I would like a Denon DVD player to go with my Denon amp and Panasonic A300, but I have heard good and bad things about the 2800 MkII and the 2900.

Which is the better player?

Do they both do PAL and NTSC prog scan?

Are both available in multi-region?

Are there any problems of any kind with these players?

Many thanks,

CC

[Dimmy]

Many people have reported of a variety of problems with both players. Most notably problems with playback & disc reading after firmware upgrades for Multi-Regioning & PAL Progressive.

The DVD2900 does PAL Progressive from the box aswell as NTSC progressive, but it isn't multi-region (and the update causes some problems aparently).

The DVD2800MKII has the capacity for PAL Progressive & NTSC Progressive aswell as multi-regioning, but there's been countless complaints about the player having a variety of problems when people have tried to update firmware.

The answers are - unfortunately for Denon Fans - quite simple. If you want PAL Progressive buy the DVD2900. If you want NTSC Progressive buy the DVD2800MKII. If you want both & aren't willing to take the risk of either player botching after updates, then don't buy either of them - stick with a player that can be remote hacked for progressive updates & multiregioning - such as the Philips DVD963SA.

I own the DVD2800MKII which I got for £360 from Superfi, and I haven't touched the firmware & I'm more than happy with it.

So why is the 2800MkII better for NTSC?

I have mostly region 1 disks.

What exactly are the problems with the 2800MkII?

What about the 3800? Is that a good player?

Im looking at spending up to about £700-800 on the DVD player.

I own a Denon 2900. It is both PAL / NTSC progressive, and multi region. I have had no problems at all.

First: upgrade firmware (see recent patot post here at this forum) - a simple copy of a file onto a CD. Then play the file. Put the machine off at the end of the sequence, and on again, from the main power button (not the remote).

Second: follow instructions (also posted on this forum a couple of week ago) to regain PAL prog, IF lost. Some people have lost the PAL prog when going multiregion, but this is easily solved with a simple set of front button sequences.

[vonhosen]

I have a 3800 (PAL prog & Multi Region supplied) & am very pleased with it.

You may find them hard to find now though

[Cool-hand]

Unfortuneatly Denon seems to be one of those companies that has endless problems with there dvd players, and the longer their out from the product release date, the more problems seem to creep up.

If your main bulk of dvd's are R1 and you intent to keep it that way then just could still consider a ntsc prog scan player only. There are truck loads out there and most have none of the constant problems of nearly all the Denons', if not, all of them.

good luck.

Remember all your kit doesn't have to look the same to be great, and theres no such thing from a company called customer loyalty!

[Blu-rayx]

All the denon's that are now sold in Nexnix do not have the pal prog scan problems


dvd

[Dimmy]

Captain Chaos - it's not that the DVD2800MKII is 'better' with NTSC, it's just that if it's only NTSC with R1 discs for progressive that you're after the 2800mkII is around £300 less expensive than the DVD2900.

If you want endless reels of the problems with the DVD2800MKII do a forum search.

[Richard Harnwell]

Originally posted by dvd



All the denon's that are now sold in Nexnix do not have the pal prog scan problems


dvd

Ahh - so all us disappointed 2800 MK II owners (there's a lot of us...) just have to find out where to get the firmware that Nexnix use!


Any ideas?

[Dimmy]

Maybe try contacting them?

[Richard Harnwell]

Originally posted by Dimmy
Maybe try contacting them?

Yep, already sent an email off. I'll reply to this thread if I get anything hopeful.

[Richard Harnwell]

A reply already!

We are not allowed to send the fix out.

So not much we can do.

I should imagine it wont be long till the proper fix is downloadable.

Regards

I hope he's right......

[Dimmy]

Well Denon emailed me to say that they're "working on it" a few weeks back and that as soon as they've finished "it" they'll make it available to all DVD2800MKII owners - didn't say how.

Why all this bother?

Why don't Denon just supply all their units multi-region as standard?

Pretty much all Denon stuff is avialable here:

http://www.afdigitale.it/

[Dimmy]

Captain Chaos - it's because Denon are required to release their players with specification that meets the requirements of the DVD Forum.

Since PAL Prog has now been ratified that's why the 2900 has it. If it had been sorted earlier they'd have released the 2800MKII with PAL Prog.

It's required by the DVD forum that the Denon players released pre-pal prog are supplied by Denon as R2 and on NTSC Progressive. The Denon DVD2800MKII has been discontinued so there's no chance of a 'new PAL Prog ready' batch.

I wont be touching my firmware until Denon have the official update ready for all users.

[Cool-hand]

Captain Chaos,

The basic moral of the story here is... If you want constant hassle from your dvd player with repetitive calls to your dealer, then buy a Denon.
Else buy a player that you don't constantly hear about having problems on this forum IMVOHAVOHO.

Does anyone know if the firmware for the PAL Progressive and Region Free for the Denon 2800II (from afdigitale) works. Or does it cause more problems?

I live in Italy and regularly read the AF Digitale magazine. They post stuff on their web that has worked in their reviews. They are a reliable and serious source. I have not tried this firmware, but have used other stuff (firmware) on their site and have had no problems.

I am not sure, however, if there are any hardware differences between products sold in Italy and other places in Europe, but I would presume not.

[Richard Harnwell]

I downloaded firmware from the afdigitale site some months ago. Unfortunately it is one of the versions that has all the problems (lip-synch, tearing).

Thanks for the information. I'll wait until there is a relaible fimrware source without problems.

Ta.