Excellent sound. Very good video downconversion for 4:3 monitors. Does everything except HDCD and SACD.

The remote! Bass management issues. Can't display ID3 tags on MP3 files.

So far I have been very pleased with this player with a few exceptions. It has a long list of features that are now available on several players priced at $250 or less, but those players don't have the Faroudja DCDi chip or high-resolution Burr-Brown DA converters. Most DVD players are priced below $250 or above $800, which is more money than I care to spend on one (I've had 2 players fail in 4 years). The DVD-1600 gives a few high-end touches for an affordable amount. It's too bad that such a nice player got saddled with a non-universal remote control that clearly belongs to a $150 machine. I frequently have to press the same button twice on the remote to get the desired response (even at 6 feet and a clear shot). The button layout is good however. I am currently using this player with a conventional 4:3, 35 inch TV. The in-player letter boxing is quite good and much better than I expected. My last Sony player looked a bit smoother on anamorphic DVD's, but it's image was considerably softer. I am looking forward to buying a new digital TV to try out it's progressive scan capability. Layer changes are much smoother on this machine than either of my previous DVD players. On screen menus are nicely laid out and intuitive. The speaker set-up screen allows you to turn off the subwoofer output for the internal audio decoders. The front main speakers default to a large setting when this is done, but unfortunately the LFE information IS NOT rerouted to the front speakers!! I have tried this with Video Essentials and the THX Optimode tests. This will be a nuisance for anyone looking for simple connection to powered tower speakers, or in my case, I am using an external subwoofer control to high-pass my Paradigm Reference Active/20's and low-pass my sub at 50Hz. I ended up having to run an extra interconnect to my sub with the DVD's subwoofer setting turned on. Another "imperfection" is that the DVD player does not high-pass any of the speakers even when they are set to "small." All speakers are fed full-range sound. The only thing setting speakers to "small" does is send frequencies below 100Hz to the subwoofer to "assist" speakers that can't play full range. People with micro-speakers should use the decoder in their AV receivers for movie playback or buy Outlaw Audio's ICBM bass management component for proper bass management especially for DVD-A playback

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic A-310U Sony DVP-S560D

Outstanding video and sound quality - great CD playback for a sub 1K DVD player. Ease of use and refinement.

No coaxial output or HDCD decoding.

I purchased this player in order to replace my year old JVC 721BK which boasted no analog outputs for stereo playback and mediocre DVD-A performance. As many informed buyers will know, the DVD-1600 is a refined version of Panasonic's Faroudja based RP-56. Denon has made nominal improvements to the video section with quicker layer changes and the elimination of the flicker bug which plagued the RP-56. However, the audio section is pure Denon, and sports 2bit/192khz low-noise Burr Brown DAC's for CD and DVD-A playback. There is an audio only mode which shuts down the video portion of the player when you are purely using it as an audio device. This hels by eliminating any possible video interference with the audio signal. The 1600 is dead silent when playing movies, even during silent passages in the film, and the drawer is quite and very refined, not clunky like my old players were. The only gripe I have with this player is the lack of a coaxial output and HDCD decoding. I felt that I could live with these shortcomings given the 1600's all around superb performace. Highly recommended in its price range.

Similar Products Used:

JVC 721BK, Pioneer 343

Flawless video, DCDi chip, DVD-A support, nice black finish, low price for a Denon DVD player

Craptastic remote

Just completely re-did my home theatre and outiftted the system with a 38" Widescreen RCA (which is a fantastic tube despite being curved, a Yamaha VX-2200, and a full 5.1 set out of Klipsch Synergy speakers. I was looking for the perfect DVD player to round out the system, something with DVD-A support, progressive scan and Faroujda DCDi. After some exaustive searching of the selections at my local Good Guys I noticed the Denon as a new arrival and bought it without auditioning it based on specs and brand alone. So far this little player has been absolutely fantastic. The Denon is my first experience with both Progressive Scan and DVD-A so I'm not sure how much my comparison is worth, but the picture is far superior to my old interlaced player and 4:3 set. The video is extremely crisp and has held out through tests of all of my exaustive DVD collection. Black Hawk Down was particularly impressive with its very abnormal color scheme and active audio track. After switching to Lord of the Rings, the bright green colors of Middle Earth came through as clear and crisp as I had ever seen them. On the DVD-A front I gave Metallica's Black album a spin and cam away extremely impressed with the sound quality of the player as well. If I had one complaint it would have to be the remote. Come on Denon, I really expect something better for $500 then this piece of crap. At least give me some backlit keys for craps sake. Anyways, my experiences thusfar with the Denon have been entirely favorable an I would give it my highest recommendation. I have never seen DVD's looking and sounding as good as this.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic

