Denon DVD-A1UD/DVD-A1UDCI Blu-Ray/DVD/SACD/DVD-A/ Universal Player - Page 110

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!

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.

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.

I thought so.

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?

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]

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.

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

I use HDMI for video only, use coax for bitstreaming and use the 5.1 analog for SACD, DVD-Audio and BD audio (i.e dts-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD and PCM). I have SACD playback enabled, Source Direct set to on (I think that bypasses the bass management i.e sets all speakers to large) and 100kHz enabled in order to be able to pass the highest res signals over the analog. Remember when outputting SACD over HDMI that it will be cut down to 44.1/16.

I just seen tonight there was a new firmware update available also.

How did you come to the conclusion that the RGB Standard option should be used over the YPrPb option? I had my Pioneer Eliete Kuro PRO-150FD calibrated in the YPrPb setting and now you have me worried I'm not getting the most out of the player. When my ISF guy was over doing the cailbration a couple years ago he looked at the available options and immediately said to keep it at YPrPb and the results were very very good, almost spot on. He didn't try calibrating in either RGB Standard or Enhanced to compare the results to YPrPb. My Xbox 360 was also calibrated on another input and I believe he again chose YPrPb.

YPrPb option stands for utilizing rgb signals , but using really long cables , as pro"s do.
That is mainly the purpose.Since the video signal is recorded in rgb format , even in blu rays , it"s the one that should be used. It"s not actually my conclusion , but an isf callibrators conclusion.

So it sounds like you are using the analog outputs for listening to sacd as I am and just for the reason you mentioned about the resolution being cut down to 44.1/16. So if I understand the manual correctly having SA-CD set to on allows for Super Audio CD to be played via HDMI so that would mean we could have that set to off and it would not matter since we are both not using HDMI for SACD audio. Am I thinking correctly here? Since you have "Source Direct set to on, which you mentioned that setting bypasses the speaker/bass management, are you doing the speaker/bass management in your avr or pre/pro? The manual states that that having "Source Direct" OFF enables the speaker and subwoofer settings and that setting it to On outputs the content as is which sounds like the correct choice since I am doing the speaker/bass management in my pre/pro. Is there away to check what firmware update I am on? The repair company said they updated my player to the latest firmware and I would like to confirm that.

Same here I had my Kuro Elite professionally calibrated with YPrPb. Since he is a highly respected calibrator I have to beleive he would have used the RGB if that was the correct setting.

With respect to setting SACD to Off I honestly haven't tried it so I can't say for sure if it relates to the HDMI, analog or both. Yes I do bass management in my SSP so I don't end up duplicating things and negatively affecting the quality of the signal. Concerning the firmware version there is a way of doing it but I can't remember off hand, it's been ages since I gave that a try. I think it's some sort of button combination you have to hold down when you insert the power cord, perhaps others can chime in on that. If you have your player connected to the Internet then the player will tell you if there is an update available by going to the Firmware screen in the Setup menu. If it says there are no updates that means you are up to date.

Interesting. So, if YPrPb is more or less a RGB signal I wonder what really differes in the spec then just to enable for longer length video cables. There must be a difference, if not it wouldn't really make sense to have separate options.

Thanks Rod#s I will check to see if it is updated with the latest firmware by doing that. I beleive you mentioned in an earlier post that a new firmware update is available. Regarding Source Direct choices under Audio Setup I have re-read the manual on this and if I am interpreting it correctly the default setting of Off is enabling the speaker and subwoofer settings in the A1 and since I mostly would be using the pre/pro for that and I wouldn't want both doing it which is why I have it set to ON. However I do like to listen to m/c sacd's using the analog connections so does that mean on those occasions I have to go back and change Source Direct to Off so I have my A1 speaker and Bass settings? I am probably making to much of this.

