Help me decide - Panny XP30, RP91, Denon 910 or 1600 (1 Viewer)

[Dave HW]

Well I'm down to my final choices. Please help - I'm going crazy! Yes, I know that the RP 91 and XP30 are no longer made - but I have found both online for almost the same price.

I have also looked at the new Denon 910. Having looked at some information and talked to a dealer i don't believe its just a repackaged 900. However, I haven't seen any actual reviews yet.

So here's what i think i know. The XP30 has a bit better video than the RP91, which has some more features and superior video.

The Denon 1600 can still be obtained but its a bit more than I want to spend and I don't need DVD-A. My understanding is that the video hardware is the same as the XP30.

BTW, I have a Mits 48311.

So do i get the new Denon (where if I have a problem i can readily exchange) or the XP 30 or RP91, or spring for the Denon 1600.

Whew, its tough to decide!

dave

 

[matt-f]

Actaully maybe I would recommend the Denon 1200 since that replaces the 1600. 1200 has in additino, coaxial out finally, 12-bit decoder on the progressive side and kodak cd support.

I'm thinking about this player myself but it depends. I'm still looking wheater if I should get Philips 963A or the 1200.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

If your TV locks in full stretch mode when it receives a progressive signal, the ONLY way to go is the RP91. It will allow you to scale 4:3 formatted discs and non-anamorphic discs to be displayed properly on your display. With any other player (other than a few JVC models with very minimum scaling) the image will be stretched, which w/ 4:3 discs will give you a stretched picture that fills the whole screen, and w/ non-anamorphic widescreen movies will give you a stretched image that still has bars at the top and bottom.

If your TV allows you to scale progressive images and doesn't lock in full stretch mode, I would look at the 1200 and the 910. The newer non-chroma bug Denon players have been getting some high marks among HTFers and others i've spoke with.

W/ the RP91, you're really paying for the scaling feature, you just also happen to get great PQ, very solid build quality, rudimentary DVD-A support, and what is technically still a "Flagship" DVD Player. I'm extremely happy with my RP91, but I do also take advantage of the scaling feature fairly often. It also looks really great in the champaign gold color

Hope this helps

 

[Don_Berg]

The new JVC models can zoom in properly for displaying non-anamorphic widescreen DVDs for full screen 16:9 display. Also the new Panasonic models (S35,S55) also have zoom for this purpose plus variable zoom control now. All of these for around $100.

 

[Skyler]

The ONLY Panasonic that SCALES is the RP91, the others have zoom. Scaling = good, Zooming = bad. I recently had a Mitsubishi WS-55511, and currently have an RP91 and an XP30. I find myself using the RP91 on almost everything but Video based stuff. That's where the XP30 shines. I would snag an RP91 before they are gone...

 

[John Macri]

Dave HW:

I went through the same dilemma a couple months back. I ordered an XP30 from Sharper Image over the RP91 for the Fajouda DCDI and superior video (my Tosh 50H82 zooms). But I couldn't handle the silver finish and display (persomal preference only), so I returned it for a Denon 1600. I couldn't be happier with it's performance - a marked improvement over the Panasonic CP67 I had. I've even gotten into DVD-A a little.

Haven't seen any Denon 1200 reviews yet - I'd wait and see how the video performance is before buying...