Denon DVD 1730 DVD player with HDMI Review
| Design |
| When you’ve got your silver Panasonic Plasma sitting in your living-room, you’ll want a nice matching silver DVD player to coordinate. And then you can go for the black version to look good next to a Samsung R series LCD, it’s what we call in the trade a versatile little number. The Denon DVD 1730 is a good looking machine for an entry-level DVD player. Measuring 435 x 310 x 75 mm and weighing 2.3 kg you can tell without even touching it that this is a slim machine but you can tell that this is a robust piece of equipment that isn’t going to break easily because of the superior build quality. Set at the front of the machine are the funky round buttons that allow you to operate the machine as well as a slightly larger On/Off switch and a long black display panel to tell give you information on what you’re playing. At the top half of the front you’ll find the tray to put your DVDs on. And nicely tucked away at the back are all the cable connects you’re likely to need. And believe us there’s plenty of them. The Denon DVD 1730 comes with only a black remote control which we thought was a bit of a let down, yes it will look good with the piano black Samsung LCD but couldn’t it have been silver? The functions are also a bit basic and primitive. There’s everything you need but the design is a bit of a let down, particularly after the actual HDMI DVD player looks the business for such a cheap price. |
| Setup/Installation |
| It doesn’t take very long to set up. Get the plugs in depending on whether you’ve got a HD TV or a convention TV will determine which cable you use – and then it’s a case of putting the DVD in and taking it from there. |
| Features |
| It’s a DVD player so there’s not a whole bucket full of features, but we’d say the best thing about the Denon DVD player is the fact you can upscale standard definition DVDs to 720p and 1080i standards, which is just brilliant because it gives you something that is really close to what could be classed as high definition. Being a modern kind of Denon DVD player the Denon 1730 is compatible with a variety of formats from music such as MP3, WMA, to pictures with JPEG, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, and DVD-RW and it’s even compatible with DivX which means you can you can put the full movie on one disc and not have to worry about missing the end off. Connectivity wise, there’s obviously the HDMI input but also a composite output, s-video output, a RGB scart which will be handy for those who haven’t got high-definition TV yet, a component as well as stereo audio, optical audio and coaxial audio. Unfortunately the Denon DVD 1730 doesn’t have DVI or firewire but we won’t hold that against it. There’s not many settings but the menu can be accessed on-screen using the various icon based options provided. |
| Performance |
| Using the DVD 1730 is really very easy – providing you follow the on-screen icons. Upscaling to 720p and 1080i provide a startlingly good image with clarity of image and enhanced colour compared to conventional analogue images. What’s really amazing is the black levels which really do give you the felling you’ve plugged in the Sky HD box to your HD TV because of its enhanced contrast and three dimensional image – completely transforming the quality of your film experience. Background noise was of a minimum as was distortion, and even when watching fast-moving movies the DVD player didn’t seem to run out of breath. For those of you who haven’t yet gone out and bought your HD LCD yet don’t worry this is still a good DVD player for you to buy because the Denon DVD 1730 works just as well when plugged in to the Scart socket – obviously the colour intensity won’t be of the same caliber but the progressive scan video produces smoother pictures with detail and until you can buy that high definition wonder it will do well for you and means you don’t have to upgrade at a later date. |
| What's In The Box? |
| Denon DVD 1730 DVD player, remote control |
| Overall Opinion |
| We love a bargain at Unbeatable and this silver goddess really is that. To think for less £150 you can get a DVD player that upscales to HD is really good. If you haven’t got HD TV yet you might want to hang on for a while but the way we see it is if you’re going to buy a DVD player you might as well go and get this and it will save you any future hassle – after ll, it’s not often you find a nice looking, well performing, cheap DVD player, now is it? |
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Pros + Upscaling possible + Plays lots of formats + Looks good + Cheap |
Cons - Doesn't have DVI |
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Overall Rating 
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By Babita Wakelin
19/9/2006 at 3:44:24pm
19/9/2006 at 3:44:24pm
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