanks again

Originally posted by tjk
In this thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=451561&perpage=20&pagenumber=2

post # 34, Kris Deering recommends using IRE at 0 via either DVI or HDMI. I definitely notice a difference when switching between the two via HDMI (with the 3910). Setting IRE to 0 is like removing a hazy film from the screen vs. IRE at 7.5.

This thread indicates otherwise:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=477052

It's amazing that we can't agree on the IRE setting after all this time! Does it depend on the display that one is using? Maybe if everyone always reminded the reader what display one is using, this would help resolve some of the discrepancies. For my part, I use a Samsung hllp 6163, so am interested in the best setting for this display.

Originally posted by gtbdevs
I have inquired about the -6 version talked about, received the following from Denon.
Version 5 is the most current for your model. There is
a version 6 for the model DVD-3910. Maybe this was a
mis-post on the AVS forum.




No mispost, ver -6 but it only came out this week. (and yes its for 2910)
Maybe there is truth in the non region locked International version being ahead of the region locked version (aka US R1 verison) - in numbering only?

Originally posted by Kevin Johnson
I've loaded about 200 discs (DVD-Rs) and played about 30 start to finish. Never had a read issue. I would exchange yours if I was you.

Thanks Kevin. I am going to follow you advise and take it back pronto.

First: I use a Hitachi PJ-TX100 as display and there is a considerable difference between 0 IRE and 7.5 IRE when using DVI. So - some displays do show this difference, no doubt.
I had some problems interpreting Kris Deerings post about this, but I finally decided that what he really meant was that the control shouldn't be used when using a digital video output. I.e. it makes a difference, but it shouldn't be used...

Also, a bit O.T... I've been using Avia for NTSC setup and DVE for PAL setup for some time now, but I find that with an LCD FPJ, the blacks get much too washed out. Maybe it's "HiFi" and the more correct setting, but using the THX optimizer gives much more pleasant and deep blacks that enhances the depth in the image greatly, compared to AVIA and DVE settings.
I know that peolpe state that the THX setting is "wrong", but I've grown to like it more. Maybe this is an LCD-specific phenomena?

Concerning firmware upgrades: I have the US version -5 in my 2910. Anyone know a region free -5 or -6 that is downloadable?

Can the firmware be downloaded from anywhere or do you have to have Denon send it to you via the mail. My 2910 is supposedly "on my doorstep" so I would like to get it installed/updated tonight if poosible. If the -5 or -6 are not available for download would anyone be willing to email the file to me so that i can burn it off myself (If for some reason this is against forum rules I apologize but i didn't see anything saying it wasn't ok.)

Thanks in advance,
Matt

I have a Denon 2910 (European) connected to a Panasonic PT-AE700 projector with a Bettercables Display Magic 12 meter HDMI cable. The image on the screen is intermittent (1 second image 2 seconds no image or smething like that). I have tried everything!
The firmware version of the Denon is the last available. The Panasonic is version 1.03. Some people here in Italy are saying that connecting the HDMI cable with the DVI out of the Denon with an adapter can solve the problem. Why? Am I the only one with this problem? Some suggestions?

Piero

Originally posted by jacobms1
Can the firmware be downloaded from anywhere or do you have to have Denon send it to you via the mail. My 2910 is supposedly "on my doorstep" so I would like to get it installed/updated tonight if poosible. If the -5 or -6 are not available for download would anyone be willing to email the file to me so that i can burn it off myself (If for some reason this is against forum rules I apologize but i didn't see anything saying it wasn't ok.)

Thanks in advance,
Matt

Go to http://www.usa.denon.com/support/upgrades.asp and enter your model and serial number.

What does firmware version -6 correct? When I go to the Denon web site and enter 2910 and my serial number it still shows only version 5 available.

Can someone with the -6 firmware please post it for download or e-mail it to me? I'd really appreciate that. I have the same problem as rlwetzel.

On the subject of IRE, I read the post from chriswiggles:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=494606
what I get is this:
IRE settings should not make any picture difference via HDMI/DVI, BUT in some DVD players, the IRE setting (incorrectly from what I gather) does affect picture. The posts also states that if the IRE setting does affect the picture, a DVE cal of pluge should be able to correct the offset. Anybody else concur with this conlusion?

Informative post by the way, in fact it is a sticky now.

Originally posted by blackhole
I have a Denon 2910 (European) connected to a Panasonic PT-AE700 projector with a Bettercables Display Magic 12 meter HDMI cable. The image on the screen is intermittent (1 second image 2 seconds no image or smething like that). I have tried everything!
The firmware version of the Denon is the last available. The Panasonic is version 1.03. Some people here in Italy are saying that connecting the HDMI cable with the DVI out of the Denon with an adapter can solve the problem. Why? Am I the only one with this problem? Some suggestions?

Piero

I think you should stick to HDMI/HDMI, since any other combination will give you more picture problem. Your problem seems to be the quality on the cable, as many folks had said this forum, if you run a long length like 12M, you need a better cable from Monster or Audioquest, any other brand is a 'Hit or Miss' thing. I am running a 12M Monster DVI400 between my AE500 n 2910 with no problem what-so-ever.

Originally posted by mayhew
...IRE settings should not make any picture difference via HDMI/DVI, BUT in some DVD players, the IRE setting (incorrectly from what I gather) does affect picture. The posts also states that if the IRE setting does affect the picture, a DVE cal of pluge should be able to correct the offset. Anybody else concur with this conlusion?...

I can only speak of my own situation, but I have the 2910 with an HDMI>HDMI connection to a Sam 5063, and I do see a difference between Normal/7.5 and Normal/0 (which is not supposed to happen). The picture is noticeably darker at 0 IRE, but it does pass BTB. Increasing the Brightness on the 5063 easily corrects for this. My understanding is that the result is the same, but I choose to keep the setting at 7.5 IRE.

Figured I should chime in with my experience. Recently purchased a Toshiba 46hm84 and the Denon 2910.

