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Is This Much Of A Deal? (1 Viewer)

Thomas P.

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I can get a Denon DVD 3800 new in the box from an authorized dealer for $880. The serial number starts with 204. Is it worth taking the chance considering the potential downside?
 

dpippel

Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems
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That serial number prefix indicates an April 2002 build date for the unit Thomas. This means that it doesn't have the chroma bug firmware fix or the corrected laser pickup. BUT, the price is a fantastic deal if it is indeed brand new. You could always purchase the player and send it in to Denon under warranty for the update and laser fix. You'd be saving ~$320 on a piece that's rarely discounted.
 

Thomas P.

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Doug, I followed your advice. Well, I went to buy it and it is new. I called Denon and told them I was sending in the 3800 I just bought. They asked for the place of purchase and the serial number. I told them and they verified that I did buy it from an authorized dealer but questioned why it was an April maunufacter date and new. They asked if it had problems when it played. I told them I hadn't played it yet. They balked until I told them about the posts from Denon Jeff. The short of it is...tomorrow I will send it off for the fixes and look forward to putting it into the sytem.
 

dpippel

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Congrats on your new player! It's a fantastic unit, and you got a great deal on it. I think you'll be very impressed with its performance once you get it back from Denon. From what I've read the laser replacement has a 2 week turn-around time, give or take a few days.

Other than the very impressive video performance, audio performance and build quality, one thing I really like about this player is its upgradability. The firmware is easily updated by burning it to a CD-R then loading the disc into the player. You might find the Denon DVD-3800 Unofficial Website useful in that regard. There are a number of firmware files available there, including the Region 1 chroma bug fix and some UK firmware that has been used successfully on US market machines to enable multi-region playback and PAL progressive output.
 

Thomas P.

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Doug, thanks for your input. You tipped the scales in the direction that I went. I look forward to getting it back. It seems odd to spend that kind of money on something I know is defective new in the box but thanks to people like you I have been able to track the problems and the fixes.:)
 

dpippel

Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems
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I can understand the weirdness involved in sending it in brand-new Thomas. It'll be worth it though. Let us know when you get it back from Denon.
 

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