I notice in HD even before the the improved

I saw less overall improvement with ‘Hollow Man’ than with all of the previous titles played through the DVD-2930CI. Like I said, I suppose that I was expecting every disc in my collection to be some sort of revelation and in the end this just wasn’t the case or even likely. Hollow Man is by far one of the best DVD transfers I’ve ever seen and about the only thing the DVD-2930CI could add to this already fantastic disc was increased clarity between the foreground and background objects in the film, no small feat but certainly not the ‘oh wow look at that’ factor that other titles had provided.
It seems as if the DVD-2930CI really excels at overcoming many of the flaws of inferior transfers and lets the excellent transfers really shine, in the end can we really ask for more from a DVD player? I wanted to try out one last disc to shore up my opinion on the DVD-2930CI’s image quality and picked iRobot for this task.
Skipping forward to chapter 10 on the factory floor, I noticed a finer gradient of shading in the panels of Bridget Moynahan’s coat and again in the detail department, I noticed the exposed components in the robots with more depth and detail than in previous viewings. To be quite honest, overall I felt iRobot through the DVD-2930CI was nearly as good as the recent airing on HBO-HD, often times I find that color accuracy is the first thing I notice in HD even before the the improved resolution.
Skipping forward to chapter 31 where the police chief unloads his shotgun into a rather perturbed robot was nothing short of jaw dropping and that’s something I haven’t said about DVD in ages. Later as the robots mass in the streets for their takeover, I noticed detail in the background buildings as if it was a first viewing. Overall iRobot on the DVD-2930CI was nearly flawless.
Summary: I’m starting to really get why Denon opted to sit out the format war, they are able to continue to justify the price of premium DVD players, without breaking a sweat over which side to pick. Speaking of the format wars, I’ve decided what would make for the ultimate combo-player, a Denon multi-format player that consists of whichever HD side wins and their own excellent up-scaling DVD playback.
The DVD-2930CI is by far the finest DVD player I’ve ever had the pleasuring of reviewing. But of course that statement must be qualified with, I’ve haven’t had the opportunity to fully review the Denon DVD-5910(CI) or the DVD-2930CI’s big brother the DVD-3930CI, all of which use HQV processing and scaling.
Needless to say the DVD-2930CI is highly recommended and with the right amount of care this player could conceivably carry you through the entire format war and well beyond, without ever skipping a beat. Regardless of your hi-def DVD plans if you own even a moderate DVD collection and are looking for something above the fold in DVD playback, be sure to audition the Denon DVD-2930CI before making your final decision, your eyes will thank me.