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Denon DVD-A1UD/DVD-A1UDCI Blu-Ray/DVD/SACD/DVD-A/ Universal Player

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#1 ·
Some eye candy pictures from AVBuzz-















Audioholics have posted an interesting Podcast with Denon Jeff. In it he mentions that there will be an annoucement of the player in November/December with a January/February release date in mind. It will be entirely built inhouse (yay) and is based on the same standard as their previous High-End Universal player the DVD-5910. It will also featured balanced 2 Channel outputs for CD playback for those that can take advantage of this.


Also it will feature-


- A successor to DL3 that will handle all digital clock management and jitter control for audio instead of HDMI

- New 32 bit digital upsampling and D/A conversion circuits



Pricing mentioned was going to be $3400 when they were going to included HD-DVD playback but since HD-DVD demise and Toshiba not making the optical lasers anymore HD-DVD has been dropped.


So I still invision $3000k for it and will gladly buy one to replace my current 2 Player solution.

http://www.avrant.com/?p=311


Heres hoping that Denon-


- Redesign their GUI finally on the player to match those on their new AVR/AVP's, and more importantly since this is going to be a no holds player


- Match or better the Blu-Ray load times of the PS3. Since this won't be out until early 09 hopefully technology will catch up to make this possible or else Denon can just drop a Cell processor in to make this happen at the price point it is coming out at
 
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#3,257 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mt14942 /forum/post/21605742


After reading thru some of the Oppo forum and website I am now considering getting the Oppo 93 as opposed to the 95 and use that as my main player for all bluray discs and m/c music. With my Denon A1UDCI bd player I was using HDMI to my Classe SSP800 pre/pro for all the audio processing when playing bd and all multi-channel music(dvd-a, sacd). I will than be just using the A1, when I finally get it back from repair, for all 2-channel music via the balanced analog xlr's this is where this player excelled IMO not so much as a bluray player. It also was very good with m/c dvd-a and sacd but started just using the HDMI and Classe for that as well as I felt it was equal to or slightly better than going m/c analog route. It seems a shame to be reduced to using such an expensive source player for just 2-channel music. Anyway maybe it's not a bad idea to share the load and plus if a disc starts to act up in one player I'll have another option. I hope I'm safe to assume from what I have read that the 93 is all that the 95 is with the exception of the superior analog section? The A1 has always been a very slow player to use and from what I have read this is a strenght of the Oppo, plus it will be nice to get the smart apps, wireless connectivity and 3D.

Yes, if you'll only be using the digital connections, that BDP-93 will give you the same result as a BDP-95. Only get the BDP-95 if you're going to use the analog outputs with very good (or better) equipment in the rest of the system (or if optional rack mount ears are really important to you
).


Having a 2nd Bluray player in your system for situations when a disc won't play on one or the other is definitely a good thing too.
 
#3,258 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by gsr /forum/post/21605786


Yes, if you'll only be using the digital connections, that BDP-93 will give you the same result as a BDP-95. Only get the BDP-95 if you're going to use the analog outputs with very good (or better) equipment in the rest of the system (or if optional rack mount ears are really important to you
).


Having a 2nd Bluray player in your system for situations when a disc won't play on one or the other is definitely a good thing too.

I have a pretty modest set-up with the exception of the SSP800 & the A1 when it's working like it should. I would like to upgrade my speakers but a couple of years ago I finally got my center and surrounds to match my front speakers so I don't think that will be happenning any time soon. I think it odd that the thing I like most about the A1 is how good my cd's sound with just my two (what I consider modest) front speakers integrated with my Rel sub.
 
#3,259 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mt14942 /forum/post/21607479


I have a pretty modest set-up with the exception of the SSP800 & the A1 when it's working like it should. I would like to upgrade my speakers but a couple of years ago I finally got my center and surrounds to match my front speakers so I don't think that will be happenning any time soon. I think it odd that the thing I like most about the A1 is how good my cd's sound with just my two (what I consider modest) front speakers integrated with my Rel sub.

