Denon DBP1610 Blu-ray/DVD/CD Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)One must wonder where the street price will land on these in a month or even weeks. In a competitive landscape where quality 7.1 analogues are below $300 (ie 320), lightning speed and quality upconversion are below $225 (JVC), and netflix and pandora streaming are available for $200, how a denon can justify a $500 MSRP player without a brand name chipset, mediocre speed, and only two channel out. It is a well-built, heavy player that looks awesome in a rack (not as masculine as a 2500/3800), but neither wins on performance nor wins on value.

The mid-range ($300 to $600) market segment is book-ended by the Pioneer 320 on one end and the Oppo 83 on the other. Players like the Denon 1610 struggle to stand out in regard to either performance or value, which is a dangerous proposition for the majority of us who are not brand-addicted. I know I have been probably a bit overly critical of higher branded players like the Onkyo 606 and 507 and the Harman Kardon BDP1, but I firmly believe in quality and value. This is probably why I have banged on about both the pioneer 320 and the JVC XV BP1. They put very high quality AV performance or lightning fast operation in the hands of normal folks in tough times.

The 1610 (and the 2010 for that matter) are a bit late to the party and too expensive. I would strongly recommend the 1610 were its street price just under $300 (and I suspect it will be come Halloween). The 2010 is one of the few direct competitors to the Oppo for pure BD/DVD performance. It has a better audio section, but worse video capabilities. It could be a real contender at $425-$450, but is comical at $600 or whatever they are going for.

With Denon DVD-2500BTCI's selling for under $300, I would be hard-pressed to recommend the 1610 for its current street price of $450.

With updated firmware, powered off eject time decreases from 17 seconds to 13 seconds (Same as 2010).

Dark Knight: to anti-piracy page
Denon 1610: 37
JVC: 17 seconds
Oppo: 16 seconds
Pio 320: 42 seconds
Pio 51: 45 seconds
Denon 1800: 42 seconds
Denon 2500: 48 seconds
Denon 2010: 36 seconds

Pirates of the Carribean 1: Medallion Coin / Disney Splash
Denon 1610: 41/57 seconds
JVC: 16 /27
Oppo: 21 / 31
Pio 320: 44 /1 min 13 seconds
Denon 1800: 44 /1 min 3 seconds
Denon 2500: 49 / 1 min 9 seconds
Denon 2010: 39 / 49

Synthetic Test Resutls:

Test Pio 320/ Oppo /JVC /denon 1800 /denon 2500 /denon 2010/ denon 1610
2:02 pass/ pass*/ pass/ fail/ fail /pass/ pass
2:2:2:4 fail /pass /pass /fail /fail /fail/ fail
2:3:2:3 (PF-T) Pass /pass /pass /pass* / pass / pass*/ pass*
2:3:2:3 pass /pass /pass/ pass/ pass* /pass/ pass
2:3:3:2 marg /pass /pass /fail/ fail /fail / fail
3:2:3:2:2 fail pass pass fail fail fail /fail
5:5 pass/ pass /pass /marginal /marginal /marginal / marginal
6:4 marginal /pass/ pass/ fail/ fail /marginal/ fail
8:7:8:7 marginal pass pass maginal marginal marginal /marginal
24p - Pass pass pass pass pass pass pass
Time-adjusted fail pass fail marginal fail fail fail

Video deinterlacing:
Moderate performance; excelled with scrolling text, but did have very mild jaggies on ship test.

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Product Description:
Combining superlative performance and high value, Denon's latest affordable Blu-ray/DVD/CD player includes features and technologies found on our higher end models, such as HDMI Source Direct and 12 bit video processing. Standard definition DVDs never looked better thanks to i/p scaling and upconversion up to 1080p, along with digital video noise reduction to eliminate compression artifacts. The precision drive mechanism is center-mounted, and the chassis incorporates Denon's Separated Unit Structure architecture, which separates key mechanical and electronic blocks into five separate sections to eliminate mutual interference. Equipped with an Ethernet port, the DBP-1610 features Blu-ray Profile 2.0 BD-Live web-enabled interactivity, as well as firmware upgrade capability. The latest specification HDMI output provides highest resolution Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD digital multi-channel audio compatibility, and the DBP-1610 is equipped with stereo analog outputs that feature high resolution Burr-Brown DACs for optimum audio purity. The DBP-1610 is able to handle a wide range of disc formats, including Blu-ray, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R and CD-RW discs, and features WMA, MP3 and DivxHD playback along with Kodak and Fuji picture disc playback capability for increased system flexibility.

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Denon DVD-3800BDCI Blu-ray Disc DVD/CD Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I got this player a week ago and I am totally blown away, and my TV is only capable of 1080i! (I won't be able to replace my TV until next year.) Two things struck me immediately, aside from the incredible detail, which beats the 1080i broadcasts that I am getting. The first was the colors. They are just dazzling! But it isn't because they're over-saturated or anything like that. It's like I'm seeing a variety of pastels that I've never seen before from my TV. So far I've looked mainly at nature films (like the complete Planet Earth) and I seem to be seeing a wider gamut of colors than I've ever seen before from my TV. I watched a regular DVD on it and the colors are "back to normal". So it is the high definition processing of the Denon that seems to be capturing the richness of the colors.

The second thing I noticed is the quality of the sound. I've never heard such magnificent sound from my system. I thought it sounded great before (and others have remarked how wonderful my system sounds), but there is a noticeable improvement with this Denon, and that improvement is also noticeable on regular DVD's.

This unit has already ruined it for me for watching regular DVD's and 480i broadcasts, and I OWN about 250 DVDs! I used to think that regular DVD's looked pretty good, but it is in reality the difference between night and day. I don't know how I'm going to be able to tolerate regular DVDs anymore. I can't imagine that when I get 1080p next year it is going to make much of an improvement over what I currently have, but I've read that there is a noticeable difference that I'll see that has nothing to do with this particular Denon.

