62 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
Yamaha S1800 Upconverting DVD, CD, SACD Universal Player
I've owned this player a good couple months now and have been very pleased with its performance. Very user friendly GUI and the machine operates easily. Discs load quickly and the transport is dead quiet. The picture quality is excellent be it composite (good), component (better) or HDMI (best). What's even better is the sound quality of CD's and SACD's thanks to four, 2...
34 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
So many good qualities ruined by a few bad ones...
Other reviewers have covered a lot of the technical aspects and the good qualities of this player, and they were all pretty accurate. Read some of those reviews first to get an idea of some of the pros of this player.
After a month of ownership, I feel like there are also a lot of really bad things about this player that I didn't see mentioned in other...
This review is from: Yamaha DVD-S1800BL 1080p Upconverting DVD SACD Player (Electronics)
I've owned this player a good couple months now and have been very pleased with its performance. Very user friendly GUI and the machine operates easily. Discs load quickly and the transport is dead quiet. The picture quality is excellent be it composite (good), component (better) or HDMI (best). What's even better is the sound quality of CD's and SACD's thanks to four, 2 channel Burr-Brown dacs. It has a nice array of features, such as Audio Direct Mode, SACD Bass Management, SACD On Screen Text, Display Dimmer and an above average set of picture controls. These allow the user to really fine tune the image for optimal picture quality. Furthermore, it does a fantastic job up-converting Standard Definition DVD's to High Definition 1080P. It's also compatible with DVD-A, mp3, wma, divx and jpeg discs as well. The remote, although it's not back lit and lacks an eject button is still very user friendly, ergonomical and makes functional navigation a snap. The users guide is well laid out and easy to understand. Other notable features include, Dolby Digital 5.1 DTS built in decoders, gold plated pin terminals, one optical output, one digital coaxial output, Noise Shaped Video (NSV) with Faroudja DCDi processing that helps eliminate jagged edges and blurring, Wide Screen Mode selections, Screen Saver, Program & Repeat Playback for CD's and Progressive Scan. You could probably spend hundreds more on a universal player and still be hard pressed to get the performance of the S1800. So, if you're not ready to make the leap into blu just yet and want a great sounding CD/SACD and DVD-A player with DVD up-conversion for improved Standard Definition DVD viewing, consider the Yamaha S1800!
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This review is from: Yamaha DVD-S1800BL 1080p Upconverting DVD SACD Player (Electronics)
I bought this Yamaha to replace a nice upscaling DVD player from Toshiba which my son broke. I chose this Yamaha for both its upscaling reputation and its SACD support. Feature and performance-wise, I have been very happy with the product.
As a DVD player, the S1800 supports DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW and DVD-Audio well, in addition to DVD-Video. For DVD-Video, upscaling to 1080p appears to work really well, even though this is a model from 2007 (hence the big discount offered by Amazon.com). I have played a variety of DVDs from Pixar animations to old Disney classics to recent action titles and so on, and all look really nice on my Sharp 1080p LCD TV.
One good thing about the DVD player is it's quite fast, at least compared to most other DVD players. From loading a DVD to recalling the menu, there's no trying the user's patience with blank screens. Another good feature is, as with other upscaling players, by default all 4:3 DVDs is displayed stretch on a 16:9 screen if you use the HDMI connection (and who doesn't nowadays?), but there is a menu item (Setup -> Video -> Widescreen Format -> Pillar Box) that manually overrides the stretch, so you can make 4:3 content look right on your widescreen TV. Just remember to set it back to "off" for 16:9 content. Yes, this is a hassle (i.e., no automatic switching), but this beats the hell out of all those upscaling players on the market that don't let you unstretch 4:3 content over HDMI at all. We watch a lot of kids' TV shows, so this is a really welcome feature. (Maybe I should buy another unit and lock the widescreen stretch on each...)
As an SACD player this unit takes advantage of Yamaha's experience in building hi-fi systems. Sound quality from my SACDs (classical music) is truly amazing, revealing subtle details that even my best CD deck failed to reveal before.
I have not tried the DivX playback feature, nor the VCD/SVCD support.
While the features and performance are laudable, the remote and the manual are truly miserable. The remote has a big round power button, but the idiot who designed this made it to *only* turn on the player, not turn it off. For the latter function you use the smaller Standby button, which *also* turns on the player! Most of the buttons are small, and there is no eject button on the remote. Must be a Japanese thing, since this seems common on Japanese-brand DVD players. The manual is very difficult to understand. First, it was written by some idiots. Second, it was written for the UK/Europe/Russia market. Luckily, you can figure out 95% of the features and connections on your own, unless you're a complete newbie to DVD players.
