Suggestions for a DVD changer

[unrealii]

I'm looking for a good quality unit to go with the home theater setup. Right now the only two features which are a must are dvd changer, and region free. I have started reading about 3:2 pull down and that seems it might be worthwhile? Another feature which would be nice if the dvd player could stretch wide screen movies, so that I dont have to change the display format on the wide screen tv. I dont know if such feature exists.

It will be interacting with a Marantz SR-7000 reciever and Mitsubishi 65" widescreen. I dont know if Marantz has some sort of remote system where the dvd can tell the reciever which mode to go on or whatnot. Anyone know about this?

Has anyone heard anything bad about refurb items? This one seems to be a good price:
http://accessories4less.com/Amazing/itemde...tpc=&BC=MARANTZ

I was at goodguys and I saw a few Denon's in the $300-$350 range. Dont know which models though.

Also, I would like to play a few pal dvd's. Dont know if that would be possible.

 

[DavidL]

First recommendation is to forget the changer and move to an HTPC with the movies on hard drives (media server). Instant satisfaction with a click.

If that is no palatable (complicated / expensive / don't want to rip movies), then look into the Sony serial controllable changers. I think the model number is 777 something. Do a quick search on cinemaronline.com's forum for lots of info on how to control this changer. I think Kenwood also has a serial controllable changer.

To automate the modes, that is what MainLobby (cinemaronline.com) is all about. For best, most reliable control, the serial controllable changers really help. You could do same in Homeseer but with lots more effort in coding.

 

[Treetop]

While I agree with David, I would also like to have one of these...
Powerfile DVD/CD 200 disc changer

From what little knowledge I have about this product, is that it connects via firewire, so don't look for a plug-in anytime soon... and the software is not great...oh, and it costs an arm, leg, first born, and one eye.

 

[unrealii]

Sorry for not responding. I'm just looking for a basic dvd player, not one which will do HA. I saw a Denon DVD 910 (single disc) at good guys for $250. Is that a good model at that price? Here is a comparison and it is pretty much at the top of the list:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi
I figured a single disc would be good enough for the HT setup in the front room.

I found an open box dvd changer. It has no remote nor a manual. It is a yamaha DVD-C940 for $250. This would go in my room, but I am unsure of how good it is.

 

[unrealii]

I went ahead and bought the yamaha. They took $30 off the CD changer price if I bought the 5 year ESP warranty. Total came out to $220 + $89 Is it really necessary for a 5 year warranty? I mean I can probably go back in 25 days or so when they have forgotten about it, then get $90. It is going to get a lot of use because I like to listen to music a lot. This unit was open box and all it had was a remote from another yamaha model which can only power on and power off the unit. My yamaha reciever remote can do a lot more, so im ok with that.

 

[smee]

unrealii:

You mentioned PAL discs. Does the Yamaha play PAL? In my experience, it's been the really cheap players ($30) that are more likely to be able to play PAL on NTSC TVs.

You can rip PAL discs and play them on the computer. That's how I handle my one PAL disc.

 

[unrealii]

I was still looking at PAL dvd players, but there weren't too many and they didn't seem to be what I had wanted. Also, the dvd's I bought which are in pal are region 0, so they should work in any dvd player. So that is covered, but I dont know if the dvd player will output the pal dvd as ntsc. I figured I can always use the computer to do that as you said.

 

[unrealii]

I checked with the dvd player's manual and it says that if a PAL cd is inserted, it will output in a PAL signal. So, now it is up to the TV. Anyone know if any TVB's out there are dual standard?

 

[smee]

I think it's probably a lot cheaper/easier to get a second DVD player for your PAL discs. I have a friend with a really inexpensive Aspire Digital 1100 DVD player (from www.buy.com, I think something like $35 after rebate). I believe that if you set the output to be NTSC, it will convert PAL to NTSC during playback (I'm not sure, but I think I lent her my PAL DVD and she was able to play it). Without specifically setting the output, I think it defaulted to playing NTSC as NTSC and PAL as PAL.

So maybe it's easiest to just add a second DVD player and use that for PAL discs. The quality may not be as good, but how often do you plan to play PAL discs?

 

[unrealii]

I dont plan on playing them often. The thing is my 20 year old sony tv decided to go kaput on me within a week of buying that dvd changer. Right now the next thing I plan on buying is a TV, but that may be a while.