When we went to a briefing on Denon's 2010/2011 Blu-ray Players earlier this year, we were impressed by the feature set and the price points of their upcoming "universal disc players." The DBP-1611UD ($399) and DBP-2011UDCI ($799) Blu-ray players are called "universal" because they play virtually any silver disc under the sun: CD, DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D*, DVD-Audio and SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc). We were a little disappointed to hear that the players had been delayed, but our Denon contacts assure us that the players are coming very soon, with the DBP-1611 scheduled to ship in December and the DBP-2011 scheduled to ship in January, 2011. Better still, both players are already available for pre-order on Amazon.com:
Those who order now will be assured of being the first on their block to take these feature-rich bad boys home.
So why do we care? Well, until now, the selection of universal players - players that can play DVD-Audio and SACD Discs, in addition to standard CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs, has been rather sparse. The highly rated OPPO players are pretty much the only affordable game in town. But when you throw in the fact that the Denon players will be support Blu-ray 3D Disc playback, you just might have the "holy grail" of Blu-ray players for those who want the most compatible, most future-proof, most feature-rich hardware.
For those who have a modern HDMI-based home theater system with high quality video upconversion and 3D passthrough on their receiver, the DBP-1611UD (aka DBP-1611) appears to be the logical choice. It offers a "Pure Direct" mode in case you want to bypass its internal video upconversion to use your display or an external video processor instead. It, along with the DBP-2011, will be Denon's first players to support internet video streaming in the form of Netflix and YouTube, as well as DLNA 1.5 compatibility for playback of audio, video and photo content from other connect DLNA-compliant devices in your home network. According to Denon, more streaming services may be added before or after the player ships.
For those who want even higher performance and control-system compatibility, the DBP-2011UDCI (aka DBP-2011 - for "Custom Install") is the preferred choice. Featuring RS-232C jack for automation system compatibility, and an on-board Anchor Bay Technology video processor, as well as multi-channel analog outputs, the DBP-2011 is geared for high performance and maximum flexibility.
Of course, both players are fully BonusView and BD-Live-capable with the necessary 1 GB of on-board storage. Additional storage can be connected via USB as needed. And this USB port can also be used to play DivX HD+, MP3, JPG and WMA files as well.
UPDATE (10/29): Per a follow-up conversation with Denon, the DBP-2011UDCI is most likely going to be renamed to the DBP-2012UDCI to note the model year of its expected replacement model. Also, with the DBP-2012UDCI being introduced after January 1, 2011, it is likely that it will need to comply with the AACS "Analog Sunset" rule which requires that component video outputs be limited to 480i (standard definition) resolution. Assuming this is the case, then owners who want to enjoy DVD and Blu-ray playback at 720p, 1080i or 1080p HD resolutions will need to use the HDMI output.
Pre-order now from Amazon.com:
More information:
*Note: Blu-ray 3D playback may require a firmware upgrade after purchase
