Denon DBP-1611UD

The race for 3D supremacy has taken off in earnest this year. Denon is usually slow in releasing products with the latest technologies for the sake of quality. But they have been jolted by the speed at which the 3D game is played and have announced two 3D ready blu-ray players to be launched in the middle and 3rd quarter of the year. Just like previous top models from Denon, these are universal players – meaning they will play all known disc formats. Full 3D playback will only be available via a firmware upgrade later in the year.

Denon’s products have always been priced at a premium. But they have also realized that to compete the pricing needs to be more aligned to the competition. The entry level model Denon DBP-1611UD is priced at just $399, which is the lowest priced player in their catalog right now.

Denon DBP-1611UD Universal Blu-ray Player

Design

It shares the same chassis as the Denon DBP-2010CI. The power button is on the left and the rest of the buttons on the opposite end including the standard playback buttons. There is USB connector for additional external memory for media and BD-Live content.

The disc tray is in the center under the info display. The center-mounted advanced drive mechanism features a low center of gravity for optimum stability, and the chassis features multi-layer construction for rigidity and freedom from vibration-induced distortion.

Features

In addition to being a 3D player the DBP-1611UD plays all 5″ disc formats – BD, DVD, CD, DVD-Audio and SACD. Denon has always been a leader in producing good sounding equipment and their continued dedication to supporting high resolution audio formats like DVD-Audio and SACD is highly commendable. Although DVD-Audio discs are becoming extinct, multi channel SACDs are still widely available especially in the classical genre. And the beauty of this Denon player is that it will output the full multi-channel SACD bitstream through its HDMI output thus ensuring playback of your high resolution audio discs in its native form.

It supports BD-Live, and Netflix and YouTube streaming. It is DLNA certified which makes it possible for you to stream audio/video/photo files from other DLNA certified devices on your network. To support the 3D standard the DBP-1611UD will come with the new HDMI v1.4a output.

In addition to the many interactivity features, including built-in BD Live and “Bonus View” functionality, it also has 1GB of on-board memory for BD-Live playback. A USB port is included on its front panel for additional external memory for media and BD-Live content. Features such as Kodak Picture CD compatibility, as well as DivX HD+, MP3 and WMA playback (via either recordable DVD/CD or external memory) are added so as to enhance your home entertainment experience. 36-Bit Deep Color support is also included although no blu-ray discs are currently encoded with it.

However it does not have multi channel analog outputs, which is something you do not need if you have a HDMI equipped receiver. You have to get the step-up model DBP-2011UDCI for these.

Bottom Line

Denon definitely have the class leading Oppo BDP-83 in its sights when designing this player. Although it lacks the Anchor Bay video processing chip that the Oppo has, the DBP-1611UD pushed the envelope further by adding 3D capability and content streaming features at $100 less. So it sits nicely in a price bracket that is considered affordable yet offering future proof features along with Denon’s reputation for quality.

This item has not been released yet. We will follow up with a full review as soon as it is available.

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