picture & sound quality.

If a weakness is required, I would say, no test tone for subwoofer output. Owners manual, too simplistic in some areas and seemingly missing information in others.

The Denon 1600 replaced a Sony d530s. After using the Sony for a considerable time I realized it only played DTS through the digital outputs. I use the built in decoders, which will make this review somewhat unique. I am using an Arcam processor that was updated to play 5.1 if already decoded. The Sony had a couple features I like that the Denon lacked. A test tone for sub & auto selection for choosing 5.1. The 1600 does have an "audio" button on the remote that will shuttle through the soundtracks for you. What made me keep the Denon after audition was it's performance. First off I noticed much more information from the rear surround & over all sound was better. I only use this unit for home theater. The 1600's picture was better, I have heard it described as film-like, but that sounds negative to me. I use only the standard video output. The picture is crisp & detailed. You will especially notice more detail in darker scenes. I could tell some difference in the picture when I hit the Cinema button on the remote, but I wasn't sure what until I used one of the THX setup tests on one of my DVD's. The picture conformed to the patterns better in "cinema" mode. Several movies feature these audio & video THX tests under the setup tab of their menu. In fact, that's how I had to reset my subwoofer level. I remember X-men & Atlantis having one. I found the setup menus & remote easy enough to use, but the owners manual could use some work. This unit offers a lot for the money. I was happy to find a unit of this quality with built in decoder & the decoder plays DTS. The 1600 is slower to load & to respond to remote functions than the Sony, but not as slow as an entry level Phillips I have. I find it interesting that DVD players in general have headphone jacks, but even so, this Denon even offers 2 additional sound fields for headphone listeners, as well as a couple enhanced modes for stereo. I am torn on value because of features like these & others I won't use, but if they didn't make this unit all inclusive, would I have had a built in decoder? Plus I am ready for HDTV when I make that jump. My emphasis is always performance & this unit does that well, so if you are looking for performance as well, you will be happy with the 1600.

Similar Products Used:

marantz, sony & phillips

Video quality (Interlaced and Progressive mode); Audio quality (DVD-Audio all the way down to MP3 encoded CD-R's); Ease of use; Audio only bypass circuit; Burr Brown DAC's; Faroudja processing; basically.... everything.

Limited MP3 playback functions; Audio only and Progressive Scan has to be activated directly from the unit; Remote is not the best;

I bought this as an impulse buy. My Panasonic was working properly but I wanted the better Video and Audio DAC's, Progressive output, DVD-Audio capability and have all my equipment match up with my Denon setup. I cannot complain. It is an excellent DVD Player. However, let me point out that it is an upgraded Panasonic RV-31K. Same transport, same OSD, same remote control, same size and build quality. This is not a put down, however, since the Panasonic is a great DVD player in its price range. You're basically paying $300+ over the Panasonic for the brand, better audio DAC's and the ability to play both DVD-Audio and Progressive Scan. Tested the Fleetwood Mac, "Rumours", DVD-Audio connected to my Denon AVR-3300 and it sounds superb! Because of its superb Audio DAC's not only does DVD-Audio sound fantastic, every audio format I've thrown at it, including MP3 encoded CD's, sound fabulous. Apart from DVD's, CD's sound almost -if not equal- to my Denon DCM-370 CD Changer with HDCD Decoding capability. Highly recommended as an audio-only machine as well. Love the fact that i can bypass all of the video circuits to get a better audio sound out of whatever source I am playing. MP3 playback capability is very limited but the sound it puts out is what's important. Remember, think Panasonic RV-31K with a much better sound. Even though it has the same transport as the Panasonic, the video of this DVD Player is superior, probably due to the better 10bit/54mhz video DAC's and Faroudja decoding. Very little tweaking necessary and the picture looks fantastic. Even interlaced looks wonderful. I highly recommend this player as a step up from most mass market DVD Players... the Progressive Scan and DVD-Audio playback capability as well as the better video DAC's and Burr-Brown audio DAC's are well worth the price increase over its twin brother: Panasonic DVD RV-31K. Happy watching/listening! P.S. For some reason when trying to setup the analog 5.1 outputs for DVD-Audio listening, I hear a test-tone for every channel except the Sub. Anyone know why it does this? Sound comes out of the sub but the test-tone doesn't put out a signal throughout that specific channel. Had to set it up by ear...