I'm still not sure what the best settings are. I had the Sony 975 sitting here, so I was using that as a reference point running both HDMI-HDMI. I kept thinking: "the Sony just looks better" but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Last night, I was playing with settings in the Denon and turned on the "enhanced black." This went against everything intuitive in me and seemingly against what I'd been reading in this thread. Visions of the Black Crush police filled my head. What I noticed, however, is that using Enhanced Black was the equivalent of taking away a "grey haze" from the image. Suddenly the Denon looked a lot more like what I was enjoying from the Sony. Better contrast, blacks that were actually black. I recalibrated the display to compensate for the new setting. DVE and the THX optimizers showed that I was indeed still passing BTB. I decided to try out the 0 IRE setting. In theory it should not make a difference over the digital inputs, but.. it does. 0 IRE + Enhanced Black= Bad Idea. But, O IRE and Normal, properly calibrated still passes BTB and visually looked about the same as -7.5 IRE and Enhanced. I'm not sure which of those two I should be using, but to my eyes the contrast in the image is noticably improved using either of those settings. Like I said, it was like removing a grey haze from the entire image. Black is now.. black, while still preserving shadow details.

I ran both players at 1080i. It's my understanding that I should use the native 720p resolution of my set, but for whatever reason when I run 720p I get wavey interference lines on the display. It almost looks like what you would see putting an unmagnetically shielded speaker next to a tv. Switching to any other resolution eliminates it. It functions identically on either player.

I've been testing out the two color space options on the dvd player.. It can't figure out which is best. I do notice a difference however. I'm not sure I'm understanding it correctly, but since I'm upscaling the TV expects the RGB color space so that would be best setting even though the dvd is encoded in the other one?

On to the bad-- someone else mentioned this earlier so I'm evidently not the only one-- panning. Say in Gladiator, at the start, when Maximus is walking down the line of soldiers.. I get severe ghosting. By that, I mean as the camera pans the image starts to break down and crumble. What is weird, is that fast action scenes are absolutely fine. It's slow pans that give it fits. It looks horrible. I've noticed this on any number of DVDs. Having the Sony here, I can say that the symptoms aren't near as bad on it. In fact, if I wasn't looking for it because of my issues on the Denon I probably wouldn't notice it at all. Any ideas on this one?

I posted a question a couple of pages ago about changing the power cord. Well, to answer my own question, changing it makes a difference. It may not make sense financially but if you have a "better" power cord, it will impact the PQ somewhat. I add a Kimber Kable on it and now I see less "noise" and now the green push is more evident (calibrated HLN 437 and Monster 7000). This required me to retune the player a bit, now using HUE @ +1. The color is marginally better, but I'd rather the player due as little manipulation of the picture as possible. I just increase it on the TV.

I was using enhanced and 7.5, but I'm convinced that the normal/0 has a more natural look to it. I will try the enhanced/7.5 again with the new power cord and see but I think I lose some dark details. Blacks are blacker, which is a little deficient on older DLP's anyway, but I think I lose too much detail to get those better looking blacks. When I look at the bridge in the Montage on the DVE, there are different blacks with normal/0, not with using enhanced/7.5.

I don't think that spending a third of the price of the player on a power cord justifies any improvement in PQ, but if you have one laying around, try it.

Originally posted by dr_jason
I posted a question a couple of pages ago about changing the power cord. Well, to answer my own question, changing it makes a difference. It may not make sense financially but if you have a "better" power cord, it will impact the PQ somewhat. I add a Kimber Kable on it and now I see less "noise" and now the green push is more evident ...


i didn't think the 2910 had a standard power cable (female three prong). i thought it was a similar shape, but that the connection was different.

Black setting keeps switching to 'Enhanced' from 'Normal', but setting says its still 'Normal' - but its definitely not - what is going on here? I can reset it by manually switching to enhanced and back again, but this is becoming a pain.

*Does anyone know what triggers this switch? - is it playing and NTSC disc followed by a PAL disc, and/or vice versa?

*Is it a fault with the hardware or software?

*Does anyone know how to stop this ?

I am running the latest -6 firmware on the 2910

I see a few members posting for the -6 verison of 2910 firmware.

Its not available yet on the website and the European version of firmware is called -6, but is supposed to be the equivalent of the US version -5.

Unless of course someone has a copy of the U.S. version -6, but Denon has not updated the website yet...

Originally posted by HumanMedia
Black setting keeps switching to 'Enhanced' from 'Normal', but setting says its still 'Normal' - but its definitely not - what is going on here? I can reset it by manually switching to enhanced and back again, but this is becoming a pain.

I see the same thing. I am not switching between PAL and NTSC. When the player is powered up, it starts in Enhanced mode and then quickly switches to Normal mode. If I change the output resolution, it switches back to Enhanced mode despite the fact that the menu still says Normal. I don't know why this is happening but it doesn't bother me all that mcuh as I don't switch output resolutions frequently. Hopefully this will be fixed in an updated firmware release? I am on US firmware version -5 (how do you get -6).

Mark

Other power cords fit, it just doesn't contain the center prong on the player. I see the biggest difference when I use a cheap computer power cord, but it is still small.

I played with the settings again last night with the new Kimber power cord. I actually see merit in both settings: enhanced/7.5 and normal/0.

I played with the settings again last night with the new Kimber power cord. I actually see merit in both settings: enhanced/7.5 and normal/0. [/B]

From Secrets of Home Theater Hifi:

The video output can be selected in the setup menu for either PC RGB levels or Studio RGB levels. Unless your display is set up for PC RGB levels, we always recommend using the studio RGB output which allows for below-black and above-white information. Like the DVD-5900, this selection is called black level enhancement. With the enhancement setting “ON”, you are using PC levels. With it “OFF”, you are using Studio levels. There is also an IRE setting for 7.5 or 0 in the picture setting menu for the analog outputs.