Then there's the manual...sigh... This is a manual seemingly written BY engineers FOR engineers. There are so many undefined acroynms and buzz words that it will make you dizzy. Better have Wikipedia handy, that's all I can say. I looked through the entire manual and could not figure out how to set it up from the default 4:3 aspect ratio at 480i to what I wanted, 16:10 aspect ratio at 1080i (the best my TV will give me). I had to call the dealer and HE had to consult with his tech department! Once he explained it, it was obvious how I'd have to change it the next time I wanted to (if ever -- since the unit automatically upsamples), and then when the excitement was beginning to wear off, I looked through the manual more carefully and saw where it was documented, in the middle of the 30 page or so manual! Something so obvious, so deeply buried, because that's how the engineers that designed this thing thought about it! God help me if there's other things I need to adjust. That's mainly why I paid full price for this thing from a local dealer so I'd be able to get phone help anytime I wanted it. At current prices you don't pay that much more for it now full price anyhow. We'll see where the prices are six months from now.

Fortunately, the above was the only adjustment I had to make. There are tons of things that can be adjusted with this unit, but one thing that appealed to me about it was reports I've read: normally you won't have to adjust anything aside from the aspect ratio and scan rate, as I had to. Default color adjustments, brightness, and contrast are just faultless.

Speaking of the manual, it warns you (relatively up-front) about setting up the 3800 in a confined place. My dealer told me (incorrectly, it turns out)that was nonsense, so I installed it inside my hi fi cabinet, which is closed at the back and has a glass door on the front. Below it was a tuner and a pre-amp, below them was one of those ancient Laser Disk players (that still works -- a Marantz), and below that a truly ancient transistor 105 watt/ch Crown power amplifier (39 years old and going as strong as ever). Anyhow, I played one disk and felt the chasis and it was so hot I could barely touch it so I immediately took it out of its confined space and placed it on an open shelf just above the TV and it has been running at a much more comfortable temperature ever since. So believe the manual! It needs plenty of ventilization. These high frequency electronic devices really burn the calories, just like those old 3 GHz PCs (before the multi-core jobs came out that run at a much cooler 2.4 GHz but still allow you to get tons of work done much faster).

Why did I spend so much for a Blu-ray player? Insanity maybe, but the build quality is far beyond the $500 units and this thing is not about to wear out or deteriorate with age. It also has superb built-in isolation from vibrations and magnetic fields. Even though it is sitting about 6" above my TV, it is completely free from visible noise that might be caused by stray magnetic fields from the TV tube (a 36" CRT Panasonic) and the picture is rock steady. I also noticed in the shop where I auditioned it that other Blu-Ray players take forever to load a disk. This takes about 15 seconds. So you get quite a bit for what you pay for. If you've got the money, spring for it. There's satisfaction in knowing that you've got something that is uncompromising in image, sound, and build quality.

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Product Description:
Experience high definition the way only Denon can deliver it. This advanced Blu-ray/DVD/CD player features the Realta sxT2 HQV processor and HDMI v1.3a for exceptional video quality and Deep Color support, and the Denon D.D.S.C.-HD circuitry for the highest level of audio decoding so you get master-quality sound with exceptional dynamic range.

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Samsung BD-P1500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been using this for 2 weeks now, and it's my first blu-ray player (no PS3).The good stuff:Excellent look, not too loud, amazing picture and sound.Working ethernet and USB port.(I haven't had to download any firmware or code updates, but I'm sure it'll work fine.)

Operations:No fan noise, no noise while playing, but during menu & loading, you hear some track-seeking which is audible at 10'... nothing offensive, though.I just noticed last night, after my 5th blu-ray a little flicker in in the bottom center of the screen during the credits of Juno... not sure if it's a bad disc or a player having a problem.It was repeatable, and the disc seemed clean.Lastly, the load time, eject time, etc seems just fine.Not instant or as fast a nice DVD player, but not noticably slow.I've heard alot about slow disc-loading, and if it is a problem on other players - it's not a problem on this one.Lastly, sometimes when you click on a menu instead of pausing, the screen with show a "progress-bar" for 2-4 seconds while the next manu loads, which isn't completely kosher, but doesn't bother me.

The so-so stuff:I'm giving this 5-stars because it's near-perfect at what it's designed to do for it's price, but it's not perfect.One reason to get a mid- to lower-cost player is to (duh) save money... if you're someone who has an older receiver that doesn't decode the two new DD and DTS formats, and (probably) doesn't decode multi-channel PCM, this player isn't for you.It only has stereo-out analog RCA plugs, not 5.1 or 7.1 analog outputs.

That means you can't bypass your receivers pre-amp to play the newer audio formats and let the blu-ray player decode them.My old Receiver (which I used the player with for a week) only decoded DD 5.1 (no DTS, and only 2-channel PCM to 48khz).This player lets you send a PCM stream to your receiver from an internally decoded DTS 5.1 signal, but this didn't work for me... as my player can't receive 5.1 PCM streams, it only saw it as 2-channel.At least the player lets you downsample 96khz PCM to 48khz, so that I at least got sound (Golden Compass only has DTS 5.1 or DTS HD Master).

With my new receiver, all formats work perfectly, all bitstreamed.

Some people perhaps are holding off for new receivers because they don't want to connect through the player's analog RCA 5.1/7.1 connectors - but this is probably mis-information.What you want to avoid is taking digital sound, converting it to analog, then back to digital, then back to analog...don't worry - you wouldn't be doing this.Basically you would be doing all your processing in the player digitally, then once it is sent out through the pre-outs to the receiver you'd bypass the receiver's processing and it would go straight to the amplifier (which is of course analog anyway).

So my conclusion for thos people with older (but good) receivers - this blu-ray player won't save you any money.The best savings would be to pay a little more for a player with 5.1 analog outputs and continue to use your existing receiver.

