Denon does not need any introduction In this part of the world — they are renowned for their efficient and sometimes high priced products. Nonetheless, all their products have always stood up to the critical analysis of the price-to-performance ratio. And what makes their products interesting is that each of their products is inimitable.
First Look
Speak about uniqueness and here is the very first example. The 1740 is obviously bulkier than any other DVD player you will find around and at the same time, it is relatively slimmer than all the other products from Denon. Surprisingly, weight of this is very light. Beyond that, the looks are astonishing as usual. Available in silver and black, the 1740 boasts of the trademark Denon design, wherein the broad front panel houses large and clearly visible circular buttons and a bright display clearly visible from a distance of 10 meters!
Technological aspects
Just as we have seen in all the other DVD players, HD upscaling is the key feature for the 1740 as well. It is capable of upscaling the 480i standard definition signal to 720p, 1080i or 1080p signal. This upscaling feature will really come in very handy for all of you who have already bought a high-def TV but still have not bought a Blu-ray player, while still waiting for the Blu-ray format to get more popular. Until then, you can make do with this upscaling feature, to at least get a feel of the HD world. But how close you get to the HD experience depends on what rests inside the DVD player to deal with all the video content that it gets. For that, the 1740's reinforced, vibration-absorbing chassis contains a 12-bit/108kHz video DAC along with a discrete video circuitry and separate analogue and digital circuit boards to ensure high-quality performance.
For audio, It Incorporates a 24-blt/192kHz Burr Brown audio DAC. While the playable media files Include MP3. WMA and JPEG, the 1740 can also play any type of a DivX video file with plenty of support features like multiple subtitles, chapter points and interactive menus as well.
On the connectivity front, there's an HDMI output on the rear panel, which can also deliver multi¬channel digital audio to an amp. It is next to component video output, an RGB-capable Scart and two digital (coaxial and optical) audio outputs. Though these features seem more than enough, the player misses one of the most important features and that is a USB port (or any other external storage device), which has become almost like an unwritten norm these days.
Friendliness of the remote control
The remote provided with the unit is without a backlight and rather a notch bigger than what you would expect for a DVD player of this size. But nonetheless, the size advantage has allowed Denon to keep sufficient space amidst all the buttons, which unlike most of the other cluttered and jammed remotes is a great sight to see and use as well.
User’s experience of playing Denon 1740
Setup menu that offers a choice of quick and custom menus, wherein the quick menu provides you with a shortlist of the key settings to get the 1740 up and running, while the latter i.e. custom covers all of the available options. With the basics in place, while playing 'THX DVD Essentials' and browsed through a number of test patterns for sharpness, contrast and samples for resolution, the most prominent aspect of the 1740 is its clean and clear picture quality.
In one of the sample scenes on the disc, there is a dimly lit background against a very colorful foreground. It is in these kinds of scenes where many players end up adding a lot of noise to the dimly lit background wall in order to reproduce utmost detail in the shadow areas. But in the case of the 1740, there is no trace of such MPEG block noise even on these dimly lit background walls. This noiseless and exemplary black level performance also helped the player to churn out colors that were vivid and optimally saturated. The player also manages to render sharp images across the DVD amidst all the intricate patterns and textures used for the sets in the movie.
Bottom line
The 1740 is simply remarkable as a DVD player, except for the lack of external storage and also a minor lag on the utility front. Thus, if you are looking for a player primarily for its video quality and don't mind the player being a tad outdated on the technology front, then you can give the 1740 a chance.
Website: http://www.profx.com