Mark

Originally posted by mczolton
I see the same thing. I am not switching between PAL and NTSC. When the player is powered up, it starts in Enhanced mode and then quickly switches to Normal mode. If I change the output resolution, it switches back to Enhanced mode despite the fact that the menu still says Normal. I don't know why this is happening but it doesn't bother me all that mcuh as I don't switch output resolutions frequently. Hopefully this will be fixed in an updated firmware release? I am on US firmware version -5 (how do you get -6).

Mark


I feel like I am beta testing this player not using a final product.
You might be onto something with the resolution change. However through DVI everytime I switch from NTSC to PAL it considers that a resolution change, since I alternate betwen the two constantly it is almost everydisc I put in I have to go through this frustrating manual procedure.

Coupled with the fact that I have to set brightness to 1 to get black levels correct, change hue to +2 to alleviate the green push and set chroma to +2 to get less washed out colors - why cant this unit output a correct flat signal to start without these hacks and tweaks.

This player is starting to frustrate. Maybe going back to the Momitsu is the lesser of the two frustrations.

Despite these problems, I am still very pleased with this player. I have always taken for granted the notion that a new device would introduce its own idiosyncrasies. For instance, the Denon players alter grayscale on the DVI output. I can verify this using the Milori Colorfacts package. I have a trained Trichromat-1 that shows blue is about 7% to 10% too high via DVI on this player. This is not the case with component. There is also a 10 cd/m^2 drop in luminance through DVI. I can alter my grayscale and luminance for my DVI input on my display, so this is a non-issue. Obviously, this is not the case for many, many consumers. I don't advocate the notion that the Denon players are altering the signal they output. I just assume that many (if not most) players will alter the signal in some way, thus requiring me to readjust my system anyway.

Thanks,
Mark

The IR code that Harmony uses for "Select" on my 2910 seems to act more like the "mode" button. Instead of selecting and performing the current action on the DVD, it cycles through the various DVD modes on the 2910, including "Mode 1" and "Mode 2".

Can anyone else confirm this behavior? Have you found a way to set up the correct code?

I'm going to set up temporary workaround by using "Play" instead. My testing seems to indicate that this will work in most places. I guess I could also delve into the realm of having the remote learn the proper code and using that in the setup.

Terry

Originally posted by mczolton
Despite these problems, I am still very pleased with this player. I have always taken for granted the notion that a new device would introduce its own idiosyncrasies. For instance, the Denon players alter grayscale on the DVI output. I can verify this using the Milori Colorfacts package. I have a trained Trichromat-1 that shows blue is about 7% to 10% too high via DVI on this player. This is not the case with component. There is also a 10 cd/m^2 drop in luminance through DVI. I can alter my grayscale and luminance for my DVI input on my display, so this is a non-issue. Obviously, this is not the case for many, many consumers. I don't advocate the notion that the Denon players are altering the signal they output. I just assume that many (if not most) players will alter the signal in some way, thus requiring me to readjust my system anyway.

Thanks,
Mark

I have been posting about this in several different threads. It seemed to me like some of the subtle colors were off or gone and some depth, probably due to the change in color info, also missing.

I attribute this to the colorspace type issues people are discussing about the HDMI and DVI implementations but maybe its denon specific. Basically one of the posts in that thread suggested a small percentage of the color information data is actually missing by the time it reaches the display device.

The new restored Pink Panther move with David Niven, Capucine and Peter Sellers is a great test for a lot of it. I know this movie scene by scene, and I won't even watch it via DVI on the 2910 its very grainy /harsh, and is missing some colors. Its also takes some life out of the movie, but that is explained by the Faroujda chipset, its said to give everything a video like appearance.

On my 3800, all is golden.

I like the 2910 but it does have some issues, and GREEN push is still one of them.

HI,

I am in the UK and have a 2910 hooked up be HDMI into a pioneer 435XDE plasma. Picutre is fantastic but every 30 minutes the siganl drops for a second then comes back

Any thoughts?

Rob

Terry, just learn the Denon's select code into your Harmony. That's what I did (had the same problem as you) and its now working great.

Originally posted by mdhorne
Anyone have any problems with disk loading on the 2910? Every now and then my unit will not read a disk. It happened the other night with friends over ... really emabarassing. It was a new disk so it was not dirty or anything.

I still have 2 weeks before my 30 days from Tweeter runs out so I am considering returning the unit for a new one.

Thanks

I had a weird issue where it gave me an invalid region error on all my discs (which are all region 1 btw). Had to power it off (with the small power button) then when it came on, all was fine.

Odd.

MZ:

In theory, it seems that Normal/7.5 is what this player should be set for NTSC standards. Is it possible that changing these settings may be necessary depending on the display? I would assume that a DLP, LCD, LCoS, CRT, etc. even if calibrated, have strengths and weaknesses that a slight tweak in the DVD player settings would better compliment. There must be some explanation for the slight variations in everyone's set-ups. I assume the slight green push I see is because my set was calibrated with the Bravo D1 sometime ago and that calibrating it with the 2910 would negate that. And why is a hue +2 too much for my set-up. Is that wrong thinking? It certainly wouldn't be the first time :)

Originally posted by dr_jason
MZ:

In theory, it seems that Normal/7.5 is what this player should be set for NTSC standards. Is it possible that changing these settings may be necessary depending on the display? I would assume that a DLP, LCD, LCoS, CRT, etc. even if calibrated, have strengths and weaknesses that a slight tweak in the DVD player settings would better compliment. There must be some explanation for the slight variations in everyone's set-ups. I assume the slight green push I see is because my set was calibrated with the Bravo D1 sometime ago and that calibrating it with the 2910 would negate that. And why is a hue +2 too much for my set-up. Is that wrong thinking? It certainly wouldn't be the first time :)

I don't think you are wrong at all. There are bound to be differences between every display. There are even slight differences between displays of the same make and model - go figure. Of course if you were to calibrate your display using a DVD player and setup disc such as Avia or DVE, it is very likely that the DVD player deviates slightly (or even significantly) from a true reference such as a signal generator. Therefore, your settings may not be the same as someone else's setting. I personally never use settings posted to any forum. Rather, I let the test equipment be the judge. Whether that equipment consists of a color analyzer and signal generator or your eyeballs and a setup disc is really up to your budget.

