Denon 900,1600 or Pioneer 45 (1 Viewer)

Brad Newton · Mar 30, 2003

Do any of these units have the chroma bug? What about zoom like the JVC units? I am going to purchase a receiver & dvd player, and would prefer they were the same make. I presently have a 4:3 tv, and a JVC dvd player. With that player I am able to zoom the picture on widescreen dvd's to fill out the screen, so I want a replacement dvd player that will do the same.

Brian L · Mar 30, 2003

The Pioneer 45A (if that is what you mean) has no zoom mode, does ahve the chroma bug (but it is invisible to most owners) and has piss poor bass management.

On the plus side it has great in-player letterboxing (important because you have a 4:3 TV).

That said, I have one, and with an ICBM, I am pretty happy with it.

BGL

Brad Newton · Mar 30, 2003

On the plus side it has great in-player letterboxing (important because you have a 4:3 TV).

Brian - could you explain that in simple terms. Sorry, but I'm just learning this HT thing.

Thanks

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Brian L · Mar 31, 2003

Brian - could you explain that in simple terms. Sorry, but I'm just learning this HT thing.

In-player letterboxing is a process by which the player converts an anamorphic (or enhanced for 16x9 Television) DVD to display properly on a standard 4:3 TV.

Right now your probably asking, what the hell is anamorphic?

Check out this link to a very well written article discussing the process and what it means to the HT enthusiast:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articl...c/welcome.html

Not all players do the conversion equally well. Sony is renowned for good In-player letterboxing, and there are several other players that do a good job as well (the 45A does).

BGL

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Brad Newton · Mar 31, 2003

Is the bass management problem only a problem for DVD audio & SACD or does it have an effect on dvd's as well? I will be using the dvd player for mostly movies.

Brian L · Mar 31, 2003

For Dolby Digital and DTS, it appears to work correctly if you have all speakers set to small with a Sub. I think that combo is also OK with SACD and DVD-A, but would not swear to it. As I said, I bought an ICBM and do not use the BM in the player.

Any other combinations and formats are a crap shoot, as we are finding things out daily that are not done correctly in the 45A.

There is also the issue of the sub/LFE channel being about 10 dB lower than the other channels. You may or may not be able to compensate for this with your receiver. If you can, you may find that you have a mismatch between the sub level required when using the player versus the level you need when using the internal decoder on your receiver.

If you want to know the details about that, search for "Low LFE".

Regards,

BGL

Jason Pugh · Mar 31, 2003

I should get my Denon 1600 this week and I'll reply back. Out of those the Denon 1600 seems like an easy choice from the things that I've read. Then again I feel this way because I researched and purchased one. Hopefully I'll feel the same way after I get it and test it out.

Brad Newton · Apr 1, 2003

If I remember correctly, the 45A received pretty good reviews in Sound & Vision, and another magazine for its picture quality, which is the most important to me. If the chroma bug is noticable, is it noticable in both progressive & interlaced. With an older 4:3 tv, I am only able to view in interlaced fashion.

Brian L · Apr 1, 2003

If I remember correctly, the 45A received pretty good reviews in Sound & Vision, and another magazine for its picture quality, which is the most important to me. If the chroma bug is noticable, is it noticable in both progressive & interlaced. With an older 4:3 tv, I am only able to view in interlaced fashion.

But the Secrets site totally trashed it, for the chroma bug as well as poor 3:2 pulldown performance. I don't recall if they comment on in-player letter-boxing.

Then again, I have looked at the scenes that Secrets said would show the chroma bug (5th Element and Toy Story) and see absolutely NOTHING of what they described. As for the poor 3:2 pulldown, I really don't know what to look for, so who's to say. I can say that subjectively, the picture was great when I had a 4:3 TV, and its great on my WS 53" Pioneer.

As for S&V, they said the player had correct BM in all formats. That was completely false, as many owners have learned. It would be nice if they would publish a Take 2, given a lot of people bought these players based in part on that review. I am not holding my breath.

I have read S&V (and Stereo Review) for the better of 30 years. They have really hurt their credibility (which some will say they never had in the first place) in my eyes WRT to their review of the 45A.

Of course, Pioneer also will not admit to the problems either.

BGL

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