Assuming your profile info is correct, your speakers would certainly be good enough to benefit from the upgraded analog audio outputs on the 95. My point was that the 93's analog output is good enough for most systems - it's actually quite good.
 
#3,260 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by gsr /forum/post/21607753


Assuming your profile info is correct, your speakers would certainly be good enough to benefit from the upgraded analog audio outputs on the 95. My point was that the 93's analog output is good enough for most systems - it's actually quite good.

I have been listening to cd's with my Denon 3800 analog outs to the SSP800 and am thinking I never gave it the credit it's due as a cd player not quite the A1 but pretty close.
 
#3,261 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by gsr /forum/post/21607753


Assuming your profile info is correct, your speakers would certainly be good enough to benefit from the upgraded analog audio outputs on the 95. My point was that the 93's analog output is good enough for most systems - it's actually quite good.

I just got the not so good news about the repair of my A1 and they said the bluray drive needs to be replaced at cost of $900.00 plus tax. The bluray drive cost 750.00 and has to be ordered and the labor to install is $150.00 and will probably take a couple of weeks to complete the repair. Am I out of line thinking this seems excessive? I have already called Denon to verify this and to ask them why this would happen after only 2½ years when my Denon 3800 bd player that is nearing 6 years old has never been a problem. I wanted To see if there is anything they can do. Supposedly a manager/supervisor person is going to get back to me on that but I am not going to hold my breath. I am really not sure now if it is worth repairing especially since I can get the new Denon DBP-2012UDCI for the same price as the repair or the top Oppo universal bd player for $100.00 more and pickup the additional technologies that are now available in these players (smart apps, wireless connectivity, 3D etc). Also I have been listening to cd playback on my 3800 and have not been disaappointed.
 
#3,262 ·
I got some unexpected good news late Friday afternoon from Denon’s customer service manager, but the day didn’t start out to good. To begin with I called Denon Friday morning to get confirmation from them about the $750.00 cost of the bluray drive. They asked me to have the repair company fax or e-mail them the repair estimate. I called the repair company and they said they would not do it and that Denon would have to call them. I called Denon back to tell them this and they said just have them e-mail me the estimate and than I can forward it to them. Once again I called the repair company and they told me there was $35.00 charge for them to do that. When I told them that I thought that was absurd, the person I was talking with said that I was being nasty and that I can come and pick-up the player as they were no longer going to repair it. Once again I called Denon and also e-mailed them about the situation. About Friday around 5:30 I got a call from there customer service manager and he said that he would take care of the cost of the bluray drive and that I would just have to pay them the $97.00 For the labor since I already had given them $53.00 just for them to tell me what was wrong and the cost to repair. Needless to say he made my weekend. I told him about the person I spoke with saying they were not going to repair my player. He said he knew the person and that there have been some issues in the past from other customers with this person and he would take care of it. He said for me to call Him mid to late next week if I don’t hear from the repair company. I can only say that my experience with Denon’s customer service has always been positive and I have had there products for over 6 years.
 
#3,263 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mt14942 /forum/post/21629630


I got some unexpected good news late Friday afternoon from Denon's customer service manager, but the day didn't start out to good. To begin with I called Denon Friday morning to get confirmation from them about the $750.00 cost of the bluray drive. They asked me to have the repair company fax or e-mail them the repair estimate. I called the repair company and they said they would not do it and that Denon would have to call them. I called Denon back to tell them this and they said just have them e-mail me the estimate and than I can forward it to them. Once again I called the repair company and they told me there was $35.00 charge for them to do that. When I told them that I thought that was absurd, the person I was talking with said that I was being nasty and that I can come and pick-up the player as they were no longer going to repair it. Once again I called Denon and also e-mailed them about the situation. About Friday around 5:30 I got a call from there customer service manager and he said that he would take care of the cost of the bluray drive and that I would just have to pay them the $97.00 For the labor since I already had given them $53.00 just for them to tell me what was wrong and the cost to repair. Needless to say he made my weekend. I told him about the person I spoke with saying they were not going to repair my player. He said he knew the person and that there have been some issues in the past from other customers with this person and he would take care of it. He said for me to call Him mid to late next week if I don't hear from the repair company. I can only say that my experince with Denon's customer service has always been positive and I have had there products for over 6 years.

