Denon 3910 Owners Thread - Page 20

Mary Ann,

Let me clarify something: one thing is the regular DVD played in a HTPC and another the WMV disc that it is sold or rented along the DVD (only in a few cases, such as STEP INTO LIQUID). The DVD has a maximum resolution of 480p. The WMV can have the same resolution as you display (up to 1080i, although my display can only display 720p). From you posting I follow that what you were using in both cases (the HTPC and the TV or LCD projector) was the DVD (not the WMV disc) and that explains why you didn't appreciate a significant difference between the two. In fact, I believe there is none, or if there is, it all depends on how you configure your equipment. By the way, you don't need any additional software to play wmv files (once you introduce the wmv disc, the PC auto plays it using Windows Media Player).

I built a dedicated HTPC, which is connected via DVI to the Aquos display. I also have the Denon 3910 connected to the Aquos (through HDMI). For wmv the HTPC is way superior. For regular DVDs, the two are about the same (with a lot of fine tuning the HTPC gives me a better picture, but the Denon is much easier to use for the rest of the family, plus its audio capabilities are awesome--sacd, dvda, etc.).

Santiago

Very interesting, thank you. I sold the HTPC but maybe when I get time I will hook up my main tower, DVI out, to the Sharp just to see what the WMV looks like. I wasn't going to hook up a PC to it because 37" at 9 feet back is too small for me to surf the net etc. I might eventually get another small LCD projector to play around with hooked up to PC anyway.

I agree on the audio side of the 3910 also. It's a double treat, great video and audio.

There will always be new DVD technologies coming out. We have our PC's that we can install and try these players into. I belive that the new Sony Playstation will have the Blue Ray Technology.

I was a little concerned, spending this much on a DVD player and then the technology changes, but the technology always changes and it seems like a new standard DVD technology is facing bumpy roads, along with cable cards and HDCP.

The 3910 is the main stay in the living room. Everyone loves it and I do not hear any complaints that it is not working, like when we used the HTPC.

Mary Ann,

Your comments about 720p v. 1080i are similar to many others in
the thread. I just got the DVI switch this week so that's what I
tried first.

This weekend I'm going to experiment with 1080i and decide which
looks best. Then I'm going to use DVE to tweak my picture.

I still am amazed how great DVDs look with DVI and 720p with NO
TWEAKING AT ALL yet!

/George

Greetings,


George, FYI I have had similar results with my LCD front projector connected via DVI set at 720p. You may want to calibrate using DVE prior to running the comparison. This will allow for proper sharpness, contrast, and brightness settings.


Good luck!


Regards,

On SACD recorded in 5.1 and stereo you can change from stereo to multichannel and back by the touch of a button. Read the manual page 26 - "Super audio CD setup button".

If using the stereo outs enter audio step and on setup change to 2ch (SRS off) or (SRS on) See page 9 and 21. And if multisource is played its downmixed so dont forget to change to stereo as mentioned above to use the second alyer of the hybrid SACD disc (norah jones f.ex.)

Basically my advice - read the entire manual be4 u ask around

Boogie

Denon ONLY supports WMV AUDIO!
For WMV video u need a HTPC or an IO Data WMV player (with WLAN and more).



Of course a 720p or 1080i video signals is "better" (more detail) than a 480 vertical lines DVD (or 576 in europe) - especially if your projector has 720 vertical pixels or even better 1080

//Boogie

For some reason, I'm am unable to get this procedure to work on my 3910. I pressed the "Play" and "Open/close" (with the unit powered off - small power button out) then while holding the buttons press the small power button to power on, then I waited anywhere from 3 seconds to 8 seconds and let go....then when the word "loading" is in the display (NOT: >II LOADING) I pressed the 3,2,6,5 buttons and then "Menu".....and nothing.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance,

Same happened to me on 2910 when I tried several times to check firmware version. I gave up and simply updated the firmware. After updating the firmware, the above procedure worked and gave me the firmware version, etc..

