Yamaha vs Sony DVD Players??

Hey all,

I currently have a Sony 1080i DVD/CD/SACD player (DVP-NS90V). There is a good deal from my Tweeter guy with the Yamaha 1080i DVD/CD player (DVD-S659). Both have the similar specs...Video and Audio DACs have similar specs.

Link to Sony DVD player: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...51&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=11038468

Link to Yamaha DVD player: http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=451768&CTID=5001800

I need two DVD players anyway, but i am undecided about which one goes in my dedicated theater room. Which one has a better picture/sound quality and/or reputation?? I know that Sony DVD players are very reliable, but that's about it. What do you guys think??

Thanks in advance.

Thai, I do not know anything in your target price range except a LG Electronics upscaling 1080i player I bought over about 15 months ago. I wished I hadn't. Shudder. Its video quality is so much worse than that of my Denon 2910 which is not so great itself. I'm selling it (the 2910) in your target price range. I seem to recall you are in or around Sugar Land? I am between Galleria and 8.

On the brighter side: did you look at Oppos? Their owners really seem to like them. Dan??!

A slightly more expensive alternative might be the Denon 1930. Personally, I think I'd go the Oppo route.

ralf, i had the Denon 1930...what a POS DVD that was!! I actually had 2 of them because i went back to Tweeter to exchange for another one. I really wanted it to work because i got a great deal on it ($175!!). The picture quality was very good, but it ate my DVD once (literally! Tweeter guy had to disassemble the player to get my DVD) and has major lip synch issues. It was almost comical to see "Saving Private Ryan" with the lip synch problem. And my Sony XBR3 LCD would not accept the upconvert 1080p signal from the Denon. Denon knows how to make AVRs, but they sure can't make a decent DVD player even if their life depended on it!

My target price is under $150. I dislike anything that has the Faroudja DCDi chip. From what i have read, the above problems with lip synch (and macroblocking) are due to this chip. Oppo DVD player has this chip i think...and thus suffers from the above problems from all the reviews i have read on it, just like my old Denon DVD player.

My current Sony DVD player is problem-free...works great...but picture quality is a tad worst than the Denon 1930.

Well, i just did a A vs B comparison between the two with surprising result!

Material: "Cars" DVD
Resolution set at 1080i via HDMI (video & sound)

The Sony actually looked significantly better in terms of picture quality. With the Yamaha, you can see jagged edges in the lines. The Sony was smoother (perfect).

Thus, i am keeping the Sony in my theater room for now and will be moving the Yamaha down to my living room for my 2-channel system.

I use a Sony DVD and really like it, my Sony-ES series AVR has a lip-sync adjustment so I have it dialed in perfectly.
If I was to get a second DVD player I would consider the Oppo.

Lee

Thai said:

ralf, i had the Denon 1930...what a POS DVD that was!! I actually had 2 of them because i went back to Tweeter to exchange for another one. I really wanted it to work because i got a great deal on it ($175!!). The picture quality was very good, but it ate my DVD once (literally! Tweeter guy had to disassemble the player to get my DVD) and has major lip synch issues. ...

My target price is under $150. I dislike anything that has the Faroudja DCDi chip. From what i have read, the above problems with lip synch (and macroblocking) are due to this chip. Oppo DVD player has this chip i think...and thus suffers from the above problems from all the reviews i have read on it, just like my old Denon DVD player.

...

Click to expand...

Eek! After that experience I would stay away from Denons, too. Although I must say that my 2910 has been completely issue free in terms of reliability or lip sync. Also, while image and sound quality are not great, they are many times better than what my $140 LG produces. (Of course, $149 today buys a much better player today than it did in March of last year.)

On the other hand, my Arcam DV137 looks and sounds great, but only when it works. I am on #3 now. This one plays everything except Red Book CDs. At least the customer services of both Arcam's US distributor and of Audio Concepts (the only authorized dealer in town) are outstanding. This time Audiophile Systems will send me a new 139 as a free upgrade. That's great; it more than compensates me for the hassle. More than a year after the initial purchase I get a brand new player that costs 80% more than what I paid! I could sell it now and probably make 15 Benjamin Franklins in the process. But I won't - I just hope that this one won't degrade over time like the others did.

To cut a long story short, more expensive does not translate to better reliability. In fact it can be the other way around.

Regarding the Faroudja chip, I think this depends a lot on the overall implementation, and that it is what the older Denons use. Be careful with reviews. My 2910 certainly has no lip sync issues, and I don't think I have seen macro blocking. What does it look like?

I did not see macroblocking on the short time that i had the Denon...however, lip synch was definitely a problem with some DVDs. If you get a chance, then go get "Saving Private Ryan" (widescreen collector ed) from Walmart ($10 or so). It's a great movie and the DVD collector edition is great. If your Denon 2910 has the Faroudja chip, then you will notice lip synch right away...and it was NOT fixable on my AVR (audio delay, etc.).