Universal DVD player for HT, SACD and DVD-A

DVI-HDMI adapters are common. DVI and HDMI switches are also pretty common although good HDMI switches are not cheap and begin around $200.

Kal

Holly the Denon DVD-5910 has the latest greatest Burr Brown dacs, an upgrade over the 3910..I may get to hear a tricked out version of the 5910 on Wednesday..Tom

Oakiris, I don't have a recommendation for a current Universal-Disc Player, but I own and love an absolutely stock Denon 2900, so probably you can't go wrong with the 3910.

Do understand that to get 6-channel hi-res sound out of your UDP you'll need 6 analog interconnects and inputs for them on your preamp/processor/receiver. I'm using and loving an all-analog Audio Refinements Pre 5*; all digital-to-analog processign in my system is done by the player. I'm also buying and LOVING multichannel SACDs and especially DVD-As of classical and large-scale film music.

* an 'interesting' name for a 6-channel preamp. Must be French!
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If I had a dedicated home theatre room I would go for the Denon DVD-5910, but $3500 is way more than I can justify for my casual HT use! Please let us know what it sounds like,though, Tom; it is supposed to be something special indeed.

Thanks for the info about the switch, Kal; I saw one for about $240 that looked good. On the other hand, I have read that since my HDTV is CRT based, a DVI connection really won't make much difference to the PQ, and component cables may do just as well. I need to figure out what player to get first, anyway, and then I'll consider the switch.

The Denon DVD-2910 is actually on my short list, along with the 3910. Price wise, the 2910 has the edge, and it has received some good reviews.

What I really need to do is find a local dealer and give some DVD players a test drive! Maybe I'll check into that later this week.

Holly

Holly, I have a 2910 in my HT setup right now. I purchased it primarily for its HDMI output. It does upconversion to 720p which is the native resolution on my JVC LCoS TV. I did not want to spend much on a player at this time. I prefer to save the funds and place them either, into my two channel or wait until HD-DVD or Blueray becomes available.

The 2910's picture quality is very good in both progressive 480p and the 720P outputs. I think it has 5 options for video output. Both 480i and 480p via the Component outputs and 480p, 720p, and 1080i via the HDMI outputs. Its very nice to have a selection and again, the picture quality is very good considering this players very modest price. It easily bests my previous Sony NS900v.

SACD sound is quite good. Again better than the previous Sony. A well recorded SACD sounds substantially better than its redbook counterpart. Leading me to conclude that the Redbook playback portion of this DVD player isnt all that. In fact, I much prefer using the DACs in my Processor for Redbook playback. Its Redbook is comparable to the Sony but far less palpable than a Jolida JD100 and it gets really beat up by a RA CD55. As it should at it price point.

I do not have any DVD-A's to date so I cannot comment much on this format. In fact in my area there arent many, if any, DVD-A's available, and so far, I have placed all my proverbial "eggs" in the SACD hand basket.