Denon's new 1080p upscaling DVD players

If you can't make heads nor tails of the whole HD DVD / Blu-ray debacle but still want a taste of 1080p, Denon's new lineup delivers just that. Realizing some people are still waiting to see how the next-gen optical disc war pans out, Denon has unveiled three new 1080p upscaling DVD players that are marginally more affordable than its more luxurious options. Apparently Denon is marketing these units to easily fit into any custom installation by labeling each model "CI," although we can't really think of how else to install a DVD player. Regardless, the DVD-3930CI ($1,499), DVD-2930CI ($849), and DVD-1930CI ($369) all offer 1080p upconverting over HDMI and SACD / DVD-Audio playback. The DVD-3930CI sports the same Realta HQV chipset as in the DVD-5930CI, Denon Pixel Image Correction (DPIC), on-board keystone correction, and Burr-Brown PCM-1796 DACs. The mid-ranger features the Silicon Optix REON VX chipset and DPIC while the DVD-1930CI steps down to a Faroudja DCDi chipset and a more economical version of the Burr-Brown DACs. Not much has changed outside of the technical rundown, as all of the units feature Denon's subtle black styling and promise to deliver that "uncompromising quality" we've come to expect. If you need something to hold you off awhile longer before choosing an HD format, or maybe a good reason to see what you've been missing on DVD, Denon's two higher-end models can be grabbed now while the DVD-1930CI will be available in August.

[dustandechoes91 @ Jul 28th 2006 1:41AM]

those look just like the old dvd player my dad got when they first came out, brings back a lot of memories, still got that sittin around i think

[Pulte @ Jul 28th 2006 1:54AM]

How absolutely unnecessary! Almost every 1080p display can recombine 1080i content without flaw and the under $200 Oppo 971h has already been proven to outperform the Denon units as far as upscaling picture quality is concerned.
And if the source is still 480i DVD, the upscaling is all that matters.

[Jagster @ Jul 28th 2006 3:16AM]

Isn't it better to just buy a $500 HD-DVD player that also upscales DVD's? This way even if you are looking just for upscaled DVD's you can also take advantage of Hi-Def DVD's if you want too. No sense in spending more than a couple hundred for just an upscaling DVD player these days.

[Tim @ Jul 28th 2006 3:40AM]

"Isn't it better to just buy a $500 HD-DVD player that also upscales DVD's?"

Yes, if the HD-DVD player is made by Denon, otherwise it is like comparing apples to oranges. Denon's gear is far superior to anything made by Toshiba (or Panasonic, Sony etc), and the price reflects that. :)

[mr @ Jul 28th 2006 4:34AM]

Whats the point in upscaling the crappy dvd resolution to 1080p??? Buy yourselfs a cheap media center with som good hardware..it will serve the same purpose (if you need it) and more. You can even upgrade it to an hd-dvd (afterall, existing hd-dvd players are ordinary x86 computers)

[Temple @ Jul 28th 2006 6:56AM]

>>"Isn't it better to just buy a $500 HD-DVD player that also upscales DVD's?"

You can buy a DVD player for few hundred bucks that upscales DVDs, and don't have to spend $500 bucks. For those types of users the DVD-1930CI ($369) should be enough.

However, Denon's are not for people that say go buy a mediacenter PC or can't afford it, they are usually for people with great hometheaters, usally a projection system, that requires good upscaling for content to be shown on the large screen.

If you have a smaller screen, the 1930CI Denon or somthing like a NeuNeo HVD2085 ($250) can do 1080p like the mediacenterPC or HD-DVD player for a hell of lot less then those two setups.

[Jeff @ Jul 28th 2006 7:52AM]

"Whats the point in upscaling the crappy dvd resolution to 1080p??? Buy yourselfs a cheap media center with som good hardware..it will serve the same purpose (if you need it) and more."

Find me a "cheap" media center PC for $369 and we'll talk.

Heck, find me a media center PC at *any* price that includes the Realta HQV chipset.

That's not even talking about all the annoying issues media center PC's have. I've got a MCE PC, and I still use my standalone DVD player most of the time. When you want to watch a DVD, you don't want to sit there waiting for your PC to boot and your software to load. You don't want to hear those fans running. You don't want to deal with system freezes, crashes, etc. (while not that common in standard PC's anymore, these sorts of things happen all the time with media center PC's).

I'd take an upscaling player over a MCE PC any day.

"Isn't it better to just buy a $500 HD-DVD player that also upscales DVD's?"

The $500 HD-DVD players currently on the market don't upscale to 1080p. So not only is the Denon/Toshiba comparison an issue, but you're talking 1080i vs. 1080p too.

[C Money @ Jul 28th 2006 8:38AM]

Technically, you should be leaving your Media Center PC booted up and the MCE application loaded even when you're not using it. Unless you have concerns over power usage, leaving the MCE PC on will not harm it.

Actually, constant ons and offs seem to do more harm than leaving the dang thang on.