-Kevin Moore
Natick, MA

Click Here to see more reviews about: Samsung BD-P1500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

Product Description:
Experience the Blu-ray difference with the SAMSUNG BD-P1500. You'll get incredibly detailed images with brilliant color in full high definition 1080p resolution. It's the only media capable of delivering true 1080p performance on an HDTV set. Its Anynet+ technology lets you control all your SAMSUNG AV devices from just one remote. The BD-P1500 lets you have it all. It's backward compatible with earlier formats. watch your current collection of DVDs or listen to audio CDs with the highest-quality sound available. 1080p resolution - Enjoy lifelike, vivid visuals and crystal-clear details with full high definition 1080p resolution when playing Blu-Ray discs HDMI keeps it simple by using a single cable wire to deliver the sharpest, richest images possible. Conveniently and easily transfer high-definition video and audio from your DVD player to your HDTV and other digital devices using a single cable. HDMI version 1.3 transfers deeper color and higher resolution, and handles new, compressed audio formats. Control it all with one remote - Anynet+ delivers streamlined, one-touch control over all your Anynet+ compatible devices such as the TV, AV receiver, and home theater Playback Media - BD-ROM / DVD-ROM / DVD-R / DVD-RW / AVCHD / audio CD Playback Formats - VC-1 / MPEG2 / H.264 DVD Upconversion DTS Decoder BD Profile - profile 1.1 USB 2.0 (for SW upgrade only) HDMI CEC Composite Video Outputs Component Video Outputs HDMI Outputs Optical Digital Audio Outputs Analog Audio Outputs - 2-Channel Built-in Ethernet connection - RJ45 USB Port Picture in Picture Dimensions - 16.9 in. x 3.3 in. x 10.8 in. Weight - 8.6 lbs.

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Sony BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)This player is the promise of Bluray fully delivered. As before, video is spectacular. Audio is spectacular in every codec as well. DTS master audio (not included in previous sony products except PS3)and Dolby HD are fantastic. The internal decoding and full bandwith 7.1 PCM output is a great plus for all of us that have audiophile equipment that does not include internal decoders for the new formats. This also ensures that users of HDMI version 1.1 equipment don't have to fret about having 1.3 compliant equipment to enjoy the rewards of completely uncompressed 7.1 surround. Works beautifully with my Rotel 1069 preamp through HDMI. However, best of all, the player is finally fast. For those that have owned previous generation bluray players the most annoying thing about the technology was the patience testing load times. That was the bad old days, welcome to the good days, plop in the disc and go. In my expirience, even with the fast load feature set to off it is at least twice as fast (if not faster) as my departed BDPS2000ES. The menus and additional features work seamlessly and instantly, no more "processing time" hastle. I'm using it with an Elite pro110 plasma and can attest that its video fidelity is reference quality, it simply doesn't get better than this, for any price. Build quality is impressive, the player feels like its built from a ton of bricks and its completely silent in operation, the fan is inaudible (at least I have never heard it). The internet connection is excellent, just plug and go. In fact, this player has essentially zero negatives from any performance standpoint, NONE. Its not a particularly attractive piece of gear, simply a box with a tray in the front, but that is fine. Which, of course, leads to the only negative, its price. For those that want the very best in videophile equipment, the price is justified simply because its performance is, for the time being, second to none in all parameters, better yet, it demonstrates that the technology has finally reached fruition. This player is the first evidence that bluray is now a mature technology with no performance or functional compromises. Hopefully all its funtional advantages will trickle down to more affordable players soon. BTW, anyone that dismisses this player as an expensive alternative to a PS3, has not used it, or at least has not used with gear that will plainly show the significant differences in audio and video performance. Very highly recommended.
One more thing...... The picture of the player is inaccurate that is the BDPS2000ES, Cheers!

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Product Description:
BonusView and BD-Live (1GB Flash Memory Included). Full HD 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema Video Output. HD Reality Enhancer (14 bit video processing). Super Bit Mapping (Smooth color gradation). Precision Cinema HD Upscale. Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD bitstream out via HDMI ver.1.3. Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD decoder built-in. 7.1ch Analog Audio Output. Quick Start Up Mode. BRAVIA Sync (HDMI-CEC). Xross Media Bar. Ether port for Network Update / BD-Live. Back Lit Remote. RS-232C/IR IN.

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Sony BDP-S470 Blu-ray Disc Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was excited to get this player. I had been waiting a long time for one that had a good set of features and a reasonable price. Overall, in the 2 weeks I've had it, I've really loved it. I'll go over the good and the bad of this Blu-ray player.
First the bad:
The remote, like all Sony remotes, are very basic. It handles the Blu-ray player functions fine. It also has built in TV remote functions as well. I have a Sony Bravia TV that is about 2 years old. However the remote doesn't work for about half of the functions, making this remote useless for controlling the TV. The remote can be set to a handful of TV brands. You would think that it could at least handle a Sony TV properly.
NOTE: When registering the device on the Sony site, this model is not listed (as of this review). I selected the model S570 instead and that worked for me.
When playing a Netflix movie, one time the movie locked up the player. It didn't respond to the remote, then completely restarted itself. Of course it didn't remember where it had stopped in the movie and I had to search to find where I was to finish the movie. Hopefully this doesn't happen often.
At the time of this review DLNA has not been included with the player and will be available later, so I could not test this out. Being that it isn't relly a new thing, you would think that they'd have this already included.
AVI file playback is only avalable to Canada players.
The buttons on this box are tiny and the labelling is just as small and hard to read. Pale white print on black is always hard to read. In a dark area it is nearly impossible, even with the little light that it shines on the lower button panel, so using the remote is the way to go. Don't forget it when you go to load a disc. You'll probably end up memorizing button locations if you like to use the buttons on the player itself.
If you are playing a disc and decide to stop play for any reason, it exits disc mode entirely, connects you to Gracenote, and returns to the Xross menu. Forget about returning to where you stopped. You have to go back to the very beginning of the disc loading process.
You have to point the remote directly at the player to get it to do anything. It's very picky about this.

