Denon's new Blu-Ray player

It's funny what people consider too expensive for certain improvements. Some people don't mind spending a whole lot for a power cord or interconnects but balk at paying for real differences.
Rwwear (Threads | Answers)

I'm happy to pay for improvements after they've been proven to have staying power. Both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are walking a tight rope.

However, if one chooses to spend his money on improvements that may be short term, then that's his prerogative. I'm simply sharing a personal viewpoint that clearly may not apply to everyone.

The other Denon is a transport only model.
There is nothing in the world of audio/video or computers that has staying power. But, I understand your point Tvad.

For a variety of reasons, I haven't purchased a HD DVD player of either (or both) formats, but as an interested observer, I've been impressed with the number of times I see ads for new releases on both standard and a HD format DVD. Purely anecdotally, it seems like there are a lot of titles being released in HD format. I agree that either or both formats could become boat anchors in the future, but it doesn't seem like either will be as limited in use as an SACD player, for example. Certainly, as long as the PlayStation has a Blu-Ray drive in it, the format will have content.

with the jury still deliberating, i don't think its a good idea to overspend on a hi def player. the studios are still only doing mostly new stuff (the vast catalogues of film don't make economic sense to remaster at this point), so jumping into the deep water is strictly at your own risk.

There was a comparison in one of the home theater magazines a few months ago between the Sony PS3 as a blu-ray and 3 other models that were all over $1,000 dollars. The PS3 had was just as good as those and had a few extra features. Plus you get to kill aliens, nazis etc with it. You can't beat that.

As far as minor differences go I have both formats with a 65", 1080p, ISF calibrated TV. Trust me there are more than minor differences between the HI-Def formats and standard DVD.