Customer Reviews

Denon DVD-2930CI Progressive Scan DVD/DVDA/SACD Player with Realta Reon VX-50 HQV Processing

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Do NOT buy these I bought 2 and I have had so many problems with them it is unbelievable. You would think that for the price Denon would make a great DVD player. I have the same problems the person that replaced the logic board had on both of my players. These skip scenes, lock up, go to blue screens, stop playing the DVD for no reason etc etc. Lock up so the only way to fix it is to completely unplug the unit. I have had both in the repair shop so many times I have a 3 inch folder with repair invoices. I have own them for 2 years now and have only played 15 DVD movies completely. Since they lock up so much I never make it through the movie. I have given up on them. Denon is no help refuse to repair etc. BTW, a friend bought their Blu-Ray version and after 6 months he is having the same problems. I wish I would have had the chance to talk in out of it.

OK, first off...this unit originally released in January 2006. For non-audiophiles...this is near high-end equipment. That being the case, a lot of effort was placed into its development...there's more to gain here besides only displaying video. What's the hidden secret? Audio.

[OK, off my soapbox...to those who complain that its too complicated or doesn't provide ease of use.]

I picked this unit up about 2 months ago, and to my surprise it greatly outperformed my Denon 1940CI. I really didn't expect for my old DVDs to look any better.

[VIDEO]
Star Wars(episodes 4-5(remastered), and 1-3)...the ultimate test, right?! I was more than shocked at how well the REON-VX HQV scaler performed great. I was able to see some detail that I have not seen before. I literally watched all six episodes in 3 days. You will not be dissapointed in the video performance. REON's scaler outshines Faroudja easily. Depending on your TV(LCD/Plasma), and its native video scaling ability...this next piece of advice may or may not do you any good. I have a Samsung LN46A650. Anyway, here goes...out of the box the blacks were not deep black/plasma-like on my LCD. I recommend that you toggle this IRE option, to your liking.

IRE toggle directions:
1) select 'Picture Adjust', by default STD will be selected.
2) select one of the memory options that can be saved (M1-M5)
3) next select option 3
4) move the cursor down to select the 3rd option below, which is the IRE setting (by default this is set to 7.5)
5) toggle this setting by moving the cursor on your remote up/down, between '0IRE' and '7.5IRE'
*worked wonders for my black level, when set to 'OIRE'

[AUDIO]
This player has Burr-Brown 24/192 Audio DACs, and AL24 processing which makes for a better than average listening experience. This is, however subjective to your receiver/amp type and speakers. When listening in 2-channel mode, the Burr-Browns make audio CDs sound great. More times than few, I hear some discrete sound from an artist' recording that I never heard before. Simply amazing experience, to hear a new sound from a recording that you have been listening to for 20+ years. While watching a DVD, Denon's AL24 processing does something special to audio over a digital input(HDMI/optical/coaxial). I could not believe the new sounds that I was hearing from the Star Wars movies. For example, a new voice in the background, footsteps from the surrounds. Good stuff.

[OTHER FEATURES]
DVD-Audio/SACD playback (do not own any, can't pronounce myself an audiophile yet)...but I have heard them on someone else' 2930 player. Awesome sound. I suppose that the Denon Link proprietary output to a Denon receiver sounds great. But, unfortunately you have to purchase a high-end Denon receiver to gain a Denon link input. Not for the moderate spending consumer, such as myself.

[ISSUES]
I would not be doing my due diligence here, if I did not mention that this player has two issues: 1) The laser has been known to give out, after some time. There are countless sellers on a certain auction site(unnamed) that can sell you a replacement. Basic 'Macguyver' skills are required for replacing this. 2) It will not play EVERY DVD+R/DVD-R media brand. Of the countless number of DVD media that I own...it has played about 98%, with no problem. Only the cheapest of the cheap brands will have issues.

Overall, this player is great. I give it 4 stars, due to the two issues above. Performance is a 5 in my book. Paired with a good TV, receiver, and speakers...I am certain that you won't be dissapointed.

Fantstic quality picture from your standard DVD the 2930ci uses the Silicon Optix Reon HQV chipset.

HQV Benchmark: The 2930ci uses the HQV video processors (DVD-5910 as well) and what better way to test the 2930CI's de-interlacing, noise rejection, detail level and cadence detection than the Silicon Optix HQV benchmark DVD.

*Color Bar/Vertical Detail: Pass - Score 10 of 10
*Jaggies Pattern 1: Pass - Score 5 of 5
*Jaggies Pattern 2: Pass - Score 5 of 5
*Flag: Pass - Score 10 of 10
*Picture Detail: Pass - Score 10 of 10
*Noise Reduction: Pass - Score 10 of 10
*Motion Adaptive Noise Reduction: Pass - Score 10 of 10
*3:2 Detection: Pass - Score 10 of 10
*Film Cadence: Pass - Score (Combined) 40 of 40
*Mixed 3:2 Film, Horizontal Text Crawl: Pass - Score 10 of 10
*Mixed 3:2 Film, Vertical Text Crawl: Pass - Score 10 of 10
*Total Score:130 out of a possible 130.

