Onkyo DV-CP802 6-disc universal DVD/CD/SACD/DVD-Audio changer

Rating:
Summary: Finally a great universal changer has arrived.
Review: Im a little new to the home theater scene, and did a ton of research on the net before making any purchases. I was originally tempted by Toshiba 6915, which offers a uni-changer for under $200. After reading negative review after negative review, I decided not to bother. First things first, the onkyo has a great player here. Very well constructed with very fast loading, layer-changes and changing times, excellent picture, and incredible sound. DVD-audio and SACD sound incredible on this unit. There is a small amount of adjustments that can be made to help manage the bass on the analog connections, but I haven't had any problems with bass and am not much of an audiophile. I would highly reccomend this for someone new to hi-rez audio and home theater, combined with a good home theater system (I have the new onkyo 6.1 system, ,that extra speaker really makes a difference), you'll be very happy with your purchase. I know I am.

Rating:
Summary: Great features, great audio, subpar video.
Review: The Onkyo DV-CP802 is a universal DVD-audio/SACD changer with some nice features. Some of the the things I like:

* discrete remote codes for on/off and for each of the 6 discs.
* can randomly shuffle all disc types (SACD,DVD-audio,CD,DVD-video)
* can independently assign the two digital audio outs.
* ability to start a disc at the same point each time with memory function.
* 7.1 analog out
* nice onscreen graphics
* AV synchronization

The audio on this player is very good. But there are some things missing at this price point:
- no adjustable bass management for analog out (fixed at 80hz)
- no full-time two channel downmix thru stereo outputs
- no time alignment for SACD

The progressive video out of this player does not match its audio performance. I've found the interlaced output produces a better picture than the progressive out. This is comfirmed by reading other reviews (Home Theater Magazine at hometheatermag.com and the DVD player benchmark at hometheaterhifi.com). It seems this player only displays about 450 lines of resolution (out of a possible 480). The video frequency response also steadily drops off in progressive, which makes for a softer picture. This unit also does not pass blacker-than-black in progressive mode.

On the plus side, there are many video adjustments for the interlaced video output.

As a whole, this is a nice player, just with some major video problems. The ability to mix both high-resolution audio formats in a changer with great audio reproduction is what this player is for. There are a number of less expensive DVD players with better progressive video.
If I could do 1/2 stars, this player would actually get 3 1/2.