Price Paid:  $598.00 from good guys

Summary:
too many technical problems. can't recommend this player. has been at the tech. center at least 5 times. billed as a universal player however it has great difficulty reading some formats such as dvd-r and sacd. Hope yamaha has worked out the bugs with the dvd-s2700

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Crutchfield

Summary:
I bought this to replace a failing Sony DVD/SACD player. For the price, it appeared to have an excellent feature set. It did not disappoint. The upconverted 1080i picture via HDMI is outstanding. When you switch back and forth between 480p component and HDMI 1080i, the difference is quite striking. The layer changes are smooth and for the most part barely noticeable. The audio quality is equally great. I also use this to unit play SACD through the 5.1 analog output, and the clarity, range, and dynamics are spectacular. You have the option to switch off the video circuitry for optimal audio playback. It also provides bass management which is lacking in a large number of SACD / DVD-A capable players. My biggest gripe is the remote, which is not backlit, looks, and feels cheap. It does not feature a screensaver after a pause period, and all it does after a while is switch to the welcome screen and reset to the beginning of the disc. If you stop playback and turn the unit off, it has no memory of your playback location and resets to the beginning. Even $60 players have this trivial feature. If you use HDMI for output and switch it through a receiver, if you switch sources during playback or during a pause, it stops playback and resets to the beginning of the disc. This problem does not seem to exist if you're using the component video output. I consider these to be more nuisances than flaws.

Strengths:
Build quality, SACD audio and upconverted DVD playback quality and bass management for SACD/DVD-A.

Weaknesses:
Horrible remote (no eject button, btw), HDMI source changes on switch and/or AV receiver stops & resets playback, no "memory" of playback location if you stop playback and set it to stand-by, no screen saver and the only time display option is counting up total playback time.

Similar Products Used:
Sony DVP-NS900V

Price Paid:  $550.00

Summary:
Sad day to say the least. Yamaha still makes some fine products for a mid fi company even for being built in china, however the DVD S2500 does not fall into the good products still manufactured. I have owned three of them in the past 6 months and they all have fail one after the other. I thought maby a spike in my ac line but that has not proven to be the case. One of these units new out of the box would not even turn on and the one prior to it just decided to not play any more and refused to give me back the DVD I was veiwing prior to its death! and its replacment bit the dust the other eveinig when the video signal all the sudden started tripping vertical lines and never came back to life. This unit reminds me of the CD player builkt by harman kardon the FL8550 the CD player that had a life of about 3 weeks. I still like Yamaha products, however the line of DVD players produced by them leaves much to be desired. B M W nice to look at and if it plays thats a plus but like the old BMW in the shop more then your system. As for picture quality it was good but they all produced a fine red line across the top of the screen. Personaly and professionally I could not reccomend this unit and the DVD-S1500 was even worse if that is possible.

Strengths:
Nice build heave chassis

Weaknesses:
They are in the shop more then your system I cant even give this unit one star but you have to choose something

Similar Products Used:
PARASOUND D 200 NOT MUCH BETTER!

Price Paid:  $700.00 from Audio Den, Lake Grov

Summary:
First unit received, was returned within 4 months due to erratic behavior in operation and audio re-production. The new replacement unit has been working just fine. Both the audio and the video are nothing short of spectacular. The audio for all formats including sacd and dvd-a are output through firewire IEEE 1394 and produces sound that is crystal clear, and loaded with depth and detail. The video is output through HDMI, and is absolutely stunning. Operation of the unit to detect formats is very slow and the functionality of the remote leaves litle to be desired. For a flagship player, the remote should have incorporated and jog/dial for smooth scan forward and reverse function, and should have been backlit. Aside from those quirks,
this unit shines during audio and video playback. You must audition it for yourself. For about 1/2 the price of the Denon DVD-3910, its well worth the asking price.

Strengths:
Outstanding Audio and Video reproduction.
HDMI and IEEE 1394 firewire output.
SACD/DVD-A is output via firewire as well as 6 discrete RCA analog outputs.
Rear Panel Switch for Interlace/Progressive Scan.
Easy Menu Navigation

Weaknesses:
Slow to detect all formats
Remote control functionality/Not backlit.

Similar Products Used:
Sansung HD-841 DVD/SACD/DVA-A Player.

Price Paid:  $699.00 from tweeter

Summary:
Great player.I wanted a player with excellent picture quality since i use it srictly for HT.This one is a winner.Excellent picture quality.Highly recomended.

Strengths:
everything

Weaknesses:
none so far

Similar Products Used:
denon-1600-2200-2910.