That's really good news on Denon stepping up to the plate on this. I assume this means you'll be sticking with the DVD-A1 for now
.
 
#3,265 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by gsr /forum/post/21629931


That's really good news on Denon stepping up to the plate on this. I assume this means you'll be sticking with the DVD-A1 for now
.

I have pretty much kept up with this forum and I don't remember reading about any other A1 owners experiencing the issues I have?
 
#3,266 ·
Not the ones you did , but there were some issues with dirty lens , as i had it also.

A cleaning was required and it got good again.
 
#3,267 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jomark911 /forum/post/21675776


Not the ones you did , but there were some issues with dirty lens , as i had it also.

A cleaning was required and it got good again.

For all I know thats all I needed as far as the bluray drive goes, but according to the repair shop I need to replace it. As for my set-up menu going away that's another matter. I e-mailed them Friday to see how the repair was going and they said they are waiting on the parts they ordered.
 
#3,269 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jomark911 /forum/post/21680935


OK then best wishes for your machine"s health.

Thanks jomark, I am looking forward to getting it back. Fortunately I have had no issues with my Denon 3800 bd player and never fully appreciated the quality of the cd playback from that unit.
 
#3,270 ·
I have had a very interesting afternoon (while of sick) with my DENON A1UD, Pioneer KRP-600A latest generation KURO plasma and the Spears and Munsil calibration disc...


Here are my findings re the COLOUR SPACE and DEEP COLOUR settings in the Denon A1UD into the Pioneer KURO plasma via HDMI.


I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed using this disc for the first time today and I also found it very revealing.


I had my Pioneer latest (last
) generation KURO Plasma (the UK KRP-600A) ISF calibrated in December 2009 and the BRIGHTNESS, CONTRAST, SHARPNESS etc all seem to be pretty much spot on using your disc. The ones that I am finding harder to ascertain are the CHROMA ZONE PLATE and the LUMA and CHROMA MULTI-BURST patterns.


On the CHROMA ZONE PLATE using my Denon DVD-A1UD I am finding that the "YCbCr" setting is GREATLY getting duller and less intense as the pattern goes to the very edges and corners. I find that there is very little to choose from between the "RGB STANDARD" (video level) and "RGB ENHANCED" (PC level) settings. I think the "RGB Enhanced" (PC level) setting keeps the colour a bit more "intense" than the "RGB STANDARD" (video level) setting, but having said that... ALL of the settings seem to display some kind of drop-off in colour intensity unless it is just because the lines are getting closer together towards the edges / corners. Also, I find that the "RGB STANDARD" setting is better for the other test patterns where as the "RGB ENHANCED" (PC level) settings are way different. I think I should probably go with the "RGB STANDARD" setting. Have you found that the Pioneer KURO plasmas work better with colour space in RGB rather than YCbCr?


The LUMA MULTI-BURST pattern has two squares at the far right side (2nd square down and 4th square down {bottom square}). These seem to change as the pattern plays. They go from clear lines to a solid grey (especially the bottom right square), but again... I found the "RGB STANDARD" (video level) setting to be best. Should these squares be "changing" or should they stay the same?


The CHROMA MULTI-BURST pattern has the same two squares changing. With the Denon A1UD set to "YCbCr" I couldn't see the lines at all in same two squares (I assume these are the highest frequency squares). They were just solid grey squares with little to no line structure in "YCbCr". When I changed the "Colour Space" setting to "RGB Enhanced" I could clearly see lines in the 2nd square down on the right hand side, but NOT in the bottom right square. When in "RGB STANDARD" all of the boxes had a clear line structure (even the very bottom right one).


