Time was when a 'universal' disc player referred to a DVD-Video/ Audio machine also capable of playing SACDs - and CDs, of course. The first to appear was Pioneer's DV-747A, in 2002, then considered controversial: such was the rivalry between DVD-Audio and Sony's SACD format.Since the advent of the hi-def Blu-ray Disc, universal players have been thin on the ground. Naturally all BD players handle CDs and DVD-Videos, but with DVD-A and SACD being of little interest to the masses, only a select clutch of universal players has appeared on the market. D&M has developed a universal BD 'engine' that has appeared in various iterations in luxurious Denon, Marantz and Mclntosh players, while US-based Oppo has dominated the affordable end of the world market, with its evolving line of universal players based on platforms from Taiwan's Mediatek Inc.
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