Integra DBS-30.1 Blu-Ray player

[chessman]

Congrats, Pete. I love it when a plan comes together.

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by chessman

Congrats, Pete. I love it when a plan comes together.

Thanks Randy...me too!

Pete

[jdandy]

Pete.......Blu-ray movies can turn a person into a couch potato quick.

[Audio 1]

Pete,

Congratulations on the purchase! It is amazing how much performance one can get from a relatively inexpensive Blu-Ray player vs. other gear. No more harassment for not having a Blu-Ray machine!

Buddy

[tigerhonaker]

Originally Posted by Vintage Pete

I picked up my Integra DBS-30.1 Blu-Ray player today. Although I have a good amount of watching and listening to do yet, I'll post my initial impressions. Right off the bat, I'm quite impressed with the player and its capabilities. While the machine isn't in the build quality league with the "heavyweights", its operation is smooth, it performs very well, and melds nicely into my system. I've connected it to my Sony KDS-50A2000 TV via the Wireworld Ultraviolet 5-meter HDMI cable that I got with the machine. I've also connected the analog output jacks to the CD2 input jacks on my McIntosh C40 Control center via a pretty decent cable that I've had laying around that I wasn't using. Setup was very simple, with the only thing needing to be set was the resolution, which needed to be set on "Auto", rather that the apparent default setting of 1080i. Now the Blu-Ray discs, as well as the upconverted standard DVD's play in 1080P. I picked up a couple of Blu-Ray titles to start with with-the store I stopped at didn't have a huge selection, but I picked up 2001: A space Odyssey, and The Lake House. I'll likely pick up some more titles tomorrow. I was thinking that I won't replace my standard DVD's with Blu-Ray, but will likely buy Blu-Ray for new additions, whenever possible. However, after watching the Blu-Ray discs, I can see one getting spoiled real quick!

What do I think of the Blu-Ray performance? What can I say...phenomenal. The clarity, color brilliance and detail are amazing. I see color nuances in 2001 that I'd never noticed before. On a similar note, the audio performance of the machine is excellent, again I notice little nuances in the audio track that I don't recall picking up when watching the DVD version on my McIntosh MVP-841. Upconverted DVD's, from what I've seen so far, are improved noticeably, but I think I'd have to say that the Blu-Ray discs are still better (as they should be). The load times are about 12-13 seconds for a standard DVD, with a longer load time, (and seemingly wider spread) on Blu-Ray, on one disc it was about 32 seconds, on another it was about 25 seconds.

On the audio side, once again the performance is excellent. The Audio DACs are 192Khz/24-Bit, though I don't know (as yet) who makes them. At any rate, the sound is superb. With the volume levels carefully matched, I cannot tel the difference when I A/B between the audio signal passed though the TV and on to my system, and the analog signal fed to my C40's CD2 jacks. With music CD's, with the very little time I've spent as yet listening to them, I'm impressed. I don't know that I'd be prepared to say that it trumps my McIntosh MCD7009, but it is very good. I have much more listening to do. SACD is not an issue for me, so the fact that the Integra player doesn't support this format does not bother me at all.

All in all, I'm quite pleased with the Integra DBS-30.1, and I think it will meet my needs for a good while very nicely. And the deal I got makes it that much nicer.

I've attached a few photos-the Integra player is residing at the top of the left hand stack, atop the JVC Digital VHS recorder. (The photo that shows the TV is in no way intended to represent picture quality...)

I'll post some more impressions as I get a few more hours of playing time in. But I'll say right off, Blu-Ray is definitely the way to go!


Pete

Pete,

Are you still impressed with the Integra DBS 30.1 player ?

Do you know if that is the highest end Blu-Ray player Integra has out still ?

Terry

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by tigerhonaker

Pete,

Are you still impressed with the Integra DBS 30.1 player ?

Do you know if that is the highest end Blu-Ray player Integra has out still ?

Terry

Hi Terry,

I am still quite pleased with the performance of my DBS-30.1 BR player; it has had very few issues and its picture and audio quality is still quite good. I have experienced some momentary freezeups on one or two discs in the nearly two years I have had the player, in at least a couple of the cases I did find oily prints on the disc that could account for the problem. Upon cleaning and re-playing these discs the problem seemed to be cured.

Integra has introduced a few new BR players since I purchased mine-a DBS-30.2, a DBS-30.3, and a model DBS-50.3, which is said to be the current flagship player. This one retails at $700, looks pretty nice and is larger and perhaps more robust than my DBS-30.1.

Products



The only real nit I might pick with the 30.1 is Integra apparently has offered no firmware updates for the unit, while they have offered updates for the more recent models. I believe the DBS-30.1 is now a discontinued model.

I still would not hesitate to recommend the DBS-30.1, you can likely find one of these today for considerably less than the $500 it retailed for at the time I purchased mine.

I hope this is of some help....


Pete

[tigerhonaker]

Originally Posted by Vintage Pete

Hi Terry,

I am still quite pleased with the performance of my DBS-30.1 BR player; it has had very few issues and its picture and audio quality is still quite good. I have experienced some momentary freeze-ups on one or two discs in the nearly two years I have had the player, in at least a couple of the cases I did find oily prints on the disc that could account for the problem. Upon cleaning and re-playing these discs the problem seemed to be cured.

Integra has introduced a few new BR players since I purchased mine-a DBS-30.2, a DBS-30.3, and a model DBS-50.3, which is said to be the current flagship player. This one retails at $700, looks pretty nice and is larger and perhaps more robust than my DBS-30.1.

