DVD player awards 2007

[admin_exported]

My first post, not sure if this is the right section to ask.

I wondered, the Denon 1940 gets best DVD player up to £300 and the PS3 gets best BD/DVD player £300-£450 (ish) does that mean that the PS3 plays standard DVD better than the Denon 1940?

Thx

 

[Clare Newsome]

Simple answer - yes!

 

[Andrew Everard]

So that's you, me and Malcolm McLaren escaping from I'm a Celebrity..., then!

BTW answer seconded - I'd go for the PS3 , too

 

[Clare Newsome]

Forget eating exotic insects - I'd rather eat my own arm than watch that show...

 

[Andrew Everard]

Fancy persuading Mrs E in that direction?

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Clare Newsome"]
Simple answer - yes!

[/quote]

good grief I am surprised! I thought the PS3 got its award as a great all rounder, I read that a stand alone bluray player would out perform it but I had no idea the PS3 would out perform a stand alone DVD player like a Denon 1940! I never read the PS3 review, may I ask how it plays DVD better than the Denon? More 3D? Colour, Sharpness, is the picture more real/solid? etc...?
Thx

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting thread.

May I also tag on here by asking how the Denon compares to the Sony RDRHXD970 award winning DVD recorder, in terms of picture and DVD sound quality ?? I say this because if you shop around you can get the Denon for about 200 quid and the Sony for about 265 quid.

Many thanks,

jules.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Denon better than Sony recorder for both sound and vision, PS3 better than both.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Andrew Everard"]
Denon better than Sony recorder for both sound and vision, PS3 better than both.

[/quote]
may I ask how it plays DVD better than the Denon? More 3D? Colour, Sharpness, is the picture more real/solid? etc...? Thx Andrew

 

[Andrew Everard]

Better colour definition and sharpness, and just an overall sense that the picture is more natural.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Andrew Everard"]
Better colour definition and sharpness, and just an overall sense that the picture is more natural.

[/quote]

Thx Andrew, no I am very curious, Im taking my 1940 to my local sony centre to compare a couple of scenes with the PS3, Im taking Spiderman 2 superbit and pearl harbour.

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="britlifter"]

Im taking...pearl harbour.

[/quote]

"Seeing much, suffering much, and studying much, are the three pillars of learning." - Benjamin Disraeli

 

[Anonymous]

Ok here goes, this is what I saw. We used a Sony 40 inch LCD (not sure of the model but it was 1080) Initially both the PS3 and my Denon 1940 where set to 1080p so the players where doing both mpeg2 decoding AND upscaling. Without a shadow of a doubt the PS3 was a considerably better picture. Very rich, solid and full. My Denon at 1080p was a little lacklustre and laid back. I was GUTTED!

I was curious to see them both at 576p so that the players where both only decoding mpeg2 and de-interlacing, in this case the display was up-scaling. This time my Denon looked MUCH better than before, far more colour, richness and fullness, much more similar to the PS3, not so much in it this time. In this case the PS3 I would say still had the extra slight edge on colour richness but the difference was not as huge as when they were both set to 1080p. Not enough to make me feel dissapointed this time.

My conclusion? The PS3 clearly has a far superiour upscaler than the Denon without a doubt, so if I had a display with a poor scaler id go for the PS3, however if the display has a very good scaler and fed a 576p signal, Id be happy with either machine. In my case I don't need upscaling Im still using a Toshiba 32ZD26 CRT (which I love btw) via componant so for me the Denon 1940 is fine.

Just a couple of my own thoughts here. I would mention that the power cord on the PS3 was better/thicker wheras the power cord that came with my Denon is a real crappy thin cheap thing & I know that a better quality power cord does make some degree of difference. Also the PS3 had been on all day and properly warmed up wheras my Denon came in from the cold. We know electronics work better when at their proper operational temp.

All in all, Im still happy with my Denon 1940 but am extremly impressed with PS3.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Hate to say we told you so, but...

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Andrew Everard"]
Hate to say we told you so, but...

[/quote]

hah ha lol well I never doubted you guys I was just surprised and wanted to see the difference for myself, Id still say that if the tv is doing the scaling and the PS3 scaler is bypassed then there wasnt much between the PS3 and the Denon. The kicker was the scaler in the sony, it's awesome!

 

[Clare Newsome]

[quote user="britlifter"]
Id still say that if the tv is doing the scaling and the PS3 scaler is bypassed then there wasnt much between the PS3 and the Denon. The kicker was the scaler in the sony, it's awesome!

[/quote]

That's assuming the TV (or projector) in question has a decent scaler - it's not always the case that the display will do a better job than the source, and it's always worth checking out both options.

Personally I think they're both excellent players - which is why they won Awards - but also a superb example of what paying a little more will buy you!

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Clare Newsome"][quote user="britlifter"]
Id still say that if the tv is doing the scaling and the PS3 scaler is bypassed then there wasnt much between the PS3 and the Denon. The kicker was the scaler in the sony, it's awesome!

[/quote]

That's assuming the TV (or projector) in question has a decent scaler - it's not always the case that the display will do a better job than the source, and it's always worth checking out both options.

