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Collectively my friend and I own & have owned some amazing equipment. I had a brief service problem with my Denon while under warranty and the repair time would be excessive so they sent me a new unit. We both agreed it made SD-DVD look like Blu-Ray.
All I had to do was look and listen. I respect and admire the product as well as the manufacturer's integrity when service was needed. I started adding up the amount of DVD's and Blu-ray's I have in my library and the price issue became a non issue.
My friend and I purchased a Denon DVD-3800BDCI on the same day. Ease of use & the quality of the product is stunning. Audiomeister
Blu-ray movies from both video and audio were fantastic. It is my opinion after owning several of the "best", Sony, Pioneer, blu-ray players the DVD3800BDCI is a statement product for the industry.
The load times for movies is significantly faster as well. I had a Sony Blu-ray player (and I typically love Sony products), but this Denon is far superior. This has been an awesome purchase. Fantastic picture quality, and easy to use.
It is also rumored to have variable crossover through future firmware but the manual currently implies fixed crossover. The 3800 also does bitstream all codecs if you are so inclined. I suggest you purchase an extended warranty or get the Marantz BD8002 since it has 3 yr warranty and is a clone.Similar players:Sony BDP-S5000ES - a fine player but lacks the bass management that the 3800 has for the analog output (ie. If you own an HDMI capable receiver, then the purchase is more questionable as you are paying for an analog section you may never use.
PROS: Superb CD over analog, excellent bass management, beautiful BD/DVD picture with Realta, decoding of ALL codecs, solid constructionCONS: Sluggish in response, expensive, not BD-Live 2.0 although some would call this a plus.I've owned this player for nearly a year now and have watched a lot of the bugs get fixed through firmware. I personally would never buy a product based on "future functionality."Marantz BD8002 - a clone of the Denon 3800 with a different power supply, faceplate, and Marantz's own upsampling instead of Denon's AL24. fixed crossover).Pioneer Elite BD-09FD - another fine player but will not have DTS-HD MA decoding until future firmware. UPDATE: Decoding of DTS-HD HR (as of 1.115 firmware 11/24/08) is now included.
The Realta keeps the video reference quality so no need to keep the DVD player.Summary: Targeted to owners of non-HDMI receivers who want extensive bass management and listen to CD's and play both DVD's and BD's in one player. Otherwise almost everything is the same as the Denon. Owners in forums were slow to pick up on this due to HR being the "forgotten codec." It decodes ALL now. This player is really targeted to the analog crowd as it's got AL24 processing and great Burr Brown DAC's.
NO GOOD.Both movies started to stop and play at random, not a good thing. However I must ship the unit to Denon in NJ, worse yet I'll have to pickup the shipping both ways ($45.00 each way). After spending 2K for Denon's DVD 3800 BDCI the trouble began. Went to Denon website, there may be a fix, upgrading the firmware. Unit should have an ethernet connection so updates can be done off the web (like my Toshiba HD DVD).Must admit however when playing Blu-Ray disc quality of the pix is outstanding (but so was my HD DVD). I watched my first movie (SpiderMan 3 Blu-Ray) all went well. A week or two later I tried to watch Cloverfeild and 2001 A Space Od.
Various SD DVD's and CD's were also used.The following equipment was used in connection with the review of the 3800BDCI:Panasonic TH-50PZ750U (Monitor)Denon 4308CI (AV Processor)Denon 3800BDCI (DVD) (Manufacture date May 2008)Artcoustic DF-65's (Front speakers)Artcoustic DF-Multi (Center speaker)Monster AVS 2000 Signature Series (Power regulator)Monster HTPS 7000 Signature Series (Power filter/surge protector)Monster 1000 HDMI interconnects Intangibles: Average viewing distance: 8-9 feetPrice paid: $1620 (New unit from reputable NYC retail store [please don't ask which one as it was an insider's price])Unit heat generation (enclosed): ModerateOverall Impression: 5/5 StarsStrengths: Amazing picture and sound Excellent build qualityNegative considerations: Cost BD 1.1 (Bonus View) vs. I purchased the Denon 3800BDCI as I was looking for a "high end" Blu-Ray player that was also capable of playing SD DVD's and CD's. This appears be limited to serial numbers BD 2.0 (Live) (Please note that AV forum users have reported technical problems with lasers, firmware, and timing issues on earlier manufactured units. Having a Denon 4308CI as an AV processor also made this player an optimal choice for my system. Blu-Ray discs used in connection with the review included Home Video Essentials HD Basics, The Golden Compass, 2001, 10,000 B.C., Blade Runner (5 disc), Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Celine Dion's A New Day.
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