As to the question why you should get a DVD player while you can now buy a low-end Blu-ray player for as low as $20 more, the answer is twofold. First, upscaling DVD players are still better at playing DVDs, especially one like this Yamaha which loads DVDs fast. Second, if you watch a lot of DVDs, you may not want to tax the laser mechanism in a Blu-ray player, which works better reading Blu-ray discs. Finally, for this model specifically, some of the extra features like DVD-Audio and SACD support are not found on Blu-ray players.
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This review is from: Yamaha DVD-S1800BL 1080p Upconverting DVD SACD Player (Electronics)
This past fall I've "auditioned" six different upscaling DVD players (including the Oppo DV-980H, DV-981HD and Pioneer Elite DV-49AV). This is absolutely the best one and a definite keeper:
1. Very hefty, solid construction (as opposed to the thin, cheapish material of most new players).
2. Quiet disc transport
3. Intuitive remote
4. Excellent audio quality - easily matches or beats the Oppos or Pioneer Elite
5. Beautiful image quality
When I first got it I felt the color was a bit washed out, but after calibrating the player with a color meter (Brightness, Contrast, Color, Hue) the picture is flat gorgeous. Its easily better than the Oppo DV-981HD and Pioneer Elite DV-49AV and matches the Oppo DV-980H. While its not Blu-Ray quality (of course), its still so satisfying that I don't feel deprived or like I'm missing anything when I'm watching an standard DVD. The upscaling quality is so much better than my Blu-Ray player that I'll never use the Blu-Ray for DVDs - I'll keep both players hooked up to the set. If it has a con its a minor one - the lack of an eject button on the remote, which isn't that big of a deal since I have to get up anyway to remove the disc from the tray.
This player started out at $449 a couple years ago. I never thought I'd see it go as low as the $79.99 that Amazon is charging for it now. Its an absolute steal if you want a quality upscaling DVD player (that shames most Blu-Rays for upcoverted DVD image quality) and one that plays a wide variety of other formats (including Divx and SA-CD). It can also be made region-free for foreign market DVDs with a simple code hack. Can't recommend it highly enough.
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This review is from: Yamaha DVD-S1800BL 1080p Upconverting DVD SACD Player (Electronics)
I recently upgraded everything in my HT setup, purchasing a new Yamaha RX-V1800 receiver, as well as Polk RTI A7 front speakers, Polk RTI A3 rear speakers, a Polk CSI A6 center channel and a Polk PSW505 subwoofer to go along with my PS3. After sampling some hi-def audio (the PS3 can play SACDs), I purchased this player to take advantage of its ability to send DSD signal straight to the receiver for maximum sound quality on SACDs. I also wanted to be able to access the DTS 5.1 tracks on DVD-A's instead of settling for the Dolby 5.1 mixdowns you get with a standard DVD player. I ended up getting a great deal on this here at Amazon.
So far I've had this item for about a week and I'm very happy with it. I've tested it with CDs, DVDs, DVD-A's and SACDs, and not only is the sound quality excellent (upsamples CDs too), but I have not experienced any of the problems I'd heard about with some other multi-format players. Load time is pretty good for all formats (including standard DVD), and with the discrete analog connections, SACDs sound phenomenal. I have a small but growing library of probably 50 or so SACDs/DVD-A's, so this unit has really allowed me to enjoy these titles with the best possible sound quality. Setting this unit to 'Audio Direct' and my receiver to 'Pure Direct' allows me to hear the straight signal right to the Polks; their dynamic range is really showcased when running multichannel SACD or DVD-A.
In addition to the hi-def sound benefits, the DVD video upconverter is substantially better than my PS3. Picture is clear and very sharp on my 46" 1080p Samsung, with very few visible artifacts and little to no quantization. Sound quality has fewer artifacts as well in comparison with the PS3.
This unit can handle MP3 or WMA discs, VCD, CD-R and CD-RW, DVD-R and DVD-RW, and can read both PAL and NTSC formats. With this unit you're pretty much all set for everything out there save for Blu ray.
