I don't know if this will help, but I have a stock Denon 2900 which I use only for watching DVD's and a Pioneer DV47a which was extensively modified by Dan Wright which I use only for SACD/DVD-a. Before I had it modified...i listened to SACD/DVD on this player in its stock configuration. Here are my observations:
1. I found the Pioneer to be weak on SACD/DVD-a prior to the modifications by Dan. Since the mods, it sounds superb and keeps getting better with time.
2. The pioneer DVD players have consistenly suffered from Chroma Upsampling Error (CUE) in video performance. Some people are bothered by this and others not...but once you know what it is and observe it, it can be a real problem. CUE particularly a problem for those projecting to large screens, but can be a problem for smaller TV's also. This is why I do not use the Pioneer for video. For a good discussion of CUE I refer you to:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_8_2/dvd-benchmark-special-report-chroma-bug-4-2001.html
3. The Denon 2900 is a good all around multiformat player. I've been impressed with the video performance, and it does not have the CUE discussed above. However, like the Pioneer DV47a, I find the stock SACD/DVD-a performance to be weak. If I were using this player for DVD-a or SACD, I would probably get it modified.
I know I haven't exactly answered your questions....but I do hope this information will help nonetheless because some of the same principles apply.
Harry