The good:
This is a very nice machine. It oozes high-tech. It is small and lightweight and no bigger than the slim Sony upconverting DVD player it had replaced. They could have used the exact same case for it.
Load times are excellent. There is a setting that can have it load even faster if you don't mind keeping it powered in standby mode.
The Sony Xross menu system makes sense and is easy to navigate. The menu is in 1080p, so it looks smooth and not cheap like other older players have done.
Setup was a breeze. Plug in your connections and power it on. You're ready to go. You just have to register the device with Sony and Netflix and Amazon if you use those services. Simple and quick. Sony already had a software update for the player, so I had it do the update and it was done after a few minutes.
There are a number of on-line sites you can visit for music, music videos, a handful of movies and other misc. on-line video content. Assuming that the original on-line content is in good quality, the video picture quality is very nice.
You can use your DVDs to play your own content. You aren't restricted to using the USB connection. If you have a supported video or audio format stored on a disc, you can play it on this player. Really awesome.
I look forward to the DLNA support coming later. I'll be able to connect to my PC where I have my own video and photos stored there.
Standard DVD playback is excellent. This is not just upconverted playback. It also puts it in 24p and it also appears to have cleaned up the DVD picture quality, so it's seriously close to Blu-ray quality. For your regular movie you'll start to ask yourself if you really need those Blu-ray discs after all.
Blu-ray disc playback is, of course, excellent. If you haven't had one before, you'll see colors and depth that you've not seen before on a TV screen. Details are sharp and it's performed without the slightest hesitation in this area.
3D support is coming later for this player. I probably won't use this, but it's good to know that it's going to be there if I do decide to go that route.

Overall, this is something that I've thoroughly enjoyed and I expect I'll be using for years to come. Some of the issues can be overlooked and some can be fixed with software updates if Sony decides to do so. A universal remote is in my near future. I'm very happy with this purchase.

Update: April 12, 2010
Sony has sent out a firmware update for this player. It mainly gives you some enhancements to Gracenote and for the photo slideshow feature. Still no DLNA.
I have a SanDisk Cruzer 8GB USB device where I have some video. I tried using this in the front USB input in order to play my video. However I got a message that the USB device is not compatible. Apparently you can't use just any USB storage with this player. The manual says nothing about limitations in this area. My old 2GB drive works fine.

Update: June 11, 2010
Sony has now added an update to play 3D discs! You may turn the 3D it on or off or keep it in auto mode.

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Product Description:
Enjoy Blu-ray 3D movies in Full HD1080p and improve the quality of DVDs to near HD with the Sony BDP-S470 Blu-ray Disc Player. Play your favorite movies faster than ever or connect to the internet and instantly access a wide variety of movies, TV shows, music and more. Plus turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a remote control by downloading a free app.

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Sony BDP-S370 Blu-ray Disc Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I already own a Sony BDPS-360 downstairs as our main Blu-Ray player, but wanted a streaming player for upstairs (an Xbox360 takes care of that downstairs). Since I won't have a 3D TV for quite some time, and have wired ethernet running to the appropriate room, the 470/570 offer me nothing over this player, so I bought the 370.

Blu-Rays are very quick to load. Checked out Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl, and the biggest delay in getting to the movie was skipping the previews up front. Menu was up in just a few seconds, and the movie launched very quickly after that. Maybe 30 seconds from putting the disc in until I was watching the movie.

The remote does have an Open/Close button on it. That was not a big deal for me with the 360, but others complained about it so I thought I'd mention it.

Streaming takes a bit of setup, with the biggest item of note being that you need to register your Blu-Ray on internet.sony.tv before activating the streaming features. I had fits trying to create an account directly on that site, but creating a SonyStyle account first and then activating here worked much better. This works similar to Netflix activation in that you get a 4 symbol code from the player, enter it into your account, and now the Blu-Ray is activated. I then needed to go through the typical Netflix activation, getting another code from the player and entering it into my Netflix account. Amazon VOD linked directly to the Sony account and was then available on the player. Instructions for each of these are included in the screens on the Blu-Ray player, where it will provide the codes and the website address, and you then go the computer and finish linking from there.

Netflix works only off your Instant Queue, so you need to add movies to that queue on the website (or from the Xbox360 or other device with a full browser). Amazon VOD seems to have a fairly complete browser included. Netflix HD quality was reasonable, but most importantly about what I get on the computer or Xbox360; the player does not interfere in any way. This player was my first experience with Amazon VOD, and I must say the Sample HD clip (Superman Returns) was a lot higher than I expected, and actually better than most OnDemand offerings I get from my cable company (TWC NC).

So for Blu-Ray playback and Internet streaming, the box does a really good job. I wish the Netflix interface was more robust like the videogame consoles have, but actual playback and access to the Instant Queue works fine.

(Updates for this paragraph below) The big disappointment, and the one that keeps it from getting 5 stars, is that the SonyStyle page for the player lists DLNA as a feature. This is the standard for letting media devices connect to your computer and stream video / pictures / music over the network. Services like PlayOn also support this. DLNA, however, is not actually active on the player. From checking other sites, no one knows yet if this will be available in a future firmware update, or if the site is incorrect. If DLNA support is critical to your decision making, you may want to hold off until there is some answer on the DLNA picture.

Aside from that, I'm really happy with it as Blu-Ray player and Netflix/Amazon VOD streamer.

I have not yet tried a standard DVD, or any of the music streaming services. I'll update this review if anything changes as I use the player more.

UPDATE MARCH 1, 2010: Sony has updated the product page and changed the footnote for DLNA support. It is now due in a July 2010 firmware update. That's good news, and once the firmware ships I'll try to remember to report back on how well it works. If it works well the review will probably bump to 5 stars, as this is a pretty full-featured, fast, stable Blu-Ray player for under $200, especially if like me wireless and 3D are just not important to you.

