How much should I spend?

Ikki

Prominent Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2004
Messages
1,183
Reaction score
98
Points
270
Age
61
Location
Lancs
I want a new DVD for my 32" plasma tv. I want the best image and it must have component output as all the scarts are being used. Pal progressive is also a requirement.

I am sure that I do not need to spend as much as those who have an 8ft projector picture, the limiting factor being the 32" plasma display. At what point will I not see any improvement?

e.g.

£100 Yamaha 540
£250 Panny E55 (with added recording facility)
£250 Cambridge DVD540
£500 Denon 2200
£700 Arcam DV78

Any ideas and suggestions would be welcome.
 
what is your display? You might be best off with one of the dvi players if it suits your display.....

ad
 
It's a Hitachi 32PD3000E, no dvi or HDMI, just scart (all used) and component.
 
well id not go below the denon.... component output will improve with the machine, as of course will the audio

ad
 
I can highly recommend the DV78, it's a superb machine that'll last you a long time.
 
My personal choice would be the same as crustyloafer..... thoughanother consideration might be a processor that will deal with all your sources.....

ad
 
My vote goes for the Panasonic E55. I've not seen it reviewed or demoed yet but if it performs like the SE75 and has PAL progressive too I reckon its clean, accurate and natural display will work well with a plasma. Some of the others probably offer a bit more fine detail but at the expense of accuracy. Some models like the Arcam and Denon are more about good cd replay as well as dvd functionality. Do you need good cd replay?
 
I would go for the Denon 2200 or the Pioneer duo: 668 or 757. I would avoid the Arcam as I saw serious CUE bug artifacts on Finding Nemo at a recent show. Until they fix the CUE issue, I would steer clear. My opinion though, but it was so blatent I'm surprised they were still using it to demo with.
 
Thanks for the suggestions:

Bonzobanana It's just for DVD viewing, while I don't want poor sound, it doesn't need to have top CD performance.

Kazman I thought that the Pio's had the CUE bug as well?. The 868 with it's upscaling would be good but it is a lot of money and I am not sure if the upscaling only works through the HDMI output.
 
The new Pio's don't have CUE, I have the 668 and there is no sign of CUE whatsoever.

By all means check out the Arcam as well, apart from the CUE situation, the rest of the image was VERY good.
 
the 868 does have CUE im afraid to say

ad
 
I think that I will check out the Denon 2200 and the Arcam.

Is there any dvd that shows up the CUE bug?
 
I have just changed from a Denon 2200 to an Arcam DV89.
The denon was a very good machine and would play almost any disk and had a good PQ, but the PQ of the Arcam is way better IMO.
 
I personally dont know what the big deal is with CUE. In my opinion, many players suffer much more from problems totally unrelated. Fair enough if you want the worlds best picture and you are using thousands of pounds woth of processing and display, yeah its a big deal, but I suggest that any player in this area that is called 'unwatchable' because of CUE has in fact got some other problem as well.

ad
 
I've never been aware of CUE, possibly it does not appear on an RGB picture? CUE just seems to be talked about a lot, ultimately the picture when I see the players will make the final decision.

I have always had a hankering after an Arcam, I just wasn't sure if a 32" screen was large enough to notice the difference in quality between it and a player half it's price. It is often difficult to view the chosen players and your own screen together (and correctly set up - unlike most setups in the shops!).
 
Consider this...... an sdi modified arcam dv27 (cue affected as it is) is capable of one of the most stunning pictures anywhere, it will hammer almost any non cue player

ad
 
Originally posted by Ikki
I've never been aware of CUE, possibly it does not appear on an RGB picture? CUE just seems to be talked about a lot, ultimately the picture when I see the players will make the final decision.

I have always had a hankering after an Arcam, I just wasn't sure if a 32" screen was large enough to notice the difference in quality between it and a player half it's price. It is often difficult to view the chosen players and your own screen together (and correctly set up - unlike most setups in the shops!).

I use an Arcam DV89 on a 32" Panasonic set and the picture is stunning, far better than any plasma I've seen, albeit smaller. If I were to go for a larger display then it would have to be a very good projector, something like the Sim 2 Domino 20.
 
I saw that HiFiBitz has the Arcam DV79 for £629. Their retail shop Romers Hifi is just a few miles down the road, so I think a viewing is in order.
 
Originally posted by Ikki
I saw that HiFiBitz has the Arcam DV79 for £629.

Not according to their website, the DV78 is £629.
 
Oops, finger trouble.

I meant the DV78 of course (perhaps a Freudian slip:blush: ).
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom