Denon 2910 will it really play DVD-R?

[Paul Reading]

I have a DVD-2900 and it steadfastly refuses to play DVD-R and DVD+R discs made on my Apple iMac. It seems that if I have a short or highly compressed film where the recording is restricted towards the centre of the disc then it will play OK. However, if it is a good quality recording and fills the disc then it freezes after about 1.5 hours. I have Googled the net and found that other people have the same problem. I do not believe that the problem is with the recording media as I have tried sveral brands with the same result. I have also used discs recorded on other machines.

I love the 2900 which is matched to an AVR-3803 because it will always provide a digital output regardless of the disc. I have some early DVDs which have neither Dolby Digital nor DTS but have MPEG. I also have some DVDs which only have PCM. This is not important to the 2900 as it will pass sound to the amplifier and I do not need to adjust settings. The reason why I am telling you this is that I have a spare Arcam DV88+ which is almost unused, but I can't stand it, the Arcam will play ALL my home recorded DVDs without problem, BUT and it is a big BUT, if the DVD does not have Dolby Digital or DTS sound on the disc nothing comes out of the digital coax. From a pureists point of view this may be correct, but it means that I have to get up from the chair go ove to the amplifier and manually change the source to analogue. Then when I have finished I have t go back and switch it back to digital, otherwise the next person to use it will only get pro-logic. For my family it is even more annoying as they cannot understand why some discs have no sound!

So the point I am making is that if I am to play home recorded DVDs then neither of my current and rather expensive DVD players is suitable. The Arcam does not play SACD and is really awkward to use with some DVDs. The Denon just will not play my home brew DVDs. Neither willplay mp3 CD's either.

So my question is: What DVD player is going to solve all my problems? I notice the the 2910 & 3910 are prety old now so I would assume that replacements might be around the corner is there any news to this end. Lastly is Denon going to release a DVD recorder?

If not should I be looking elsewhere. I notice that some players are HDCP compattible what is that for and do I need it? I thought HDCP was for saterlight broadcasts or blueray/HDDVD why would I need it on a standard DVD player?

[Paul Reading]

Please help

[Dean25]

You're best bet would be to go into a shop such as sevenoaks, audio-t or any other retailer that will let you have a good long demo and allow you to pick their brains, you're denon 2900 probably won't play a lot of recordable formats as it is a fairly old mahcine and dvd recording was probably in its infancy back then, so support for dvd recordable formats was probably not necessary. It may be worth ringing or emailing denon to see if they can help.

[Timbo21]

Hi Paul,

Your post is quite long & a bit vague really. My 3910 hasn't had problems playing DVD-R, or dual layer +R's.

Will probably know in the summer about any possible replacements for the 2910 & 3910.

Denon doing a DVD recorder? Possibly not, since they haven't done so far, but who knows?

I'm not too up on HDCP & exactly whether it's implemented on SD DVD. However, I think it's being used on SD DVD (but don't quote me). I wouldn't buy anything which may not be HDCP compliant. Things like the Snazio 1350 can take HDCP & non-HDCP signals, whereas most other products have to be HDCP compliant for signal to pass via HDMI/DVI.

It seems quite often it's the cheaper players that will play everything you throw at it. The Snazio can be had for around £230 & can play hidef WMV9HD & DiVXHD files streamed from a pc using ethernet connection, as well as most others. However, I don't think it plays SACD, and sound quality is not it's forte.

If you want advice on what to buy you need to be specific about what you want it to play, ie SACD, DVD-A, MP3, Jpeg, DiVX etc. & to what standard. Do you want a high end player to play everything? Or, you could keep what you've got & get a cheapish player to play stuff apart from DVD-V's & SACD's.

Regards,

T.

[StuJe]

Paul,

Is your 2900 multiregion, I have the 2900 too (m/r), and it plays DVD-r & +r without a problem, it is only meant to play -r according to the manual, I think - always get the two mixed up , but copes fine with +r, could it be your Mac causing the problem? I burn with my home pc, I have a Mac in work but have never tried to burn on it.

Stuje

[usman24]

I used to own a 2910 and it was very fussy with which type of dvd-r media you played in it. I sold the 2910 and purchased a 2900 [far superior video/audio] and this plays anything. I would also blame the media type you are using. stick with dvd-r discs that use dyes types like cmc mag ae1 and most dyes by mcc [mitsubishi chemical company] or even ritek GO5 is worth a go.

try using nero burning rom and see if that makes a difference

[Paul Reading]

I have mainly used Ritek DVD-R. I have trawled the web and other people have had similar problems, so if yours works you may just be lucky or I am one of the unlucky ones. A friend has given lent me some of his home brew discs with similar results and he is a PC user.

[usman24]

call denon for the latest firmware for that model, they must be able to help you.

[neilwilkes]

My 2910 plays everything I can throw at it.
No problems at all.
DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW, CD-R, CD-RW.

Perhaps the problem is your Mac software?