In the case of the 2910, I was able to compensate for the apparent alteration of the grayscale and luminance by adjusting the settings on my display (cuts/drives and brightness/contrast). Currently, I have my hue and chroma set to 0 because I have attempted to account for any difference the player has introduced. I do this on the display because I believe I can get a finer level of control than the display options on the 2910. That is not to say that I don't use the display options on the 2910. In cases where a personal preference necessitates an adjustment to say chroma or brightness or what have you, I may make that adjustment on the player. It all depends on your setup and how comfortable you are adjusting your display settings.

I am not for a second suggesting that everyone alter their grayscale just to accommodate this player. I don't believe consumers should really have to do that. However, considering this player does *appear* to be altering grayscale, the only way to account for this is to adjust the grayscale of the display device. I just happened to have a borrowed Colorfacts package that allowed me to get my settings reasonably accurate. Prior to adjusting my grayscale, I found that a Hue setting of +3 (on the 2910) yielded much better results due to a slight green gain in the low IREs. My display tends toward green below 20 IRE. I also increased contrast (again on the 2910) by 1 to account for the drop in luminance.

Is this the best way to solve these problems? Certainly not. However, given that (at the time) I was only interested in adjusting the user level display settings on the 2910, it did yield satisfactory results. My lower IREs didn't look too green and the player was putting out the white level I was used to. Frankly, I didn't even notice that blue was +!0% in the high IREs. Blue just tends to make white look whiter.

On the subject of 'Normal vs Enhanced' and '7.5 vs 0' for black level settings, I use Normal (because my display is designed for studio levels and not PC levels) and I use 0 IRE for the black level setting because I do not want to clip information below 7.5 IRE (although that is what the NTSC spec suggests).

Ultimately, I still feel this is a fine player and I don't have any gripes with it despite the fact that it does appear to alter grayscale (which of course it should not). I would like to see this fixed with a future firmware update.

Thanks,
Mark

Originally posted by rdt123
HI,

I am in the UK and have a 2910 hooked up be HDMI into a pioneer 435XDE plasma. Picutre is fantastic but every 30 minutes the siganl drops for a second then comes back

Any thoughts?

Rob


There was a firmware update that fixed some of these issues. Also the length and quality of cable is also an influencing factor. First update to the latest firmware and see how you go from there.

Confirming that there is a bug in (all?) versions up to international v-6 when changing resolutions or playing an NTSC title followed by a PAL title or vice versa. When one does this, black is internally reset to 'Enhanced". The setup menu states it is still on "Normal" but that is definitely not the case. Selecting Enhanced from the Menu followed by Normal will set it correctly, but this will be changed the next time you play a disc format different from the last. Playing just PAL or just NTSC will not trigger this issue, but playing one format then the other (like the majority of users worldwide) will trigger it.

So not usually remembering what I last played, I have to do this everytime I play a disc for the first time, and everytime I play a disc which is of a different format to the last.

Where can I report bugs like this?
Is there an email address or web form somewhere??

Originally posted by mczolton
...I use 0 IRE for the black level setting because I do not want to clip information below 7.5 IRE (although that is what the NTSC spec suggests)...
Mark, can you expand on this? Why would setting the level to 7.5 necessarily clip anything?

Also noticed that when playing PAL discs at 50hz out to a projector at 50hz that every 5 minutes or so it seems to skip a frame (or freezes a frame). It doesnt happen playing NTSC just PAL and is very quick and almost unnoticeable. At first I thought it was a glitch on the disc but it happens in different places and only on PAL.

I have seen this on the Momitsu as well and this is a known problem on that player with playing 50hz material at 50hz with custom 50hz settings on what is presumeably circuitry geared and tested more heavily for 60hz(?)

This sort of stuff doesnt happen on any Pioneer or Sony player I have used, and I still get that feeling I am beta testing Denons hardware (I wonder if they pay more attention to quality control on the 3910?)...

Originally posted by bruce73
Mark, can you expand on this? Why would setting the level to 7.5 necessarily clip anything?

Conventional wisdom states that setting black level to 7.5 IRE clips information below this level before output to the display. Thus, if information exists in the source material that is below 7.5 IRE, it never reaches the display device.

There have been numerous debates as to the validity of this statement on other forums. Some contend that this information wasn't meant to be seen or that it can't be seen once black level is properly calibrated. Others claim that the dynamic range of the video signal is being compressed by the DVD Player.

Joe Kane, of Video Essentials fame, has this to say about the difference between black level settings on DVD players:

The majority of DVD's are mastered using 0 Volts DC for black. In reality all DVD's should be mastered using 0 Volts DC for black, but there are exceptions. The DVD player will reduce the dynamic range, moving it from 0 IRE to + 7.5 IRE, in providing an NTSC output which is necessary for compatibility with standard home display devices. Which position should you use? That depends on the display device itself or the video processor driving the display and/or how the DVD player is being used in the entire home entertainment system. Ideally you would want to use the 0 Volts black position to preserve the dynamic range available from the disc itself. That is only practical if the set has an individual memory for the enhanced mode. This individual memory should be able to remember settings for contrast and gray scale in addition to brightness.

I hate to get into a debate about which setting to use. Its like flogging a dead horse because the subject has been beat into the ground in several other places and this is not what this thread is about. I do hope this was informative though.

Now, can someone tell what the "White Level" setting does? I hooked up the Milori Trichromat-1 to my display and adjusted "White Level" but it did not effect luminance or grayscale in any meaningful way.

Thanks,

Conventional wisdom states that setting black level to 7.5 IRE clips information below this level before output to the display. Thus, if information exists in the source material that is below 7.5 IRE, it never reaches the display device.

There have been numerous debates as to the validity of this statement on other forums. Some contend that this information wasn't meant to be seen or that it can't be seen once black level is properly calibrated. Others claim that the dynamic range of the video signal is being compressed by the DVD Player.



