Actually they are all using the same MPEG decoder and the same deinterlacing engine.
Thank you
Eric.
I never said it was! As I have said before, I intend to critically look at a large number of players (including the RP91 and RP56) before making a decision. I will say that build quality is important to me, becuase I want something that will last as long as I want it too. Heck, an Ayre bought today will probably still be working after I'm dead!Secrets said:
I also understand that I can't afford the reference Ayre player. So what I am looking for is as close to reference as I can get for $3000 or less (much less maybe) with exceptional CD sound quality and build/durability characteristics.
100” screen
Wide or diagonal?
The only other bad thing with a screen that big is that I cant see my little 27 inch tv in my bedroom.
I'm just very curious why in the hell Denon would release a POS and charge $3k for it. I refer to it as a POS because according to your reasoning, this is unnacceptable at this point in the DVD game.
If it takes a video scope to "see" or measure these anomilies, why is it a problem?
It does not take a scope to see the anomilies, I am stating that a reviewer should use a scope to evalute a player. If you see an anomolie on screen, you have no idea if it is the player or the display or an interaction between the two because of voltage levels. This is the same reason test discs should be used. A test disc is designed to stress out the system.
I will concure that a scope will reveal more than you can see. However, you will never see more than a scope can reveal. i.e. your eyes are not as good as a scope.
I have been busy working on better ratings. i.e. what is considered ok, good, very good, and excellent. I see many ways in which the progressive shootout can be better for everyone. I want to address peoples complaints about it. We have lots of great ideas, it just takes time to perfect them. In the meantime I don't want to share because I don't want to give the other guys a headstart.
I like the idea of spending $200 for the Panasonic DVD-RP56, which is known to show no chroma upsampling error, and $2800 on a CD player (or SACD player).
That is what I do. I currently use an RP56 for video and another for DVD-A and CD. As soon as the chroma bug is fixed in the other player, I will use it for video playback.
I don't think the RP56 is the best player ever built. (I see lots of room for improvement, but it is $200!)
If it takes a video scope to "see" or measure these anomilies, why is it a problem?
I actually would settle for video reviewers who understand what all the test patterns on Avia are for, and who actually used them to do their reviews. I've read reviews in major magazines that make it clear that the reviewer doesn't "get" video at all.
The first sign of a lame, content-free review is the words "I watched the [something] scene from [reference-quality-transfer], and the colors and tones were breathtaking." First off, there is essentially NOTHING you can learn about a DVD player by watching a reference quality transfer. I don't mean that as hyperbole, I mean literally nothing. Secondly, the colors don't change from DVD player to DVD player. I have yet to see a player that was so far off in color accuracy that a simple Avia calibration wouldn't set it right. (If there is one, Stacey will probably jump in here and set me straight, but it can't be more than one or two).
So as soon as you read a review where the reviewer compares the colors (or worse, the "color accuracy") of two players, you know they don't know a damn thing about how video works, how DVD players work, or how to compare two DVD players. You might as well skip the rest of the review, because there ain't no "there" there. There are lots of similar crap in the reviews in all of the major magazines, and it frankly drives me batty. (You can't tell, can you?
There's something in electronic equipment reviewing I call "restaurant reviewer syndrome." This is where the writer doesn't try to understand the equipment or technology at all, but just tries to capture in words the "essential experience" of viewing or listening. With restaurants, where the experiences are so wildly varied, and there are few, if any, objective criteria, this makes some sense. But in audio and video, the experience of watching Fifth Element on one DVD player is almost exactly like watching it on another DVD player. The reviewer is not going to tease out the essential differences just by sitting and watching and taking notes. In addition, unlike restaurants, there are a lot of objective criteria in electronics. Most video and audio reviewers don't seem to know what they are.
And to say that these objective criteria are unimportant to the average viewer is essentially to point out that the average viewer isn't very critical. Well, duh. The people who read the specialist magazines, or post here, are not the average viewers.
Most of the problems I see with DVD players are easily visible with just the test patterns on Avia, and many of them are easy to see on regular film material once you know what to look for. The chroma bug, for example, cannot be seen on a scope - you have to use your eyes. Y/C delay can be measured most accurately with a scope, but you can use the pattern in Avia to get a good first pass. Measuring frequency response requires a scope, but you can tell a lot just with the resolution and sharpness patterns.
And I have to admit, I'm really pretty shocked at some people's pooh-poohing of the chroma bug. This is an actual bug in these MPEG decoders, folks. It's easy to see on lots and lots of material, unlike, say, a few extra dB of noise or small dips in the frequency response. I've gone to people's houses and pointed it out to them, and every one of them has had no trouble seeing it, and has been amazed that they never noticed it before. The last guy I showed it to went out and bought a new DVD player the next day. He had been enjoying his DVD player for years. And I ruined it for him. Yet, he was happy to increase his knowledge and improve his picture, not mad at me because I was distracting him with trivialities. If only everyone were so open to learning.
An analogy can be made between the chroma bug and Y/C delay. They are both easily visible if you know what to look for (unless you sit 15 feet away from a 27" set), they both are serious video flaws, and yet lots of people blithely watch movies every night on a player that has the problem. Does this mean the problem isn't important? That it shouldn't be brought to people's attention? What is wrong with trying to take people's understanding of video quality to the next level?
-sigh-
Sorry, rant over. Just had to get a few things off my chest.
Best,
Don
