New DVD players shootout from Secret HomeTheater.

[Smokey]

DVD players ratings are from their overall score in term of how they handle film and video materials, with minimum distortion and artifacts (full link at bottom).

And the winner is Panasonic DVD-S77:

Feature Highlights
.HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface)
.DCDi (Directional Correlation Deinterlacing by FAROUDJA)
.720p and 1080i Upconversion with HDMI Connection
.Built-in DVD-Audio, Dolby Digital, dts 5.1 Decoders

<img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0007XXU34.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg">

Here is the full ranking of each DVD player:

1. Panasonic - DVD-S77 ($249.95)
2. Onkyo - DV-SP502 ($300.00)
3. Panasonic - DVD-S29 ($69.00)
4. Mitsubishi - DD-8050 ($208.99)
5. JVC - XV-N420B ($89.95)
6. Kenwood - DVF-8100 ($150)

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=123

[kexodusc]

Gotta admit, that $69 Panny looks like the #1 choice IMO....
Even if you had to buy 3 of them between now and your next upgrade, you'd still be ahead.

[poneal]

Figure a year each that's 3 years use. I just bought a Hitachi for around $70. Plays good and if it last 2 years I'll be happy. By then who knows what will be out.

[kexodusc]

My cheapo universal Toshiba player was around $80 or $90 when I bought it a few months back. It's pretty average on the video side, but the audio side is as good as the Denon and Yamaha units I demoed (and bought for my stereo system).
Funny, of the two players I have, I use the one with poorer video quality as a video player.
Man, I need to consolidate systems and get rid of some speakers.

[Geoffcin]

My cheapo universal Toshiba player was around $80 or $90 when I bought it a few months back. It's pretty average on the video side, but the audio side is as good as the Denon and Yamaha units I demoed (and bought for my stereo system).
Funny, of the two players I have, I use the one with poorer video quality as a video player.
Man, I need to consolidate systems and get rid of some speakers.

We had the same Arcam CD player, and now the same DVD player?

I just dug out my old Toshiba DVD player, the second one of four DVD players I've bought so far (2 are still in action), and the first one I bought that had DTS capability. I'm using it as a dedicated CD player in my office now, and the thing don't sound half bad!

[kexodusc]

We had the same Arcam CD player, and now the same DVD player?

I just dug out my old Toshiba DVD player, the second one of four DVD players I've bought so far (2 are still in action), and the first one I bought that had DTS capability. I'm using it as a dedicated CD player in my office now, and the thing don't sound half bad!

Got to admit, there's a certain charm to disposable electronics. My first 2 players were modestly priced Panasonics. The first was a steal at $300, the next on was $150 or so.
Then the Toshiba and Yamaha (which I use as a 5-disc changing universal player for music)..
Funny, they keep performing better and getting cheaper.

[Smokey]

Got to admit, there's a certain charm to disposable electronics.

It is funny thing about disposable electronic such as DVD player. They either last a long time, or just give up on you and die. Toshiba DVD player ($63) I bought only lasted about 5 months, while the next DVD player I bought ($35) still going strong after about eight months.

I wished Secret Home Theater would have included more DVD players in their latest shoot out (instead of only six). On their last round up, they evaluated 17 DVD players :)

[HAVIC]

I can't believe this JVC - XV-N420B made the list. It was probably the worst dvd player I ever owned. I had it for about 2 weeks before I returned it. The video and audio were never in sync, it would pause when playing any dvd from my collection that is not scrathed or damaged. I have an $11 norcent dvd player that blew this one away. Maybe I just got a defective one, but someone told me JVC stands for Junk Video Corporation.

However my friend has a different model jvc and recently it will not show a picture on the progeessive inputs.

I would stay away from them, JMO.

Greg

[StanleyMuso]

DVD players while their other purchases are still functioning? I tend to only buy the one and hold on to it until it fails, so I have only one DVD player in the house. It is malfunctioning, and I got an exorbitant quote to fix it, so I am in the market for a replacement at the moment. But if it was OK, I wouldn't be even looking. My finances are limited enough that my household seems to stretch my income in all sorts of directions, so I'm not about to buy multiple copies of the same product. Just curious.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I have one high quality DVD player used as a reference player for movie reviews. Another I use as a dedicated 5 disc CD player. The other is used as a everyday 5 disc DVD player. That is the reason I have three DVD players in my system. I also have a portable DVD player that I take on trips that also sits in my system.

[Breezer88888]

Question on the Sony DVP-NS975 (Terrence, Ed - some help here please),

I just got this player and went thru the set up options. My question relates to its speaker size/distance settings. I have already gone thru this set-up with my Denon receiver a while ago, in which I used a borrowed sound level meter to get it as close to being right as I care to try. On the DVD player, I've input the responses according to what was asked, but I'm wondering if it is un-doing the calibration that was previously done thru my receiver. I haven't noticed any difference in sound performance, but I wonder if there's a "direct" setting that would bypass any compensation from the DVD player.
Any info would be appreciated,
Breezer

[StanleyMuso]

I have one high quality DVD player used as a reference player for movie reviews. Another I use as a dedicated 5 disc CD player. The other is used as a everyday 5 disc DVD player. That is the reason I have three DVD players in my system. I also have a portable DVD player that I take on trips that also sits in my system.
You're using a DVD player as a dedicated CD changer. Any drawbacks with this? Since I have started doing the rounds of Hi-Fi shops looking for a new DVD player, several salespeople tried to convince me that with my quality of equipment, I would get better CD playback if I got a dedicated CD player instead of using a DVD player for CDs. Although the qhality of CD playback is very important to me, I don't want seperate machines (for space reasons) in my system. I would much prefer one machine to do everything, and very well at that if possible. Am I expecting too much?

[topspeed]

While I don't want to speak for Sir T, I think your dealer is helping to perpetuate a hi-end myth. While there are terrific cd only players (Music Hall comes to mind), the reality is you can get very good rbcd playback from a DVD player if you choose the right one. The differences in disc players, whether cd or dvd, is becoming smaller by the day as technology improves. For $625, I just bought a Denon 2910 universal that has SOTA video and audio processing. Outside of the Teranex chip in the hideously expensive 5910, you'd be hard pressed to find a better onboard chipset for video or audio, especially hi-rez.

I do agree with your dealer that you have a very nice rig. A good universal may solve your problems as it did mine.

Hope this helps.

[StanleyMuso]

While I don't want to speak for Sir T, I think your dealer is helping to perpetuate a hi-end myth. While there are terrific cd only players (Music Hall comes to mind), the reality is you can get very good rbcd playback from a DVD player if you choose the right one. The differences in disc players, whether cd or dvd, is becoming smaller by the day as technology improves. For $625, I just bought a Denon 2910 universal that has SOTA video and audio processing. Outside of the Teranex chip in the hideously expensive 5910, you'd be hard pressed to find a better onboard chipset for video or audio, especially hi-rez.

I do agree with your dealer that you have a very nice rig. A good universal may solve your problems as it did mine.

Hope this helps.
Funilly enough, I was just looking at the 2910 specs the other day, and thinking that it looked promising. The only thing that still worries me, is that I have been burned by poor performance of laser sections in Denon and Marantz units in the past, and my confidence in them is a little shaky at the moment. Lets face it, with a machine of this calibre, its not the sort of thing you would want to be replacing in a couple of year's time because it has started skipping or freezing.