So... after all that I assume that "RGB STANDARD" is the setting to go for on the Denon (atleast). ????



I have to say that I did not see much change in any of the pattern results whether DEEP COLOUR was set to "AUTO" (36 bits) or "OFF". If there was a difference... I am either too blind or too inexperienced to see it.


I currently have it left in "AUTO", but what do other Denon A1UD and Pioneer KURO users have their set to???


 
#3,271 ·
Rgb standard is to be used. Enhanced is a different setting , that might be used with some projectors if i remember correctly, with different type of calibration on the pj though.

Deep colour does nothing since there is no such "signal" recorded in the bd disc.

I also have it set to auto , but it does nothing.

As for the rest above , you might want to ask a pro calibrator to recalibrate your kuro along with a1ud as player , to get the best out of your tv.
 
#3,272 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jomark911 /forum/post/21722863


Rgb standard is to be used. Enhanced is a different setting , that might be used with some projectors if i remember correctly, with different type of calibration on the pj though.

Deep colour does nothing since there is no such "signal" recorded in the bd disc.

I also have it set to auto , but it does nothing.

As for the rest above , you might want to ask a pro calibrator to recalibrate your kuro along with a1ud as player , to get the best out of your tv.

Thanks JOMARK. Much appreciated!
 
#3,273 ·
I had the firmware update performed. $999.99 plus tax. I'm about 60 miles from Clearwater FL so I Fed Ex'd the beast to them. 30 days later, they called to say it was ready so I had them Fed Ex it back. Next day delivery each way, and I did not insure for full value.


I really only have two comments. I cannot understand why they refuse to provide an updated Owners' Manual instead of the damn CD. For a thousand bucks, I think we deserve better. But then, they saved a tree and are keeping things green, etc., etc.


Programming the XM radio feature is difficult. The buttons on the remote do not match those shown on the screen. I finally got it done with more luck than skill.


I listen to classical music utilizing the DENON LINK and am not sure which "surround processing" sounds best. This is where the Anthem "proprietary" setting for stereo really shines.
 
#3,274 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mikey mo /forum/post/21743546


I had the firmware update performed. $999.99 plus tax. I'm about 60 miles from Clearwater FL so I Fed Ex'd the beast to them. 30 days later, they called to say it was ready so I had them Fed Ex it back. Next day delivery each way, and I did not insure for full value.


I really only have two comments. I cannot understand why they refuse to provide an updated Owners' Manual instead of the damn CD. For a thousand bucks, I think we deserve better. But then, they saved a tree and are keeping things green, etc., etc.


Programming the XM radio feature is difficult. The buttons on the remote do not match those shown on the screen. I finally got it done with more luck than skill.


I listen to classical music utilizing the DENON LINK and am not sure which "surround processing" sounds best. This is where the Anthem "proprietary" setting for stereo really shines.

This is the Denon flagship A1 Blu-ray player you are talking about or are you referring to the surround processor? I can't see the blu-ray player getting a $1000 hardware/software update which is why I'm inclined to think you meant the surround processor and not the player, especially with the mention of XM radio.
 
#3,275 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod#S /forum/post/21744239


This is the Denon flagship A1 Blu-ray player you are talking about or are you referring to the surround processor? I can't see the blu-ray player getting a $1000 hardware/software update which is why I'm inclined to think you meant the surround processor and not the player, especially with the mention of XM radio.

Sorry for the confusion. I'm talking about the AVP-A1. By the way, the "player" I refer to is the DVD-A1.


EDIT: I meant to post in the AVP-A1 thread. My Bad.
 
#3,277 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jomark911 /forum/post/21486123


Luckily for me my A1 can't even get a DHCP address on my network




Why? it shoudn"t be doing that.

Mine got a dhcp from day one.

You are echoing my earlier post.


You have to manually make it look for

network, somewhere in the settings, whacko innit

for a device released in 2009?
 
