Denon DVD-3930CI A/V Combination DVD/DVDA/SACD/CD Player with Realta T2 HQV
By: Denon Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 2
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 On: 2008-03-18
When I was on a market for the good DVD player the Denon 3930CI was a clear choice. It was consistently rated as the best DVD player one could get. After using the player with DVDs of various picture quality I can only confirm it. I tested it against Sony PS3 and Oppo 980 and Denon would always give me the best picture quality. With good DVDs Denon always gives a better color reproduction with bad DVDs after using Picture Adjust menu one can fix pretty much any DVD playback problem. Realta HQV really shines with bad MPEG encoding; digital noise filter is just superb. Denons default playback settings assumes that you only have a perfect DVDs in your collection, so sharpening, saturation, filters are all off. You have to be willing to learn how to correct imperfections using Picture Adjust menu. If you dont want to learn this complex player then you would be better off with something less expensive. Sony PS3 default settings for example are more user friendly.
Now bad news, well at least for me. DivX playback on 3930 was one of the key features I was looking for. I have a huge library of DivX files and Oppo 980 plays them all with absolutely no problem at all. Denon 3930 unfortunately just fails miserably here. Denons DivX decoder produces motion artifacts. If I stop playback - picture looks perfect, unfortunately transitions from frame to frame produces ugly zigzag lines and painful to watch. Latest firmware did not fix this problem. I may get the newest Oppo 983 just to get the best DivX scaled to 1080P of my Mitsubishi Diamond 52" LCD.
 On: 2008-03-18
I had high-end 60lb $2500 Sony SCD-777ES SACD player and Oppo 971 DVD player. Due to upgrade to a new Blu-ray player, I need an extra space so decision is to consolidate the SCD-777ES SACD and Oppo 971 DVD into one high-end SACD/DVD player.
I tried out the value Oppo 980 & 981, but its SACD performance is not the same level as Sony SCD-777ES. I tried $1200 Sony DVP-NS9100ES; good DVD but the SACD sound quality is not Audiophile grade yet. I heard a lot of good thing about the Denon 5910 (discontinued) so I ordered Denon top of line DVD-3930Ci.
I am so glad to report that its SACD performance is superb. It has the nuance and details as my current Sony SCD-777ES. Plus, its DVD performance is slightly better than the Oppo. It also plays DVD-A.
Now, I am really enjoying my B&W Nautilus 801 speakers.
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