New Denon 4800 Prog. Scan Player Looks Very Familiar (1 Viewer)

[Han]

When I asked one of the higher end stores in my area about the 2800, they said they have no idea what the status is. Apparently, they've been calling Denon, warehouses, whatever and have gotten a different story each time on availability and differences with the "newer" players that are suppose to ship out.
Also, a small blurb on the AVS Forum, someone mentioned that at CEDIA, a Denon rep hinted that a newer single disc player might come out before the end of the year. If that's a 2800 replacement, 2801 for lack of better terms, or just the 800, they didn't say.
Believe me, I wouldn't give a lick about Denon after the first batch of 2800 players. But the fact is, the only other company to have virtually seamless layer changing is Apex

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[KeithH]

Trevor, here is a link to the Denon DVM-4800 at Crutchfield:
http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...VM4800&o=M&a=0
Crutchfield has some good pictures of the unit.
Bill,
The '4800 retails for $1200, which is what Crutchfield sells it for.
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[Michael Lee]

Four strikes and you're out!
I have not heard from Denon yet...and that is ok. I know things take time to investigate. In the meantime, I received 2 replacement units for the first two I tried. Both units exhibited the same problem. I had high hopes as neither hiccuped for a few minutes. Then...they did. The scaling feature of the new Genesis chipset, I feel, is one of the biggest selling points of it. It is with great sadness that I acknowledge that Denon has a problem on their hands.
I also had a chance to play around with the DVD-Audio section of the player. This sounds very good. I was very impressed with the clarity. There is a Bass Enhancer button that does just that, it boosts the bass to a nice solid level. I was misinformed, however, and found there are no adjustable settings, ie crossovers. It is either on or off. Perhaps I am missing something in the manual..but I doubt it.
I am going to hold onto one of these for a little while, just in case Denon pulls through with a minor miracle. I will play around with it a little more and see what I come up with.
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[Andrew P]

Michael:
Im sorry to hear the continuing problems. I would have hoped Denon learned their lesson from the 2800. Have you determined if this player is just a rebadged Panasonic DVD-RP91? It sounds like maybe Denon tweaked something since their is an issue with the player that the Panny does not have.
Andy

 

[James D S]

Have you determined if this player is just a rebadged Panasonic DVD-RP91?

I think it's safe to say that considering how this unit is behaving, it is not a rebadged RP91.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

Michael...
Have you gotten a chance to test the audio portion in depth, other than the DVD-A? I'm curious as to how just plain ol' CD listening is with those Burr Brown DACs.
I agree that the scaling feature is a good selling point for this unit...especially those with deep non-anamorphic collections. This would be the only case one would use the feature, is it not?
I think I got into the buying of DVDs a bit late in the ball game. I have only 3 non-anamorphic transfers of 125. Most are being re-mastered...so I'm curious if this is the only time one would use this feature. If so, it's a non-factor to me and the audio portion (as well as the progressive performance) are the key factors for me. I'd love to have a DVD-A player in the rack. Then again, after looking around town....there's no titles available.
Hmmmmm....what to do.
Jeremy

 

[Graham Perks]

Can it be clarified that this bug is only visible watching PROGRESSIVE OUTPUT with NON-ANAMORPHIC discs? Right?
I don't have a progressive display; so this bug is (besides future-proofing) a non-issue for me?
Thanks!

 

[Michael Lee]

Graham-
This problem that I have noted here is only using progressive scan with the "Zoom" engaged. All other functions seem to be working and working well. I am opting to hold onto this player for awhile because my Sony 10HT front projector has a decent internal scaler already.
Andrew-
I would think this is not a rebadged Panasonic player because it is a multi-player. But the odd thing is the menu layout is exactly the same as the Panny 91...which could be because of the Genesis chipset. But I have an older Panasonic that has the same kind of menus and symbols.
Jeremy-
I just plugged in the DVD-Audio portion in my replaced 4800 last night. I will play around with plain ole' CDs later on. Since Denon has solid audio background, I would assume this is going to sound darn good. Also realize that most of the stuff I am hooking it up to is relatively new to me also...Denon AVR-4802, Atlantic Technology 450THX system and a Sunfire True Subwoofer MkII. I have a THX 6.1 setup in my living room already, but this new one is a dedicated room with the front projector.
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[Graham Perks]

Thanks, Michael. I am also interested in your audio er, observations when you have formed an impression.
Cheers!

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

Thanks Michael.
Nice set-up. I am taking one of my best buds to the local B&M tomorrow to do some auditions with the 4802. It is an exciting piece....I'm having a hard time holding back buying one myself for bedroom use (5800 in front room). I'll be patient a bit longer to see what the outlook is for the 5800.....not that I'm dissatisfied with it's performance in the least.
I'll quiz you some more on Monday....it looks like a fun weekend in front of you.
Jeremy

 

[Scott_R_K]

Michael ,
Are you able to determine the type of MPEG decoder Denon is using ? I doubt that the keystrokes needed to cough up the Firmware and MPEG type used on the 2800 will work on this unit but I would love to see inside .
Let us know if you can what Denon is now using .
Thanks in advance ,
Scott.......................

