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Introduction

Both players were very well received, and well reviewed for that matter. For the 2004/2005-model year, Denon has released the DVD-3910, which is technically a replacement for the 2900, but with more of the 5900 features. When originally released last fall, the retail price was $1299, due to unforeseen circumstances; the price has since been raised to $1499 effective January 1, 2005.

The DVD-3910 takes the advancements of the 5900 one step further in offering both a DVI output, as well as a HDMI Interface. Not only can the HDMI pass a video signal, but it can also pass stereo, Dolby Digital and DTS signals. Unfortunately the 3910 was released before the HDMI 1.1 spec so high resolution PCM signals from DVD Audio disks are not supported. Audio can also be output over the proprietary Denon Link, and two IEEE1394 (firewire) outputs are included as well. Denon has just received approval to transmit SACD 2.0 over the Denon Link, but at this time only DVD-A, DTS, and Dolby Digital can be output over Denon Link. If you want to use the SACD capabilities of the player, you will need to use 6 analog cables from the DVD-3910 to your processor or receiver or the firewire connections. The firewire output supports all current forms of audio including high resolution formats.

The DVD-3910 also has the standard analog outputs for transmission of video signals, namely component, composite, and s-video. The progressive scan and scaling technologies in the player are handled using the Genesis FLI-2310 series chipset.

Being a Universal player, the DVD-3910 can handle just about every format you can throw at it including DVD-Audio, SACD, HDCD, CD-R/RW (MP3 / WMA / JPEG/ Kodak picture CD), and conditional DVD-R/RW. I have used Memorex DVD�R�s from my PC and some home video�s transferred to a DVD-R via a Mac with no issues what so ever.

SETUP and Usability

Setup of this player is a breeze. Once connected and powered up, all you need to do is hit the �setup� button on the remote and a six page menu system pops up on your screen. Page one is the Language Setup screen, page two is the Digital Interface Setup, which gives you access to set the DVI black level (Normal- Studio RGB 16-235 or Enhanced- PC RGB 0-255), HDMI audio, Denon Link and the IEEE1394. Page three has the video setup menus; TV aspect, TV Type (PAL or NTSC), Video output (progressive or interlaced), Progressive Mode (Auto 1 and 2, and Video 1, 2 or 3), and finally the squeeze mode (more on this later). Auto 1 is what I use 99% of the time, although the use of Auto 2 can be utilized if you know that the material that you are watching was shot on Video or is a PAL disc. Page four has the Audio Setup menu where you can enter the multi channel setup to set up speaker size and time alignment settings, as well as the subwoofer crossover level for the analog outputs for SACD and DVD-A. I compared the internal test tones with the Chesky DVD-A setup disc and they were very close (within 1 dB on all 6 channels). Also included in the Audio Setup menu are the preferred digital output setting (Normal or PCM), Source Direct (bypassing the speaker settings), Bass Enhancer (to include the subwoofer with the stereo outputs), Compression (for watching movies late at night), and a SACD Filter with settings of 50kHz and 100kHz. The SACD filter is almost an exclusive feature to Denon and is a recommended feature per the DSD spec. DSD has an inherently high noise floor in the upper frequency range due to its encoding. It is recommend that one use the 50kHz filter if the output wattage into a channel exceeds 100 watts to mitigate the risk of damaging the amplifier and the speaker from the high noise floor. Since most people never really use 100 watts in a given channel this may not be a huge concern but if you play at loud levels it is recommended to use the 50kHz filter as a precaution. Page five sets up the ratings for the player and page six has some other setup options including wallpaper and setting the DVD player�s default mode for either DVD-Video or DVD-Audio if you stick in a DVD-Audio disc. It is important that you select DVD-Video if you don�t plan on taking advantage of the high resolution PCM tracks on DVD-Audio discs. This is the only way you can access the normal Dolby Digital or DTS tracks instead.

One thing that I discovered right off the bat with this player is its somewhat sluggish menu navigation on DVD disks. It is nowhere as fast as the 2900, and reminds me of the 5900 when that was first released. The 5900 was able to be improved in this area via firmware updates and I am hoping the same can be done with the 3910 as well. Another question that is sure to be asked is the always-popular layer change. The 3910 does an excellent job in this area with no visible layer change except when a disc happens to have the layer change at a chapter break. For some reason, this trips the player up and you notice a very slight hiccup that lasts a split second. But out of the 100+ movies that I have watched on the player, I have only noticed a layer change less than 10% of the time.

THE REMOTE

Denon has decided to include a partially backlit remote with the 3910. The important keys are backlit including the �Play� key, �Menu� selection, directional arrows and the all-important �Enter� key, just to name a few. It is of decent size and fits well in your hand. There are a lot of improvements vs. the 5900 remote. Namely you have access to the SACD setup and the HDMI/DVI output choices. Both of these options were not included on the 5900, and in order to change outputs or change from the multi-channel to a two-channel setting with a SACD, you had to actually get up out of your seat and make changes on the player. It is nice to know that Denon listened to the complaints that people had and implemented these features on this remote. I personally don�t use the remote though, but it was handy having discreet on and off codes to program my MX-700 remote. The discreet on and off codes are especially handy when programming macros.

VIDEO PERFORMANCE

The DVD-5900 used the same Faroudja FLI-2310 chipset and there were issues with �macroblocking� on some material because of this chip. Under normal viewing conditions, I have yet to see any macroblocking with my 3910. With the 5900, this was not the case, it would show up from time to time, but I am happy to say that this hasn�t been an issue with this player in any of the resolutions that I have tested. My suggestion would be if you are interested in this player, buy it from a store that has a liberal return policy and test it with your own equipment. It should also be noted that calibration plays a very important part in the macroblocking phenomenon. I can make it appear on my display, if I turn the sharpness up too high and turn the brightness and contrast up to insanely high levels.