Conventional wisdom is wrong.

I've written a lengthy Guide that includes a LONG description explaining what IRE is, and why it does NOT have to do directly with what is encoded *digitally* on the disc. Please see the link in my signature.

Statements such as yours:

0 IRE for the black level setting because I do not want to clip information below 7.5 IRE

are common, and not correct. I've explained the background, and countered these statements in my guide.

Mark, I hold Joe Kane in very high regard, and I honestly have to admit that I was stunned when I read your quote of his. Your sourcing of that material is correct, but I would be very surprised if Joe actually wrote that, as it is very misleading. DVDs cannot be mastered in volts at all, I don't know how a statement like that passed the common-sense test and got on his website, but somehow it did. In any case, please refer to the guide I've compiled on this matter.

Chris,

I really didn't want to get into a debate about this. That is why I mentioned that what I was saying was "conventional wisdom" and not necessarily the gospel truth. I believe I mentioned that there were two sides to the issue and that Joe Kane's website represented one side of the argument.

I don't have the time to read your lengthy article, however from the portions that I did read, it is quite informative. Thus, I will reserve judgment on this issue until I can read your article in its entirety.

I had been basing my opinion on the quote from Joe Kane's site. Maybe he should be informed of this apparently misleading statement?

Mark

Updated:

In an ideal system, as long as you recalibrate between 0 IRE and 7.5 IRE, there will be no change at all in the final image. The final image will have the exact same visible black, white, and contrast in both cases. Using the 0 IRE option does not in any way output “more” data that is magically “below 7.5 IRE.” Again, data is not encoded in IRE at all.

I've had the chance to go over your article and I must say it i quite a read. You have apparently confirmed something that I have always suspected but dismissed due to what I called conventional wisdom. Thank you for the update.

-mz

No problem, I actually have attempted to notify the VE website folks about this, because parts are quite incorrect.

Originally posted by HumanMedia
Also noticed that when playing PAL discs at 50hz out to a projector at 50hz that every 5 minutes or so it seems to skip a frame (or freezes a frame). It doesnt happen playing NTSC just PAL and is very quick and almost unnoticeable. At first I thought it was a glitch on the disc but it happens in different places and only on PAL.

I have seen this on the Momitsu as well and this is a known problem on that player with playing 50hz material at 50hz with custom 50hz settings on what is presumeably circuitry geared and tested more heavily for 60hz(?)

This sort of stuff doesnt happen on any Pioneer or Sony player I have used, and I still get that feeling I am beta testing Denons hardware (I wonder if they pay more attention to quality control on the 3910?)...
Don't have that problem down here. Played heaps of PAL & NTSC and so far they have performed ok, no skipping freezing etc. Have output set to "Multi" so it auto detects the dvd type and outputs either a 50Hz or 60Hz signal to my pj.

Im set to multi too. Its not the typical freezing skipping of multiple frames in duration its more like a jitter of the timing of certain frames. this is over DVI, so it may not occur in other modes and its one which most wouldnt notice but when you notice it you start seeing it more frequently. This is over DVI to a projector - both are set to auto sense/adjust.


BTW Have you noticed playing PAL then NTSC resets your black from Standard to Enhanced?

I am considering buying the Denon 2910 and I am very confused and concerned by some posts in this thread.

I am very interested in how this player performs with SACD 2-channel audio. I can see in the photo of the back of the player that it has a Left and Right analog output labeled "2 channel."--

Now will this player output the 2-channel layer of an SACD through this output, full range, from the lowest frequencies to the highest?

I have full range floor-standing speakers, and I do NOT want ANYTHING routed to my subwoofer. A post earlier stated that all freqencies below 80hz are routed to the subwoofer. Please tell me this isn't true.

I could understand if the player has a "crossover" setting, but I certainly hope that it can be defeated, so I can use it in my pure 2 channel system.

This is the post that scared me:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4881496#post4881496

I hope I've stated my question clearly, and thanks in advance for your help.

Thanks,
Ben

I just got a new Sharp xv-z2000 projector and I have something wierd going on.

Denon 2910 is hooked up to the z2000 through the DVI port. When I first started playing with it today and it worked fine through the DVI port at 480p. I then switched the DVD player to output 720p and the Projector started flashing a distorted image about ever 1 to 2 seconds. I then switched it to 1080i and I got the same results, distorted output. (you could tell it was the DVD but it was all red and yellow and "fuzzy"), Well, I let the thing flash for about a minute thinking the projector was just trying to figure out the right input mode. Now when I switch the DVD player back to 480p, I get a good clean image, but it flashes ever 1 to 2 seconds. and will not stabilize.

I am now stuck. I can't play anything correctly through the DVI port. My problem is that I don't know if it's the projector or the DVD player. I did upgrade the firmware about a week ago to the latest firmware from the denon website.

Answers to any of these questions would be a great help.
1. How can I tell if its the projector or the DVD Player?

2. If it's the DVD player, how do I fix it?

3. If its the projector, how do I fix it?

4. Anybody else have an issue upconverting DVDs to 720p or 1080i?

5. Does anyone have access to any of the older firmware for the Denon 2910?

Please help.

Thanks

Originally posted by sdbarnes
I just got a new Sharp xv-z2000 projector and I have something wierd going on.

Denon 2910 is hooked up to the z2000 through the DVI port. When I first started playing with it today and it worked fine through the DVI port at 480p. I then switched the DVD player to output 720p and the Projector started flashing a distorted image about ever 1 to 2 seconds. I then switched it to 1080i and I got the same results, distorted output. (you could tell it was the DVD but it was all red and yellow and "fuzzy"), Well, I let the thing flash for about a minute thinking the projector was just trying to figure out the right input mode. Now when I switch the DVD player back to 480p, I get a good clean image, but it flashes ever 1 to 2 seconds. and will not stabilize.

