Many of us already have DVD players we like. What we don't have is an SACD/DVD-Audio player. All the universal players I know of have DVD-Video included. Forgo the Video electronics and produce a high quality DVD-Audio/SACD/CD player. Perhaps with an upsampling chip for red book CD's.

I don't know how much savings there could be in dropping the DVD-Video portion of such a player, since you still need a video section of some sort to use DVD-Audio discs. That's probably why you don't see any audio-only universal players (plus the fact that the market for universal players gets a lot bigger when it includes a good video section that will let people use one player for video and audio).

There hasn't been much talk about it in a while, but I know that at one time Outlaw was kicking around a design for a universal DVD player. With the recent shift toward entry level (~$100) players and "audiophile) ($1000+) players, the options for players in the $400-$600 range have dwindled significantly in the last year or two, making it that much easier for Outlaw to try to carve out their own niche. It's a very, very complex product to develop, especially for a small operation like Outlaw, but I suspect it's still rattling around in the background somewhere. I'll probably get a Yamaha DVD-S1500 later this spring, but it would definitely be interesting to see what Outlaw could come up with.

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

My Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai has a switch on the front panel to turn off all the video circuits when using it as an audio player only. I understand this universal player is now selling in the $600 - $700 range.

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Tekdredger

My Panasonic RA60 (interlaced only, DVD-Audio support, $180 about two years ago) has the same button; it's fairly typical, and a good way to minimize the circuit activity (and potential noise) in the chassis. It is more or less standard on any DVD-Audio player. But you still need the video circuitry for the discs with menus, if only to get the ball rolling.

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

OK, so you need some sort of video circuit to deliver the DVD-Audio menus to your TV. It certainly wouldn't have to be anything fancy or costly. A simple composite output would probably suffice (including the technology to read the DVD). You certainly wouldn't need on board DD/DTS decoding, Faroudja decoding, component video outputs etc... that many current universal players incorporate. I'm just saying for those who have already made a significant investment in a DVD player we like, manufacturers should forgo the fancy DVD-Video options and upgrade the audio portion of at least one model. Me likes options!!

The reason they give you DD/DTS decoding is for people who buy one of these "high end" universal players and are going to use it as their only DVD player. It becomes annoying to have to use 2 separate inputs on the receiver for 1 dvd player. Not to mention the software on some units will only allow one set of outputs to be on at any given time (either the 6 channel analog or the digital output). This is also a great hassle for then you'd have to go into the DVD player menu and change the output every time you wanted to change from a DVD movie to a DVD-A/SACD. The way they've done things to this point seems only logical to me. Perhaps DVD-A will forgo the menus at which point we can drop the video section altogether.

Gonk,

Is the Yamaha player you've been waiting for in stores yet? If so, have you auditioned/bought one? If so, what is the "street" price of this unit?

I've got a Toshiba sd-5900 (I think - I'm out of town at the moment) but it starts playing the dvd-a tracks of any dvd audio disk I put in immediately... it's also got menu options so that I don't have to switch anything on the player when I switch between movies and dvd-a... I think that player is really cheap now it was around 150$ a year ago

The Yamaha I'm waiting for (S1500) is due out, but I haven't seen any of them in stores yet. It will sell for $400. I'll probably call this afternoon and see if they have an ETA on it.

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

400 clams!! Man, I WISH I had the upgrade cash you have....my wife would go insane