Universal Players: Video Quality?


I already have my 2 channel front end set up. What I am considering is upgrading my DVD player (old Camelot Tech, quite good by the way) with an universal player. This sits in a different room, home theatre set up Of course sound quality is important yes as I also want to experiment with mutli-channel music (though I am not convinced) but superior video quality is must as I use it for mostly watching DVDs. When I read reviews in audio mags they really don't comment on video quality at all, and when they do they compare it their brethen not the leading say Sony players (which of couse may suffer in audio quality). So in a long round about question, which universal players have superior video while maintaining audio quality? Esoteric vs Linn vs Bel Cant PL-1? Sim Audio?
henryhk
I have heard many times that one of the best universals for video quality in the Denon 2900, pretty reasonable priced also.
I bought a Denon DVD-3910 about 6 months ago, and have been very pleased with both the video and audio quality. "The Perfect Sound" magazine is also very high on the Denon 2910.
Check out www.hometheaterhifi.com. They rate the video performance of many DVD players. The Denon players consistently beat everybody. The Denon 5910 currently has the highest rating. Some of the results are suprising: some high-priced players may have great sound, but fail many of the video tests.
I like the Onkyo DV-SP1000 as one of the best universal under $5k. We sell the Denon 5910 and 3910 as well but I always show customers the Onkyo first as my personal preference and at a msrp of $2k it his hard to beat. I am so impatient when it comes to tracking the Denons (2-3 second delay in skipping tracks) and disc recognition times are deplorable. Video quality on the 5910 is on par with the SP1000.

My $0.02

Tyler

tyler@nextlevelav.com
www.nextlevelav.com
Thanks everyone will investigate indeed. I beleive that the Bel Canto PL-1 has Faroudja DCDI processing but the PL1A doesn't.