Andrew P
Second Unit
- Joined
- Nov 2, 1999
- Messages
- 304
I decided to purchase the Kenwood DV-5700 after seeing that Crutchfield had them in stock. I tried to talk myself out of it because Crutchfield sells at list, but I had to try this player. First some background, I have most recently owned the Sony DVP-S700, Denon DVD-2800, Panasonic DVD-RP91, Toshiba 6200, and the Onkyo 939. My current player is the Panasonic DVD-RP91.
The Toshiba 6200 and the Onkyo 939 look the same to me and both have the chroma bug and major de-interlacing problems. The Denon 2800 and the Sony 700 have an overly soft picture (the 2800 more so than the Sony 700) and the chroma bug so that ruled those out for me. I am not as technical as the secrets staff, but I think I have a pretty keen eye. So this was included to let everyone know where I stand before I begin (to clear up any bias thoughts).
I am very impressed with my current player, my champagne Panasonic DVD-RP91 which I purchased for $450. The picture is very detailed with no chroma bug, and minor de-interlacing annoyances (mostly these occur on special material, but every now and then they rear their ugly head on the feature film). Going in, the Kenwood DV-5700 is going to have to be mightily impressive for me to keep especially for the $1,199 list price. Also, I personally don’t like dvd-changers. I wish Kenwood made a single dvd player which im sure would cut the cost even further.
Build Quality
When dvd players were first released I was a big believer in heavier is better, but since then dvd players have gotten lighter with better picture quality. The Panasonic DVD-RP 91 has a weak build in my opinion. At first glance, the Kenwood looks very sleek. The unit is about 15 lbs, but it also has a very lightweight build quality. Its about the same as the Panasonic DVD-RP91, but I expect more out of a $1,200 player. In fairness maybe the Faroudja chipset is the reason for the cost and that is fine with me. Spend it where it counts is my new motto.
Picture Quality
I am currently using a two tv setup. My 73907 and my new front projector, the Cinema 13HD. The Panasonic coupled with both looks almost HDTV like which is astonishing to say the least. Anyway back to the Kenwood. In order to activate progressive scan on the Kenwood you have to select a switch on the back of the unit. I prefer the button on the front of the unit like the Panasonic.
I have watched parts of 3 movies so far. I have not noticed the chroma bug or any major de-interlacing problems. I started watching with the player set in the normal mode and the player exhibited lots of noise and grain, but then I switched the user mode and turned the DCDi circuit on and shut the enhancer off and voila the picture looked phenomenal. It was very lifelike and 3 dimensional. I am extremely impressed with the unit in my limited experience so far. I haven’t tried playing with the enhancer gain (which seems like another sharpness control yet-I still have it set at zero). We will see the more I play around with it later tonight.
Some other thoughts:
The menu system reminds me of the Panasonic. It is not the same, but the same idea was used with the buttons across the top of the screen.
The layer change is noticeable.
The disc access time is slow for me. I will have to play around with a few more discs, but it seemed slow with the first 3 discs that I played. Ill double check this later tonight especially since I was so anxious
.
The remote in my opinion is terrible. It controls the major functions well,, but there are (on some buttons) 3 different options that are selectable by a tiny switch on the upper left side of the remote. A very strange and poor design if you ask me.
Overall
I think the Panasonic DVD-RP91 raised the bar on all current dvd players. This player produces the most film-like images I have ever seen. The Kenwood DV-5700 is amazing too in the very limited time ive spent with it. I cant say for sure yet, but this player definitely looks like a winner especially if combing on the RP-91 is bothersome. I will spend more time with the player tonight and im hoping to post some more impressions of the unit later.
Andy
The Toshiba 6200 and the Onkyo 939 look the same to me and both have the chroma bug and major de-interlacing problems. The Denon 2800 and the Sony 700 have an overly soft picture (the 2800 more so than the Sony 700) and the chroma bug so that ruled those out for me. I am not as technical as the secrets staff, but I think I have a pretty keen eye. So this was included to let everyone know where I stand before I begin (to clear up any bias thoughts).
I am very impressed with my current player, my champagne Panasonic DVD-RP91 which I purchased for $450. The picture is very detailed with no chroma bug, and minor de-interlacing annoyances (mostly these occur on special material, but every now and then they rear their ugly head on the feature film). Going in, the Kenwood DV-5700 is going to have to be mightily impressive for me to keep especially for the $1,199 list price. Also, I personally don’t like dvd-changers. I wish Kenwood made a single dvd player which im sure would cut the cost even further.
Build Quality
When dvd players were first released I was a big believer in heavier is better, but since then dvd players have gotten lighter with better picture quality. The Panasonic DVD-RP 91 has a weak build in my opinion. At first glance, the Kenwood looks very sleek. The unit is about 15 lbs, but it also has a very lightweight build quality. Its about the same as the Panasonic DVD-RP91, but I expect more out of a $1,200 player. In fairness maybe the Faroudja chipset is the reason for the cost and that is fine with me. Spend it where it counts is my new motto.
Picture Quality
I am currently using a two tv setup. My 73907 and my new front projector, the Cinema 13HD. The Panasonic coupled with both looks almost HDTV like which is astonishing to say the least. Anyway back to the Kenwood. In order to activate progressive scan on the Kenwood you have to select a switch on the back of the unit. I prefer the button on the front of the unit like the Panasonic.
I have watched parts of 3 movies so far. I have not noticed the chroma bug or any major de-interlacing problems. I started watching with the player set in the normal mode and the player exhibited lots of noise and grain, but then I switched the user mode and turned the DCDi circuit on and shut the enhancer off and voila the picture looked phenomenal. It was very lifelike and 3 dimensional. I am extremely impressed with the unit in my limited experience so far. I haven’t tried playing with the enhancer gain (which seems like another sharpness control yet-I still have it set at zero). We will see the more I play around with it later tonight.
Some other thoughts:
The menu system reminds me of the Panasonic. It is not the same, but the same idea was used with the buttons across the top of the screen.
The layer change is noticeable.
The disc access time is slow for me. I will have to play around with a few more discs, but it seemed slow with the first 3 discs that I played. Ill double check this later tonight especially since I was so anxious
. The remote in my opinion is terrible. It controls the major functions well,, but there are (on some buttons) 3 different options that are selectable by a tiny switch on the upper left side of the remote. A very strange and poor design if you ask me.
Overall
I think the Panasonic DVD-RP91 raised the bar on all current dvd players. This player produces the most film-like images I have ever seen. The Kenwood DV-5700 is amazing too in the very limited time ive spent with it. I cant say for sure yet, but this player definitely looks like a winner especially if combing on the RP-91 is bothersome. I will spend more time with the player tonight and im hoping to post some more impressions of the unit later.
Andy
