Need a new DVD player

[heiney9]

First off I'm looking for a reliable budget DVDp. I've had 2 Pioneer's that have crapped out on me. Granted they are both about 4-5 years old, but the relaibility has been less than stellar and these were bought when DVDp's were still fairly expensive. I opened them up and there is nothing to them.

I still have a traditional CRT TV and I'm probably a couple years away from going to an LCD/Plasma/DLP, etc. so I don't need a DVDp right now that does all the superb resolution, etc. I'm looking for a reliable workhorse. I use on outboard DAC so audio reproduction doesn't have to be stellar either.

I'm looking for something that will be reliable and still give me a good picture. My budget is under $200 and I would prefer new or refurb would be OK also. Denon seems to have a good rep so I've been looking at

Dvd 1730
Dvd 557

Not sure what the differences are but they seem nice enough for what I want. I've heard good things about Pioneer Elite, but someone convince me I should buy another Pioneer cause I'm not too happy with them right now because of reliability issues.

I'm open to any others and links to websites with outstanding prices is appreciated.

H9

[Early B.]

Oppo is the way to go...

[shack]

As general rule I think Denon has the best PQ I've of all the DVD players I've seen. Denon appears to know how to get it right consistently and I've never had a Denon product "crap out" on me. Oppo seems to be the "product du jour" on the fourm lately. Several think it is the only way to go. That may very well be the case. I've never seen one so I can't give an opinion on it.

[Disc Jockey]

Ditto on the Oppo

970 should work great for you, $150

[pearsall001]

Oppo is the way to go...

I more vote for the OPPO. It's superb picture quality is through it's DVI/HDMI hookup. On a CRT tv you would be using the componet hookup. This puts the OPPO on par with most other players. However, depending on which model you choose, it's SACD & DVD-Audio capabilities & it's sound on movie playback make it a hands down winner.

[Ricardo]

Oppo; my 971 is soooo much better than my bottom-of-the-line Denon 1910....

You have a 30 days return option, so why not give it a try.

[WilliamM2]

I bought this one in black 1.5 years ago for $250 and love it. For $139 it's a steal:

http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-bin/item/MARDV4500S

With the 3 year warranty, you would not have to worry about reliability. They also have it in black, but that's a refurb, and they want more for it?

I would never talk you into buying Pioneer. I bought a few pioneer components many years ago, all of them needed service before the warranty was up, and AGAIN shortly after the warranty was over.:(

No Pioneer for me thanks.

[dkg999]

H9 - lots of good ones in the under $200 range. I am not sure if there are any NIB Denon 910's floating around, but that DVD player is solid as a rock and decent PQ. I bought a Cambridge Audio closeout 540 DVD player from AudioAdvisor for $249, and it beats a Denon 3910 for PQ and SQ. Upscale Audio, and PrimeTime in Rockford have NAD T532's for around $299, which is an excellent DVD for both PQ and SQ. I've had good luck with the cheap Sony and Toshiba DVD's that I have bought for the farm in IA, where I have an older CRT TV.

[scottvamp]

I just purchased a new one myself. I really don't like my Zenith. I looked on the internet and CNET put out a top ten list. I bought the Sony from Best Buy with a $50 gift card, so $80 in the door.
http://reviews.cnet.com/4323-6531_7-6509120.html

[shawn474]

Get the Oppo man. You will not be disappointed.

Shawn

[heiney9]

H9 - lots of good ones in the under $200 range. I am not sure if there are any NIB Denon 910's floating around, but that DVD player is solid as a rock and decent PQ. I bought a Cambridge Audio closeout 540 DVD player from AudioAdvisor for $249, and it beats a Denon 3910 for PQ and SQ. Upscale Audio, and PrimeTime in Rockford have NAD T532's for around $299, which is an excellent DVD for both PQ and SQ. I've had good luck with the cheap Sony and Toshiba DVD's that I have bought for the farm in IA, where I have an older CRT TV.

Thanks Doug, I have an el cheapo Tosh in the closet brand new in the box I took it out and I don't like the lack of display info. It will work in a pinch, but.....

$200 is my upper limit because I know I will only use it for a year or two until I move to a nice HD tv set, etc. I can get a Denon 1730 for $139 on-line and that's a pretty good deal. I like the Cambridge line but it's just too expensive for what I will use it for at this time. I don't even watch that many DVD's in a month's time. I use my DVDp mostly for cdr's because the Nak hiccups sometimes since it's an older model.

Actually the only thing wrong with the Pioneer I have is the drawer keeps closing as soon as I open it. It does this until you cycle it about 10-12 times, a real PITA. My other Pioneer just doesn't do video any more. I get a blank screen and only the audio.

[snow]

one more vote for the oppo for the money involved here. i have the 970 model it does up to 1080i upconversion. sacd and dvd audio also. so a bonus as a multi player. i took it over to my buddys house the other day to compare with his denon 2920 on his sony 65' xbr. no comparison the oppo even though only being a $150.00 player was like a veil had been removed off the screen it was so much better. his first words were WOW i gotta get one of these. i cant beleive i spent the money that i did on the denon i feel like ive been ripped off now were his words exactly. REGARDS SNOW

[heiney9]

one more vote for the oppo for the money involved here. i have the 970 model it does up to 1080i upconversion. sacd and dvd audio also. so a bonus as a multi player. i took it over to my buddys house the other day to compare with his denon 2920 on his sony 65' xbr. no comparison the oppo even though only being a $150.00 player was like a veil had been removed off the screen it was so much better. his first words were WOW i gotta get one of these. i cant beleive i spent the money that i did on the denon i feel like ive been ripped off now were his words exactly. REGARDS SNOW

The Oppo sounds like it's in the running. I could care less about audio as I'll be running it thru an outbaord DAC and I have no need for SACD at this price point. Upconversion is not a priority right now as my current TV can't take advantage. I would like the option of an optical digital output rather than just coax so add that to the list.

[dkg999]

H9 - Prime Time on the corner of State & Perryville had some of the Oppo's on special prior to Christmas. I can't remember which model they had. Doug.

[snow]

the oppos have a toslink connection if thats something you would like as an option. here is a link to the 970. http://www.oppodigital.com/dv970hd/dv970hd.html REGARDS SNOW

[VSchneider]

Denon seems to have a good rep so I've been looking at

Dvd 1730
Dvd 557

Not sure what the differences are...


I had the same question. Are there any real differences between the two? The specs seem identical.

I picked up a DVD-557 for only $69 +tax (no, it's not a typo) from CC this past weekend only because I couldn’t resist the price. It seemed a little ugly compared to some flashy models from Sony, LG and Zenith, but now it looks much better since I have it in my equipment rack.

This is my 1st HDMI player, so it's hard to comment on PQ. Next to my older 5-disk Sony changer it seems similar through component connection.

I will post a follow-up once I have tested it thoroughly with HDMI.