Need New DVD Player, Which one?

I have been thru a copuple cheapos over the years that were FREE. So they were disposable. They just freeze a lot these days. So I am thinking I need a new one. I have a good Audio sys. Pre-Amp Rotel 985? Amp Rotel 1095 SPkrs, Paradigm Ref. V2. Have regular old 32" toshiba CRT tv.

Will upgraded to HDTV when the time is ready. Not sure what else I need to upgrade in my system to do it.

SO I am looking for a great DVD player that will work now and with the latest upgrades I suppose? But they still have to HDDVD formats so what to do?


Help me, nothing worse than having your firday night movie freeze on you and have to go without.

Price should be under $500. I am sure $2-300 will get the job done these days. I guess I do not need that HDMI stuff yet?

My first picks would be the Toshiba HD-A1 ($400) or upcoming HD-A2 ($500). However, I have only experienced HD DVD on 720p and 1080p sets, so I'm not entirely sure how this will turn out on a 32" 480p CRT.

As for budget DVD Players, my first pick would be the new Denon DVD-1930CI . My next pick would be the Oppo 971, or the upcoming Oppo 981 (which features 1080p upconversion). However, you won't be able to take advantage of HDMI upconversion on your old set, let alone 1080p upconversion!

If you're not looking to upgrade your TV for some time, I would recommend purchasing the best Progressive Scan DVD player available for your budget. You may want to consider purchasing a last generation Denon DVD-2910 through Videogon, as this is available for under $400. This is an excellent DVD player in its own right.

SO I guess I am more worried about audio quality for now. I expect to upgrade TV in less than 5 years but more than 1 or 2. Bets places to find these players?

Thanks, I have been out of the A/V world for several years when I did my first digital upgrade to top of the line components.

My advice would be to head over to www.videogon.com and pick yourself up a Denon DVD-2910, as this will provide you with the very best Progressive Scan DVD Player within your budget, and is capable of the highest audio quality on your budget. This is a truly excellent DVD player in its own right, and will easily get you through the next 2-3 years before upgrading to HD. However, your 32" set will not do this player justice.

Very tough to beat the 2910 (I have one!), but if you'd like another option, consider the Cambridge Audio 540d. This player outputs 480p native, which is perfect for your tv, and offers steller audio playback utilizing a proprietary clock, Cambridge transport, and Crystal DAC's. It even plays DVD-A! IIRC, it's priced around $350 new. I chose the 2910 because it outputs 720p native, but it also cost twice as much! The CA could make a very inexpensive stop gap until you upgrade your monitor to HD while providing excellent audio playback.

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summar...ect%20pictures

Hope this helps.

Every little bit helps, THANKS!

The new Denon 2930CI is really the hot new player for under $500. It uses the Silicon Optix HQV chipset. May be the last DVD player you will ever need.

I believe only the Denon DVD-2930CI, DVD-3930CI and DVD-5910CI have the HQV chipset. The DVD-1930CI does not. The last generation DVD-2910 is a stronger player than the new DVD-1930CI, if you don't require 1080p upconversion. :)

I see a lot of questions about the new Oppo 981, which does not seem to be on sale yet in many places, but I recently found out that Oppo goes under the name Soken here in Thailand, and Soken is now selling models numbered 790 and 891, which I think is just some cryptic rearrangement of 970 and 981. So, for what it's worth, here is what they are advertising for the 891

for video:
an MT1392 chip (seems the same as the Oppo 970)
upscales NTSC480p/PAL576p to 720p/1080i
HDMI
MDDI
108MHz/12 bit MPEG4

for audio:
a CS4382 chip (Cirrus Logic 8 channel?, seems the Oppo 970 used CS4360)
plays SACD, DVD-A, HDCD, DTS CD
SNR 110 db
video off
some kind of circuit to protect against interfering signals from outside the unit (not sure, translated from the Thai)

Don't know what some of that means or if it will help anyone, but there it is.

Unfortunately, Oppo has chosen to move away from the Faroudja chip for deinterlacing and this has grealty compromised the video quality so highly praised in their first player.

Poor decision IMO but a lot of people won't know and don't care.

http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/Me...oduct_Count=22
for $575 shipped
http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/Me...oduct_Count=19
for $450 shipped, but doesnt play SACD which is a bummer.
http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/Me...oduct_Count=27
for $650 and starting get away from your budget, but Im just giving you some ideas.
If you are interested, keep looking on this site.
If you think all of this is crap, then just carry on. No problem.

-JRA