Denon DVD-1920 Universal DVD -CD - SACD Audio Video Player
Simply brilliant HDMI dvd player, getting hold of one ain't easy though....
Having an HDMI Plasma TV made sense to go and buy an HDMI dvd player. The recipient of fantastic written reviews and verbal recommendations, the Denon 1920 dvd player has been unavailable due to demand in the UK for months now. Some dedicated Home Cinema/Hi Fi shops have been waiting two months for new stock of this player. Even on the Internet, most supplying sites will take orders but then warn of delays and lack of availability. Well having drawn a blank at 20 stores today, I finally discovered a store which had one in stock. He had this player for a whole day and was amazed that he had not sold it. Needless to say so was I but that did not distract me from parting with my cash, and putting him back among the stores (i.e. everyone else) currently out of stock of this player.<br /><br />Having set the player up what are my conclusions? Does it live up to the hype and the frenzy which seems to have gripped the buying public in the UK? The answer is a resounding yes.<br />My previous player, a Panasonic multi region A160 was good, this though is better. The picture on films like Lord Of the Rings and Revenge On The Sith is stunning in its brightness and clarity. The HDMI seems to meld SFX such as CGI into the picture seamlessly, getting rid of scenes that look CGI generated. Controls are easy to use once you have passed unfamiliarity mode. Sound is superb and seems to have taken an already good home cinema system up to another level. Bass from the Subwoofer in particular seems to be clearer and less distorted, yet has lost none of its power whatsoever. CD playback has been taken to another level too, sound is crisper, clearer, and the distribution on the sound channels is noticeably better too.<br />Be warned though HDMI will show up matting and older types of SFX on some older films quite starkly. I played The Black Hole on this player, and quickly had to reduce the upscaling from the top level of 1080i to 720p. Yet black and white films are superbly enhanced on this top upscaling format. On 1080i, films like Them and The Quatermass Experiment are simply amazing. Given a brightness that I have never seen before, and the hues of the blacks are just so real, instead of the slight blurring and lack of definition that you would previously have seen on a normal player.<br />Scaling control is via a single button on the front of the player, and is an easy fix for as and when required. You can of course turn it off completely if the film you are watching is going to show visual flaws if viewed in HDMI or run it on the lowest HDMI setting of 480p.<br />When setting the player up, don't forget to go into its menus and set the picture to 16/9 if you have a widescreen TV. If you don't do this, then all playback on all screen sizes will be in a letterbox picture.<br /><br />I am still getting used to this fantastic player with all of its features normally found on the upper end Denon players. The effect of the arrival of the Denon 1920 has been to lower prices of these (older) upper end players. Eg. the RRP for a Denon 3910 has dropped by nearly one third. Its features are identical HDMI wise to the 1920, yet is nearly three times the price.<br />Basically the Denon 1920 brings upper end player features to a very affordable package, indeed. Its closest rival in the HDMI stakes is the Sony but nothing else comes close at this time.<br />To conclude - this is simply the best HDMI player available at the best price. It may take some doing but I strongly recommend that you get hold of a Denon 1920 and see it in all of its glory for yourself.is top upscaling format. On 1080i, films like Them and The Quatermass Experiment are simply amazing. Given a brightness that I have never seen before, and the hues of the blacks are just so real, instead of the slight blurring and lack of definition that you would previously have seen on a normal player.<br />Scaling control is via a single button on the front of the player, and is an easy fix for as and when required. You can of course turn it off completely if the film you are watching is going to show visual flaws if viewed in HDMI or run it on the lowest HDMI setting of 480p.<br />When setting the player up, don't forget to go into its menus and set the picture to 16/9 if you have a widescreen TV. If you don't do this, then all playback on all screen sizes will be in a letterbox picture.<br /><br />I am still getting used to this fantastic player with all of its features normally found on the upper end Denon players. The effect of the arrival of the Denon 1920 has been to lower prices of these (older) upper end players. Eg. the RRP for a Denon 3910 has dropped by nearly one third. Its features are identical HDMI wise to the 1920, yet is nearly three times the price.<br />Basically the Denon 1920 brings upper end player features to a very affordable package, indeed. Its closest rival in the HDMI stakes is the Sony but nothing else comes close at this time.<br />To conclude - this is simply the best HDMI player available at the best price. It may take some doing but I strongly recommend that you get hold of a Denon 1920 and see it in all of its glory for yourself.