Going crazy trying to find a new player! Please help me retain some sanity (1 Viewer)

[Dave F]

I have been using a Toshiba 5109 as my main DVD player on my Sony 57HW40, and the player is showing it's age. It's time to put her out to pasture and get a new one.
Two things that are very important to me are 1) playback of poorly flagged discs, and 2) scaling for non-anamorphic discs. I have a lot of TV episodes on DVD which are improperly flagged, so I end up playing them on an interlaced player. With non-anamorphic discs, my TV's line doubler will only function on 480i, so again, I play these discs on my interlaced player.
Everytime I find something interesting, I hear something that casts doubt upon that selection. First I was looking at the Panasonics, but the Rp62 lacks scaling. The 91 looked great but is the Genesis chip being surpassed by something new? The Denon's started to look appealing, particularly the 1600 and the 2800MKII. I was all ready to pull the trigger on the 2800, especially with the ability to easily go region free. Then I heard about audio drop-out problems.
A local store is trying to get rid of their Sony 9000ES players for a decent price, but does that mean that there is something really great right around the corner?
No one around here carries JVC's so I don't know anything about that line, except that some models can be made region-free, which is a plus (but I'd have to buy pre-modded, which is a minus).
I'm going nuts here. Can anyone offer some suggestions?
Thanks,
Dave

 

[KeithH]

Dave, the Sony 'S9000ES is set to be replaced. Sony announced a replacement at a hi-fi show in Italy earlier this year, but there has been little information otherwise. The new model will play multi-channel SACDs.

The Denon '1600 is getting high marks for both audio and video. It does not show the chroma bug. For $500, it is considered a very solid player. It is based on the budget Panasonic DVD-RP56. As a result, the build quality of the '1600 is a bit lacking for $500, in my opinion. Also, like the 'RP56, the '1600 has no coaxial digital output, which I find disappointing in a $500 player. Still, it is said to be a good performer, which is most important.

For a little less than the '1600, you might consider the Panasonic 'RP91. The audio on the 'RP91 is probably not as good as the '1600, but it is well regarded as a progressive-scan player (no chroma bug).

 

[Rachael B]

Dave, I have both the RP91 and 9000ES. The 9000ES has better ergonomics, a slightly better remote, better sound...the terrific stereo SACD playback is a real bonus. The only thing annoying about the 9000ES is how small the front panel button are. The 91 has a little better pic, no doubt...well some, I'm confident somebody would argue the point.

The bad things about the 91. The remote window is very small and slanted up. It functions best on a low shelf. Some people are annoyed that the RP91 doesn't have a time remaining on screen readout. It doesn't bother me. I generally know how long the film is anyway...

The RP91's analog out for DVD-A are just middle of the pack stuff. The 91 has had trouble reading a few discs, BOZ SCAGGS and AARON NEVILLE are the two I've had a problem with. The 9000ES is a better audio player at what it does, IMO. The 91 has that lovely pic though! I think the 9000ES is better for interlaced if you ever use it for that.
They both have their pluses and minuses, depending on U...Good luck with the shopping!