The DVD-S1800 has an HDMI connection for A/V sources, component in for Video, stereo analog in as well as optical, digital coaxial, and multichannel analog for audio connections. You can pretty much configure this any way you want/can based on your HT's connection capabilities. Obviously, HDMI for A/V and multichannel analog for audio will provide superior sound/picture quality. The on-screen menu provided via HDMI to TV is easy to use as well.
The look and feel is very nice, matching my RX-V1800 in design perfectly with a brushed black aluminum front. It's not too heavy, weighing about 10 lbs., and it isn't very deep either (about 11").
Big fan of this unit. This all-purpose catch-all nicely complements both my receiver and the PS3, bringing me totally up-to-date in terms of next-gen audio and video. I especially enjoyed listening to the multichannel layers of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon SACD, Miles Davis' Kind of Blue SACD, Beethoven's Symphonies 5 & 7 SACD, as well as Yes' Fragile on DVD-A.
This is a great and inexpensive way to jump into hi-def audio. Even though neither SACD or DVD-A have really taken off thanks to the rise of compressed music, there are a number of excellent rock and especially classical and jazz albums out there. For me it was worth it, as the 5.1 sound and increased signal resolution really brings out the details that are often hidden or obscured in lesser audio formats.
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This review is from: Yamaha DVD-S1800BL 1080p Upconverting DVD SACD Player (Electronics)
I honestly don't know what type of equipment those who have given this Yamaha negative reviews own. However, with my equipment, a properly ISF calibrated 61" Samsung 1080P DLP, this dvd player is unmatched by anything I have ever seen. I have owned a Samsung BD-UP5000 Blu-Ray/HD-DVD player which used a HQV/Reon scaling chip. I have also tried the PS3 Slim, the Toshiba XD-E600 and several other so-called upconverting players. This is by far the best, it renders a very hd-like image, that is extraordinarily natural in appearance. This will help me cut down on the Blu-Ray purchases. This Yamaha is showing me details in DVD's I've owned for years that I have never seen before! Even out of old television shows from the 70's! Nothing else I have used or seen holds a candle to the Yamaha DVD-S1800! If you have a calibrated set, do not hesitate!
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This review is from: Yamaha DVD-S1800BL 1080p Upconverting DVD SACD Player (Electronics)
Purchased this player to take the load off my Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu Ray player and have been more than thrilled with this player. Standard upconversion is slightly better with this Yamaha and audio has a nice full sound as opposed to a thinner although dynamic sound produced by the Panasonic. This is attributable to the Burr-Brown DAC's used in the Yamaha. Overall an unbeatable bargain for [...] bucks and the best standard DVD player I have used and I have used about 15 different players from several manufacturers over the years. In addition, I have had no issues with this unit playing burned DVD's.
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This review is from: Yamaha DVD-S1800BL 1080p Upconverting DVD SACD Player (Electronics)
Ok let me tell you why I purchased this unit, for one I like Yamaha Natural Sound Players I own 2 higher end Yamaha CD players that lasted over 15 years. I had a choice of Denon as well and I liked the Yamaha sound better, build quality is quite good, it does not compair with my highend players but then I did not expect it to. However I must say it is far better then anything else in this price class that's for sure and at this price I would say you can not do better, as all players in this price range are cheep plastic junk.
I was quite upset when my original Yamaha's just could not read discs that well any longer, although they still work they just do not track most CD's correctly and are showing there age. I knew that to get the sound quality I was accustomed to could cost quite a bit.
I researched other Yamaha CD players simular to my original and they were all around $700 or more so I decided this deck plays CD's and is a Natural Sound Player with very good DA's and may fill my needs I was using my sony DVD player to play CD's while I made my choice ... the Sony sounded like a cheep toy in comparison to my orig Yamaha's and I was not happy at all nothing sounded as it should, it sounded lifeless and harsh with no real depth. So I decided to gave this a shot and im glad I did.
Now I am quite happy as the 1800 sounds quite good I have it hooked up to good equipment as well so this review may help others that want this just for audio as I am using it for via its RCA outs, I can't comment on the pic quality but a budy of mine also decided to buy one and said the picture is quite good with a good DVD so I would say its good as he like my self is very picky about image and sound based on what he has told me I would say the PQ is quite good.
As for the sound it has good depth and is not harsh nor digital sounding as most cheep machines are. Base response is solid but not as deep as my old higher end units, however it is close. Listen to the Harvest Release Of Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of the Moon if you have it you will be impressed, as the machine reproduces the low freq heart beat with good depth and punch that is missing from most machines in this price class. Equipment in use is as follows ... UREI Mixer Preamp, Carver M-500t Amp, Orig Monster Cable, Belden Pure Audio RCA Cable and Energy Monitors.
