Yamaha DVD-S2500 Universal Player

Yamaha previewed their new flagship universal DVD player at CEDIA this year wth HDMI and IEEE 1394. When Yamaha came out with the RX-Z9 we questioned when they would release a new player to connect digitally to the unit. The answer, apparently is still a little uncertain as a shipping date has not yet been announced but is tentatively assessed at January 2005. The unit has an MSRP of just $749 (that's $250 less than the DVD-S2300 MKII which it replaces) and has the following notable features:

• i.Link digital connection for DVD-Audio, Linear PCM, SACD
• Video Off Mode, which allows the user to turn off video circuitry that may interfere with these enhanced audio formats.
• New high-performance video DAC (216MHz/12-bit)
• HDMI, which is capable of 480p, 576p, 720p, and 1080i digital video up-conversion.
• NTSC/PAL progressive scan with DCDi™ processing by Faroudja
• Supports: SACD, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, CD, CD-R/RW, picture CDs, MP3 files and JPEG files.
• SA-CD and DVD-Audio circuits are completely independent and optimized for each format,
• Independent digital and analog power circuits and transformers.
• RS-232C port for advanced custom installation capability.

This player is at an attractive price point and it looks as if Yamaha is aware of their market competition in positioning this product competitively. We'll follow up on this unit as it matures and during CES 2005 we can certainly bring you up to date on its final features and specs.