That's right 130 out of a possible maximum score of 130, cue the Rip Taylor confetti and party favors we have a winner.

This product is for persons whom want to watch standard dvd movies that look as close to blu ray dvds as possible. I highly recommend this product for serious minded movie lovers and videofiles.
The Realta Reon VX-50 HQV Processing does a great job of maximizing the potential of standard dvds in both picture and sound quality. My favorite feature about this unit is that once it is calibrated to my desired taste and liking, it seems to bring out the best of all the movies no matter how poorly the film to video transfer was made. There's only so much that can be done to stardard dvds. This product does the best at making standard dvds rival hd dvd and blu ray.

Everything about this unit is top notch. everything except ONE THING! Almost all of them suffer from a serious manufacturing defect which is more than likely exacerbated by a serious design flaw!

I read the horror stories and choose not to pay any heed, wanting that great Burr Brown sound for my audio and that beyond great picture quality. Well, when it worked all that and more was true. BUT......... the first one I ordered shipped with a faulty laser. It coudn't read ANY discs without glitching terribly, stuttering, freezing and basically having a nervous breakdown. You could HEAR the laser having a major meltdown..... Ok, the company I purchased this one (a reliable Amazon seller, Vann's) was most helpful and immediately shipped me a new, unopened replacement unit. SAME THING, only it lasted about 3 hours, Then it went berserk with dropped audio, freezing and glitches galore. BUMMER!

Vann's again accepted my return and I will need to try another model or brand. I bought this unit strictly for the audio and when it worked, it was GLORIOUS. I have read you can replace the laser assembly but it needs to be done on a regular basis and that has GOT to be the result of a serious design flaw in the unit itself.

BELIEVE the negative reviews. If you want to buck the odds MAYBE you will get one that works for more than 3 hours out of the box, but it wont last long...... I have learned my lesson, don't let yourself be tempted by the low price. I have a 130 dollar Pioneer that plays all regions, outputs both Pal AND NTSC , does all AVI formats thru a USB jack, SACD and DVD-A and features converters ALMOST as good as this Denon. And guess what, the Pio WORKS! I was greedy and wanted that little bit extra in the audio end and blew off the bad reviews hoping I would get lucky with mine. ARRGHHHH!

This unit worked well enough out of the box but eventually began freezing and skipping. Unplugging and resetting the unit worked a few times but now all it does is show red-yellow and blue scrambled blotches with some excellent sound in the background. I have several Dennon products and it is a good brand but this is an expensive black brick.

And trying to get service on the unit is like trying to buy a ticket on plane with the last name of Jihad..

Very well built & executed power supply. But the output board had 8 JRC op-amps. This would put a hold on everything behind it Like the Reialta engine and great power supply. So in went 8- AD 8620B amps And Now I can hear WAYYYYY deeper into the music. Movies have lots more impact too. Robo-FET

Even though Blu Ray is the future there are plenty of standard DVDs around and it will take ages to see some of them reissued in HD. Therefore the standard DVD player is not going away anytime soon. The price drop makes Denon 2930 a real bargain.
The video and audio quality is simply outstanding and worth every penny of the $300 tag.
Inclusion of the SACD function only sweetens the deal (as I'm still grieving over the failure of this superb audio format).
And last but not least this is a multi-system capable player (simple Region unlocking with a remote control required) that plays every DVD from anywhere in the World.

I have this player hooked to the Denon AVR 4308CI receiver running a Sony Bravia KDLXBR 52" 1080P LCD television. All connections are via HDMI.

This has to be the best DVD player I have ever owned. The picture and sound quality are incredible to say the least. I have it sitting next to the Sony BDP-S300 Blu-Ray player. I don't know why I wasted the money on the Blu-Ray. The Denon's picture and sound is just as good, if not better than that of the Blu-Ray. In fact, I would say the Denon DVD-2930CI is better!


If you don't mind the cost of this unit, and want what I would consider an incredible DVD player, don't hesitate to buy. And save your money and skip that purchase of a Blu-Ray or HD player if you have not bought one yet. The Denon will do the job plus!

I just stumbled upon this review section after searching for repair options my 2930 DVD player. Two years ago I bought this player along with the Denon 4308. While I still love the receiver, the DVD player was retired shortly after I purchased the unit. It would lock up and fail to read DVD/CD media often, which seems to be the problems that most are reporting. It got so bad one night that I went out the very next day and bought a $150 samsung player, which happens to read every media I have ever used and quickly at that. I'm very disapointed I purchased this unit and it will probably end up being in the trash today. I have been meaning to drop by the dealer that sold me the system to see what their take was on it, but I noticed that they are not listed as a dealer anymore on the Denon website, leading me to believe they have dropped the line. Twenty some years ago I recall another dealer telling me that Denon had reliability and customer service problems and that they were dropping them. I'm wondering if this is still the case from the other reviews I have read. I just hope my main 4308 continues to live as this was a much larger investment. In the end, I would highly recommend against purchasing this unit and do more extensive reseach on their entire product line than I did to prevent getting a near 1K throw away like I did. If anyone has had a positive repair experiance, please let me know.