Menu and Manual

I will attempt to keep my opinion to myself and to report only my experiences with the players I have used.

First off, Roberts information ia accurate. There was a black dot by the serial number. Look for it.

The JVCDV23GD is an attractive looking machine but upon closer examination the front is plastic. The picture it produces is fantastic and the sound to my ear adequate. The first night that I had it the player froze on me twice. When I chapter skipped the picture broke apart. I took it back.

The Toshiba 6200 is feature rich and the picture is very sharp and detailed, almost an "in your face quality" while the sound is detailed yet to my ear underwhelming. The zoom is very nice but the remote is weak. I was uncomfortable with the unit and it's p[icture. Also, it comes with a 90 day warranty on parts and labor.

The Pioneer Elite 37 is a wonderful machine. Very film like, and the sound is just great. I liked the remote and the fact that it comes with a two year warranty parts and labor. Truly, I would have kept it if I didn't do research about it. I let the experts seduce me into thinking there were problems even though I couldn't have identified a chroma or a comb if my life depended on it.

Luckily, the Denon saved my butt. It is the best performer of all the players I have used. The picture is like the Elite but artifact free and very, very much 3D in appearance. The sound in DD is detailed, and very warm.
During Red Planet, my blase, girlfriend kept sitting up and saying "Wow" and "Cool". At the end of the movie when the space ship is heading off screen she exclaimed "Oh my God, it looks like its coming out of the screen at us."

I would encourage you to keep in mind the spirit of a machine is something more than the details. Does it produce images and sound you like? Don't get caught up in things that experts look for because they are paid to look for them.

Similar Products Used:

JVCDV23GD, Toshiba 6200, Pioneer Elite DV 37

Released too early, with bugs which result in poor image quality in progressive mode.

I evaluated the Denon 2800 unit in the progressive and interlace modes using both the Video Essentials and Avia DVD discs and compared the image quality in the progressive mode to that achieved with the JVC XV-D723GD unit operating in the progressive mode. The comparision of the two DVD players was performed using two copies of the same DVD so that accurate comparision of image quality could be made by quickly switching between TV inputs. I noticed when playing the needle pulse test pattern on either the Avia or Video Essentials discs that when the 2800 unit was in the progressive mode the black line had a strong ghost image spaced by about 2 line widths from the main image. This type of ghost image problem was also apparent on other test patterns when the unit was operated in the progressive mode. There were no ghost image problems when the unit was operated in the interlace mode. When using the standard image setting the 2800 unit had a relatively poor picture compared to the JVC unit. The picture of the 2800 unit improve considerable by increasing both the constrast and resolution image control setting in the unit. Unfortunately, increasing these image control settings never made the image as good as that achieve with the JVC unit and increased the ghost image problem. I return the unit to the store.

Similar Products Used:

JVC XV-D723GD, Pioneer 909

excellent picture

Pulsing lines when in progressive mode.

I bought this player as soon as it came in. I hooked it up to my Toshiba 56h80 via component, switched to progressive. There was pulsing lines up and down my screen. I switched it for a new one - same thing. I brought it back, had the salesman hook it up to a Toshiba 65h80 - same pulsing lines. There seems to be a lot of compatibility issues with progressive scan and hdtv's. Needless to say, I got a refund. On a positve note, the interlaced picture looked marvelous.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 6200

Just an FYI on this product: There is a known defect for about 75-80% of the Denon 2800's shipped. It ends up that one of the EEPROMS in the unit was not properly programmed. There is a fix for this and it is being provided to the dealers by Denon. All the dealer has to do is run a CD that Denon has created and it will re-program the proper EEPROM and stop the pulsing lines that everyone is seeing. I have heard that these discs will be shipped sometime in the coming weeks.

I was rather disappointed in Denon at the fact that they shipped a faulty product. I am not sure how they test these units before shipping, but apparently they are not hooked up to a TV.

Looking past the pulsing lines, the picture quality was very nice and the features it provides are excellent (i.e playing MP3s).

Great picture, quick chapter change, no noticable layer changes, CD-R and RW playability, MP3s, incredible audio sound on CD playback, memory buffering system

All the idiots on this forum that have never owned the product they're reviewing, or the idiots that never tried to get the firmware upgrades from Denon on a cutting edge DVD transport....obviously there will be some problems if you buy something that is bleeding edge. YOu must upgrade it and update it's firmware as necessary

This is one of the best DVD players on the market right now. Period.

If the folks that originally purchased the unit and upgraded the firmware as necessary, they too would be enjoying a fantastic picture, incredibe reproduction of CD audio, MP3, cutting edge buffering system, and other fantastic bells and whistles.

This forum is a joke. Is there anyone moderating it?

This DVD player has a third firmware upgrade available from Denon that will fix any problems yours may have. Just call Denon's offices and they will Fed-EX it to you overnight.

This unit has a buffering system which all but eliminates the layer change on DVDs. It will also play discs that look like someone ran over them in a vehicle. Chapter changing is instantaneous. The picture in both interlaced and progressive is as good as a DVD player can produce at this stage of the game. Sure, a minor chroma problem still exists (deep reds)....but it does on almost all players due to the MPEG decoding....cool thing about the Denon, it's upgradable. When there is a fix on the decoder, it will be implemented.
Denon's customer service on this unit is second to none. They immediately had an update for bad units. They paid the shipping costs and did an overnight upgrade for the faulty power supply units. Yes, there will be problems with cutting edge technology, just like a baby with diapers, you've got to change them til it grows up. The timeliness that Denon resolved these issues is phenomenal.

