New Denon UK Universal Blu-ray Player Ready for Launch

We covered the USA-bound Denon DBP-4010UDCI back at the end of September and now the UK is set to receive a mid-range Denon Blu-ray player in the form of the DBP-4010UD.  The keen-eyed will notice the 'CI' suffix has dropped off the UK edition, so what is missing from this new model?  Well, aside from two letters, absolutely nothing.

The CI stands for Custom Integration, which after wading through Denon's blurb appears to indicate products which have been specifically designed with the custom installer in mind, with certain features and connectivity built-in.  The 4010UD's specification list exactly matches the 4010UDCI's including the remote access and WEB control features.

The 4010UD is set for release at the end of November and will have a retail price tag of £1899.99, a £700 difference over the $1999 US cost.  For this you'll have a 'universal' Blu-ray player with support for Blu, DVD, SACD, DVD-A, CD and all manner of digital formats including AVCHD, Profile 2.0 plus Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD support.  Internally, things rival the range-topping A1UD with Anchor Bay's VRS video processing technology, the new SVH precision drive mechanism, Denon's Advanced AL24 audio processing and Denon's Pixel Image Correction software too.

The fact the 4010UD looks like an A/V receiver and costs more than a PS3 or Oppo BDP-83, a decent LCD TV and a healthy collection of Blu-ray discs does put us off slightly, but we have no doubt the quality will be superb.  We're just not sure if that many people care.