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A better picture and sound
The DV3100 is a rewarding DVD player
by Michael Jones
August 2001
Marantz DV3100 DVD player. $1199
When it comes to audio equipment, Marantz has a pedigree that would be the envy of any company. But AV is a much newer field, and I was interested to see how a Marantz DVD player would perform.
Even though it is $1199, the DV3100 is the cheapest Marantz DVD player available, with strong performers like the Pioneer 535 coming in at 2/3rds the price. Can the Marantz outperform the cheaper players?
Knobs and buttons
The front of the Marantz DV3100 follows the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
school of thought, which means that the player should not be a scary prospect
even to the most technophobe of users. A minimum of transport controls
adds up to a minimum of front panel clutter.
The largish remote control has all of the buttons and controls one could hope for in controlling the 3100.
Around the back are all the connections. For video, the 3100 includes output for composite, S-Video and component video (switchable between the later two onscreen), plus stereo analog sound outputs. There's the standard coax and optical digital outputs.
In use
As mentioned, the front panel is non-threatening to the technophobe. The
DV3100 places itself into sleep mode after a period of inactivity, which
is a nice touch.
The only funny thing about the DV3100 was the digital output selection. My sample came set to "Dolby Digital/PCM" which won't output DTS soundtracks. I had to change this setting to "Bitstream/PCM" in the onscreen menu. The latter will output both Dolby Digital and DTS sound. Quite why these two options exist is beyond me - the manual wasn't much help in this matter either.
Compatibility
I find it hard to recommend a DVD player that has no means to get around
the DVD zoning system imposed upon the world on the behest of Hollywood.
Fortunately the Marantz comes multi-zoned out of the box, able to play
Zone 1 discs in our Zone 4 New Zealand.
Although the brochure claims that the 3100 can play CDRs and CDRWs, my sample cannot. The distributor tells me that a production change means that current DV3100s cannot play these discs. As many people has CD writers for making their own music compilations this can be an important buying decision.
But like most DVD (and CD) players available, the DV3100 cannot play
CDRs with mp3 material.
The 3100 also has a feature that may be of use to some people without dual-format TVs - it can also replay NTSC software (ie from America) on PAL-only TVs.
Picture quality
The pictures from the DV3100 were immediately impressive. Compared to
the budget favourite Pioneer 535, the Marantz picture was sharper and
more defined, without being oversharpened. Colours were also very vibrant
and realistic. Excellent picture quality from the Marantz.
Sound Quality
Most DVD players are pretty mediocre as CD players. As a result I almost
always recommend a separate CD player for those with an interest in music.
Yet here's an example where a DVD player can produce an acceptable sound with CDs. Instead of the bland and boring result from most DVD players, the DV3100 retains much musical interest.
While most DVD players manage to avoid a harsh and hashy sound, the Marantz adds some of the "body" to music instruments often lacking with DVD players. String quartets, for example, had a richness that I don't expect to find from DVD players.
So for music, this is one DVD player that can hold its own with the $500 CD players - except of course that the DV3100 cannot play CDR discs..
Summing up
As far as relatively affordable DVD players go, the Marantz DV3100 is
certainly one of the best. It offers exceptional picture quality and far
better music performance on CD than most of its peers. Warmly recommended.
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