Denon DVD-3910 universal player

If you're into home cinema separates, chances are you'll have some Denon kit somewhere. The company currently leads the home cinema field ahead of the likes of Yamaha and Pioneer. Where other companies are battling to out-do each other with ever-cheaper DVD players, Denon bucks the trend and delivers truly high-end universal players like the excellent DVD-3910.

This player has unprecedented levels of picture control, right down to the pixel level, and can also precisely control the picture to match it to any form of monitor or projector. Uniquely, the Denon controls both chrominance (colour) and luminance (brightness), where most players only adjust the luminance. This means that the player can support deeper black levels than most players, for example.

Of course, a good spread of picture controls is useless without a fundamentally good picture, and the DVD-3910 doesn't disappoint here, too. The player features Faroudja video processing and can up-convert a video signal to support 720-line progressive scan or 1,080-line interlaced video (in preparation for HDTV, and supported by many of the better screens and projectors currently out there). Denon has used a Dual Discrete Video Circuit, with 216MHz/12-bit video DACs, with one video decoder specifically for the component video circuit, and the other dedicated to composite and S-Video. It even supports DVI-D and HDMI digital video outputs, which is useful as HDMI digital links are found on plasma screens and DVI-D digital links are seen on DLP projectors; although the two are entirely translatable, it's a good idea to have both on the same deck.

The player has much to commend it on the audio front too. It covers all the bases in outputs, with Denon Link and i.Link for one-link digital connection for DVD-Audio and (as soon as the lawyers allow it) SACD. It also has the usual digital and analogue audio outputs, backed up by Denon's top-of-the-line AL24 processing and Burr-Brown DSD-1796 192kHz, 24-bit decoding chips in all channels. In short, it does everything you could want from a DVD player… and then some.

Sound
The level of complexity with regard to the video performance is bewildering, in part because it's very new territory for most users, and should be handed over to experts in most cases. Otherwise, the installation and operation of the player is smooth and straightforward. Manhandling the 9.3kg player with its enclosed, anti-vibration transport mechanism is another matter, and those used to players weighing next to nothing will be surprised by the bulk.

Once it's installed and set-up, the DVD-3910 turns in a truly magnificent performance, both visually and sonically. The picture is hardest to pin down, as the adjustment means criticisms of the performance are more likely to be observations of the display device. You could play the darkest, most difficult DVD picture and the Denon will do a better job than most, entirely free from noise and blocky artefacts. Ultimately, the DVD-3910 delivers a picture that's more natural than brilliantly coloured, but this adds to the cinematic quality of the performance.

The sound is more immediate and directly impressive. There's something intrinsically right about the sound of the DVD-3910, no matter what you play through it. It produces some of the best, most precise DVD-Audio and DVD-Video sounds you can hear today. Normally, SACD lags significantly behind the DVD performance, but here SACD is almost as direct and extended as DVD-Audio. Even CD replay is first rate… for a DVD player. A good high-end dedicated CD player will out-perform the DVD-3910 here, but not by so substantial a margin as might have been the case just a year or so ago.

And there's a bonus for Denon users, too. The Denon Link connection between the DVD-3910 and a suitably equipped (Denon) amplifier raises the bar for DVD-Audio significantly. It's like the player and amplifier are working in greater harmony and the sound becomes so direct it's as if you are plugged right into the DVD-Audio disc. And soon, SACD will follow along the Denon Link lines. FireWire (i.Link or IEEE 1394) performs in a similar manner for less Denon-oriented high-end amplifiers.

Verdict:

Ground-breaking technology doesn't occur every day, but the DVD-3910 is genuinely ground-breaking. Right now, in terms of functionality, this is the most advanced universal player available at any price. And it shows in the picture and sound performance, just as much as it does on the specification sheet. Highly recommended, at any price. What do you think of the Denon DVD-3910? What do you think about Denon products? Tell us about it in the discussion zone below.