Best progressive DVD under $1K? (1 Viewer)

[Corey Weiner]

I am interested in buying a new player to replace my aging Toshiba 3109. I can wait until something decent is released. What are my best options for the next six months? How is the Tosh 4700? Any feedback on the new Denon 3800 or 2800 Mark II? I understand the chroma bug is still present, but is it that noticeable?

Thanks.

 

[Jack Briggs]

The chroma bug thing is a tad overblown, in my opinion. It's noticeable, but not excessively distracting.

All the players you mention are good ones. Just select the one that has the feature-set you need the most.

 

[Dennis Walsh]

toshiba sd9200 is pretty good. I got it for about 800 a few months ago. It's on sale at Tweeter this weekend for $500.00 Dennis

 

[Jack Briggs]

I'd suggest that the SD-9200 is more than "good"--it's a great player.

For much less, the much-praised Sony 700 (now the Sony 715) is winning kudos in the A/V press--and it streets for less than $300.

 

[Dave_Dunk]

Dennis, agreed. The sd9200 is an excellent player. Audio output is first class, and the video image is up to Toshiba's ususal high standard. However, watch out for the now infamous "rumbling drive mechanism" on this model. Mine was fine for the first month and then mysteriously developed the problem. It's a shame because this unit has so many great things going for it... Oh well...

 

[Dennis Walsh]

Yeah, I think you are right. It seems to be an outstanding player for me,too. Since it's my first, I didn't have anything to compare it to. I went out and got the Denon avr 3802 so I'd be able to do the dvd-audio. Got a klipsch lf-10 sub and have ordered Axiom tower 80, s and a center which should be arriving shortly. Upgraded the speaker wire and banana plugs and it sounds and looks awesome. Watched Gladiator dts, t2 dts, saving private ryan dts and even apocolypse now redux dolby digital looks and sounds great. Dennis

 

[Phil A]

The price on the Rotel has been lowered to under $1k and it does DVD-A. The new Philips may be worth looking at, $599 list and it does SACD. The Pioneer Elite does DVD-A and SACD and can be had for under $1k as well. If the audio features are not as important, there may be better options.

 

[Dave_Dunk]

Sounds like you've got the HT bug Dennis!

I've got mine hooked up to a avr-4802 and the results are equally impressive. It's just a shame that there are so few DVD-A titles available to play on it ;-(

Dave.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Corey,

You did not mention what type of TV you have. If you have a 16x9 HD-ready TV, then you may want to consider a progressive scan player with built-in aspect ratio control and scaling. I upgraded from a Toshiba SD-6200 to a Panasonic RP-91 with this feature, and I would have a very difficult time giving up the zoom/scaling aspect ratio control if/when I upgrade again.

 

[Dennis Walsh]

Dave-

" Sounds like you've got the HT bug Dennis!"

Yeah, my wife and friends think I need an intervention.

I probably just need new surrounds and rear surrounds. And maybe a good HDTV satellite receiver- seems there's some bugs in the ones I've read about so far. I have a 65 inch toshiba wide screen.

What do you like in dVD-Audio that you've heard. I got the Fagan/Becker two against nature, eric clapton reptile, barenaked ladies, beethoven, so far. I bet Peter Gabriel would sound good that way. Dennis

 

[Corey Weiner]

Scott,

I currently have a direct view Panasonic 32" capable of accepting a progressive signal (32XF55). I plan to go to a larger 16x9 in about a year. I am waiting to see how good the new tabletop DLP/LCD models will be in the 50-60 inch range.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I would still like to hear feedback about the Toshiba 4700/5700 or the brand new Denon 2800 Mark II/3800. I'm not sure if I'll need the scaling feature of the RP91. BTW, aren't there new Panasonic models coming out soon?

Thanks again.

 

[Dave_Dunk]

Dennis

I haven't even heard a DVD-A disc yet! There's just nothing out there that really appeals to me. If I HAD to buy one I'd probably go for the Bare Naked Ladies DVDA or Vivaldi's Four Seasons. There's a Crowded House release due in the next few months which I'll try and get a hold of.

I've also been looking at HDTV receivers and was tempted to go cheap and get the RCA-100 - but it doesn't have component out. I like the look of the Hughes E86 Plat. and will probably go with that.

If you're looking for a decent set of rears / surrounds, Mission bipoles sound very nice with the Denon AVR range.

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Sony Wega 36HS20, Toshiba sd9200, Hughes Gold E25 receiver, Denon avr4802, Mission 780's, Mission 78C, Mission 77DS's, Paradigm PS1000 Sub, Rhino Cable interconnects, QED Silver Aniversary cable...Oh and an XBOX.

 

[Brad Van Eerden]

Dave,

Have you done or are you going to do anything about that infamous rumbling noise?

I'm extremely intested in the 9200, esp. if Tweeter has it for 500 bucks, but am concerned about this problem and if there is any resolution.

 

[Dave_Dunk]

I just kinda live with it Brad. I've heard it's actually easy to fix it and that the problem is with the disc clamping mechanism. Way I see it, even if it cost you say a $100 bucks to have the problem sorted, the SD9200 is still a great buy for $600. I got mine on Ebay about 6 months ago for what was then ( and still is now )an amazing deal - $560. Pair it with a decent receiver and you'll be in HT Heaven.

The "rumbling" itself is intermitent, and when it does happen I can usually get it to go away by repeatedly opening / closing the disc tray. I do know if I put a disc in and it doesn't start to make the noise in the first 5 seconds then It'll be fine for the whole movie / cd

Hope this helps,

Dave.