What's the diff? (DVD player question)

[moves]

What's the difference between lets say a $300 DVD player and a $1500 DVD player?

I've never seen a movie on a high end DVD player but I can't imagine the picture getting any better than what's played off a PS3 blue ray player for example...

I am wondering what's the benefits of getting a high end DVD player.

[RoadRunner6]

For $499 you can get this one which I've had for a several months. It is not only extremely impressive on Blu-Ray, SACD and DVD-Audio but also great for Standard DVD's.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/blu-ray-players/647-oppo-bdp-83-blu-ray-player.html

[recoveryone]

What's the difference between lets say a $300 DVD player and a $1500 DVD player?

I've never seen a movie on a high end DVD player but I can't imagine the picture getting any better than what's played off a PS3 blue ray player for example...

I am wondering what's the benefits of getting a high end DVD player.

It should be build quality of each unit. not to say that one will give you a better pic, but over time the $1500 one should hold up better than a $300 unit. But one could say that you would feed the $300 junk disc along with Blu rays, and I'm sure you would be more careful what was played in the the highend unit. so it could balance out in the end if each were treated similar.

I have never had any problem with of the DVD players I have own, compared to my friends who have purchased decent units. I just was a bit more careful what I put in my units.....No bootlegs/very very few home movies, only my own vids. In many cases its not the PQ that goes, but the tray mechanism or some other mechanical issue from over/mis-use.

[pixelthis]

If you are serious about PQ, BLU is the way to go.
Not only for the BLU PQ, but the way a typical blu player handles DVD.
Although after watching BLU you wont want to watch DVD that much.:1:

[bfalls]

A $1500 DVD player would have better quality parts and design features. Features may include separate power supplies for controls and signal, better DACs, better designed signal paths, better video processing chip, better transport to reduce jitter, copper-clad chassis, additional format processing. Could be any number of features plus the addition of user adjustable audio and video controls for the player.

Actually, although I haven't seen it, the PS3 hasn't received good marks for DVD reproduction. My main player is a PS3 and except for it being noisier than a standalone player, the PQ looks great to me on both DVD and Blu-ray. Hope this helps.

[moves]

lol first off... what's a PQ?

[02audionoob]

lol first off... what's a PQ?

PQ = picture quality

[pixelthis]

A $1500 DVD player would have better quality parts and design features. Features may include separate power supplies for controls and signal, better DACs, better designed signal paths, better video processing chip, better transport to reduce jitter, copper-clad chassis, additional format processing. Could be any number of features plus the addition of user adjustable audio and video controls for the player.

Actually, although I haven't seen it, the PS3 hasn't received good marks for DVD reproduction. My main player is a PS3 and except for it being noisier than a standalone player, the PQ looks great to me on both DVD and Blu-ray. Hope this helps.

I have seen these megabuck players, and even paid 700 bucks for a panny DVD-A/DVD
on closeout, but their time has passed.
Basically any 200 buck BLU player will blow even the most expensive DVD player away.
And not just for BLU, the video amps are wider band, even DVD will look miles better
on a BLU player.
And the sound, good god, the sound alone is worth it:1:

[musicman1999]

There is another level of DVD player and with the proper equipment and budget they are well worth it. I have a Sim Audio DVD player and it blows away any other player, at least that i have seen. It weighs over 30 pounds and is built like a tank, has seperate power supplies for analog and digital, defeatable digital outputs, BNC video connectors, SDI video connector and has the full analog section from a Moon Equinox cd player, also Faroudja DCDI video processing. I also have a Pioneer Bluray that is a highly rated upconvertor and cd player and the Moon blows it away. Players costing thousands of dollars are not for everyone and not for every system but be aware that there is a whole other performance level out there.

bill

[Woochifer]

What's the difference between lets say a $300 DVD player and a $1500 DVD player?

I've never seen a movie on a high end DVD player but I can't imagine the picture getting any better than what's played off a PS3 blue ray player for example...

I am wondering what's the benefits of getting a high end DVD player.