One other bit of info for those who buy the player: if you have a Vizio TV, the remote code to use appears to be "04". It's not in the manual, but I tried this after a web search revealed others using the code for other Sony remotes, and this works for turning the TV on and off and changing the volume. The INPUT button does not work for me, though. The manual also seems to be missing the instructions for changing the TV code, but thanks to the manual for the S360 I have downstairs, the instructions are to hold the TV power button on the remote, enter the code, then release the TV power button on the remote.

UPDATE JUNE 9, 2010: The long-awaited DLNA firmware is now available for download. This is working great with my Windows Media Center (from Windows 7), with all my pictures, videos, and music available. One gotcha here is that the Sony has separate menus for all 3 categories, and you must play content from the correct category, even though all files show up under all options. So, for example, if you select your Windows Media Center server from the Video section, it will also have a folder for Pictures and Music, but every folder under those will show "no playable files". All the videos will play fine. It will be similar if you go to Music, except that only the music folder will have playable files.

However, at this time PlayOn is incompatible. The PlayOn server shows up, and you can browse and select videos, but all videos return a "This file is corrupt or unsupported". I've submitted a help request to PlayOn, and from the PlayOn forums it looks like others are as well, so we'll see if PlayOn can make a change, or if this needs to be reported to Sony. My Xbox360 streams the PlayOn stuff fine, so it's not a global issue with my setup.

On a different note, I've also since tried several standard DVDs and done some music streaming, and those features work fine. Others might be picky somewhere about DVD upscaling, but I've never really noticed an issue with this or any player, so I wouldn't worry about it. You do need to be aware that there are settings in the video setup to control the aspect ratio, so if you want a 16x9 picture (not letterboxed), you need to change the aspect ratio settings off "original". Aside from that, DVDs have played perfectly for me. And streaming music seems to work okay with the little I've done.

UPDATE August 9, 2010: PlayON has released updated software that fixes the streaming issues with this and potentially other players. Now that the DLNA support is working for all the stuff I want to stream, I've upped my review to 5 stars, as I have no complaints at all with it.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sony BDP-S370 Blu-ray Disc Player

Product Description:
Enjoy Blu-ray Disc movies in Full HD 1080p and improve the quality of DVDs to near HD with the Sony BDP-S370 Blu-ray Disc Player. Play your favorite movies faster than ever or connect to the internet and instantly access a wide variety of movies, TV shows, music and more. Plus turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a remote control by downloading a free app.

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Sherwood BDP-5003 Blu-Ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I buy and rent movies, usually now on Blu-Ray disc. Usually all I want to do is watch the movie and perhaps a few of the extras. For that mission a player such as the Sherwood BDP-5003 is perfect. It puts out an excellent video and audio signals on the HDMI connnector, and since my AVR can decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD I'm all set. I'm very pleased with this purchase.

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Product Description:
Bring the highest definition home with this new Blu-Ray Player from Sherwood. Plays CD, DVD's and the latest in High-Definition disc : Bluray.Capable of 1080p output from Blu-Ray discs, the BDP-5003 also scales standard DVD's to 720p, 1080p (24 or 60Hz) when used with its HDMI 1.3 output.Plays back lossless audio from Dolby and DTS via HDMI.

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OPPO BDP-80 Blu-ray Disc Player with SACD and DVD-Audio (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)You should look closely at this player if any of these descriptions fit you:

-You own SACDs or DVD-As and want to play them on the same player you use for Blu-ray and DVD;
-You want to upgrade to a universal player that can transmit all audio and video formats (including SACD and DVD-A) via HDMI;
-You own a high-end video processor (separately or built into your receiver or display) that you want to use instead of the one built into your player;
-You own a processor that does not accept HDMI but does have analog 7.1/5.1 inputs, and want to use them to hear lossless audio (TrueHD/DTS-MA) from Blu-ray Discs.
-You prefer to do business with a smaller company that has a reputation for responsive and effective customer support.

You are not the target market for this player if:

-You require that your streaming solution (for Netflix, Amazon, YouTube etc.) be part of your Blu-ray player -- this player does not stream;
-You own a very large display and need the very best available upconversion of standard DVDs (which would make you a candidate for Oppo's $499 BDP-83);
-You don't want to spend more than the minimum for standard Blu-ray audio and video performance, and you have HDMI-enabled equipment.
-You feel you can benefit from the audio performance of very high-end DACs for stereo or multichannel analog audio (which would recommend the BDP-83 or BDP-83SE).

While I've only had my BDP-80 for a few days, I've become very impressed with the thoroughness and elegance of its design. This is a very well thought-out player, aimed at users who have a reasonable grasp of the technology they're using.

I should note that I did not spend much time on the file-playback capabilities of this unit. I did play a couple of MPG files I had on a thumb drive (there's a port on the front of the player) and found a very nice menu and very straightforward operation. There is a long list of supported file formats.

Some of the things that jumped out at me:

-The very well-packed player arrives, inside the box, wrapped not in plastic, but in an Oppo tote bag made from recycled material.
-The manual is clear, well-written in English, and printed with premium materials. (Updated versions can be downloaded as well.)
-A 6' HDMI cable is included.
-The unit has a very solidly-built feel to it.
-It is silent in operation (no cooling fan) yet does not run hot.
-Tray operation feels and sounds solid, well-damped, and not a bit flimsy. There is no ambiguity about whether the disc is properly centered in the tray.
-Menus are attractive and unambiguous.
-The remote has a number of unusual but useful controls, but is still comfortable and intuitive for basic operations. (Note that it is not backlit; the backlit version costs more and is available direct from Oppo. This is moot if you plan to use a universal remote, as I do.)
-The player is very quick in all modes of operation. It powers up and boots very fast; the tray is ready to open in a few seconds. Blu-ray operations are on a par with the PS3; other types of discs load and play as fast as most regular players.
-In my installation, at least, I connected to my home network, the player immediately configured itself, contacted the mothership, found and downloaded the latest firmware, all in a couple of minutes.

