DVD-5900 Viewing Evaluation

I found that switching between DVI and Component Video again resulted in drastic differences between established contrast ratios with brightness/contrast controls remaining constant. Thus it is recommended to properly calibrate and store independent video settings for each mode. Even if the DVI setting in the player is configured to " Normal " the black level still doesn't go down to 0 IRE unless I recalibrate brightness/contrast settings on my display. Since there is no conversion in the player, your display is the place to make these adjustments.

For a quick reference, listed below are all of the current and foreseeable future high resolution video interfaces. The DVD-5900 supports DVI-D to be compliant with the DVD Standards Body. Denon informed me that, while the DVD-5900 is capable of passing a 1080i video output via component video, it opts out of this feature to remain compliant. This is a shame because some users would benefit from this in instances where they are interfacing this high performance DVD player with an analog CRT based RPTV or older CRT front projector.

While everyone is jumping on the DVI bandwagon, it should be noted that in the next year or so, HDMI will likely be the de facto standard for passing high resolution video (and at least partial) audio signals. Fear not about obsolescence of your DVI equipment as there are some cable companies working on adaptors for HDMI to DVI interfaces (they are quite compatible) and there is always IEEE1394 for high resolution audio passage as an alternative. However, imagine the day when all audio and video signaling can pass through one cable, rendering the nested, antiquated mess of cabling behind your equipment a novelty left for discussion in esoteric audio forums.

Viewing Evaluation

Measurements can be rendered useless if one doesn't appreciate what impact they have on the actual performance of the product. With that I spent a great deal of time viewing quite a few movies to ensure that the measurements I made were indicative to actual real-world product performance. I used the same reference materials from my evaluation of the DVD-2900 on my visual tests of the DVD-5900.

The Eric Clapton DVD "One More Car, One More Driver " is an excellent test disc due to its stellar audio and video performance and musical content. The second track " Reptile " had stunning video performance, just like I recalled on the DVD-2900 but with perhaps a bit more sharpness to it.

Before I carefully calibrated the DVD-5900, I felt the colors were washed out and sterile. However, after properly tweaking and referencing the user manual, I obtained a color balance so naturally and realistically conveyed that it really immersed me more into the concert, getting me equally enthralled by the video and audio presentation. Star Trek Nemesis was perhaps not the best test disc due to its meager video transfer, but I just love watching the battle sequences over and over again. The DVD-5900 delivered superb picture dynamics with very good contrast and eye-pleasing color balance, making my experience of viewing these fast motion scenes the most enjoyable. Star Wars Episode II was even more impressive thanks to its inherently better video transfer.

It seemed apparent to me that, just like with the DVD-2900, the better the video source I fed the DVD-5900, the more obvious its rewards were and its ability to shine above merely average players. Let's not jump to conclusions that the differences between the DVD-2900 and DVD-5900 are night and day, because truthfully they are not. It takes a high-resolution display, careful calibration, and a sharp eye to note the visual performance differences. I think we have reached a point with the DVD technology where the hardware has exceeded the limits of MPEG-2 compression. The differences we are paying for, beyond a thousand dollars or so, seem to be for improved audio performance, features, build quality, connectivity, and a slight edge in video quality as evident when comparing the DVD-2900 to the DVD-5900. It is important to note that since my reference display is analog and CRT-based, I was unable to realize the full benefits of the video scalar of the DVD-5900 for direct bit for bit pixel mapping. DLP, Plasma, or LCD owners may find the 1080i upconversion via the DVI interface more beneficial and essential in their set-ups.

DVI vs. Component Video Output

I was hard pressed to declare a winner in my set-up between these choices for a variety of reasons. Firstly as I previously mentioned my display is an analog CRT-based system and cannot fully take advantage of a direct digital to digital transfer without a D/A conversion at the display side. Secondly, it was next to impossible to do a direct on-the-fly comparison between the two, since it involved reconfiguring the player between DVI and Component as well as changing the stored picture settings of my display for proper calibration. Subjectively, however, I had no real preference, as I felt the component output (utilizing the Video DAC of the DVD-5900) revealed a more dynamic and sharper picture, while the DVI output (720p and 1080i) offered a softer, warmer picture. I am reasonably certain that if I had further tweaked my display to be optimized for each mode, the differences may have been less notable to me. I encourage DVD-5900 owners to reserve two or three display settings to be optimized for each of the primary modes they intend to utilize on the player.