Most people buying this player will do so for the digital connection to their display, either via DVI or HDMI. I have been able to test both outputs using my Hitachi 57SWX20B for the DVI output, and a friend�s Mitsubishi WS55515�s HDMI input utilizing the 1080i output from the player since both TV's native resolution is 1080i. Under both circumstances, the picture was extremely sharp and detailed, but with a caveat. The upscaling of the player tends to highlight any background noise in a poorly mastered DVD. For example, Paramount�s 2004 release of The Stepford Wives looked worse using the digital outputs of this player compared to the component output. But this wasn�t the case with every disc; the release of Empire Strikes Back looks near High-Def quality over the DVI and HDMI outputs with no background noise at all. So the benefit of the upscaling is that it can make a good transfer look better, and a marginal transfer look worse, at least using a CRT based TV. I have yet had the opportunity to test out the player fully on a DLP, LCD, or Plasma display and cannot comment on the benefit of the digital output feeding a 720P signal directly to the display.

One last feature that is included on the 3910, is the ability to squeeze native 4x3 aspect material onto a 16x9 screen utilizing the DVI and HDMI outputs. Most displays lock in full 16x9 mode when fed a high-definition signal (whether upconverted or not). With the 5900, there was no way that you could view 4x3 aspect materials in their native resolution when using the digital output. So Denon has again addressed a complaint with a previous player and improved it, but they didn�t implement this perfectly. Unfortunately, the player doesn�t auto detect a 4x3 signal, you have to manually go into the setup menu and turn this feature on and off or make the adjustment from the front panel. While it isn�t a perfect situation, it beats watching 4x3 material stretched out to 16x9.

Another nice feature of the 3910 is all of the custom video adjustments that can be made in the Video setup menu that can be accessed via the remote. It is under this setting that you set the video level of black (either 7.5 IRE or 0IRE), as well as other adjustments. Namely the ability to adjust contrast, brightness, sharpness (High and Mid), Hue and CCS. You will also find adjustments for white level, chroma level, chroma delay and DNR (digital noise reduction). Finally you also have the ability to enhance the vertical and horizontal contour of the image, adjust the gamma output of the player, and center the video output of the display with horizontal and vertical positioning. Of all of these adjustment, the only ones I used personally were the positioning and the black level settings, in which I chose 7.5 IRE since I was able to get the best calibration on my display using this over the 0 IRE level.

AUDIO PERFORMANCE

With the price point of this player being where it is, the audio performance of this player is just as important as the video. The DVD-3910 uses 24-bit, 192-kHz audio Texas Instruments (formerly Burr Brown) D/A converters that are isolated from the power supply, this helps to ensure that all the sound you hear is as noise free as possible. The 3910 also offers a Pure Direct mode that will allow you to turn off all digital outputs while using the analog audio output. In theory, this can improve the sound quality of the output by limiting interference that may be caused by the digital components. I tried this feature out and could not tell a difference in the audio between Pure Direct and non-Pure Direct, but it is nice to know it is there in case you feel you need it. Another plus to the DVD-3910, is its ability to offer Digital Bass Management when playing back DVD-Audio, and SACD sources. In the setup menu, you have the option of setting speaker distances and set the frequency crossover point (40, 60, 80, 100 or 120 Hz). Using the source direct feature bypasses the bass management for any format but still allows for time alignment and level control. This is also the only way to get a pure DSD signal from a SACD. The 3910 must convert DSD to PCM in order to apply bass management.

I was an owner of the coveted DVD-5900 for almost a year and had gotten accustomed to its stellar audio, which was the best that my ears had heard. How does the 3910 stack up to that? With DVD-A and SACD discs, I could perceive no audible difference between the two players. My comparison was based on material that I am familiar with like the Norah Jones SACD and the Chesky DVD-A Demonstration disc just to name two.

On Redbook CD�s though, I have to give the edge to the 5900, which has a slightly larger soundstage. It is hard to place my finger on why the 5900 sounded better, but the 3910 sounds somewhat compressed in comparison, but I am splitting hairs here and there was only a very slight difference between the two.

CONCLUSION

There are some quirks to this player that I would like to see improved. Namely the menu navigation and the ability of the player to auto-detect 4x3 material and apply the squeeze mode to it over the digital connection. But I don�t feel these are deal breakers by any means. With it�s impressive build quality, the 3910 is not only an excellent DVD player, it is a stellar universal audio transport as well that will have many years of use, even with the impending HD formats coming to DVD.

Features:

MSRP $1,499

HDMI Interface with Multi Channel Audio/DVI Output
-720p/ 1080I Scaling
-Squeeze Mode
HDMI Multi Channel Audio
Dual Discrete Video Circuit (D.D.V.C)
-Dual 12-bit, 216-MHz Video D/A Converters
Discrete Audio/Video circuit
Progressive Scan featuring DCDi By Faroudja
Denon Link Digital Output
IEEE 1394 Digital Outputs
AL 24 Processing Plus
HDCD decoding
All Channel Equal 24-bit, 192-Khz Audio D/A converters
Loading Mechanism for Suppression of Vibrations
Shielded 3 Box Chassis
Digital Bass Management
DVD-4/RW Playback
CD-R/RW (MP2 / JPEG/ Kodak Picture CD) Playback
Dimensions 17.1� W x 5.4� H x 15.9� D
Weight 20.5 lbs

Rating:

Video Quality:
Audio Quality:
Build Quality:
Value:
Overall:

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