I hope my review can help others decide.
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This review is from: Yamaha DVD-S1800BL 1080p Upconverting DVD SACD Player (Electronics)
This player was purchased to replace my dying Pioneer DV-667A-S (can't read SACD anymore). My primary usage is a universal audio player (SACD/DVD Audio/CD) with occasional DVD viewing. It is hooked up with a simple out of box Altec Lansing MX5021 computer speaker in 3mx5m bedroom. Consider this a budget set up for under 200USD.
I am very much impressed with the sounds quality of this player. It comes with half of the price I paid for my DV-667A-S a few years back (2004 to be exact) and has some more bells and whistles on the video processing department as well. For the price under 100USD (79.99) you can't go wrong with this player. Tested with 1080p HDMI connection to a Dell FPW2410 and it's really amazing. Upscaling works as advertised and it somehow gives a new life to my old DVD collection.
The connection I am using is mixed 2ch connection direct to 3.5mm stereo jack to the Altec Lansing speaker. Well, it's really pushing the limit of this speaker. I have not tested the multichannel output but the stereo works really well. It is compatible for reading both multichannel and stereo SACD discs. For the price, I don't think any other players can come close to this. Top Value? Definitely. This player deserves some sort of recognition and I am gonna give it 5 stars.
Bonus: This player works in EU/Asia with 220V/240V electricity too.
EDIT: After few weeks of usage, I am really impressed with this player, especially on its audio processing department. Like many have said, if your primary usage is audio, this is probably as good as it can get for the price. The top of the line Yamaha BD player doesn't play SACD layer anymore.
About the video upscaling, I have to disagree with more recent review about poor quality. I have a pretty decent HTPC with ATI Radeon HD4870 and running hardware accelerated videos (Cyberlink PowerDVD 9) connected via DVI-D to the same monitor, the quality doesn't match up to this Yamaha player. I have tried to pretty wide range of DVDs and the result is conclusive. This player is more superior than my HTPC.
Agree with others, buy before it's gone.
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This review is from: Yamaha DVD-S1800BL 1080p Upconverting DVD SACD Player (Electronics)
Other reviewers have covered a lot of the technical aspects and the good qualities of this player, and they were all pretty accurate. Read some of those reviews first to get an idea of some of the pros of this player.
After a month of ownership, I feel like there are also a lot of really bad things about this player that I didn't see mentioned in other reviews. I wanted to make sure other people were aware of them before they buy this.
- Screen saver - even my old $10 DVD player had a good screen saver function, to keep a plasma TV from being ruined by pausing the DVD for too long. This player has what it calls a "screensaver", but, as far as I can tell, it's a static image of the Yamaha logo - it doesn't move around, it just stays there, and will still ruin your TV.
- Screen saver pt 2 - The player only switches to the screen saver when you've paused the DVD. So if you are on a DVD menu screen, it doesn't seem to ever switch to the screensaver. This happens to me over and over when I walk out of the room during the movie credits, and come back an hour later to see the TV showing the main menu.
- Scratched DVDs - I have a few DVDs that have the tiniest scratches on them, just normal wear and tear kind of stuff - every other DVD player I've tried has no problem playing these DVDs, but this player absolutely freezes completely with them - it doesn't stutter, it doesn't skip, it it just stops - you can't even fast forward over the scratched part, you have to completely jump to the next chapter then rewind.
- Resuming playback - several times I've paused a (brand new) DVD for 20 minutes or so, and when I try to resume, the player stutters a bit, then shuts off.
- FF/RR - There doesn't seem to be any way to seek to a specific time with this player. You have to fast forward or rewind to where you want to view from. Which wouldn't be so bad, except that when you are fast-forwarding or rewinding, then hit play, the player will play from a spot nowhere near what was showing on your TV. e.g. if you're fast forward to 7:00, then hit play, it will play from 5:00. I know a lot of DVD players have similar problems, but this one was way worse than most.
That's about it. They might not sound like big things, but trust me, they are the kind of irritations that will build up over time and have you looking for a new player in a month.
But, like I said, there are a lot of really good things about this DVD player too - so check out the other reviews, just be sure to keep the problems in mind when you're making your decision.
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