Denon DVD-3930 & DVD-2930 w/Realta T2 Chip Coming September- - Page 142

Hi Kunz,

Yeah I asked about the guides. The Denon Guy in New Zealand said "we just change the laser unit and leave the guides alone". This is the second laser unit that has been changed in mine. I re-installed the player last night and the player is working awsome However this is what happened last time. I think there is a serious design problem with the laser. The laser just taken out of mine was imaculately clean.

One thing of interest is: I cleaned my last laser with a brush cleaner about once a month. The Tech said to stop using this and to use this "Maxell BR-LC Blu-ray Lens Cleaner" It is a Dvd cleaner that uses a vacume, totally non-contact. I have ordered one to use in all three of my players (Denon BRT2500, Denon 3930 & PS3).

I agree with you this is not an impressive player. I have a love/hate relationship with it. When it works it is the best DVD player on the market. But that is only when it works. I guess it is like a Ferarri. Greatest car when it works but is not known for it's reliability

I upgraded from the Denon 2900. I wish I had kept this player. It was bullet proof. I had it for 5 years with not one fault. It did'nt have HDMI or upscalling, however running component the picture was just about as good. Go figure

Ta

Dono

I upgraded from the 2900 to the 3930. Didn't have the heart to sell the 2900 as it was bullet proof (as you said). And one of the fastest machines (at everything) in town. But I never use it and it continues to sit in a closet.

The 3930ci has an internal fan?

So it runs hot and noisy?

Due to the attractive closeout pricing on Denon universal (including SACD) players, I very recently bought a 1940ci and a 2930ci and a 5910ci.

The 5910ci has the same Realta video chip as your 3930ci, but the 5910ci is massive and does not have a fan of any kind.

I plopped (taped actually, using blue 3M masking/paint tape) a 120x120x25mm 12v fan (Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F) on the hot rear corner, using a small variable AC/DC transformer with settings for 12v, 9v, 7.5v, 6v, 4.5v and 3v. Runs OK with the 3v setting and is inaudible.

So I'm hoping that maybe that will give my Denon 5910ci unit some longer legs?

Cheers

If I was living in the same counrt I would be begging to buy it of you. This was the best DVD player I owned. I just think there is too much going on in the 3930. I could live without HDMI and upscaling at the end of the day you don't notice these features when you watch a movie.

Ta

Dono

Yes Badas, love and hate. But, in my case, deception is the word.

Well, I gave my 3930 a big test over the weekend (after having the laser changed for the second time). All is good . I put in some discs that I was really having problems with and it is now operating perfectly

I just want to let people know what to look for:

CD's wont play well. Especially skipping tracks. 3930 just hangs.
Dvd's take forever to load to the Menu. Scene selections don't happen. Navagation is slow or the 3930 just hangs again.
SACD's don't get recongised. Sometimes only plays CD layer or it hangs.

Basically the laser is too weak to read so the player just hangs itself. In my case this has been fixed twice by swapping to a new laser. Not a good look for Denon The last time I was told my laser was clean and cleaning didn't fix

I am just going to change the laser ever 12-18 months

Ta Dono

A key reason for failure of parts is they are running too hot.

Any chance that this is what is going on with your Denon 3930ci player?

Does it have an internal fan?

If yes, how noticeable is the noise from the fan?

FWIW, I don't have a Denon 3930ci player, but I do have the similar but heavier/bigger 5910ci player (comes without an internal fan) which I plopped a 120x120x25mm 12v fan on top of (running at 3v it's inaudible).

OTOH, I do have a Denon 2930ci player (same laser head?) so this thread is of interest to me and I need to read through it from start to finish.

Cheers

Mine doesn't get hot. It gets warm but not hot. No mine hasn't got a fan. It is stock standard. I have very large ventulated shelves (see attatched). I just think the laser is crap. The rest of the unit is great. I don't really care I will just replace the laser when it dies.

Ta Dono

mine get's mostly warm (on top). It does get hot when things warm-up (ambient temperature) during the summer


nice clean set-up


I don't understand why a company like Denon would fabricate a player with such a flakey laser product?

I don't understand why a company like Denon would fabricate a player with such a flakey laser product?[/quote]

Yeah I haven't had a problem with Denon in the past. I have had several Dvd and CD players. None of them broke down.

My understanding is that this laser is used on a lot of other equipment and not exclusive to Denon. Which makes me think that there might be a design fault on one of the boards which effects the laser assembly after time.
Go figure

I brought the Denon 2930CI from Dakmart. The unit I got skipped right out of the box and was sent for repair to the Denon Repair Shop in NJ. When it came back it still skipped on CDs and DVDs. So DakMart exchanged it for a new one and guess what that one skips too. I just can't believe a Denon product has this design flaw. Well I am done trying to get a good one. I asking Dakmart for my money back and I am replacing the 2930 with a Yamaha DVD-S1800BL.

