480p and aspect ratio control!!

not the best interlace chip (NEEDS THE SAGE OR SILICON)

Do you have a 16:9 monitor or LCD projector??? I do... and one of the very best ways of getting a few extra tv lines of rez. (33 lines or so) is to set this player in its widescreen mode. Combined with the 480p you really have a great picture (if you have an LCD projector its more like superlitive) GET IT.....Dont just sit there get outa your chair and go buy the damn thing.

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SONY 550

DVD Vidio picture, Flexibility, sound Quality

None

Just had to Chime in - this thing has such a great picture compared to other units in the range... NO CHROMA BUG. Once you see the bug it drives you nuts an almost everything else has it.
I know the interlacer is not the greatest, but with most movies, you never really notice any problems. it just looks great all the time.
Beyond that, it does a fine job on MP3s, reads all my CDRs, and I haven't even tried the DVD Audio yet. This really is a great unit - no remorse at all...

picture...Picture...PICTURE!!

Just came across this update while surfing around for a firmware upgrade I heard about for the player. It corrects the left shift of the picture when in progressive mode and also a couple of other things. You can go here for addl. info: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/search.php?s=e4e6bd40a8fb0b29c582e6ef72237a9c&action=showresults&searchid=101014&sortby=&sortorder=

To check what firmware version you have, just press (on the Front of the RP91): Stop, Pause, and the Open/Close button at the same time with one hand and press 7 on remote control with your other hand. Look at the LCD display and the last three numbers will tell you the firmware version.

Go here for the firmware: http://63.97.204.237/rp91-236-iso.zip. Unzip the .iso file then burn it with your favorite program. I used EZCD 5. Then just put the disc in your player and follow the prompts. It completes in about 5 minutes.

Here's some instructions for burning the .iso image with Roxio (EasyCDCreator):

Burning a CD-RW using the ISO file and Adaptec (Roxio) Easy CD Creator:
1) You must go into the "File" menu and select "CD Layout Properties."
2) Switch the file system selection from Joliet to ISO9660.
3) Again on the "File" menu, select "Create CD from CD Image...," switch the file type to .iso, and browse to your extracted file.
4) Burn as normal.
5) After the burn, you may want to switch the Easy CD Creator file system type back to Joliet, so it will be ready for your next MP3 session!

It worked for me BUT...I take NO RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER for problems that may arrise from attempting to upgrade your player using the updated firmware. If you have doubts, read through the forum in the link above. Just trying to help everyone out. Good Luck!!

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n/a

Both Progressive and interlaced picture, Audio quality, DVD-Audio capable, Expansive set-up options, Price!

Slow to load and initialize discs.

My original intent was to buy the Denon 2800. In fact, I was drooling over it until its release. I was not put off by the original bugs, but after I was able to see the Chroma upsampling bug in person, I decided it was not something I could go for. I had in my posession for a short time the JVC, but that had its own issues. For about six monthes, I owned the Pioneer. Which played CDR's, but I was never really happy with the sound from the unit. After reading several reviews about the RP-91, I decided I would try it out. I was able to test it out on a couple of high def monitors, and immediatley loved it. I was also pleased with the audio once hooked to my reciever. This unit is very tough to beat for the price. I highly recommend this player to anyone looking for great progressive scan picture, DVD-Audio, and solid performence.
My system:
Denon AVR-5800
Boston Acoustics V-10 center, CR-8 mains, VRS surrounds, Infinity HPS-250 Sub
Sony TV

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JVC XV-GD723, Pioneer 434, Denon 2800

First impression: film-like w/ deep black and silky smooth motion, Lots of functions to tweak

image shifts left and size need to be increased to fill screen, remote control and gui, slow start up

The info at "Progressive DVD Player Shootout # 2" is extremely helpful yet totally confused me... They found that RP56 uses the Sage/Faroudja chip, pass all their tests with fying color while RP91 uses the Genesis chipset with inferior deinterlacing performance. I wonder if later date product like my new RP91 (mfg: July 2001) has the Sage/Faroudja chip? Regardless, the picture is film-like with deep black and silky smooth motion. It resolved the issue which I have with my Sony plasma- its black is hazy. My plasma never look this good! Anyway, I'll try to compare this with the Sony ns700p and Philip q50 before I decide to keep it or not. This unit is well built with many functions to adjust.

The sounds is just incredible in 5.1 and stereo: open, transparent, tight bass, clean, sweet high, make you want to hear it loud.

Need improvement/issues: (1) image shifts left and size need to be increased to fill screen (2) illogical remote control and gui, graphic icons are confusing, meaningless (3) slow start up (4) bad-written manual

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sony 550

I was woundering that when you use the progressive outputs for a 16x9 TV what the zoom feature does? With my current Pan RP56 I get black bars on 2.35 aspect ratio DVDs and I know it is built into the 2.35 DVDs but I was woundering if this model could zoom so that the bars went away? Also does the zooming afect the quality much?

I know it says that it can zoom but I am not sure if it will do this.

Awesome picture. Incredible sound now (see below). Great price on E-bay.

Product description indicates "illuminated remote". It's not. More like glow-in-the-dark buttons that fade after the lights go down.

Follow-up to my review below. The audio problem I described seems to have fixed itself. Don't know what I did but there is no more annoying snaping/popping sound from the right channel anymore. Possibly moving the unit from the top of my Yamaha receiver to a shelf by itself did the trick (read the manual!!). Haven't hooked it up to a HDTV set yet, but the picture through the composite input is just stunning. Just thought I'd let those of you who are thinking about this unit not to be put off by my earlier review. I think it's a great unit. Go get one!

