Denon DVD-3910 DVD Player

The Denon DVD-3910 is quite possibly the best DVD player ever manufactured with a retail price less than $10,000. On the one hand, this is expected to some extent, as we assume that technology improves over time and the cost of said technology declines over that time as well, but this DVD player is truly extraordinary. It supports playback of both DVD-A and SACD music formats, has both DVI(HDCP) and HDMI digital outputs, is built like a tank, and looks truly stunning perched atop one of the shelves of my entertainment...wall. If you would like a highly detailed appraisal of the technical specs, components, and performance of the player, see the secrets of home theater web site for their extraordinary technical review of this inspired piece of home theater hardware. I will limit my thoughts here to those more easily digested by the home theater average joe.

I purchased the Denon after a couple of months of research, during which I tried out multiple DVD players from Pioneer, Pioneer Elite, Yamaha, Marantz, and Panasonic. Some of the other players do certain things decently, even well in some respects (DVD-A and/or SACD audio playback), but there truly is no competition in the price neighborhood of the DVD-3910 which even comes close to supporting its audio playback formats and digital video output quality.

I run the 3910 into the DVI input board of my 7th generation (i.e., "7uy"), 50" HD Panasonic commercial Plasma display. The audio is connected via the Denon link (using what amounts to an ethernet cable) to the Denon link input on my Denon AVR-3805. Audio playback is through Klipsch reference series home theater speakers in a pretty standard 5.1 configuration.

The video playback on the 3910 is absolutely stunning. Watching the Return of the Jedi DVD was quite an experience. The motion artifacts in background areas (even deep black backgrounds) that were present to some extent on all of the players from the other manufacturers simply weren't there when using the 3910. It is so clear in fact, that some of the special effects in the movie appear pretty cartoonish. It puts out the clearest, most detailed, and artifact free picture I've ever seen, period.

The audio playback is also stunning, and it's support of both DVD-A and SACD is a nice feature for audiophiles who are willing to pony up the cash for the more expensive discs. If you haven't heard either format in a properly set up theater/listening environment and are planning to purchase a home theater set up in the near future, you owe it to yourself to at least experience it first.

The DVD-3910 is built like a tank. It's a heavy, quality chassis, with a pleasing, high quality, real metal front panel. And while it is an expensive piece of equipment, it is truly worth every cent, particularly when compared with some of its much more expensive competitors.