The Denon DVD-3800BD Review Thread

[RUR]

Originally Posted by Demon L1ama

Hey there,
I have been debating to buy this beautiful machine for a month now, right now there is only one reason im holding off. The firmware. I have noticed that the specs for this unit do not include wireless access, and there is no ethernet connection... So will someone please tell me how its possible to update the firmware on this player. I really dont want to drop 2 grand on something that will be useless next year.

Please help!

The short answer is that we don't know - yet. Denon has promised an update to fix some issues and it's notionally due this week. One of the mods @ AVS was told by his contact that the update would be via RS232, but a member was advised by a senior CS rep to send his unit to NJ. Wait a few days and we should know which it is.

Yes, it is a beautiful machine.

[Demon L1ama]

Originally Posted by RUR

The short answer is that we don't know - yet. Denon has promised an update to fix some issues and it's notionally due this week. One of the mods @ AVS was told by his contact that the update would be via RS232, but a member was advised by a senior CS rep to send his unit to NJ. Wait a few days and we should know which it is.

Yes, it is a beautiful machine.

Thanks very much.. one more thing, I know we dont know yet, but could you speculate that to update you would download the patch then burn to a dvd or cd and install that way?

thanks again

[RUR]

Originally Posted by Demon L1ama

Thanks very much.. one more thing, I know we dont know yet, but could you speculate that to update you would download the patch then burn to a dvd or cd and install that way?

thanks again

Actually, it appears as though we'll need to connect the 3800 to a PC via the RS232 on the back of the player to install the update (assuming that this is the correct info from Denon).

[dave_con]

Originally Posted by Demon L1ama

Thanks very much.. one more thing, I know we dont know yet, but could you speculate that to update you would download the patch then burn to a dvd or cd and install that way?

thanks again

If you take a look at the 3800BD owners thread on AVSForum, it looks like a few people over there have been (or have been told to) update their firmware via a CD.

However I do have to admit that I read those posts kind of early on in the thread, and then I skipped 30 pages or so - ie it's possible that in those 30 pages someone reported a problem updating firmware via CD.

[RUR]

Originally Posted by dave_con

If you take a look at the 3800BD owners thread on AVSForum, it looks like a few people over there have been (or have been told to) update their firmware via a CD.

However I do have to admit that I read those posts kind of early on in the thread, and then I skipped 30 pages or so - ie it's possible that in those 30 pages someone reported a problem updating firmware via CD.

Welcome to the forum!

The most recent pages of that thread are those containing the discussion in my post above. No one from Denon has recently said anything about a CD update, nor have any owners done so since there have been no updates provided - yet! One Denon source indicates PC via RS232, the other "send in your player". Which is correct or are both in error? We should know in a few days.

[jsteinhauer]

It's also quite possible that the issues addressed by the firmware are not problems that will affect you and your unique combination of hardware. For now, I can work around the LFE issue with no adverse affects, and the 1080p/24 problem only affects some displays/projectors, as reported by owner at AVS forum. I won't be updating my firmware, unless there is something there that makes a difference to me. So far, I can't see that to be the case.

[MacDaddyOJack]

So you guys are satisfied with paying $2K for a machine that is difficult to upgrade and has known LFE issues? I understand that these things can be fixed and are not new to Bluray, but I would expect a little better for $2K...

[Hawk]

Originally Posted by MacDaddyOJack

So you guys are satisfied with paying $2K for a machine that is difficult to upgrade and has known LFE issues? I understand that these things can be fixed and are not new to Bluray, but I would expect a little better for $2K...

That has always been the problem with buying the high end of rapidly changing technology. I loved my Panny compared to having the Sammy 1200 (garbage). But moving up to the Denon over the Panny has been like going from a nice Acura to a Mercedes S-Class. The unit weighs 24lbs.(built like a tank) and the video processor is noticeably better. It also has a much quicker response time for forward and reverse scans. Are those and other elements worth the extra $$$? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[Demon L1ama]

Originally Posted by MacDaddyOJack

So you guys are satisfied with paying $2K for a machine that is difficult to upgrade and has known LFE issues? I understand that these things can be fixed and are not new to Bluray, but I would expect a little better for $2K...

I have had no problems with the Denon, no lfe problems... and not to say that its difficult upgrading, I just wanted to know how just incase I would need to, but as of right now, I dont need any firmware updates. Too bad the same cant be said for players like the ps3 which seems to need an update every month or so.