Detailing every feature of the player and remote would basically be to reproduce the owner's manula which, since it's available as a pdf on Oppo's site, you can do for yourself. So I'll end by saying that the player appears to do everything that Oppo says it will do, and does it quickly and without fuss. The company includes a one-year parts-and-labor warranty, and has an excellent reputation for customer support.

You can pay a lot less for equivalent performance in Blu-ray playback via HDMI, even in players with support for streaming services. If that's all you need there may be no reason for you to pay more for a player like this. But particularly if you can use a universal player with Blu-ray, this is not just a great performer, but it's a stone bargain.

Click Here to see more reviews about: OPPO BDP-80 Blu-ray Disc Player with SACD and DVD-Audio (Black)

Product Description:
Overview : The BDP-80 is a full-featured universal Blu-ray Disc player that supports BD Profile 2.0 (BD-Live and BonusView), DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD (SACD), HDCD, CD and other popular media formats such as AVCHD, MKV video files, digital photos and music. Sharing the same decoder and similarly optimized firmware as OPPO's award-winning BDP-83, the BDP-80 features fast disc load times, quick response to user operations, and robust audio and video controls. In contrast to the BDP-83, which utilizes an onboard VRS by Anchor Bay video processor, the BDP-80 design has been optimized for use as a digital audio/video transport, emphasizing the accuracy of its digital audio/video outputs. At the same time, the BDP-80 is versatile enough to be used as a stand-alone universal Blu-ray player, thanks to its full array of output connections and audio/video decoding capabilities. For video, the BDP-80 features an HDMI 1.3 port that supports 1080p Full HD, 1080p 24Hz, Deep Color and Source Direct modes. Component video, S-Video and Composite video connections are also available for legacy analog displays. In addition to its faithful reproduction of high-definition pictures on Blu-ray Discs, the player can up-convert DVD from standard definition up to 1080p to maximize DVD picture quality. Its "Source Direct" output mode makes the BDP-80 incredibly well suited as a digital transport to feed into an external video processor, a high-end A/V receiver or display device with built-in video processing. Unique features such as subtitle shift and vertical stretch zoom mode makes the player an ideal source component for home theaters with 2.35:1 CIH (Constant Image Height) displays. For audio, the BDP-80 supports internal decoding and bitstream output of the latest sound formats including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master audio. The BDP-80 also features a configurable 7.1-channel analog output that can be set as 7.1-channel, 5.1-channel, or stereo.

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OPPO BDP-83SE - Blu-ray disc player - upscaling - black Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The preamp/processor I use is manufactured by Krell and does a fine job except it was not upgradable to HDMI. Having to face that fact required I work around its limitations with switches and alternative connections and utilize the analog connections for multichannel SACD, DVD-A, Dolby True HD, and DTS Master Audio.

When the BDP-83 came out last summer I ordered one and used the analog outputs to connect the audio signal to my Krell HTS; that worked satisfactorily although I had to route the signal through a Zektor MAS 7.1 audio switch as I already had a Pioneer DV-47A Universal player which was connected using the multi-audio output and the Krell had only one multi-channel audio input. I had no observable problem with the BDP-83 on any of the media that I played. I have an extensive collection of CD's, SACD's, and DVD-A's to which I enjoy listening and experienced no problems.

When I became aware of the BDP-83SE I was excited at the prospect of improving the quality of sound that I enjoyed from my system. The reviews I read were generally glowing so I ordered one for my system. The player arrived around the end of February and I immediately installed it in my main system and moved the BDP-83 to a secondary system.

By and large I was pleased with the quality of both music and video and was impressed by what it did for the stereo CD soundstage. My Krell permitted me to instantly switch between analog multi-channel and stereo as well as digital coaxial. I found the musicality of the CD's to actually be superior on the stereo connection because of the quality of sound and the superb soundstage created on the stereo analog connection. This was exactly what I had hoped for and was delighted with the results.

Then a problem developed; the music would suddenly drop out at unexpected times on various CD's, the sound would suddenly be completely gone. I started experimenting and discovered that when the sound dropped out (complete silence) the signal would have dropped out on stereo and multichannel analog as well as on the coaxial digital output; interesting to note that I never had this problem on SACD, DVD-A or any of the Blu-ray audio formats, but only on CD's.

I contacted OPPO and was gratified by the interest and concern expressed by technical support. After trying everything they could think of it was decided that I had to ship it back to OPPO so they could try and diagnose the problem. The player is now in transit to OPPO and I look forward with great curiosity to what they may or may not find.

I have now moved my BDP-83 back to my main system and it continues to work flawlessly. When I commented on the reliability of the BDP-83 they responded that the BDP-83SE was a significantly different platform and no real comparison could be made.

I will update this review when I hear back from OPPO. I told them that I really hoped they could find and repair the defect that was causing the problem and was told by tech support that they would run diagnostics on the player and let me know what they found.

For the record the OPPO BDP-83SE was purchased from OPPO and is not the region-free version sold by Amazon.

Update 3-17-2010

I just got a phone call from OPPO technical support; they told me they had received the BDP-83SE and experienced the same problem with the sound dropping out. The unit I had gotten was defective; I asked them if they had experienced this problem with anyone else and they said this was the first time this problem had ever surfaced.

They told me they were shipping me a new BDP-83SE today, needless to say I am pleased and excited. I'll update this review after I've received the new player and given it a chance to settle down.

Update 3-23-2010

This morning I received the replacement BDP-83SE, a new player with a different serial number. I connected it to my system and put in the CD that had given the problem and the same dropout phenomena happened again. Needles to say I was very disappointed when that happened. I tried it several times and got the same dropout on stereo, multichannel, and digital audio outputs.

