DVD Player

[wolfeeh]

Right, you 'orrible lot.

I'm looking for a medium to high-end standalone DVD player.

said player must feature PAL progressive scan, and component video sockets as the television it will be connected to will probably support these features.

the dvd player will be connected to a high-end television (possibly a Toshiba 36ZP38 or a Sony KD36NX200...

I've been considering (in order of price)

Harman Kardon DVD25 - reputedly very good quality for very little money (£350)

Cyrus DVD8 - very nice compact dvd player, £1200, not sure whether it needs some other cyrus components :/

Arcam Full-Metal-Jacket DV27 - need i say more, £1600


the arcam is pretty much the most expensive i would seriously consider - and i'd have to be REALLY sure about it before parting with that amount of money... but hey, no pockets in a shroud.

will of course take others into consideration...so... suggestions..? observations?

 

[Testin da Cable]

go for the HK and spend the diff at the pub mate. I is a thrifty cunt though, so others may not agree

 

[Ono]

To be honest if you are only playing it on a 36 inch TV (and not a projector) you don't need Prog scan.

 

[wolfeeh]

...

i don't know what you base that on, given that it will be a VERY good tv. and you know full well that a high-end tv > a plasma of comparable size, and will 0wn a projector too, unless you spend 5 times as much on the projector. LCD... well that's just lol.

 

[Yaka]

Ono is right prog scan and "small" tellys, but if yer willing to splash that kinda dosh then go for one of the TAG Dvd players. you wont regrett it

 

[wolfeeh]

....

Last I looked, TAG McLaren (sp?) dvd players started at £3000 (DVD32F, the DVD32R is £4300)

a) I didn't see my budget being THAT much :>

b) 36" televisions are not "small"... where it will be employed is not suitable for a projector... plasma is certainly an option... but I've looked at plasma tv's in extreme depth lately, and in my humble opinion the image quality is not all it's cracked up to be... they REALLY don't cope well with high contrast black scenes - I watch a lot of sci-fi and thriller stuff - ergo a lot of black scenes...

also, decent plasma tv = in excess of £4000 (Pioneer PDP433, the new Fujitsu 42", etc) - muh high end crt is gonna cost less than half that, and I figure spending the rest on a dvd player is gonna reap dividends, as opposed to paying 4k for a plasma, and then connecting it to an xbox or something :>

c) They also seem to have some issues with artifacts (artefacts? cba to look up the spelling right now)...

As I said, you've got to spend helluva lot of money on a projector or a plasma for it to rival a CRT quarter of the price.... projectors also have the obscene additional cost of replacement lamps...

ANYWAY, ignore the screen, suffice it to say I know what the screen's capable of... and it's more than up to it... concentrate on DVD players :>

 

[Ono]

I agree with you that plasmas do lack a touch in the clarity stakes - but I have to say this: 36inch CRTs will look small very quickly. They are big but just not BIG!

I've been hunting for a TV for quite a bit now, and my choice is increasingly favouring a 42 inch Plasma. It's a payoff from the contrast that a CRT can provide but as long as you don't buy a cheapo first gen one it is not too bad.

My second choice would be a 42 inch w/s Toshiba/Panasonic RPT.

 

[wolfeeh]

...

i may yet get the plasma, it depends, basically there's a high-end hifi shop in swansea, and i'll see what they're prepared to do in the way of a bargain - if you buy lots of stuff they discount.

i don't really know enough about rpt's to consider them, and info is pretty hard to come by... do the projection lamps ever need to be replaced for example, etc...

thing is plasma will fit in my bedroom atm, cos it can be wall mounted or table stand, etc... big crt will come with a decent stand too.... but rpt's don't have equipment racks beneath them, and it would take up all the room i have, so it's out atm, as is a projector & screen, because i just don't have the room for the screen.

btw, big screen crt won't look small at the distance i'll be watching it from :>