Ex-Loyal Denon Fan

You think we have problems? Denon posted a firmware update for their 4310 receiver which bricks them. The only fix is to return the units... the dumb thing is the firmware update is still posted...

After three failures of trying of getting a good 2930, I brought a Yamaha DVD-S1800. Guess what it works right out of the box!!! Sounds very very good and has a great Picture.

Does it sounds as good as a Denon 2930? Can't tell you because I never had any of the three attempts with the Denon 2930 work without freezing and skipping.

I'm an ex-loyal Denon fan too. Denon never more!

I have a 3930 and bought a Billy Idol Storyteller DVD/CD combo pack.

Turns out the DVD is PAL Region 2,3,4,5,6 and will not play on my 3930 ("wrong region" message).

Is there a work-around or ???.

Should Best Buy be selling non region 1 DVD's?

Comments or help please...

There is a well known region-free hack. See the following:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...87#post8779187

Is this why prices are so low? Should I not even bother getting a 2930ci? Is skipping and failure an inevitability?

Tandrin:

I believe the prices are low because dealers are trying to unload these players in anticipation of newer models.
I have had my 2930 for 2 and a half years and use it almost daily. It hasn't skipped a beat in all that time and I love it. At the prices these players are going for today, I would get another one (or a 5910) if I had the money to spend.

Thanks for the quick reply. They are hard to resist at that price.

Hard to gauge how widespread problems are through this forum....

Trying to play Billy Idol-Storyteller DVD (Region 2,3,4,5,6).

Will the 3930 convert PAL to NTSC?

I found a Region hack for the 3930, but now it seems my TV will not recognize the signal, which I think is PAL.

Help?

There wont be any newer SD models. Just BD models w/ SD capability. The 2930/3930 are the last of the SD DVD breed (IMHO).

In the main settings, set your TV type to NTSC (assuming that is what you have).

Hi John. I agree with you. I hope future, affordable BluRay players have "universal" capabilities, i.e. SACD and DVD-A. I know about the Oppo. Now we need others.

maphiker,

Thanks...

I did as you suggested and it works.

The 3930 was set to MULTI, which sounds like it should play everything, but I guess not.

Should leaving it on NTSC affect the PQ on other disks?

Glad it worked! How was the PQ on your PAL disc?
As for leaving the setting on NTSC, I think the PQ would be fine. You could always get a test disc and make a comparison.

BTW, the remote has a PAL/NTSC button. I don't know if it has the same effect as the menu setting. Maybe you can tell us what it does?

maphiker,

I was a little disappointed with the converted Billy Idol PQ (OK, but not great), buit I have no real reference since I can't play it in PAL.

I've learned that the MULTI setting does not convert, whereas the NTSC setting converts PAL to NTSC (DOH!).

I've been told that from PAL to NTSC is a down-sampling technique. Does that mean we should expect a slight decrease in PQ?

As to the PAL/NTSC button, my 3930 remote has been acting up lately (it decides when it wants to cooperate), so I started using the other remote that came with my 5308. It does not have all the functions, but enough to play disks.

Thanks again for your help.

Here is a definitive solution to your problem of the Advanced AL24 light coming on when playing the multi or stereo DSD layer of a SACD on your DVD-3930CI player. The reason the light is coming on is becuase you have the player set to filter freqencies about 50kHz for SACD. This means that one of the filters in the Advanced AL24 processing group is being used to filter above 50kHz. To get the purest sound from SACD's you must set it to NO FILTER or "100kHz" on the audio setup screen. To change it to "100kHz" do the following:

1. Press "Setup" on the remote
2. Press the right arrow button until you get to the "Audio" tab (on screen menu)
3. Press the down arrow button until you get to the "Source Direct"
4. Select the "100kHz" option in "Source Direct" (see page 23 in the Operating Instruction Manual)

Now the Advanced AL24 processing light turns OFF when you play the multi or stereo DSD layer of SACD disc. No you can listen to SACD's the way there were truly meant to be heard WITHOUT ANY FILTERS OF ANY KIND!! ENJOY!!!

this is precisely how I have my unit configured for playing SACD, and DTS, and DVD-A titles. It sounds beautiful!

I can not access "Source Direct" on the audio menu. I am using the D-link. Are you using the analog outs?

The reason is that you need to deselect Multichannel in the HDMI setup to 2Ch.
then you will be able to access "Source Direct"