Products



The only real nit I might pick with the 30.1 is Integra apparently has offered no firmware updates for the unit, while they have offered updates for the more recent models. I believe the DBS-30.1 is now a discontinued model.

I still would not hesitate to recommend the DBS-30.1, you can likely find one of these today for considerably less than the $500 it retailed for at the time I purchased mine.

I hope this is of some help....


Pete

Hi Pete,

I am now waiting for a return call from my A/V Dealer regarding this.

What I am wishing to do is get him to up-grade me from the current order on the Sony BDPS-780 to the Integra DBS-50.3 unit.
Nothing has been delivered as yet so I think this will not be a concern.
I have found that when you are willing to Spend more dollars to up-grade that 99% of the time that will work.

What changed my mind was I very recently up-graded my Integra Research RDC-7 to the New Integra DHC-80.3.
So I want to have both the Pre-Amp Processor and the Blu-Ray player from the same manufacturer.

I've had my Integra Processor and DVD Player for over 8 yrs. with zero problems.

So I am going to stick with them for the up-grades.

Thanks for the super quick reply.

Terry

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by tigerhonaker

Hi Pete,

I am now waiting for a return call from my A/V Dealer regarding this.

What I am wishing to do is get him to up-grade me from the current order on the Sony BDPS-780 to the Integra DBS-50.3 unit.
Nothing has been delivered as yet so I think this will not be a concern.
I have found that when you are willing to Spend more dollars to up-grade that 99% of the time will work.

What changed my mind was I very recently up-graded my Integra Research RDC-7 to the New Integra DHC-80.3.
So I want to have both the Pre-Amp Processor and the Blu-Ray player from the same manufacturer.

I've had my Integra Processor and DVD Player for over 8 yrs. with zero problems.

So I am going to stick with them for the up-grades.

Thanks for the super quick reply.

Terry

Terry....I agree with your thinking. Of course with many of my primary components being McIntosh, buying a BR player from that manufacturer was out of the question. We each have particualr goals in mind, in my case I got a package deal from my local dealer for this unit, as well as another, and with a nice wireworld HDMI cable also thrown in to boot. I had a target budget to replace one unit and pick up a BR player as well. Many users here recommend the Oppo players, and I am sure with good reason, but that wasn't in the cards for me with all things considered since you can't just run down to a local dealer and buy one of these units (unfortunately).

I think your plan sounds like a good one, and I think if I were in your shoes I would be thinking along the same lines. The Integra DBS-50.3 looks like a very nice unit, and I've no doubt it will be a fine and reliable performer.

Good luck, I hope your plan works out for you!


Pete

[tigerhonaker]

Originally Posted by Vintage Pete

Terry....I agree with your thinking. Of course with many of my primary components being McIntosh, buying a BR player from that manufacturer was out of the question. We each have particualr goals in mind, in my case I got a package deal from my local dealer for this unit, as well as another, and with a nice wireworld HDMI cable also thrown in to boot. I had a target budget to replace one unit and pick up a BR player as well. Many users here recommend the Oppo players, and I am sure with good reason, but that wasn't in the cards for me with all things considered since you can't just run down to a local dealer and buy one of these units (unfortunately).

I think your plan sounds like a good one, and I think if I were in your shoes I would be thinking along the same lines. The Integra DBS-50.3 looks like a very nice unit, and I've no doubt it will be a fine and reliable performer.

Good luck, I hope your plan works out for you!


Pete

Pete,

This is what I read before making my decision on the DBS-50.3 unit.
I do research things to death.




Integra DBS-50.3 Blu-ray Disc Player THX certified - Elegant, "Top of the Line" and still a great Value!

This is an amazing Blu-ray disc player.
It’s no surprise to us that it earned a coveted THX certification.
When connected to a state-of-the-art HD display,
the picture is phenomenal and the sound quality as good as anything else we’ve ever heard.





Feature highlights

• Upscales standard-definition DVDs to 1080p (1080i, 720p, and 480p) to provide the best possible picture quality
• Includes Dolby® TrueHD and Dolby® Digital Plus decoding for the latest and best in surround sound
• Video-on-demand capability (Netflix, CinemaNOW, and Blockbuster on Demand)
• High-grade build quality with a rigid chassis and double layer top cover

I'll let you know how this works out.
Thanks again,
Terry

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by tigerhonaker

Pete,

This is what I read before making my decision on the DBS-50.3 unit.
I do research things to death.




Integra DBS-50.3 Blu-ray Disc Player THX certified - Elegant, "Top of the Line" and still a great Value!

This is an amazing Blu-ray disc player.
It’s no surprise to us that it earned a coveted THX certification.
When connected to a state-of-the-art HD display,
the picture is phenomenal and the sound quality as good as anything else we’ve ever heard.





Feature highlights

• Upscales standard-definition DVDs to 1080p (1080i, 720p, and 480p) to provide the best possible picture quality
• Includes Dolby® TrueHD and Dolby® Digital Plus decoding for the latest and best in surround sound
• Video-on-demand capability (Netflix, CinemaNOW, and Blockbuster on Demand)
• High-grade build quality with a rigid chassis and double layer top cover

I'll let you know how this works out.
Thanks again,
Terry

Very good Terry....the DBS-50.3 sounds like a winner. I'll look forward to hearing back from you with your impressions. Good luck!

Pete