Is now a good time to buy a DVD player?? advice needed. (1 Viewer)

[JakeMcM]

I am toying with the idea of getting a new dvd player. I am about to get a new projector so I thought I might update the player along with it. I currently have an older philips DVD player its ok. I am wondering if I should go and try to find one of these Pansonics thats getting harder and harder to find like the xp 30 but I don't know if there is anything better coming soon.

I have heard about this Hidef scaling thing coming but from what I understand it only scales over DVI cables and my projector (panny l300) has a DVI but from what I understand it doesn't except protected source material.

Are there any new dvd players coming soon, or out now even (non-panasonic as I heard they aren't so good) that I should wait for rather than hunting down a hard to find model.

I need progressive scan, doesn't have to be a changer, preferably coax input, doesn't have to play DVD A or SACD. priced below $300, unless its a significant jump in quality.

Any input will be appreciated.

 

[Jason Pugh]

Hmm.. at least with the Panasonics it seems they are ditching the coax digital output and only giving optical unless it is a higher end player. The S35 model I picked up only has optical and I believe that the S30 is the same. I glanced at a few other players around $100 to $300 and most seemed to start going with optical only. This is just my observation after looking at my local Fry's but I was looking primarily at Panasonic players due to Chroma bug issues.

 

[Mike Up]

Usually only the cheapest players had coaxial. The higher models had optical. Panasonic has, as many, decided to go with the higher end fiber optic and ditch the lower performing coaxial digital connection.

I know at work, we replaced all of our digital coaxial lines with optical because of the higher performance. I would expect the same in home theater gear.

 

[JakeMcM]

I thought optical and coax was same in terms of performance

 

[Jason Pugh]

Actually Mike if you look at the HIGH end players then I think you will find they have both coaxial and optical. It has been HIGHLY debatted by MANY as to whether optical sounds better and I still hear a lot of audiophiles claiming that you get a more full sound from the coaxial cable than from optical. Of course there are people with the opposite opinion but as of lately the cheaper players have dropped the coaxial to save money IMO and not because optical is proven to be better. Just my 2 cents from what scanning over what some audiophiles have to say. I personally can't tell the difference.

 

[Neil Joseph]

I just got my player, a JVC with no chroma issues, that has both optical and coaxial. I like to have both, if only as a backup when one has a problem. Technically, they perform the same although I prefer coaxial, simply because it is more robust than the delicate optical interface.

 

[Jeff Adams]

Yes the reason Panny has dropped the coax connection is simply price issues and not due to the "low" performance of the coax connection. There have been many debated over this and I for one can't tell any difference. So coax or optical are both fine with me. What Neil say's makes sense though, I never thought about having a backup connected just in case the other one had a problem. I'll do that next time with my next dvd player I purchase. Which I too am in the market for another dvd player. I am trying to hold out though. I want to see a company come out with a progressive scan dvd player with the DCDi Faroudja technology and combo sacd,dvd audio player. I know Onkyo, Yamaha and Marantz all have one out now but heard that the Onkyo and Marantz are excellent performers on audio but alright on video with some chroma problems and the Yamaha is great on video and okay on audio performance. I'll wait for the next crop of combo players to come out, hopefully one will do it all great and for a great price.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

In addition to the benefit Neil mentioned regarding having both coaxial and optical connections available (backup), it's also useful because many receivers have a limited number of either coaxial or optical digital inputs. Having both on your components gives you flexibility if you are running out of one type of digital input on your receiver.

 

[Charles Gurganus]

Jeff, I just read a not so nice review on the Marantz 8300 in the Absolute Sound. It pretty much panned the SACD performance. They liked the DVD-A performance.

Also, Secrets has a Audio review on the Onkyo. It is pretty favorable on the audio side, which matches my thoughts as well. Of course I know the video got hammered in the same Secrets site for the Onkyo (should apply to the Marantz as well). I don't do hi-def TV yet and the interlaced video is very good. So when I do get HDTV I'll either make sure it does progressive processing very good (letting me use the interlaced out on the Onkyo) or opt to buy a video only DVD player that does. I got tired of waiting for the perfect machine. I would like to compare the Yamaha 2300 at some point to the Onkyo. I know the video is suppose to be better (but I couldn't tell now) but it is the audio that would interest me the most. Bass management is not an issue with my setup.

 

[Mike Up]

Well,

The problems I was referring with coaxial cable is of known situations. The cable can pick up noise, kinks can cause reflections, and coaxial is slower than fiber, which offers a faster signal.

Granted, the signal being at the speed of light doesn't affect sound qualities, but in industrial situations, that time can determine if a piece of equipment is tripped in time avoiding millions of dollars in losses.

Noise and reflections "CAN" affect the coaxial cable. Just because it "CAN" affect, doesn't mean it will affect. Situations would determine this.

I agree that coaxial is much more robust and I hate having to treat my cables like glass.

All I was saying was that coaxial cable is more vulnerable to signal problems.

Cheaper Sony, Toshiba, and generic players had always been coaxial only. Once you started to get higher in the model lines, did optical cable become an option.

I have no problem using coaxial cable, just stating that it's inherently inferior. Not saying you'll be affected by it's inferior traits, just saying they're there regardless.

Have a good one.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Just for the record, I have had audio dropouts on my old player (happened a year after I got the player without any other modifications) due to the optical cable. replaced the cable and no dropouts. I have also seen dropouts with a cheap coaxial cable that disappeared when I got a half decent coaxial cable. Same player, nothing else changing. Problems can happen with either type. If you can get both, that gives you added flexibility as well.

Forgot to mention that my previous optical cable was a mere 3ft long and while moving the DVD player one time, it pulled on the cable destroying it and leaving a stand of fiber hanging out of the receiver's optical connector. I probably could have damaged the connector on the receiver or dvd player end if I was not so lucky.

 

[Bill Kennedy]

At the risk of starting an off-topic series of rants, the following FAQ from the BetterCables site makes sense to me... and I use both w/ my Denon 3801 and appreciate the flexibilty to do so.

"What is better OPTICAL or DIGITAL COAX?
Generally speaking, when you have the choice between toslink (optical) and digital coax, the digital coax sounds better. Both carry a digital signal, but the optical signal goes through 2 extra conversions (electrical->light and light->electrical). The optical connection has shown to have more jitter problems."

 

[Adrian_G]

Do you feel that there is a benefit to the Monster brand digital coax? Or does the cheap stuff work just as well? Or does Blue Jeans cable make something better than Monster at a cheaper price? Just wondering if its worth the extra money on the audio side.

 

[John_F]

I think this your expectations are wrong.

I don't think it is resonable to compare them across different applications. For example, I've read many times that for home theater audio, digital coax has a higher bandwidth. Does this matter, no.