Denon A11 - the beast has landed

[rdt123]

Hi all

Just received it this morning and all i can say is i am amazed. You know its going to be special when lifting it out of the box is like pciking up a corpse (or so i've heard)

Can't use the ilink yet but DVDA analogue output is fantastic, i can honestly say i heard things i am sure i couldn't hear before.

Stuck in LOTR and the picture on my panny 5 is something a bit special and i would say better than my DV88+.

out of interest what picture settings are people using?

A lot of money for sure, and for once i think worth every penny

 

[Branxx]

Can this machine play high-definition DVD material like those on Coral Reef or T2 disks (WMV/WMA codec)?

 

[rdt123]

Don't think so no

 

[gandley]

as for pic i use the standard settings, just make sure 0ire is set for black level.

Pic adjust>>set

 

[Branxx]

I was just watching Shrek in HDTV (1080p) encoded in WMV/WMA (Windows Media Video/Audio Pro) from the American HDTV satellites. The quality is significant step from the standard DVD.

In that sense even much cheaper DVD player capable of playing WMV-HD disks is going to produce better picture than anything playing from standard DVDs.

The technology is moving forward very rapidly and it is difficult and expensive to follow in a traditional sense. I think the only way forward is to use HTPC based player. It gives an opportunity to be in-front the curve in both quality and functionality.

Check this thread for an idea of what is available in HDTV format. The WMV-HD is going to be increasingly important feature.

Having said that, your new player looks like a very solidly engineered piece.

 

[Jackass]

Branx,

When it comes to comparing HiDef to DVD i think it would be better to compare real world stuff instead of animation.

Even all the high street shops display animation on all plasma's so that they look good, only when you ask them to stick on some real content like LOTR do they start to look like s***.

That said i hear Jackson is looking at doing LOTR in Hi-Def!

It would also be good to see some real content come out as well in WMV instead of just T2, only time will tell!

I think your wise words have just influenced me to buy the Lynx PC card instead of the A11, do you know if the Lynx can pass or decode the WMV-HD audio?

The new pioneer AX10ia is reported to decode audio from WMV, is this the same audio from WMV-HD?

 

[Branxx]

I know that (computer) animated movies generally look good but I was making a comparison between a standard DVD version of Shrek and HTTV version of the same encoded in WMV-HD. The later is a sugnificant improvement.

I am hoping to get Fifth Element and LOTR soon, but even using Coral Reef WMV-HD DVD that is freely available the picture quality is stunning (this movie was originally shot with IMAX cameras).

The new WMV-HD technology is very processor intensive. You should be ideally looking for at least P4 with 3.0C GHz (800MHx bus) and high-end video card like ATI Radeon 9800. Although, I was playing Shrek succesfully on P4 2.0Ghz (400 MHz bus) machine.

Paying £1,599 for Denon A11 is a lot of money that would buy you a very upmarket HTPC. I haven't seen or heard A11 but HTPC for £1,600 is going to be high-end in both audio and video and give you lots more functionality and future potential. It is very likely to beat A11 in picrure quality even with standard DVD material.

With the WMV-HD material any powerful enough HTPC, even for £500 is going to outperform A11 however sad this may appear.

 

[rdt123]

Point taken, however i have a 3.2Ghz P4 running in my office upstairs and work in ICT all day! I really don't fancy another one downstairs. What i have got downstairs is a one box solution for DVD video and audio and SACD which is stunning in alll departments. Therefore i am a happy man.

cheers

 

[gandley]

Comparing my A11 with my PC (which is an overclocked beast) with Nvidia 5950 GFX card, ill stick with the A11 thanks.

I prefer its pic for standard def DVD. but the PC looks better with the HIdef stuff as obviously the denon is only upconverting standard def.

I was not impressed with the hi-def version of T2. i thought the pic quality was a bit lame and it took a while to get a proxy server up that would allow the disc to play.

Im more than Happy to wait for a HD-DVD player before i get goey about HD

and now after watching both 5 element HD which wasnt bad and the transporter HD via wm9 i can see the improvment but it isnt that great at 720p., id like to see 1080i/p then that would be worth it