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None

Incredible DVD-Audio. Excellent progressive scan image. Appearance. Plays mp3s

Manual poorly-written.

Just upgraded to this DVD-Audio player - solely to get DVD-Audio and the ability to play mp3s. From the moment I first heard it (playing Buena Vista Social Club in multi-channel) I KNEW that analogue's (replay) days were numbered. We all know the feeling when we hear something *really* special in audio don't we? Mine were: hearing Bach on a pair of old Celestions in a classical music store as a kid; first putting on a pair of headphones; first hearing a pair of Quad electrostatics; hearing a valve amplifier in combination with a Linn Sondek turntable playing Jazz. I must admit, I was sceptical about the claims for DVD-Audio in terms of the alleged quantum leap over CD sound quality (which, incidentally, I think is "good"). When I pressed PLAY on the RP91 it was literally a jaw-dropping experience. VERY reminiscent of the best analogue presentation - space, air, and ooodles and oodles of detail and the sort of organic "warmth" one craves for from CD. Astonishing realism too with a broad,deep soundstage I have never heard piano reproduced so accurately - ever. I closed my eyes and was there - it really IS that good! It also has a sort of relaxed, effortless feel, so you have to watch the volume control. Haven't heard SACD yet but will have to buy one if the DVD-Audio catalog doesn't fill up...I can't listen to CD with any real pleasure now.

Oh - *outstanding* image from its 12 bit DAC. A bonus really!

I know I could have gotten it for less from the Net, but I'm impatient!

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Toshibal 5109

Excelent pictures, non-anamorphic DVDs scaling, CD remastering, decent audio DACs, DVD-Audio, noise reduction options, plays CD-Rs, CD-RWs and MP3s.

4:3 aspect screen shift, poor documentation

I based my review on a black version of the RP91 and also taken its price in consideration of the review.

Build Quality: 4.5/5.0
Decent build quality with a little more heft than the average players. Nice brushed aluminum face place. No bent on the top of the player like the cheap ones. Gold-plated contacts.

Usability: 3.5/5.0
The manual is attrocious. To find the info would have take you hours. Anyhow I rarely read a manual from start to end. It's more fun to try a new gadget in the dark :). Luckily, the info on different hometheater forums makes it easy for the new owners. The remote can control the player and channel/volume on a TV. It's nowhere near a universal remote but better than the average remote for others player. Anyway, I would bet you already have a few on those universal remotes already :). The menu is not as intuitive as the JVC but since I already owned several Panasonic DVD players, I can find my way around.

Video Performance: 5.0/5.0
Your milage will varies with the quality of the current de-interlacer found in your RPTV. If you have an excelent de-interlacer like the one in the Pioneer Elite then don't expect a jaw dropping performance. However, the enhancements are there although they would be less pronounced. For DVD player less than $500, there is no current competitor to the RP91. Excelents for films with proper flags. For those which are not as strict the default progressive mode (Auto1) will comb like crazy. Do yourself a favor and set it to Auto2. The RP91 will still combs with these troubled DVDs but only for a frame or two which is quicker than the Toshiba and the JVC wouldn't even come close. With video-based material, the pictures are as good as I have seen. Where the JVC would soften the pictures to a degree where it became unwatchable, the RP91 sails through without a problem. The pictures also appear a tad more 3-D than my old Toshiba. The noise reduction features are a god send for those who have invested in VCDs. And of course the killer feature of scaling non-anamorphic DVDs. This feature is so good it would justify the price for a lot of people including me. Even though my Sony RPTV does not lock into 19:6 aspect in progressive mode, the picture from the scaling picture is noticably better than the downmixed mode. And there are enough pictures settings for a tweaker to spend a few weeks to find the best combination and the RP91 will remember the settings per DVD up to 200 DVDs. So for you people who wants the best pictures al the time, this is the player for you. Oh yeah, no chroma bug neither.

Audio Performance: 5.0/5.0
DVD-Audio sounds is amazing which shows that the DACs inside the RP91 is no slouch. The same DVD-Audio sounds much better on the RP91 and the JVC-721. The highs does not have the typical roll-off as the JVC has. In fact, the DACs are almost as good as the ones in my Marantz. Whereas, I can picked up a clear difference between the JVC and the Marantz, it is much harder with the RP91. The Marantz still carries a better sound stage but not by much. And the CD-Remastering features for the CDs, while does not offer night and day differences, it does enhance the highs for a smoother sounds.

Price: 5.0/5.0
Currently there is no player that offers the range of features that the RP91 for the price. Hence, it got a top note for this.

Conclusion:
Is it the best DVD player in existance? Problably not. Is it the best DVD player for its price? I believe so.

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JVC-XV721BK, Toshiba 6200

Absolutley awesome machine. I have not been able to see the benefit of progressive scan yet, but the standard NTSC video is superb on my GAO Panasonic TV. SOund is mind blowing. With my Onkyo 787 Digital Receiver, sound is great. MP3s sound better than cds on my old CD player. The price at E-COst was great as well. I was looking at the DENON 2800 and the Pioneer dv37 and I know I made the right decsision.

Did not come out sooner!

I feel like I got a steal. All I am hoping for now is for HDTV/Progressive scan tvs to come down in price.

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Nothing it its price range offers sound and video quality.