Also, don't use any universal remote; use 3910's remote.

That's kind of a crappy response. It was a valid question, and the manual (like all Denon manuals) sucks serious butthole. Broken english, gnarly sentences, and translated nonsense. I've read the entire manual 3 or 4 times and I've still got plenty of questions.

Jason

someone should jump on these quick.
http://forum.**********/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5411

muncey

Thanks. Got the last one!

Good for you, thats a great deal. They went in 50 minutes.
I would have went for it but i already have a zenith 318.
Just so happens i work in the city of Orange, small world isn't it.

muncey

hehehe... Thanks, I lurk on av123 more than here, but would have missed this if you hadn't posted it to a thread to which I was subscribed.

This will replace my Bravo D2, now fated to go on Ebay.

Yup. Wanna come over and help me hook it up?

It will go great with my Rocket RS1000s and Emotiva twins, not to mention my Sony HS10 and Firehawk screen.

Rocket RS1000's, Im jealous, and the Twins also. Sounds like you have quite the audio set-up. I have a 7.1 system with RS550's, RSC200, RS300's and RS150's in the rear powered by a HK 7200. I had the HS10 prior to the Benq 8700+ on a 110" Carada BW screen. Zenith 318, Panasonic RP-62 and a Voom STB. I sure you can hook it up yourself but I would like to see the 1000's and the twins someday.

muncey

That's always good advice, but I did read the manual before I asked the question. It states to use downmix if connecting the 5.1 analog fl/fr to a 2ch stereo. For the 5.1 outputs it is clear that downmix is necessary for stereo and I assume that the downmix is hi-rez, but i am not sure. My question is what is output from the mixed l/r (large)analog outputs when playing sacd and dvd-a? Is it hi-rez stereo or cd rez? and is it necessary to switch to downmix when using these outputs?

The manual contains a detailed table showing the various digital output resolutions when playing various disks. The same would be helpful to clarify what is output from the mixed stereo outputs.

Thanks again.

Mine is RS1000's, RSC200, RSS300's, and RS250's.

Yeah, I don't know either whether or not the 2-channel outs output hi-rez or standard 2-channel audio. If using just front L & R speakers, should you connect to the front L & R of the 5.1 or the 2-channel? The manual does not address this (shocking!).

Jason

I believe these outputs work as follows,

The regular 2ch L&R outputs standard Redbook CD 44.1/16. If you tell the machine to downmix a HiRez source(if the source allows it) it will send the downmixed signal through these outputs. SACD playback can only be done through the 5.1 analog outputs whether it is 2ch or Mch. If you listen to both HiRez and standard CD you would want to have both sets of outputs hooked up. Now if you are using a Denon Link then it becomes a moot point for everything other than SACD unless you're using IEEE1394 which will carry SACD signals.

Jim

The THX Goldfinger disk refuses to play in my 3910. I took it to my dealer and it will not play on their 3910, either. It plays fine on my old Sony DVP-S7000 and on their 1910 (they didn't have a 2910 in stock). My 3910 has the latest firmware applied.

If anyone owns this disk and cares to validate this, you'll need the dual layer single sided version of Goldfinger (where one layer is pan&scan and the other is 16x9). The catalog number is 906726. It will play the startup screen (aspect ratio selection), then the MGM "splash" clip, then the THX "splash" clip before it crashes. Right after the THX segment ends, the UA clip starts and, at this point, the video goes black (sometimes returning for a moment or two) and the sound is choppy or non-existent. Press the Top Menu or Menu does not restore it (although it appears to return to the menu). I have to open/close the drawer to restore it. I suspect that the laser is somehow mis-focused until then.

The good news is that I was unable to find another disk like this (at least in my collection), that is, one with two layers where one layer is "standard" and the other is "widescreen". Hopefully it is the only disk that the 3910 will not play.

I'll send a note to their technical support.

