IFA 2006: Denon shun Blu-ray and HD-DVD with two new DVD players

Company Claim DVD format still better

3 September 2006 14:44 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Denon has launched two new DVD players at IFA 2006 in Germany this year that promise to upscale your current DVD collection to a quality equal or better than the next generation Blu-ray or HD-DVD efforts.

Keen to stay out of the format war that is currently being battled out by Toshiba and Sony, Denon has instead said it would concentrate on honing current DVD technology as far as it could before looking at adopting a next generation format later next year.

The new players, the DVD-2930 and the DVD-3930, both use technology first used in CRUISE mission guidance systems to improve the image quality before up-scaling it for use with LCD and plasma televisions or projectors that support HD.

"In tests, we've found the experience of playing The Fifth Element on our systems considerably better than on the new blu-ray format", a spokesman for the company told Pocket-lint at IFA 2006 in Germany.

The new players will cost £650 and £1100 respectively and both be available in September.

In related news, the company has also announced the launch of an entry level DVD player; the DVD-1730. Costing £150 the player will 702p or 1080i HD upscaling along with DivX playback. The new player will be available in either black or silver.