maybe i was unclear, you can get a high quality dvd for a low price and then when hd-dvd comes out and you want to buy one, you havent lost much. THEN that new hd-dvd will last you 5 years. price and longetivity dont go hand in hand.

If the plan is to get a player now that would tide you over for a year or two until you could get an HD-DVD player, that would be good advice. But how many early adopters who bought DVD players in spring or summer of 1997 were still using that same player a year and a half or two years ago? If HD-DVD does launch in 2005, it will be similar to the DVD launch. The first model year of any product like HD-DVD is going to have teething problems that will make an upgrade worthwhile after a couple years, and most of the buyers in that model year are early adopters who are most likely to turn around and upgrade when a newer model fixes those early quirks a year or two down the road.

How about this advice for someone whose budget allows for a player in the $1000 range? Shop around, demo some players (as Oil Can wisely suggested earlier), and include a few less expensive models in your search (like Denon's 2200, Pioneer's 563, or Yamaha's S1500 whenever it shows up). If a universal player isn't necessary, there are also a number of good progressive scan players in the $500. If you think you'll want to upgrade to HD-DVD early, then it may make sense to seriously consider the less expensive ones and set some of that budget aside as seed for a future HD-DVD upgrade. If you think you'll wait for HD-DVD to get on its feet a bit and for the library of movies to start to grow, then decide which player would make you, your listening/viewing preferences, and your pocketbook happiest today. Maybe it'll end up being the 2900 for $1000, or the Denon 910 (without DVD-A or SACD) for $300, or maybe it'll be the Pioneer 563 for $180.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Is testing the new Yamaha DVD-S1500 still in the cards for you this spring, Gonk?

Gonk,

If/when you do this checkout, please let me know. I'm currently running a JVC XV-SA75 for DVD-Audio and a Sony SCD-CE775 for SACD in my listening system. The JVC is having problems with more and more DVD's lately. I'm seriously considering a new combined unit to replace these two.

Also, while I have your attention ... did you ever get the two email replies I've sent you over the past couple of months?

Later,

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pat----

email: pat@sklenar.info ---===--- home page: Grumpy's Lair

RE: the Yamaha S1500 -- Still planning to check it out when the local shop gets some in. I'm giving them until the first or second week of April before I quiz them about it again, since I've only recently started seeing signs of S1500's listed at some online retailers (J&R World now has them in their system, but only for in-store pickup).

Pat -- Just checked my old mail, and I have one from January and one from early March. Sorry about being a bit quiet on the e-mail side, but with the last big deadline at work arriving this Friday evening there's hope that I can stop and catch my breath soon.

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gonk -- 950 Review | LFM-1 Review | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | Saloon Links