I am now stuck. I can't play anything correctly through the DVI port. My problem is that I don't know if it's the projector or the DVD player. I did upgrade the firmware about a week ago to the latest firmware from the denon website.

Answers to any of these questions would be a great help.
1. How can I tell if its the projector or the DVD Player?

2. If it's the DVD player, how do I fix it?

3. If its the projector, how do I fix it?

4. Anybody else have an issue upconverting DVDs to 720p or 1080i?

5. Does anyone have access to any of the older firmware for the Denon 2910?

Please help.

Thanks

I don't see your locaton so I don't know where you are, but there was a problem similar to this fixed with one of the firmware updates.

However far my likely is the handshaking that all DVI ports require from the 2910 to the display device is not present or intermittent.

Does the display resolution indicator on the front of the 2910 flash at all during this? If it does, that means proper handshaking has not taken place.

Handshaking is an old term for when two signals identify and connect properly, ie in this case the DVI signal.

A very common cause of this is a cheap or flawed DVI cable. Where is your DVI cable from?

I can almost guarantee it is the DVI cable, especially if it is a long one.

I remember to all that the Denon 2910 ( at least the European one) has a big problem (for me):
HDMI out doesn't support cables more than 10 m long (intermittent image).
As I can see from the post above this could happen also with the DVI out.
The HDMI specification (this is not true for DVI) however says that is possible to connect cables until at least 15 meters.
My conclusion is that Denon 2910 is not perfectly HDMI-compliant.
Do you have experience of good connections of the Denon with HDMI cables 12 m long or more?

Piero

Actually I do have a very long DVI cable - 10-15 meters. The cable was custom made by proflex.

The 2910 does show a solid DVI / 480p (720p and 1080i as well when I switch to those ports) indicator on the front panel.

The wierd thing is that it did work for about 30 minutes in 480p when I first plugged it in.

I will see if I can round up a shorter DVI cable and test that theory.

Thanks guys

BTW, I am in Atlanta

Originally posted by sdbarnes
I just got a new Sharp xv-z2000 projector and I have something weird going on.

Denon 2910 is hooked up to the z2000 through the DVI port. When I first started playing with it today and it worked fine through the DVI port at 480p. I then switched the DVD player to output 720p and the Projector started flashing a distorted image about ever 1 to 2 seconds. I then switched it to 1080i and I got the same results, distorted output. (you could tell it was the DVD but it was all red and yellow and "fuzzy"), Well, I let the thing flash for about a minute thinking the projector was just trying to figure out the right input mode. Now when I switch the DVD player back to 480p, I get a good clean image, but it flashes ever 1 to 2 seconds. and will not stabilize.

I am now stuck. I can't play anything correctly through the DVI port. My problem is that I don't know if it's the projector or the DVD player. I did upgrade the firmware about a week ago to the latest firmware from the denon website.

Answers to any of these questions would be a great help.
1. How can I tell if its the projector or the DVD Player?

2. If it's the DVD player, how do I fix it?

3. If its the projector, how do I fix it?

4. Anybody else have an issue up-converting DVDs to 720p or 1080i?

5. Does anyone have access to any of the older firmware for the Denon 2910?

Please help.

Thanks

I have the exact same setup that you have. It is the DVI cable. I had a long Ram cable and sometimes I could get 720 to work but I could never get 1080i to work. I changed to a Monster 500 series. Everything looks great and have no problem with 720 or 1080i.

Love the DVD player, projector combination.

Hi all,

I currently run component from my 2910 to my Sony 34" XBR960. If I were to move to HDMI (for upscaling purposes), is there any instance where a DVD will *not* look better upscaled? I have about 250 DVDs, so everything from Farscape to LOTR to Simpsons, etc. I'm assuming that in addition to 720p and 1080i over HDMI, I will still be able to run 480p if I choose, yes?

Thanks.

I have the exact same setup that you have. It is the DVI cable. I had a long Ram cable and sometimes I could get 720 to work but I could never get 1080i to work. I changed to a Monster 500 series. Everything looks great and have no problem with 720 or 1080i.


Well, I hope you are righ... I will try to stop and get a new DVI cable on the way home and test that out.

BTW, what do I do now with a 25-30 ft slightly used DVI cable that I spent a pretty penny on?

Thanks

Originally posted by sdbarnes
BTW, what do I do now with a 25-30 ft slightly used DVI cable that I spent a pretty penny on?

You mentioned in an earlier post that you had the cable custom-built. I'm wondering if it's possible that the shop screwed up, and the cable has a defect that doesn't show up in typical "continuity testing" that a cable shop would do, but impacts the cable's ability to handle the high data rate DVI signals (i.e., it doesn't meet DVI cable electrical specs in some way).

Originally posted by sdbarnes
Well, I hope you are righ... I will try to stop and get a new DVI cable on the way home and test that out.

BTW, what do I do now with a 25-30 ft slightly used DVI cable that I spent a pretty penny on?

Thanks

I purchased my cable from Ram and they took it back and refunded my money. I would try and see if the place that you bought yours from will take it back

Or, like with my purchase from RAM, the item can go to ebay because it was past the 30 day return window.

benrub,

the 2910 gives the option to select "no sub" in the multi-channel audio config.

What I'm really concerned about is 2-channel audio though. Not multi-channel.

Originally posted by benrub
What I'm really concerned about is 2-channel audio though. Not multi-channel.

I don't think the multi-channel setup will effect the 2-channel output in anyway, meaning if you listen to a 2-channel SACD or DVD-A through the 2-channel outputs, you will get the full range signal.

Originally posted by clrv
I have the exact same setup that you have. It is the DVI cable. I had a long Ram cable and sometimes I could get 720 to work but I could never get 1080i to work. I changed to a Monster 500 series. Everything looks great and have no problem with 720 or 1080i.

Love the DVD player, projector combination.

Just wanted to say thanks for the help. I picked up a cheapo 9' RCA DVI cable on the way from work today and it worked like a champ. 480p, 720p and 1080i all worked great.