I have a customer built Media Center and it does a decent job in upscaling, however, I have to agree with some of those that say the Denon cannot be compared with a Media Center PC or a lower end DVD upscaler. Denon knows what it is doing and is charging the higher price for a reason.

Cheers!

[Chris Heinonen @ Jul 28th 2006 9:22AM]

Also, no shipping HD-DVD or BluRay player contains anything near the audio support available in the higher end Denon players. I know the HD-DVD Toshiba player is a very nice upconverting player for standard DVD's, but if you are after a solid player with great DVD image support (and 1080p, which the HD-DVD player lacks) and great audio support (SACD, DVD-A, even redbook CD audio) then the Denon might be better for you if, like me, you are waiting for HD-DVD/BluRay to be more mature before you invest. I own enough DVD titles that buying a really nice, final player for them to look their best is worth it.

[jim @ Jul 28th 2006 9:33AM]

While I'm a big fan of Denon - (pretty good bang for the buck stuff IMHO) I think this is too little too late. I think their sales team used the old "let's put some lipstick on this pig and sell it - expression). Eventually Denon should pick HD, BR or a hybrid player but start moving forward. Two years from now what are they going to do - add dolby digital plus to the 2910 and sell it as a "new" model?

[hmurchison @ Jul 28th 2006 11:26AM]

Some of you guys are are crack or something.

The Denon is nice if you "must" have Denon. But don't for once think that this thing is going to upscale appreciably better than the HD DVD from Toshiba and it won't touch the video quality of HD.

The audio support of HD DVD is phenomenal with DD+ DTS HD and TrueHD(lossless). If SACD and DVD-A, both dead formats for all intents and purposes, is what you want then that's a potential issue but audio support of the HD players is superior for movies.

The Denon's look great and I expect the performance for DVDs to be good but it's impossible for them to match the best HD...period.

[vitaminc @ Jul 29th 2007 6:03PM]

Some of the people on this thread are not that educated about HD video. :(

1. Everyone can do upscaling, but there are huge differences in video quality.
2. A lot of the current HD/BR DVD are remasters (read: upscaled) of the old film, which a high end Denon player could upscale an original DVD to very similar quality.
3. You can make your system do upscaling at different parts, either DVD player, scalar/receiver, or TV. And different part of the chain are designed specifically for different image processing.

[geekpdx @ Jul 28th 2006 11:54AM]

Denon products are usually top notch, and as Jeff commented, these units are not for the "just build a media center pc" crowd.

As for the "CI" designation and installation... Just imagine throwing a dozen or so components like this into a real A/V rack (no, not the glas shelved thing you bought at Best Buy). A real reack for an extensive installation often uses facia pieces. In these situations, stanardized sizing and foot placement means a lot. Google yieled a quick example here.

[eric l @ Jul 28th 2006 5:21PM]

I talked to the Denon/Marantz pr guy at CES this year and he said they're waiting out the HD/blu-ray until there's a clear winner or until they can build a high quality, cost effectve player that does BOTH. They've always been about the universal player, and they're trying to continue that tradition. I have an 'old' dvd-2200, it's not HD but the picture is wonderful on my Sony HD crt set. I will go HD when Denon releases their second gen universal HD player..

[Colin @ Jul 28th 2006 7:57PM]

Damnit, how many freeking times does this need to be said: 1080p upscaling DVD players are WAY overhyped!! If you have a 1080p TV, then it will upscale EVERYTHING to 1080 freekin P! Yes, a player MAY do a better job at it, but either way you dice it DVD is NOT EVER GOING TO BE HD. DVD is fixed at SD resolution!

That said, Denon players are quite good; I used to sell them. Not as good as some higher end stuff, but for the masses, they're great.

[westcott @ Nov 29th 2006 2:53PM]

Sorry, but no one can come close to the same video quality as Denon for SD DVD's, even the so called high priced models from other mfgs. No other mfg goes to the same lengths as Denon to put out a quality video product on a consistent basis. Panasonic is the only other mfg that comes close.

I agree that 1080p is no big deal and I too wish people would be more concerned with video quality instead. Just because your DVD player upconverts does not mean it will provide good video quality.

Oppo made one good player with DVI and has now stepped backward with its newer models with cheaper video processors. DVI is not capable of 10 bit video processing so it too is limited in its capabilities as color depths increase and HDMI becomes the standard for now.

[Temple @ Dec 4th 2006 9:03PM]

>>"Isn't it better to just buy a $500 HD-DVD player that also upscales DVD's?"

You can buy a DVD player for few hundred bucks that upscales DVDs, and don't have to spend $500 bucks. For those types of users the DVD-1930CI ($369) should be enough.

However, Denon's are not for people that say go buy a mediacenter PC or can't afford it, they are usually for people with great hometheaters, usally a projection system, that requires good upscaling for content to be shown on the large screen.

If you have a smaller screen, the 1930CI Denon or somthing like a NeuNeo HVD2085 ($250) can do 1080p like the mediacenterPC or HD-DVD player for a hell of lot less then those two setups.