Personally I think they're both excellent players - which is why they won Awards - but also a superb example of what paying a little more will buy you!

[/quote]

Agreed, a little more buys you an awesome scaler which as you say gives you more options in case the scaler in the tv isnt great and also bluray playback of course! Good job on the DVD player awards guys

I think I am going to enjoy it here

P.S The Denon uses Faroudja chip you guys dont happen to know what chip the PS3 uses for scaling by any chance?

 

[Anonymous]

Marvellous isn't it?

There's a handful of supposedly great DVD Players including the Denon 1940 out there and then we get the PS3 -essentially a games console that can produce better standard DVD Upscaling , has a well reputed Blu Ray player and is a top notch games machine.

Why the ruddy hell then are we all sold up the river and and encouraged to go for Pioneer's DV600AV, Denon's 1930, 1940 and 1740 players and the like. Surely in the face of such strak competition from the inimitable PS3 theo others should all go back to drawing board? Looks lile we're all being sold down the river on this as a result of which many are parting with their £££ far too easily and being sucked in by all teh hype surrounding these other wonderful so-called DVD players.

Mind you, no one has siad what the CD sound is like from the PS3......Don't tell me......that's ruddy well marvellous too?

 

[Anonymous]

Tallyho you make some great points, although I would say the Denon 1940 is the closest to the PS3 and still a good machine for the money, the others you mention Pioneer etc not so much. Its the scaling that does it, provided the TV has a great scaler there's little in it between the Denon and the PS3 (to my eyes) but you're very right in as much that standalone DVD players should be able to scale as good as the PS3 I agree with that 100%

 

[Clare Newsome]

[quote user="Tallyho"]
Marvellous isn't it?

There's a handful of supposedly great DVD Players including the Denon 1940 out there and then we get the PS3 -essentially a games console that can produce better standard DVD Upscaling , has a well reputed Blu Ray player and is a top notch games machine.

Why the ruddy hell then are we all sold up the river and and encouraged to go for Pioneer's DV600AV, Denon's 1930, 1940 and 1740 players and the like. Surely in the face of such strak competition from the inimitable PS3 theo others should all go back to drawing board? Looks lile we're all being sold down the river on this as a result of which many are parting with their £££ far too easily and being sucked in by all teh hype surrounding these other wonderful so-called DVD players.

Mind you, no one has siad what the CD sound is like from the PS3......Don't tell me......that's ruddy well marvellous too?

[/quote]

We've repeatedly said - in all our reviews - that the PS3 is a poor CD player.

And remember, the PS3 - at £425 when we reviewed it, and still at its cheapest £299 now - SHOULD be better than a £250 DVD player (which you can now buy for £180).

There's also the small fact that Sony is taking a much smaller margin out of the PS3 in order to grow the Blu-ray market - so you're actually looking at what would be a pricier player under normal circumstances.

Having said all that, both the pricier HD players and upscaling DVD players (like the Marantz product of the year) can make the PS3 look ordinary....

 

[Anonymous]

Is the scaler in the PS3 a software scaler, or a hardware scaler? Anyone know?

Also, small question for Andrew and/or Clare...

As I posted earlier my short test with the Denon 1940 and the PS3 was that ultimatly as a mpeg decoder and upscaler the PS3 is superiour to the Denon 1940 so rightly so it can be classed as a better DVD player. However take these two scenarios

1/ PS3 and Denon 1940 playing 576p into a dispay alowing the dispay to upscale both machines.

2/ PS3 and Denon 1940 outputting 576i via componant into a good CRT with componant connections.

In the two above to eg's the scaling in the PS3 is bypassed and the players are just simply outputting 576, with my short tests in these situations, to my eyes the picture between the PS3 and Denon 1940 was very similar, same 3D and depth and solidity/sharpness, the only egde I saw with the PS3 in the above eg's with its scaler not in use was slightly richer colour and blacks. (spiderman 2 superbit)

Would this be a fairly accurate description in your opinions with the above examples?

Thx

 

[Anonymous]

just a little bump ^^^ thoughts welcome

 

[Andrew Everard]

I think my brain is about to explode - too many 'what ifs' and 'yes buts'. I'll simply say that I'd buy a PS3 rather than the Denon, and leave it at that, but if Clare wants to dive in I am sure she will.

 

[Anonymous]

This is quite a depressing thread! I am starting to regret gettting my Denon 1930 on clearance a few months ago. I got it not long before the PS3 price drop was annouced!

Now this makes me think, is the Denon 1940 still worthy of it's 5 star, Product of the Year rating? If a PS3 can be bought for the same price how can the Denon justify it's 5 stars? Surely going on the 'Performance per pound' system it isn't good value for money?

What is the price difference in the UK for the PS3 compared to the Denon-1940? In Australia they are both $699. That makes the Denon seem like abit of a rip off really.

 

[Andrew Everard]

PS3 60GB £349, 40GB £299, Denon DVD-1940 £250

In AU$, I guess that makes them $800ish, $700ish and just under $600 respectively