Vindicated -- again

Denon gave a presentation for their new products this past week that Ken and I were able to attend. One of their showcase items was their new DVD player, the DVD2930C. To demonstrate the quality of the signal, they did an A/B comparison. They connected the 2930C and a Blu-ray player to the same receiver, feeding into the same flat-panel display. They then flipped back and forth between the two sources, showing the same scene from the same movie, "The Fifth Element" -- a perennial favorite for video demos.

The challenge for the audience was to determine which was the Blu-ray and which was the DVD. After moving back and forth a few times, most of the A/V professionals in the room could tell the difference.

Denon made their point. With a top-notch DVD player, you can come very, very close to the picture quality and detail of Blu-ray. And they helped make the point we made back in our 9/11/06 post, "'Better' Best Be Better". Pros couldn't immediately spot the difference between high-quality DVD output and Blu-ray. Is it any wonder that the average consumer can't see what all the fuss is about?