I am happy to report it was a false alarm and it looks like I am able to access my setup menu afterall. I just had to be in full stop mode, and as you know there can be more than one stop mode on a disc, before pressing the setup button. It took along time to get it repaired but I got new bd mechanism unit and a second part called a main unit PWB ASSY, not sure what that is, for an extremely reasonable price. the technician at Electronics lab said it was like getting a whole new player, a bit of an exaggeration. Also the csr person I spoke with today at Denon explained to me that what I had interpreted from the manual is correct regarding "Source Direct" and the way I use the A1 with my pre/pro, with its 7.1 bypass. Those few times that I listen to a m/c sacd I should set Source Direct back to off to enable the A1's speaker/bass management.

Really not too much of an exaggeration. The BD mechanism is basically the only moving part in the player and the main unit PWB ASSY is most likely the main board (roughly equivalent to the motherboard, CPU, and RAM in a computer), so you should be in pretty good shape. Other internal components would include the power supply (or supplies), video processing board, and analog audio board. The requirement to be in "full stop" mode is pretty common, though it certainly isn't intuitive.

No, for SACD you also need to keep Source Direct set to On because you still want your pre/pro doing the bass management don't you? I know I certainly do, I don't want the A1 messing with the sound other than just converting DSD to PCM at the DAC's. In the analog domain with respect to the settings, SACD's shouldn't be treated any different than DVD-Audio, dts-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD and PCM.

Ah, so you use bypass in your pre-pro for SACD, interesting. So yes you would need to turn Source Direct to Off. Why do you run it that way? Why not let the pre/pro do the bass management for SACD? Is it because you don't have room EQ in your pre/pro perhaps? If that is the case then I could definitely see having the A1 do the bass management so that the signal stays in the analog domain all the way to the speakers. To further that, if your pre/pro doesn't have EQ why don't you also use bypass for DVD-Audio, dts-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD and PCM?

What you described regarding the PWB ASSY is what Denon said as well. I sure missed the analog audio board for the 6 to 7 weeks it was gone. Since I am recently retired I listen to a lot more music and this player makes my cd's sound so good to my ears, but than again this is probably the only high end source player I have owned.


I actually have room EQ but unfortunately it's not one that works automatically and I have yet to use it, and probably better left for a professional. I have been looking at the Classe SSP-800 manual and haven't been able to determine if there is an option to use the 7.1 analog inputs without having to choose 7.1 Bypass as the audio connector under input setup. I know it can be done with the 2 channel xlr inputs so I would think it’s the same for 7.1 analog inputs. I have actually done as you have suggested and gone the m/c analog route for m/c DVD-A, SACD, and Bluray concerts. I find with action type movies I like the digital route as to my ears the sound just seems to have more impact and for sure the LFE is more impactful. I think I feel the same way with DVD-A. As welcoming back my A1 I listened to the Beatles “Love” DVD-A, and was just blown away. I feel that what I have is overkill with my pre/pro and the A1 and that either way I go sounds well. That is why I was considering, dare I mention it on this forum, a Oppo-BD93 rather than pay the exorbitant price that I was originally quoted before Denon stepped up.

I have determined the 7.1 analog inputs are signal passthru with volume control. No processing being performed. So I will continue using the m/c analogs for the few instances when I listen to m/c sacd due to the audio resolution deficiency with the A1 when using HDMI. I have to admit I have listened to m/c sacd's with the HDMI connection and am not sure I am hearing a difference plus I won't have to change the Souce Direct setting and just leave it on.

Actually, video HD signals on Blu-Ray discs are encoded as component YcBcr native signals, not RGB. RGB 8-bit is used for DVD and SD video.

Now I understand why you are running things the way you do. Thanks. With my Lexicon MC-12 I'm lucky I guess to have the option of digitizing the analog inputs allowing me to apply bass management, post processing and room EQ. However, since it does not have HDMI inputs I have no choice for DVD-A, Bluy-ray dts-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD and PCM, I have to use the analogs if I want the high quality sound. I would prefer to run things like you and use HDMI for those formats.

Guys what kind of files can we "playback" using the sd card? only photos and stuff like that , or can it be , say flac files?

Ok i found it . No flacs though.

No Flac and High Rez is not very reliable. It freezes sometimes....

all the best,

Michael