At that point I decided to call OPPO technical support and see what they might suggest. The man I talked with offered to refund my money, but as I explained to him I really wanted to try and make this work for my system. He then provided some new information which shed significant light on the situation for me; he told me that OPPO now recognized it had a software problem playing back some CD's but other formats were not affected. That was reassuring to me as it confirmed I was not having a unique problem with CD playback. He also said OPPO was looking for a software fix but could not promise success in finding one.

He told me the unit they had shipped to me had been checked out before it shipped and performed perfectly for them and that the problem might be related to a particular CD. The fact that the problem was limited to certain CD's encouraged me to tell him I would keep the player and try a variety of discs and see what happened.

My initial concern was that the problem might spread to other media but felt reassured when he told me it was unique to CD's. This afternoon I've played a variety of media including a number of CD's with no problem. I'll keep checking and update this review if I have new information.

I was reminded again why the BDP-83SE is worth the trouble as I heard music I had not heard before when discs were played on other players.

The excitement is back.

Update April 7, 2010

I have discovered at this point that only two Telarc discs seem to be causing the dropout problem and both are rather old recordings. Everything else I've tried to play has performed successfully and I have specifically tried as wide a variety of discs as possible. For more information on this you can check my reply in comments.

As a result of my research I have upgraded my rating to five stars.

Update June 24, 2010

Oppo sent out an update on May 5th which made a number of changes. For some reason I had not gone back to try the two Telarc problem discs mentioned above. This morning a comment came in from MacGuffin and I decided to try the two discs again to see if the update had made a difference.

I'm very pleased to report the update solved the problem completely; the two discs played as if there had never even been a problem. Congratulations to OPPO for their persistence.

Update 7-2-2010

This morning I was trying to play an SACD but no sound would come out of the speakers on either stereo or multi-channel analog. This was very surprising as I had been playing some other formats with no problem.

I went to the Settings and checked things out and saw no obvious problems; I had set SACD output to use the DSD option so I decided to try the PCM option and the discs played perfectly on both outputs. Being puzzled by that I decided to go back to settings and try the DSD output again and it then worked perfectly.

I have no idea what that was all about, but if you experience a similar problem with DSD, switching momentarily to PCM may fix your problem too.

Click Here to see more reviews about: OPPO BDP-83SE - Blu-ray disc player - upscaling - black

Product Description:
Special Audiophile Edition Blu-ray PlayerThe OPPO BDP-83 Special Edition Blu-ray Disc Player is an exciting upgrade based on the highly acclaimed BDP-83. Already well known for its exceptional audio and video performance, the BDP-83 is upgraded with an all new analog audio stage and improved power supply to become the Special Edition.Designed for the discerning audio enthusiast, the OPPO BDP-83 Special Edition Blu-ray Disc Player delivers an exceptionally wide dynamic range, ultra low distortion, accurate sound stage and jitter-free music clarity via its dedicated stereo and 7.1ch analog audio output.The OPPO BDP-83 Special Edition uses the state-of-the-art Sabre32 family of Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) from ESS Technology. The Sabre32 family is known as one of the industry's highest performance audio DACs and are often found in high-end audiophile and professional equipments. The OPPO BDP-83 Special Edition uses an 8-channel Sabre Premier (ES9006) DAC chip for its 7.1 multi-channel output. The dedicated stereo output uses another 8-channel Sabre32 Ultra (ES9016) DAC chip by stacking 4 DACs for each of the Left and Right channels to achieve even greater audio performance.Just like the BDP-83 it is based on, the OPPO BDP-83 Special Edition is a Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player featuring bit-stream and full decoding capability for high resolution audio tracks such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Designed for both home theater viewers and music listeners, it plays DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD (SACD) and standard CD with excellent video and audio performance in addition to Blu-ray Discs. For a detailed list of features, please refer to the BDP-83 Features and Specifications page.OPPO Digital recommends the BDP-83 Special Edition to enthusiasts who primarily use the analog audio output to connect to either a dedicated stereo or a multi-channel surround system.

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Panasonic DMP-BD30K 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The Panasonic DMP-BD30K is the newest Blu-ray player out there and has most of the latest features including being 1.1 Blu-ray compliant.

Being a previous Sony BDP-S300 owner, I found some important advantages with the Panasonic.It may not be that important overall, but the Panasonic loads in about half of the time that the Sony player does.It has a sleek look with a drop down panel that exposes the disc slot.The Panasonic plays all the current audio formats such as Dolby Digital TotalHD which many of the older player do not.Of course, you need a current receiver to play these newer formats.

On the negative side, the worst is the remote.It has the strangest layout.Logic was not employed very well in the design.There are no lighted buttons as well. If you want to quit certain functions, you must first hit the "Return" button on the remote.Most other players have a return button on the specific function built right into the software. But with the Pansonic, you have to hit the remote to get out of it.

Overall, this player displays a superb high-def picture.Panasonic has cut a few corners from its previous models to keep the price at $500.But for the money, this is the one to get.Now if they would only fix that remote!!!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic DMP-BD30K 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