--Larry

Sorry, but this is confusing, and I think incorrect. I may be wrong, but I believe you can hook up 2 analog interconnects to the 2ch output and still choose between high res and redbook 2ch output in the menu (no need to hook up 2 interconnects to the 5.1 L&R). Thus, the 2ch L&R outputs will play whatever you tell it to output (high res or redbook) - you do not have to go through the 5.1 analog to get SACD (2ch analog will also play SACD).

Okay, so taking a 3805 for example, by sending the 2ch SACD signal to the CD inputs on the 3805 you can then apply EQ and DSP processing? I think, and I could be wrong, not arguing with you, but in order to send SACD over those L&R outputs the signal would have to downmixed or down-rezzed, no?

In other words, to get the full HiRez SACD signal you would have to use the analog 5.1 outs...I'm not sure anymore..

All SACDs have a 2ch SACD track and a multi ch track (SACD hybrids also have a redbook layer). I believe the L&R analog outputs will play anything you tell them to play (high res or redbook), although I admit the manual is not very clear. I'm going to send Denon an email tomorrow to make sure. I can hear a difference on my Rolling Stones Hotrocks hybrid SACD between the redbook and SACD 2 ch output (and I only have interconnects plugged into the L&R outputs). The easiest way to tell is to play a pure non-hybrid SACD. Since there is no redbook track, you would get no sound over 2 ch L&R if it cannot play high res. I don't have any SACDs to try it myself (I only have redbooks and SACD hybrids).

Okay, cool. So you are switching the output format at the player instead of just leaving it in "multi"?

I agree about the manual...

Again, I may be wrong about this. My interpretation of the manual is that in the audio setup, you can tell the player to preferentially play either redbook, 2ch SACD, or multi ch SACD as the default. You can also, with a simple press of the SACD setup button (on either the front panel or the remote), change your mind for what you are currently playing, but when you turn off the player, it will change back to the default you set in audio setup. If the player cannot play what you tell it to (if you ask for SACD, but insert a redbook CD), it will automatically play redbook.

Since I have a 2 ch stereo system, I have SACD Stereo as my default, with my 2 RCA interconnects plugged into the 2 ch outputs. I will email Denon to make sure this will output high res, but based on my own ears, I really think it does. On the other hand, then why would the manual refer to 2 ch output using the 5.1 outputs?

The hi-rez signals are processed in the digital domain. Once they are converted to analog they do not carry a hi-rez discription any longer, they are just closer to the original analog signal recorded. you can process this sacd analog signal in your dsp but it must be converted back to digital, in which case, depending on the quality of your adc's and dac's, the signal will lose quality when it is again converted back to analog.

Hopefully Denon will get back to you soon, because now I am really starting to get confused, I'm going to have to do some listening tests myself..

Larry the 3910 I owned was not able to play MGM's "Back to School" and started to develop problems with all my discs after the layer change so I returned it to the store.

Now I'm confused. I thought analog is the only way you can listen to SACD due to copyright issues with Sony. Or do you mean if you process the signal, you lose quality? That I would agree with (you are generally better off just passing the sound through a receiver or preamp - some have "direct" paths, bypassing the processing, for better sound).

I recently got the Denon 3910 and flashed the firmware to make it code free.

I am very happy with its performace in audio (DVD-A) and video (DVDs and DVD-Rs), but I wasn't able to get any sound from the only SACD that I have: a Deutsche Grammophon's recording of Anne-Sophie Mutter playing violin with the New York Philarmonic.

I believe I tried all possible settings combinations with no success. By the way, changing the audio settings doesnt' make any difference with DVD-As (the 3910 plays everything in this format).

I am using coaxial cable to my Harman Kardon AV 7200 and DVI to HDMI going to my Sharp Aquos. I will soon receive an HDMI to HDMI cable to replace the one I have.

Any suggestion?

SACD can't go over SPDIF (neither coaxil nor Toslink will work); there just isn't enough bandwidth. Your only choices for SACD are the 5.1 analog outputs on the back (which I was, and they sound terrific) or firewire (which I haven't tried).

Erik