DVD player upgrade? (1 Viewer)

[MuneebM]

I currently have a Toshiba SD-5700 DVD player, ranked pretty low by Secrets: 40%. I think picture quality is very good with this player on my RPTV (calibrated with Avia). I'm willing to spend some more money, short of an ISF calibration right now, to improve picture quality. Will I see a noticeable improvement if I got one of the highly ranked DVD players: Panasonic XP30/RP82, Denon 1600? And will the improvement really be worth the $$$?

 

[Don_Berg]

Yes you will see a big improvement with the top-rated Faroudja-based players, I upgraded to a used XP30 and it has a much sharper picture and gives higher resolution images for video-based material. Its worth the money in my opinion!

 

[Stephen M]

How much are you willing to spend? Can you arrange a home trial with the preferred player before you buy? Do not assume that a higher ranked player in the Secrets tests will look better to you. The home test should answer the question of whether it is worth it to upgrade.

 

[MuneebM]

I'd love to arrange a home trial, but the models I am considering only seem to be available on eBay: Panasonic XP30, Panasonic RP82, or Denon 1600. Either that or I can try to get my hands on a Denon 910 which is available locally and try that out (ranked #10 by Secrets).

 

[Don_Berg]

Yes do a test drive with the Denon DVD-910 and if you like its quality, the others are even better!

 

[Danny Beck]

I agree with everything Don has said. I myself have an XP30 and it's outstanding.


I'd also throw the Denon 2200 into the mix. I've seen it at a recent home theater store visit and it produced a very nice image on a tv they had set up with it. You can bargain a 2200 down to $450.


Dan

 

[Chester II]

Dude,

I have the Denon 1600 and love it although I think I've used the DVD-audio for a total of 2 hours over the last year and a half I've owned it.....sigh.....
The guts of the Denon 1600 is identical I believe to the Panasonic rp82. In fact, I used a panasonic remote from a rp82 to navigate my Denon with perfect results
Knowing now that I don't need DVD-audio I would purchase the Denon 910 since it's seems to be a 1600 without DVD-audio.

Good luck dude,

Chester II

 

[Chester II]

Dudes,

Almost forgot. The issue of how much memory the players have to prevent layer changes is important. The Denon 1600 has 3 megs of memory but I still get the occasional layer change delay. Not a big deal but something to think about. I can't speak for the other models.....

Dudes,

Chester II