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If this player had been released two years ago we'd say that Oppo has stolen the market. Though it faces stiff competition from Blu-ray, the DV-983H may be the greatest affordable universal DVD player to hit the market.

When I was asked if I was interested in reviewing the Helios X5000, I said ‘yes’ out of hand. You can’t be a reviewer and not be interested in reviewing nearly everything that comes across your desk. But honestly, I had no idea what it was. I knew it was a media player but it seemed to be more focused on the video side. They seemed to be pushing their upconverting capabilities and I could find no information on how the unit recorded and played back media. Very confusing. So, when the unit arrived, I hooked it up not really knowing what to expect.

The DVD-3930CI was another surprising release from Denon. Just as the DVD-3910 seemed to obsolete (in a practical sense) the DVD-5900, the DVD-3930CI takes the spotlight again... almost.

While watching old Looney Tunes cartoons as a child, I always recalled Bug Bunny’s nemesis (i.e. Yosemite Sam, Elmer Fudd, etc) say “it has everything but the kitchen sink” seconds before they’d get knocked upside the head with said item. When Denon announced the 1080p upgrade to the DVD-5910 I quickly put us on the list to receive a review sample. I had a mindful eye when the FedEx guy arrived at my front door. Lugging this nearly 50lb box up my flight of steps to the Audioholics Showcase system, I couldn’t help but wonder if Denon did, in fact, ship me the kitchen sink as part of a package deal with this DVD player. Enter the DVD-5910CI – Denon’s latest flagship DVD player packaged in a rugged chassis that would make most receivers envious. Seriously, this DVD player looks out of proportion to all receivers but Denon’s own venerable AVR-5805.

Oppo has seemingly cornered the market on buzz, becoming the “Apple Computer” of rumor and forum discussion. Following the success of their flagship (and still shipping) OPDV971H upconverting DVD player, they naturally felt inclined to release a new upconverting DVD player that also handles SACD – for $50 less. Now, before you fall off your chair and pull out your credit card, realize that this is a different player. Instead of the Faroudja video processing, this new player utilizes a different chipset and scores slightly lower in our video performance testing.

I hope it’s never too late to say “I’m sorry”. At least, that’s how I feel about the new Helios HVD2085 DVD player. You see, I really judged this player harshly in its former incarnation under the NeuNeo moniker. Sure, it failed the HQV tests miserably and had a remote control that was designed by Fisher Price, but the fact of the matter is – I did not have the ability to play the unit in conjunction with a 1080p display. This time I do. Using the Westinghouse LVM-42w2 1080p monitor, I connected the reworked Helios DVD player and felt like I was seeing it again – for the first time. Make no mistake, this is pretty much a re-badged NeuNeo HVD2085, but I am seeing the player in a new 1080p-powered light. While it still has its share of drawbacks, there is at least more balance to the unit now.

It’s rare that we run into an almost universal consensus among users with respect to the quality of a company’s customer service. Certainly there have been some companies in the past, Axiom Audio for example, that have excelled in this category; but Oppo Digital may perhaps take the cake. Since the introduction of their OPDV971H DVD player last year they have consistently provided excellent quality of service and attention to their customers.

It was only a matter of time until a company released a fully "unlocked" player that upconverted DVDs to 1080p. Just think of the marketing angles: "Why wait for high definition DVD when you can have it now!" or "Who needs Blu-ray Disc when you can get 1080p from your home movie collection!" What has people so excited about the NeuNeo player (pronounced "New-Neo") is the fact that it outputs 480p/720p/1080i/1080p from its component and HDMI outputs (latest firmware required). How do they do it? Well, I assume they run very quickly from anyone representing the MPAA since this violates the DVD spec. In any case, feel free to get them while they're hot - if 1080p output over component is something you've secretly asked Santa for this year and you don't mind some odd quirks and questionable video performance.

Ever wished you could own a truly high end esoteric digital player but your budget is limited to mass market players? Joe Rasmussen from Custom Analogue Audio reckons he has the answer. Using a cheap mass market universal player (the Marantz DV6500, normally retails for A$799 – US$649), Joe has upgraded it with technology from Vacuum State Electronics (Joe is the Australian agent) to create a “state of the art” two-channel universal player called the “JLTi SACD Player” that is being sold by Pymble Hi-Fi in Sydney, Australia, for $2,500 (~US$1,900).