#3,278 ·
I'm risking a similar message on both the DVD and the AVP forums - sorry if this is a sin but I'm not sure where it belongs ...


I've just got my AVP back from the upgrade and everything seems OK except I cannot get BD discs on my DVD A1 to 'talk' to the AVP using D-Link. I know it has been a couple of weeks since it went away but what have I forgotten about setup? This is sooo frustrating when much of the re-setting has gone so smoothly. When I press play on a BD disc the D-Link sign on the AVP goes out - I think everything is going via HDMI. Why? Reminders please.


[I have my answer - switch HDMI control ON and then reset the HDMI handshake. Thanks to PLA on the AVP forum]
 
#3,279 ·
I am happy to report that I got my A1 back Friday. It took 6 weeks but I am not complaining since Denon in my opinion went beyond my expectations as far as their support in getting it fixed. So far so good, but I have yet to check a disc that I was having pixelation & freezing issues as all of those were rentals. One question I have is that I can only access the setup menu when there is no disc in the unit, is this the way it is supposed to be?
 
#3,280 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mt14942 /forum/post/21794298


I am happy to report that I got my A1 back Friday. It took 6 weeks but I am not complaining since Denon in my opinion went beyond my expectations as far as their support in getting it fixed. So far so good, but I have yet to check a disc that I was having pixelation & freezing issues as all of those were rentals. One question I have is that I can only access the setup menu when there is no disc in the unit, is this the way it is supposed to be?

No. It is supposed to work in any mode. At least mine enters the setup irrespective of the disc status.
 
#3,281 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Russian One /forum/post/21797982


No. It is supposed to work in any mode. At least mine enters the setup irrespective of the disc status.

Thanks, I was afraid of that so it looks like my setup menu isn't fixed. When I have stopped playing the bd disc and then hit the setup menu on the remote I get nothing, and also the player's standby button blinks on and off for 20 to 30 seconds before turning off. This is the same behavior that I experienced before I took it in for repair. I am afraid I am going to lose the setup menu again so I have tried to make all of the same settings I use to have before I initialized the player, thinking that might fix the problem, at the suggestion of Denon customer support. At least as of right now if I just turn the player on and than hit the setup button with no disc I get the setup menu. Since I haven't had much interaction with the setup menu since when I first made my settings back when I bought this player about 2 1/2 years ago, I am hoping to get some help with a couple of questions pertaining to the setup menu. I apologize in advance as I probably had these same questions but my memory isn't what it used to be. First of all I use the single HDMI connection out from the A1 to my Classe SSP-800pre/pro for all bluray discs and m/c DVD-A. I am using the analog xlr's for all 2channel music and I am using the m/c analog only for m/c sacd's. I am just trying to make sure I make the right choices while I have my set-up menu. Under HDMI Setup under Audio Setup I have "Auto" selected since I have chosen under the Audio Setup under Digital out - Bitstreaming. I have just two items that I am not sure about. The first one is under HDMI Setup - SA-CD Audio Out. The default setting is On, I have chosen off and not sure why? If I have it off does that even affect me since I am using the xlr analog outputs for all 2-channel sacd and m/c analog outputs for m/c sacd? If I have understood the manual correctly the default setting of on means that it outputs sacd audio to the HDMI output. So since I am not using the HDMI for either sacd 2-channel or m/c, that leaving it at the default on setting doesn’t affect how I am playing sacd’s with the analog connections. However it might be better for those times when I might want to check out how sacd sounds via the HDMI connection. My second question is under the Audio Setup and the Source Direct choices. If memory serves me right I left it at its default setting of off. After reading the manual in that section I first thought that this only pertained to sacd but then it also mentions that the “on” setting for either 50kHz or 100kHz is best for DTS and DVD-A. I am still not sure if I should have Source Direct on or off and have always been un-clear on the appropriate Source Direct setting? Thanks in advance for any input on these two questions.

Mike
 
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