Denon DVD-2500BTCI Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Player

• Blade Runner (Five-Disc Complete Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]
• Live In Las Vegas- A New Day..
• Batman Begins [Blu-ray]
• Monster HDMI 1000HD Ultra-High Speed HDMI Cable (2 meters)
• Iron Man (Single-Disc Edition)

I took a big gamble when I bought this product as I would not be using it for at least a year.Also, I live in Singapore.Main reasons for my hurried purchase was a price drop of US$200 from US$999(Vann's at the Marketplace) and that it was a Denon.The novelty of a Dedicated Transport was another attraction.However I was mildly disappointed when I read the words 'MADE IN CHINA' on the side of the carton as I had expected high end Denon products to be made in JAPAN.Soon as I had made the DEAL with Amazon, I learnt that Denon had made available a firmware update for this model.I e-mailed them asking for a firmware update in disc form.All I got was curt reply saying that it is available for download from the internet.Denon should take a cue from either Sony or Toshiba on ways to appease or retain customers.Both these companies offer their firmware updates in disc form.The customer is given the choice.Fact that Sony and Toshiba are Big Companies and that they can afford the extra expense could be Denon's excuse. 3 stars then,for the customer service(or the lack of it) rather than the player itself.

Playback will only play DVD-R not +R. Also has some features I have not tried yet, such as markers.Remote is OK, reasonably well laid out.Negatives:I have not found any negatives on the features I used, but here are a few to keep in mind. Now that the format wars appear over, I wanted to start my Blu-ray collection.Unit performs well. I have not tested this.In both cases, one would expect that a unit listing for $999.00 would have features sold by other for much less. The only method of connecting the device is via the HDMI.

This is fine for me, but not if you plan to hook this to an older AMP. Blu-ray disks are comperable to HD television. I bought this DVD player to replace my Denon 3910. Uses the same remote codes as the older 3910, so I did not need to get my Pronto universal remote re-programmed -- a real advantage. As with most Denon products, they tend to be overpriced, and you must move up the the $1,999 Denon 3800 to get all the ports.

For regular DVD's picture is about the same as the Denon 3910. Not a problem for most people, but keep this in mind should you plan to connect this to an older home theater system.In all, I am happy with this product.