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic DVD RV-31K; Pioneer DV-414; Sony NS-300 and NS-400

Really sharp,excellent looking picture on progressive mode,DCDi,good on video material,DVD-Audio way better sounding than my old JVC and includes better bass management.

No zoom,auto-scaling,slow disc reading,cannot switch progressive via remote

This is one excellent progressive scan player,picture is detailed and color rendition is extremely good.Finally found the replcement for my JVC-723,which replaced a Tosh 6200.I'll be keeping this unit for awhile.........

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 6200,JVC-723GD

Progressive scan performance, video/audio output

I don''t think it may have the capability to zoom the letterbox DVD''s to fit the whole 16:9 screen.

I purchased this player when I bought my Mits. 65'' hi-def TV. I had a Toshiba but it did not have progressive scan. What I got in this Denon was a quality DVD player with all the popular functions and an amazing progressive scan capability. It has not let me down. The picture is amazing and the player hasn''t missed a beat - even in the most complex scenes. I have been very impressed with the output from this unit. The set up is very easy with on-screen guidance. The music reproduction is great as well. The unit has may functions that allow me to better tailor usage for my big-screen. It even has a set-up for the 16:9 aspect ratio for my 65 inch TV. All in all, this unit has been a great investment that has done its job very very well. The progressive scan performance and the picture are amazing. It compliments my theater system very well. (Mits 65 inch hi-def TV, HK AVR 320, Polk RM-7600 speakers)

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba

DVD-Audio / MP3 playback Video Quality Audio Quality

Display for MP3 playback (similar to most other DVD players)

I have been using this new Denon DVD player for only about 2 weeks now and have been extremely impressed. I have purchased the Denon AVR-1800 receiver alittle over a year ago and was impressed with Denon''s quality. I don''t have an HDTV currently, but wanted to be prepared once I purchase one. The video quality is VERY good on my regular TV. The audio during movies is EXTREMELY good and it has been flawless with playing MP3''s and DVD-Audio discs so far.

Similar Products Used:

N/A

DD,DTS,Progressive scan,Audio only,ratio detection for full or widescreen, and much more.

As always...the cheap remote.

I replaced my Marantz DV-7010 with this unit. The Marantz was $250.00 more than the Denon, but lacked DD and DTS on board... and progressive scan...and, a few other things. The 7010 was faster to load and read the disk though. The interlaced picture on the Marantz was just about as good as the progressive on the Denon. I''m happy with both DVD players, but the Denon is better for the price.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer,Panasonic,Toshiba,Marantz.

picture price vs performance faroudja dvdi chip

no coax digital output remote somewhat awkward

I replaced a toshiba sd6200 with this new Denon and so far have been very impressed with the picture. I am using it in progressive mode with a Pioneer sd532hd5 and find the colors and overall look to be an improvement over the toshiba. I was happy with the picture from the sd6200 but find the 1600''s picture to be more stable and richer color wise. Overall I would say it is a more filmlike look and highly recommend this player. sorry I haven''t gotten to trying dvd-audio yet but will followup when possible. I''ve read quite a bit about the chroma bug problems but see no evidence with it in this player.

Similar Products Used:

toshiba sd6200