Videophile reviews over at AVScience on this unit (updated firmware) compared the picture of the 2800 to the $4000 Camelot (the only other unit to use the same processing chip as the 2800).

If you haven't owned a piece of equipment, or you're too dumb to find out whether or not there is an upgrade or a patch available...your opinion doesn't count....here or anywhere else. Keep your dumbass opions to yourself.

If you thinking about a new DVD player, the Denon 2800 is a must see. Do yourself a favor and audition it, you won't be let down. By the way, future units will have the firmware already updated.

Jer

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 3109, 6200, and 9200. Sony 9000 ES

Interlaced picture looks good, the sound is excellent, it looks nice and appears sturdy.

Progressive mode is unwatchable due to pulsing bars moving from bottom to top of screen, just as in the preceeding posts.

I just upgraded my Denon 1000 to the 2800 tonight.. eagerly anticipating 480P. I was shocked that I was able find one at all.

Immediately after connecting it to my tv, a Sony KP53HS10, I noticed the same pulsing lines that have been mentioned in earlier posts. Movies are inwatchable in progressive mode.. what a let down.

I tried another set of cables (CinemaQuest VSD1 and MonsterCable M500's).. no improvement. I adjusted every picture setting on my tv.. nothing. Every picture setting on the 2800.. again, nothing. I tried a power outlet on a different circuit.. nope.

I should mention that I had to return my first Denon DVD1000 player because of lip synch problems, it's replacement had some pixelization and brightness 'shifting' problems with a few movies, including Matrix. I also had to return my receiver (Denon 3300) when I first got it (about 3 months ago) because of overheating. Apparently some 3300's were produced with malfunctioning fans. Its replacement has been fine although I wish it switched HDTV.

Needless to say, I'm getting tired of having to go through multiple machines to find the ones that work...

Any suggestions for an alternative to the 2800?

Similar Products Used:

Denon 1000

Just wanted to add something to my post (two down) as well as the FYI that followed it (just below this post).

When I purchased this DVD player (Friday) my regular HT 'guy' (I get all my equipment from him) said I was probably the first person in the area to have a 2800. He ordered a bunch, was sent two and both were gone within a couple hours of delivery. I got one of the two.. lucky me.. or so I thought. He asked me to call him with the report as he didn't even get a chance to open and look at one let alone try one out.

Well, I called him back today (Monday) and informed him of the progressive scan problem I am having as well as the fact that there are many others having the same issue. I also informed him of the rumored fix in the form of a disk that would reprogram the errant EEPROM. I cautioned him that I had heard this on the net and to take it with a grain of salt.

He said he was going to call his Denon rep and an engineer he knows it Denon. Well, he did.. and I have some information to share with you. Apparently Denon is aware of the problem and is in "Damage Control Mode". Apparently all 2800's shipped to this point have had the pulse/bar problem in progressive mode. They are all, in fact, defective (I'm not privy to what exactly is wrong with them).

This engineer (who, mind you, I do not know and have never spoken to) stated that the problem has been identified, the fix has been engineered and all DVD 2800's will have to RMA'd back to Denon (or returned to your retailer) for a replacement. Doh! Also, re-engineered units should be shipping within a week or two.

I should mention that the engineer stated that he was not aware of any magic bullet in the form of a disk that would fix the problem.. he said that the defective units will have to go back to Denon.

Again, I make no specific claims to the accuracy of this information. I'm relaying what I was told by a reputable, authorized Denon dealer who has always been honest and forthcoming with me.

I'm going to rate this review with 3 stars to have as little an impact as possible in the ratings (the ratings currently average 3.22 so it's as close as I can get). I appologize up front for skewing the ratings. I KNOW this will skew the results so don't flame me... if you look to the first few PAGES of the 2800 reviews you'll see many posts doing much more damage in this area than I am (reviewing prior to release and rebuttal reviews). I thought this information was worth it.

I would rate this product, as delivered, at one star in both categories (see my previous post).

Sorry this was so long...


Regards,

-Dave

Progressive scan picture; sound quality superb, build quality pretty high-end

No scaling features for those with TV's that lock into full mode when 480p signal detected.

I believe I owe it to Denon to post an updated review of this unit now that I have a fixed one with the firmware updgrade. I have to say, the progressive picture is phenominal!!. I consider it comparable to the Sony 9000ES in looks. However the Denon still surpasses the Sony's video because it has the Si503 chip compared to the Genesis in the 9000ES. I say if you don't care for SACD, then the DVD2800 will give just as phenominal picture for about $700 less!. I also rate the audio of the player superb as well.

Ok, so Denon made a mistake with the first batch of these units. But I think because they reacted so quickly to the issues and quickly resolved them, their reputation is now stronger with me. Speaking of great customer service, instead of returning my bugged unit to the dealer, they fixed it for me within one day!! As a bonus, they even added a new bell & whistle in the new firmware upgrade.

The only thing I wish they had added was a scaling/zoom feature for those of us with Widescreen TV's that lock into expand mode when a 480p signal is detected. Fortunately, I don't own that many non-anamorphic DVD's and the new ones I buy seem to all be anamorphic these days.

All-in-all, I have to say this fixed player completely turned my opinion of this unit around so that I must now give it 5 stars for both Value and Overall ratings. Anyone who have been waiting for the initial problems to be taken care of, apparently my local dealer expects the new fresh debugged and upgraded units in by first week of April.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 530D, Pioneer DV37; Sony 9000ES