The biggest differences are with the construction and the specification on the circuitry, particularly on the audio side. But, high price does not necessarily equate to best-in-class video performance. For example, the highest performing DVD player ever on the Secrets of Home Theater's benchmark ranking was a $400 Oppo player (the immediate predecessor to the $500 Oppo BD-83 Blu-ray player, which has been getting standout reviews).

Generally, the difference between a high performing DVD player and low performing player is in how they handle poorly mastered discs. Without getting overly technical, a progressive scan DVD player needs to detect whether an image comes from a film or video-based source, and apply the correct processing to have that image display properly. A player that does not handle the signal processing properly will have visible issues like jagged diagonal lines, screen door effect, color banding, etc. And these kinds of errors are likeliest to occur with poorly mastered DVDs.

This was a huge issue in the early days of the DVD format. But, newer players perform more consistently than before, and the DVD mastering has also improved greatly.

Nowadays, it just makes more sense to buy a Blu-ray player from the get go. While early Blu-ray players did not perform well with DVDs, the newer models have greatly improved their DVD playback.


Actually, although I haven't seen it, the PS3 hasn't received good marks for DVD reproduction. My main player is a PS3 and except for it being noisier than a standalone player, the PQ looks great to me on both DVD and Blu-ray. Hope this helps.

A lot of the PS3 reviews were based on the earlier firmware versions. Sony is currently on version 2.8, while the most recent review I've seen of the PS3's video performance used version 1.8.

The predecessors to my Denon DVD player (the equivalent model to the DVD-1940ci) fared very well on the Secrets of Home Theater benchmarks, and the PS3 is just about at that level. The Denon handles defective discs better and has slightly less video noise (the PS3 has three adjustable noise reduction modes that do a great job with reducing the video noise, albeit with a concurrent reduction in detail), but otherwise the PS3 does fine with DVD playback and a stellar job with Blu-ray.

[pixelthis]

There is another level of DVD player and with the proper equipment and budget they are well worth it. I have a Sim Audio DVD player and it blows away any other player, at least that i have seen. It weighs over 30 pounds and is built like a tank, has seperate power supplies for analog and digital, defeatable digital outputs, BNC video connectors, SDI video connector and has the full analog section from a Moon Equinox cd player, also Faroudja DCDI video processing. I also have a Pioneer Bluray that is a highly rated upconvertor and cd player and the Moon blows it away. Players costing thousands of dollars are not for everyone and not for every system but be aware that there is a whole other performance level out there.

bill

Try to justify your over-engineered white elephant all you want, there is only so much you can do with a DVD. I am sure your player gives you a lot of enjoyment but you
reached the point of diminishing returns long ago.
And Onkyo has the Faroujia DCDI IN their receivers, and its not even their top of the line,
Reon chips are in their higher line stuff.
I dont know how old your player is but it has been eclipsed.:1:

[westcott]

There is no correlation between price and performance. Their are $100 players that perform as well or better than $2000 players.

BluRay is easy to process digitaly. It is standard definition DVD's that require a good player. There are only a very few players at an affordable price that use quality video processors. Those being Reon, Realta, Anchor Bay, and Genum, to some degree.

If you want to save some money, get a used player like the BDP1200 for great standard DVD playback and quailty BR processing. I bought one off eBay for $68 bucks, replacing a macroblocking Oppo DV-981HD. Its for sale if anyone wants to buy it.

If you want a new one, the Oppo BDP-83 is hard to beat but you will pay $500.

Here is a link that supports my statements.

DVD Player Shootout (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all)

[westcott]

Try to justify your over-engineered white elephant all you want, there is only so much you can do with a DVD. I am sure your player gives you a lot of enjoyment but you
reached the point of diminishing returns long ago.
And Onkyo has the Faroujia DCDI IN their receivers, and its not even their top of the line,
Reon chips are in their higher line stuff.
I dont know how old your player is but it has been eclipsed.:1:

I agree. Faroudjia video processing is good but does not work with all displays. Macroblocking with some digital displays is a real problem and a crap shoot. Reon, Realta, Anchor Bay, and Gennum are where it is at now.

