high end progressive scan dvd player

I was told by a very honest local dealer that the Kenwood Sovereign DVD player is the best on the market as far as picture quality goes. He explained that Kenwood was somehow able to convince Faroudja to grant them an exclusive one-year contract on their latest video enhancement chips / processors. While you can bet that Kenwood paid big cash for such exclusivity, it may be worth checking into if really hunting for excellent video characteristics. I have no idea as to the sonics of said player or how it works as a transport, as i've never seen or heard one. I couldn't do that at this dealer's shop as he doesn't even sell Kenwood yet he was quite emphatic and enthusiastic as to how good this player was. Like i said, this guy is honest. Sean
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Stereophile Guide to Home Theater said they wouldn't disqualify recommending a DVD player because of the chroma bug. The fuss over this chroma bug is blown out of proportion because it affects very, very few DVDs. It was caught by some sharp eyed guy, and now is one of many tests that reviewers like to run.

That said, the new Denon DVD models (9000 and 3800) supposedly fix the chroma bug from their 2800 model, and they use the silicon chip. I still haven't seen any reviews on these models yet, but I imagine that they'll be good.

Turnaround, the dealer that made the comments about the Kenwood Sovereign is a Denon dealer. He told me that he thought that the Denon's were quite good but that the Kenwood was better. As previously mentioned, he is not a Kenwood dealer. If i was in the market for a new DVD player, his enthusiastic comments about the Kenwood would at least have me checking it out. As to whether i or anyone else liked it best would be a matter of personal taste. Just figured i'd pass that on... Sean
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Ayre and Proceed both offer units that are considered to have superb video and matching audio quality, if you are inclined to spend $5K+ on a player.

If you don't care about DVD-Audio, jump on the first available used EAD TVP. it is by far the best progressive video player out there. It has the silicon chip which is one of the finest. EAD don't put it in there new DVD audio capable players and it's a shame.I own the TVP and it is stunning.