Now I have to go and figure out if it was the length or the build quality of my original cable that was the problem. I actually need a 20-25' cable in my setup.

Thanks again

Originally posted by sdbarnes


Now I have to go and figure out if it was the length or the build quality of my original cable that was the problem. I actually need a 20-25' cable in my setup.

Thanks again

I did a lot of looking around AVS for that same question and I think that it is a little of both. For long runs the quality has to be better where for short just about any cable will work.

I went with Monster I know there are a lot of people around here that refuse to buy Monster because of the price. I only tried two cables Ram and Monster and we know which one work the best.

Sounds like we both have about the same length run. If you go monster you have to go with I think 40ft they don't make any thing between 20ft. and 40ft.(sizes may be off just a little). I have the 40ft and it works great no sparkles just a great sharp picture. Good luck and enjoy your new equipment.

Just picked up the 2910 a few days ago... So far so good. The only problem I have right now is trying to download the latest firmware for my player. Is there a way to download it from the canadian site? Or is the firmware only available in other countries? Any mirrors for the -5 out there? Thanks.

Originally posted by sdbarnes
Just wanted to say thanks for the help. I picked up a cheapo 9' RCA DVI cable on the way from work today and it worked like a champ. 480p, 720p and 1080i all worked great.

Now I have to go and figure out if it was the length or the build quality of my original cable that was the problem. I actually need a 20-25' cable in my setup.

Thanks again
I got a 10mtr (33ft) Lindy DVD-D cable and it has worked as treat. Had it installed some 18mths ago when the pj was installed but not used, just recently got a 2910 to connect to the HS10 via DVI. Plugged the cable into the 2910 and WOW !!!

I have firmware -6 and can confirm the "back to enhanced black"-bug.
If I set DVI black level to "Normal" and then press stop and play (using the same movie) the black level is set to "Enhanced" even though the setting in the menu still says "Normal".
Fortunately, my projector can compensate for this, as it has it own DVI black level setting (Hitachi PJ-TX100).
Still annoying though.

On another forum I saw info, re new firmware in Singapore capable for taking care of cue, dvd audio prob, upgrading hdmi and for region free? any one?

CUE? There's no CUE to begin with in this player is there?
On what forum did you read about that?

Originally posted by arioch
I have firmware -6.

How did you get firmware -6? What are the differences between -5 and -6? Can you e-mail a copy of it, if possible? I cannot seem to download it from the Denon website using my serial number, so any help you can offer would be great.

How did you get firmware -6? What are the differences between -5 and -6? Can you e-mail a copy of it, if possible? I cannot seem to download it from the Denon website using my serial number, so any help you can offer would be great.


Because "arioch" lives in Europe and probably has the International version #6. If you believe that there is a version #6 for the US, email or call Denon for it.

I don't know that there actually is a -6. All I ever heard was that another f/w update was "coming" and I thought it had actually arrived. But I'll take your advice and contact Denon directly on Monday.

I have version 5 of the firmware in the US. Mine still suffer macroblocking. I bought the unit after a rep at CES informed me that the latest firmware release in December removed the macroblocking issue. I checked with Tech support and version 5 is the latest firmware which was released in November.

I saw the 1910 what needs fixing thread - I'd like to break out what needs fixing into a seperate thread.

I have the e-mail address of the president and the head of marketting if people would like to let them know your thoughts :)

I wouldn't be as upset if 1. Denon hadn't told me the issue was resolved. 2. A new $600 DVD player has issues my 3 year old cheap DVD player doesn't.

I'm really sorry... It's of course version -5 I have. Don't know why I slipped on the keyboard like that. :/

I don't think the multi-channel setup will effect the 2-channel output in anyway, meaning if you listen to a 2-channel SACD or DVD-A through the 2-channel outputs, you will get the full range signal.

Can someone confirm this? I had the exact same question and the manual says nothing about it (imagine that). I will be using the digital coax out for watching movies, but will also be using the analog outs for high-rez music. For high-rez music, I will only be listening in 2-channel. That being the case, should I use the FL/FR outputs in the "5.1ch AUDIO OUT" analog section or should I use the L/R outputs under the "2ch AUDIO OUT" analog section?

I'd really love to know what connections to make before I go crawling through my cable spaghetti to hook this sucker up!

Im pretty sure this has already been covered in this thread (or was it the 3910 thread?). Use the left and right stereo outputs. The L & R of the 5.1 can give the same output, but the separate stereo outputs hava a slightly better analog components

Hi all,

I never got a response so I figured I'd ask again:

I currently run component from my 2910 to my Sony 34" XBR960. If I were to move to HDMI (for upscaling purposes), is there any instance where a DVD will *not* look better upscaled? I have about 250 DVDs, so everything from Farscape to LOTR to Simpsons, etc. I'm assuming that in addition to 720p and 1080i over HDMI, I will still be able to run 480p if I choose, yes?

I'm also wondering if I will lose any quality in color or clarity if I move from component to HDMI on a CRT set.

Thanks.

Originally posted by tennberg
Hi all,

I never got a response so I figured I'd ask again:

I currently run component from my 2910 to my Sony 34" XBR960. If I were to move to HDMI (for upscaling purposes), is there any instance where a DVD will *not* look better upscaled? I have about 250 DVDs, so everything from Farscape to LOTR to Simpsons, etc. I'm assuming that in addition to 720p and 1080i over HDMI, I will still be able to run 480p if I choose, yes?

I'm also wondering if I will lose any quality in color or clarity if I move from component to HDMI on a CRT set.

Thanks.

Hi Tennberg,
You're currently running component from the 2910, which probably has better D/A conversion in it than your Sony does. But it sends the TV 480i/p only. If you choose to run HDMI from the 2910, then the D/A will happen inside the Sony instead, but at a higher resolution (720p or 1080i). So only your eyes will be able to determine which D/A is better, the 2910 at 480i/p, or the Sony at 480p/720p/1080i.