 

[Michael Lee]

Jeremy-
A 4802 for your bedroom!?!? There has got to be a cheaper way to get some action in your bedroom

! People thought it was overkill whn I had my 4800/5200 combo with AT270 speakers in my bedroom and in retrospect, I must admit it was a little excessive.
I am glad that I have company in my passion for good equipment.
Scott-
I have a 2800 in another room but I had no idea that a few keystrokes could tell me the firmware and MPEG type. Could you give me a little info on this? I will try this on both of the Denon DVD players that I currently have. Thanks!
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[Edited last by Michael Lee on September 22, 2001 at 08:48 AM]

 

[Scott_R_K]

Michael ,
Here is the info courtesy of MikeS at AVS Forum back in May/01...
"1)Start with the main power off (not from the remote but the button on the player)
2)Press and hold the play and open buttons and at the same time power up the unit.
3)Continue to hold the play and open buttons for about 3 seconds.
4)Then from the remote press the menu button two times.
The display will show ESS???? with the ???? being the version information. At this time the latest version is 5248, anything lower then that, you should get the CD update to the firmware from Denon."
I can't find any other links to firmware identifiers for other models , i.e. a Panansonic , so try this this and see what happens .
I'm still curious about the reported DVD-2800 recall and as to what was replaced during that time . If the previous MPEG decoder was replaced with the Panasonic's , then we would truly have a great player .
Scott.........................

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

"I'm still curious about the reported DVD-2800 recall and as to what was replaced during that time . If the previous MPEG decoder was replaced with the Panasonic's , then we would truly have a great player."
There was no universal recall. In the beginning (early March of this year) some units were distributed with a bad power supply as well as the initial firmware. I shipped my unit into Denon and had the latest firmware update done at their factory. I didn't have a failing power supply. About a month later, another firmware update was distributed to individuals homes via Fed-Ex. I received this one on CD-R with instructions...it took about 30 seconds to implement.
The MPEG decoder was not replaced and this unit is a phenomenal player, my friend. It is among the masses with the "chroma bug" but the firmware upgrades have lessened it's presence. It is a Truly Great Player as is, IMO. Also in the opinion of the latest Secret's Shootout, it passes most of their torture tests. If you haven't gotten a chance to use one....do yourself a favor and take it for an audition. Don't let the word of the "chorma bug" scare you off....if you do, you'll miss one hell of a DVD player.
BTW, my firmware reads "5208" and it's the latest available from Denon for Region 1 units.
Jeremy

 

[Scott_R_K]

Jeremy ,
I agree , there was no "universal" recall ,however several people had reported that their dealers were returning ALL stock back Japan for reasons unknown . We are assuming that something "important" was being done otherwise why the return to Japan ? I also agree that this is a great player but if the the known MPEG chroma bug could be replaced then this player would be untouchable at any price point . I've been trying , on several other sites , to get some feedback from owners of very recently purchased 2800's to see if anything has actually been done to these units . So far no update . Speaking of updates , check the following links for more info on the firmware versions.......
http://www.tsn-cd.de/dvdplayer/2800firmware.htm
http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/004140.html
http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/003975.html
Thanks for the response ,
Scott....................

 

[Andrew P]

I respectfully disagree with the 2800 because the picture is very soft. I am anxiously awaiting the second part of the Secrets report that discusses overall picture quality and not just the passing and failing of torture tests. Im confident that this will be brought up.
Andy

 

[Michael Lee]

Good news: As far as I can tell, the audio portion of the 4800 is solid. It sounds very very good and I am happy with it. Again, the bass management in the DVD-Audio is simply an On-Off switch...but it sounds awesome when it is engaged. I also listened to a fair amount of redbook CDs and was enjoying it. Please remember that all of the equipment in this room is fairly new to me, electronics and speakers, so it is not a controlled experiment.
Bad news: Denon returned my phone call and could not confirm any problem yet-they were awaiting word from Japan whether they could find anything either.
Also, there is a problem with the 4800 with my 10HT projector. I recently had an electric dropdown screen installed (Stewart GrayHawk), and I noticed a problem when I put in a DVD. There were vertical "ghost" lines running along the entire picture. At first I thought it was a 10HT/GrayHawk thing, until I switched to HD. There were no problems (It actually looked spectacular)watching HD at all. Then I switched to my Panasonic RP-91...a great picture was the result. I guess I am making another phone call to Denon tomorrow.
Andrew:
I think the softness thing is a matter of taste. Film itself is not as sharp as people think it is. I have yet to determine if the 2800 is excessively soft.
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[Jeremy Hegna]

Thanks Scott for the links. I've been following up a bit since your mention of the f/w #....5248. The two initial f/w #s were in the 2??? range. I found this quote on the post you metioned.
"My player has firmware 5208 which is odd because it's an EURO player with a SCART plug. It should have firmware 2208."
I have the same # (5208). I am curious if this is the multi-region f/w #. A little confusing, so I will call Denon's shop tomorrow morning. I thought I had the latest f/w....but maybe not. I will also inquire about the ship back to Japan.
Andrew...have you actually used a 2800? To say it is way too soft seems very exagerated. It is not overly soft, just a bit softer than other units. It is extremely film-like and I would say sharper than my Tosh 5109. It's hard for me to understand your horrid dislike of this unit. You are always there to take a quick jab at it's shortcomings. It's o.k. if we agree to disagree on it's performance, but are all these low-blows (off-topic) truly necessary?
Jeremy

 

[Scott_R_K]

Jeremy ,
My understanding is that the 2xxx version are for Europe / PAL players and the 5xxx are for North America . From the posts from early spring , the current version for us should be 5248 . There are some "unauthourised" versions that allow both PAL and NTSC and I think universal region acceptance .On another site I heard back that most Denon dealers DON'T have any 2800's and aren't sure when they will get them .Interesting , yes ?
Scott.......................

 

[Scott_R_K]

Jeremy ,
I haven't been ignoring you , but have had trouble getting my post to "take". Let me try this again...
The version 2xxx I believe is European or at least PAL while the 5xxx is for North America and is Region 1 . The latest software , as per the Web , was 5248 for North America and 2248 for Europe .
I'm still hopeful on someone identifying the MPEG decoder in the 4800 and or a "new" 2800 . I can't beieve that the 2800's were recalled (from dealers) back to Japan for no reason .
Scott...............