Marantz DV7100 DVD Player
September 2001
Makes DVDs Behave Like They Should
by Grant Clauser
DVD players are performing all sorts of tricks these days. Some play video games, some connect to the Internet, many play MP3 files and a growing number are compatible with the new multi-channel music formats, DVD-A and SACD. What some of those new tricky DVD players seem to have forgotten, however, is that they are first meant to be video players before anything else.
Marantz has not forgotten that DVD is about picture. You can see that especially in the DV7100 player. Though known for years as a high-end audio manufacturer, Marantz offers an impressive assortment of digital video products including HDTVs and plasma displays.
The DV7100 player is a progressive scan player. When connected to the digital component inputs of an HDTV or HD-ready set, the player produces a progressive image. The picture from a standard interlaced DVD player on a standard TV displays the disc's 480 lines of resolution half at a time on the screen. A progressive scan player and capable TV displays all the picture resolution in one sweep, rather than interlacing two fields to create a picture frame. The result is a cleaner, smoother picture.
This particular player is attractive and sturdy-looking. Marantz placed the disc door off to the side rather than in the middle as most other players do. The front buttons and displays are sufficient for daily use but not cluttered or distracting.
Setting up the DV7100 took about two minutes. First, I connected the component outputs to the high pass component inputs on the TV, a 38-inch RCA HDTV. In order to use the component outputs you first have to flip a switch on the back of the player from S-Video to component. For this reason, you can't run the video to a second TV through the S-Video while using the component outputs—a minor, but unfortunate hang-up if you hoped to use the component outputs for your main TV then run a long S-Video cable to a TV in another part of the house. It won't work.
Audio jacks include one each optical and digital coaxial for Dolby Digital or DTS. There are also two sets of stereo outputs. I opted to use the digital coaxial output.
The remote is smaller than I'd come to expect on more advanced DVD players such as this one, but its champagne finish and smooth angles made it look attractive and comfortable. There is an abundance of very small buttons on this remote, but they're differentiated by size and color and are mostly easy to find. My one hang-up with the remote was that the enter button, the one you'll use the most to get around disc menus, was not centered in the four navigation buttons. Rather it was off to the side where you wouldn't expect it. There's a handy dimmer button to dim the front panel display lights in case they're too bright for your tastes or your viewing room.
by Grant Clauser
DVD players are performing all sorts of tricks these days. Some play video games, some connect to the Internet, many play MP3 files and a growing number are compatible with the new multi-channel music formats, DVD-A and SACD. What some of those new tricky DVD players seem to have forgotten, however, is that they are first meant to be video players before anything else.
Marantz has not forgotten that DVD is about picture. You can see that especially in the DV7100 player. Though known for years as a high-end audio manufacturer, Marantz offers an impressive assortment of digital video products including HDTVs and plasma displays.
The DV7100 player is a progressive scan player. When connected to the digital component inputs of an HDTV or HD-ready set, the player produces a progressive image. The picture from a standard interlaced DVD player on a standard TV displays the disc's 480 lines of resolution half at a time on the screen. A progressive scan player and capable TV displays all the picture resolution in one sweep, rather than interlacing two fields to create a picture frame. The result is a cleaner, smoother picture.
This particular player is attractive and sturdy-looking. Marantz placed the disc door off to the side rather than in the middle as most other players do. The front buttons and displays are sufficient for daily use but not cluttered or distracting.
Setting up the DV7100 took about two minutes. First, I connected the component outputs to the high pass component inputs on the TV, a 38-inch RCA HDTV. In order to use the component outputs you first have to flip a switch on the back of the player from S-Video to component. For this reason, you can't run the video to a second TV through the S-Video while using the component outputs—a minor, but unfortunate hang-up if you hoped to use the component outputs for your main TV then run a long S-Video cable to a TV in another part of the house. It won't work.
Audio jacks include one each optical and digital coaxial for Dolby Digital or DTS. There are also two sets of stereo outputs. I opted to use the digital coaxial output.
The remote is smaller than I'd come to expect on more advanced DVD players such as this one, but its champagne finish and smooth angles made it look attractive and comfortable. There is an abundance of very small buttons on this remote, but they're differentiated by size and color and are mostly easy to find. My one hang-up with the remote was that the enter button, the one you'll use the most to get around disc menus, was not centered in the four navigation buttons. Rather it was off to the side where you wouldn't expect it. There's a handy dimmer button to dim the front panel display lights in case they're too bright for your tastes or your viewing room.