Product Description:
Blu-ray means incredible full-HD images, breathtaking sound and 5x the data capacity of DVDs. Now Blu-ray means something else too: an entirely new movie-viewing experience, made possible by Final Standard Profile, which adds features never seen before, like four Picture-in-Picture modes including Enhanced Commentary (from directors and actors), Backstage Pass, Peek Behind the Animation and Audio Mixing.
Images So Real, You Feel Like You're in the Picture
Combining a PHL Reference Chroma Processor with advanced P4HD (Pixel Precision Progressive Processing) imaging technology, UniPhier - the Precise Digital Video processor - reproduces crisp, natural colors that are extremely faithful to the original movie. It does this by up-sampling the color information in decoded video signals, while the super high-speed P4HD up-converts content recorded in 480i/p, 720p or 1080i format to 1080p by correctly generating each pixel according to information drawn from up to 60 surrounding pixels. The image motion of each pixel is then categorized into one of 16 levels, from stationary to super fast. Image quality is further enhanced by Diagonal Processing, which creates smooth, sharp diagonal lines, and 3:2 Pull-Down, which optimizes the processing accordingly for film or video making the images look natural and lifelike. In addition, the DMP-BD30's HDMI output is Deep Color compatible, with 4,096 steps of gradation for even smoother, finer-quality images that meet Hollywood's stringent demands, so you can experience movies just the way they were meant to be experienced.
Incredible Sound Completes the Hi-Def Experience
With Precise Digital Audio, Blu-ray's beautiful images are complemented by exceptionally pure, accurate sound thanks to Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. UniPhier's advanced processing capability decodes these audio signals with high precision and outputs them in bitstream form with no degradation. It also brings re-mastering to Blu-ray for the first time, which compensates for data lost during the compression process creating a fuller, richer sound.
HD Networking with SD Card
The convenient SD card slot on the DMP-BD30 allows easy viewing of hi-def videos and photos on your HDTV. Videos shot with a Panasonic HD camcorder are output in their original 1920x1080 resolution, while still images taken with a Panasonic Lumix digital camera are up-converted and output in 1920x1080 resolution1.
One-Touch Control from Your TV's Remote
With EZ Sync HDAVI Control, you can control your Blu-ray Disc player - and all your home theater components - with your TV's remote2. Simply press the EZ Sync button and select "BD Player" on the menu screen; the BD player's menu will be displayed and you can begin playback.

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OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player with SACD, DVD-Audio, and VRS Technology Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is my second high definition player. I bought a Samsung BD-UP5000 when they were first released since it played both HD DVD and Blu-Ray discs. Poor support, lack-luster performance and the end of HD DVDs left me wanting something "better". I found what I was looking for in the Oppo BDP-83.

Oppo is a customer-driven company and conducted an extended beta test to uncover bugs. The beta testers had to accept the state of the player before it could be released! I've emailed Oppo support a few times and they are prompt to respond with real answers not just an automated or canned response - usually the same day. I can't say enough good things about the company.

The '83 is rock solid. It has not frozen or even hiccuped once. It plays all the discs I've put in. (The 5000 had trouble with some and often required the discs to be fingerprint free and occationally locked up requiring restart to even eject a disc.)

To me, one of the important features of a disc player is SD DVD upscaling. Standard definition can look pretty bad on a HDTV. Even the networks and cable channels often do a marginal job up-converting. My 5000 had a very good upconverter (Reon) but the '83 is better - something you'd expect from a company that focused on SD DVD players long after the introduction of HD DVD and Blu-Ray. Sometimes I forget I'm watching SD material!

Most high def players are sluggish, acting more like underpowered computers than audio/video gear. Boot and disc load times often exceed 30 seconds. Not the '83 - it's responds more like a DVD player than a computer. The tray opens in under 3 seconds from pressing the eject button (with power off) and playback begins in under 10 seconds (for SD DVD). For Blu-Ray, play start does depend on what enhancements the content provider loads before playback can begin (custom menus, etc.). (Remember Blu-Ray discs allow the content provider lots of control over the player and playback of the content.)

The '83 decodes all advanced audio formats: Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD Master Audio, etc. So the lossless audio is available via 7.1 analog outs as well as PCM over HDMI. You don't need an A/V receiver that includes decoders for these formats - the player does the work. Speaker management provided by the '83 makes the 7.1 analog outputs usable, but with some limitations: The bass management frequency is fixed at 80 Hz, and there are limitations to speaker distance delays.

The user manual explains things so that the user/installer can make important setup and usage decisions. For example, there is a section that explains the various output resolutions and which is best for various scenarios; and another that helps choose the correct "zoom" for various disc and TV aspect combinations.

So often, modern computer-based A/V gear is released without a complete set of features with the promise of adding them later. Again the '83 was released fully featured so there's little to wait for. But Oppo realizes there will be bugs to fix and new features to add as well as new disc behavior to support. They've provided THREE separate ways to upgrade firmware: via a network connection, via CD/DVD or USB memory.

I use a universal remote to control all my A/V gear and thanks to a document provided by Oppo, I was able to program my remote prior to receiving the unit. Most of the commands use the same data as their previous players so I was able to start with the configuration for an older mode. Oppo provided an Excel file with all the control codes in a format that can be imported into Universal Remote Control and Pronto remotes (maybe others). I've never seen this level of support from any other consumer electronics company and this material existed BEFORE product release. Where documentation was lacking, customer support provided the missing information.

There's been one (public beta) firmware update and a user manual update since the '83 was released at the beginning of June 2009. The firmware update was fast and painless (via USB memory).

My one compliant of the BDP-83 is it's power cord. It uses a 2-pin connector resembling an IEC connector found on many pro and prosumer equipment, however there is not sufficient holding tension and the cord has unplugged itself from the unit twice. I had to wrap the cord around one of the feet to prevent it from happening again.

Click Here to see more reviews about: OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player with SACD, DVD-Audio, and VRS Technology

Product Description:
Complete Media Support: Blu-ray Disc; BD-Live; DVD Up-Conversion; DVD-Audio; SACD; Additional Media Formats - Additional disc and file formats, such as audio CD, HDCD, Kodak Picture CD, AVCHD, MKV, and other audio/video/picture files on recorded discs or USB drives can be played back on the BDP-83. Unparalleled Video Quality: VRS by Anchor Bay; Full HD 1080p Output ; True 24 Video ; Source Direct Mode; Multiple Zoom Modes; HDMI; High Fidelity Audio: Dolby TrueHD; DTS-HD; 7.1-Channel Analog Output; Dedicated Stereo Output; Digital Optical and Coaxial Outputs; Ultimate Convenience: Dual USB Ports ; PAL/NTSC Conversion ; Back-lit Remote Control; Universal Power Supply ; External IR ; RS232 Control (optional) ; HDMI CEC

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