2. home-theater
  3. 1150000858

Recommended HDMI DVD players for music and movies.

I am trying to put together my first serious HT system. So I would appreciate any recommendations about any mentioned gear. Speakers will likely be Monitor Audio RS8 Silver 5.0 speakers, with probably the new Adcom GFR-700 receiver. Any sub woofer recommendation would be great as well. I am considering a B & W ASW 750. Room is around 17x17x8 with good acoustic properties. As you may have guessed, I am trying to stick to spending a reasonable amount of money on a good system. Hence, no seperates for now. I also do not want to sink mega bucks into a DVD player right now , when there is a format war taking place between HD-DVD and Blu-ray. So, I would like to get a good new or used HDMI DVD player that wont break the bank. I probably listen to music about equal the time I spend watching movies. Although I am not locked into any of the gear mentioned, I can get the afore mentioned gear easily and at reasonably modest prices. Thanks for your input.
jhwalker
holenneck
127 posts
 
buy a used denon 2910. you can probably get one for 300 bucks and it is a great all around performer
braro
87 posts
 
You dont mention a price range but I will throw this out there. Here come the flames. Do not let the format war scare you. Get a Toshiba HD DVD player! IMHO it does not matter who wins the format war or even if they both fail. For $500.00 you get an outstanding standard dvd player. As far as standalone players go the Toshiba is the best I have seen by a considerable margin up to around $1,500.00. The analog out for audio is very good. I have not run audio HDMI yet so I cant comment on that. Its not going to displace my Wadia 861 but it holds its own. I certainly think it would be hard to find a better sounding CD player for $500.00. Then there is the option of playing HD DVds. On a large screen the improvement is huge. Dont worry about BD putting out 1080P while the Toshiba "only" puts out 1080I. Any capable 1080P display will take the 1080I signal to 1080P with no degredation in image quality. At least that is what I understand from reading the forums on AVS. Anyway if $500.00 is in your price range get the Toshiba. It is a great machine and a bargain to boot.
undertow
1,033 posts
 
Oppo, Oppo, and third Recommendation Oppo! It cannot be beat in pic or performance for base HDMI 720p or 1080i, excellent sound for DTS and Dolby.. Unless you must have SACD, and DVD-A than move to the Top of the line denon or one of the few below it, but the picture is not better. Also the Oppos have internal additional color correction settings, Contrast for super black ratio, Sharpness settings, Etc.. . The denon's top model is no better than 5% over the pic and this is not in every case, however the denon is sold on the additional Audio processors and multiple extra connections. Even on hometheaterhifi.com shootout the Oppo is still #1 over the top denon, and the denons beat out all Sonys, Toshibas etc.. If picture perfect is your overall goal with standard surround processing than there is no other answer, and nothing near 199.00 like this machine.
braro
87 posts
 
The Oppo is a great unit for the price. Also it is very small/slim so if space is an issue then it will be a good choice. I had it in my system for a month until I got the Toshiba HD DVD. In my system the Toshiba is quite a bit better with SD DVD. I gave the Oppo to my father-in-law. Good luck. FWIW Ive had the upper end Dennons and Maranzt units in my system recently and IMHO they are good but not on par with the Toshiba HD DVD for SD DVD. But if your budget is $200.00 or less you will not find a better unit than the Oppo.
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