As far as quality in color or clarity is concerned, the 2910 does 12-bit 214Mhz processing, and though I don't know what the Sony does internally, I've gotta think that clarity in the Denon would be superior to the Sony's. Having said that, theoretically, I would think that color or clarity wouldn't be a problem regardless of which output you use.

Rick

I just received word from Denon that a new firmware release should be available for the 2910 in "a week or so". When I asked them what was included in this new release, they responded by saying one of the updates was for "black level control in Normal mode". Other than that, they were a little tight lipped.

Frankly, I think it is nice to see Denon actively supporting this product.

Thanks,
Mark

At last I have connected with a HDMI cable (from the DVI out with an adaptor, since the HDMI out don't support long cables) my Denon (firmware ...-5) to a Panasonic PT-AE700 projector and I have a new problem:

If I choose 720p or 1080i I see some horizontal lines missing (there is black on the 16:9 screen instead of the picture).
If I choose 480/576p the screen is fully covered as with RGB output.

Why? Frimware problem? Some setting?

Piero

Originally posted by mczolton
I just received word from Denon that a new firmware release should be available for the 2910 in "a week or so". When I asked them what was included in this new release, they responded by saying one of the updates was for "black level control in Normal mode". Other than that, they were a little tight lipped.

Frankly, I think it is nice to see Denon actively supporting this product.

Thanks,
Mark

Sounds very nice! Do you think Denon will email the ones of us who contacted them previously to get the -5 update, or will we need to contact them again?

Im pretty sure this has already been covered in this thread (or was it the 3910 thread?). Use the left and right stereo outputs. The L & R of the 5.1 can give the same output, but the separate stereo outputs hava a slightly better analog components

HumanMedia,

Thanks for the reply. I searched this thread and didn't find anything on the 2-channel outs, so I thought I'd ask.

I have a Fujitsu P50 and from reading on the flat panel board, I should be outputting an interlaced signal from the 2910. I switched the format to 1080i (this is interlaced, correct?) but the dvd display still shows "progressive". I have the dvd hooked up via dvi to the screen. What am I doing wrong? The only interlaced option I have is 1080i correct? Thanks

Originally posted by golfster84
I have a Fujitsu P50 and from reading on the flat panel board, I should be outputting an interlaced signal from the 2910. I switched the format to 1080i (this is interlaced, correct?) but the dvd display still shows "progressive". I have the dvd hooked up via dvi to the screen. What am I doing wrong? The only interlaced option I have is 1080i correct? Thanks
The unit puts out whatever you select, ignoring the "progressive" setting.

Originally posted by millerwill
Sounds very nice! Do you think Denon will email the ones of us who contacted them previously to get the -5 update, or will we need to contact them again?

They mentioned to me that it would be available for download. I don't know if they plan on contacting everyone who requested the -5 update.

Mark

by the way, how to look for your current firmware?thnx

Got this email from Denon today:

Your request for an update disc for your DVD-2910 has been processed. You will shortly receive the very latest firmware which will bring your machine up to:

ESS6720-7

This version is even newer than the one which you may have expected. We did delay some requests in order to bring you this very latest improvement.


Version 7, yeah! No details about the improvements though. I had originally requested version 5 (latest at the time) but never received the CD and downloaded the firmware instead.

See my previous post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5051356#post5051356).

Mark

Originally posted by mczolton
See my previous post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5051356#post5051356).

Mark

I saw that. But I had some specifics which might be helpful.

Originally posted by AccuView
I saw that. But I had some specifics which might be helpful.

Oh, I know. I wasn't trying to usurp your post. You just mentioned that they didn't give you any details on what the new firmware fixed so I thought I would link back to my post. I've been having the "Normal" black level problem as well.

Mark

I checked on Denon's website last night and it still mentions the "-5" firmware as being the latest.

AccuView: Did Denon happen to mention what the "-7" firmware fixes?

Originally posted by tennberg
I checked on Denon's website last night and it still mentions the "-5" firmware as being the latest.

AccuView: Did Denon happen to mention what the "-7" firmware fixes?

I emailed Denon and got the same reply as AccuView above, namely acknowledging my request and saying that I would 'shortly receive' the -7 upgrade cd. The email address is contactservice@denonnj.com.

Hey all,

When will all these 2910 updates be available in Canada? There doesn't seem to be any updates in the .ca URL, even for -5. Can anyone send me the update? Any help is appreciated.

My Denon 2910 with firmware -5 connected in 720p to a Panasonic PT-AE700 shows two little black bars above and below the image, also without playing the movie. This doesn't happen if you connect the Panny to other DVD players.
Connected in 480/576p the image fills all the screen. Firmware problem? What else?

Thank You

Piero

I received the -7 firmware upgrade 2 days ago (I had not installed the -5). The note with the 7 said it was to improve blacks and I believe to upgrade the HDMI. I have not installed the -7 because I have heard of some compatability problems with my monitor (JVC D-ila 61") and certain HDMI hardware - since everything seems "compatible" now, I'm reluctant to install something that might make things worse. Has anyone had any experience with this upgrade - with or without a JVC D-ila monitor?

I received the -7 firmware upgrade 2 days ago (I had not installed the -5). The note with the 7 said it was to improve blacks and I believe to upgrade the HDMI. I have not installed the -7 because I have heard of some compatability problems with my monitor (JVC D-ila 61") and certain HDMI hardware - since everything seems "compatible" now, I'm reluctant to install something that might make things worse. Has anyone had any experience with this upgrade - with or without a JVC D-ila monitor?

Do you have a 2910? The current firmware on their web page as of this moment is version 5. I don't know why they'd jump to version 7.

how can we request -7 firmware

Just ran my serial number thru the online upgrade, version 7 is now showing for me.

Do they typically ship the new firmware before it is available on the web?

Just tried it also for mine, its version -7 now showing.

I went to the Denon website, registered my 2910 online, and received the firmware upgrade. Oddly enough, when I got the -5 upgrade months ago, I wasn't asked for a serial number! This time I was.

Did you get your version 7 in the mail or online?

7 is available for download now.