[westcott]

I have seen these megabuck players, and even paid 700 bucks for a panny DVD-A/DVD
on closeout, but their time has passed.
Basically any 200 buck BLU player will blow even the most expensive DVD player away.
And not just for BLU, the video amps are wider band, even DVD will look miles better
on a BLU player.
And the sound, good god, the sound alone is worth it:1:

This is not true. A LOT of the new BR players use subpar video processors. That is fine for BR playback but standard DVD playback requires a quality video processor.

When we had the HD DVD competiton, all the players had awesome video processors. Once the battle was one, they all went to crap. Why? Because it is cheaper and BR playback does not require near the processing finesse of standard DVD playback.

If you have a library of standard DVD's, I suggest getting a quality player with a good video processor. Most new BR players don't.

[pixelthis]

I agree. Faroudjia video processing is good but does not work with all displays. Macroblocking with some digital displays is a real problem and a crap shoot. Reon, Realta, Anchor Bay, and Gennum are where it is at now.

You are right, although I dont have a prob with the Faroujia you do, I prefer the Reon.
So my delima is , do I PAY the bucks to get the Reon in my next Onkyo/Integra?
The 806 I am looking at has the Faroujia, to go up the scale I would need to shell out
about 300 more bucks.
Decisions, decisions.:1:

[pixelthis]

This is not true. A LOT of the new BR players use subpar video processors. That is fine for BR playback but standard DVD playback requires a quality video processor.

When we had the HD DVD competiton, all the players had awesome video processors. Once the battle was one, they all went to crap. Why? Because it is cheaper and BR playback does not require near the processing finesse of standard DVD playback.

If you have a library of standard DVD's, I suggest getting a quality player with a good video processor. Most new BR players don't.

You don't understand.
A video proc in a BLU requires a HUGE bandwidth.
I have gotten MPS readings of 41MBS + on my Sony.
The most I have seen on a DVD is 8 or 9.
FOR an example, a p51 Mustang is considered one of the best fighter planes around,
but its a piston engine plane.
A jet trainer with an engine the size of a microwave oven can run circles around it.
True you can't get any extra res from a pic that it doesnt have already (and a DVD will
forever be 480i) but a BLU is just built more towards high res images, no DVD player is even close.
Not that any of this matters, BLU beats DVD so badly it will replace it completely
in a few years.
Sure people are still watching VHS tapes, but like everyone replaced their favs with DVD,
so too will happen with BLU.
No matter how "cheap" the video procs in a Blu player are, they still need to handle
up to ten times the bandwidth of a DVD player.:1:

[westcott]

True you can't get any extra res from a pic that it doesnt have already (and a DVD will
forever be 480i) but a BLU is just built more towards high res images, no DVD player is even close.


All I am saying is that there are BR players that provide the bandwidth for all the extra video information and the processing power to provide pristine standard DVD video. You can have both if you shop around and know what you are looking for. They are not mutually exclusive.

[pixelthis]

All I am saying is that there are BR players that provide the bandwidth for all the extra video information and the processing power to provide pristine standard DVD video. You can have both if you shop around and know what you are looking for. They are not mutually exclusive.

good DVD video, but nothing better than 480i in res.
But we do agree that other aspects besides resolution can be handled better in a Blu.:1:

[musicman1999]

Try to justify your over-engineered white elephant all you want, there is only so much you can do with a DVD. I am sure your player gives you a lot of enjoyment but you
reached the point of diminishing returns long ago.
And Onkyo has the Faroujia DCDI IN their receivers, and its not even their top of the line,
Reon chips are in their higher line stuff.
I dont know how old your player is but it has been eclipsed.:1:

Not trying to justify anything, i would buy the player again just to play cd's. The player is three years old and bear in mind that there are different levels of Faroujda processing, Onkyo doen't use this one.

bill