High-end manufacturer Denon has released some impressive pieces of kit in its time. The best player we’ve ever tested, for example, was a Denon – the DVD-A1 UD. But that device, which scored 9.2 out of 10 points, was very (very) expensive. The Panasonic DMP-BD 80 is hot on the Denon’s heels with a score of 9.1 out of 10, and costs about 250 GBP. So what does it cost you to get the Denon’s extra 0.1 points? Four and a half thousand pounds – yes, really.
Sony's PlayStation 3 can do most of what the Denon can – but costs only a small fraction of the price.
So maybe it’s no surprise that Denon’s new S-5BD Blu-ray player/receiver costs 2,000 GBP. Granted, it does just about everything you need in the home cinema: It’s a Blu-ray/DVD player, an AV receiver, and a multimedia player all rolled into one. And we’ll also point out, in fairness, that it’ll probably excel at all of those tasks – Denon doesn’t mess about on quality. But surely there’s an alternative? It can’t be that hard to beat the 2,000 pound price tag.
What about the Panasonic Blu-ray player we mentioned, the DMP-BD 80? This player provides some truly excellent Blu-ray and DVD playback, as well as accepting multimedia files via its USB input and accessing the internet via its Ethernet socket. The catch, of course, is that you’d need a separate AV receiver.
The PlayStation 3 also stands up pretty well in comparison – internet access, top-quality Blu-ray and DVD playback, multimedia support – and it also only costs 250 GBP. But again, you’d need a receiver. Still, if you’re willing to work with two boxes instead of an all-in-one, you’ll easily save yourself a thousand pounds…