Denon 1740 vs 1940 - Quality Difference?

[Alsone]

What are the differences in picture / sound quality between the 1740 and 1940?

I was going for the 1940 but feel a little reluctant to be spedning over £200 on a format thats possibly on its way out in favour of hidef formats so was wondering if the cheaper player might be a better buy? Also wondering if sound on the 1740 might be better given the 1940's failing in this area compared to the 1930.

 

[Anonymous]

I won't lie I haven't actually seen either of these players in action, but I would say that the 1940 will certainly have better picture and sound (with movies and music) than the 1740. Also, DVD is going to be around for a long time yet, so it definately still makes sense to buy a DVD player. In fact it probably makes more sense to buy one, rather than buy an early HD player that may end up not having the full specification for all the new surround sound codecs or interactive features, or may even end up completely obsolete if the format you choose ends up losing the 'format war'. Also, a very good dvd player will make the most of all the dvds you already own, and all the dvds you will buy seeing as there are hardly at all any titles on Blu-ray or HD DVD yet.

 

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by sound - movies or CD music?

I debated the two, and I the end decided upon the 1740, as I still have to buy an amp and speakers.

I got Richer sounds to sell me one for £100, but bear in mind that they are currently selling the 1940 for a few pence short of £170 !! This might help you shape your decision. Richer Sounds will also ask you to consider a Cambridge Audio (they are sole suppliers).

1740 does upscale to 1080p like the older 1930, but doesn't use the chipset of the 1930/1940 (faroudja??). Only played music through the TV speakers so far (awaiting amp and speakers), so cannot comment about the quality. I trusted the review I read in the Mag a few months ago, where they compared the 1740 against the Sammy 870. The Sammy was the recommended purchase at half the price of the Denon, but I went with the Denon by virtue that the sound was better with music.