This is a nice low-cost DVD player that has some impressive upgraded features.
- Upconverts up to 1080i
- Very thin footprint (1.5" tall)
- USB Port
- Plays DiVX
- Plays MP3s
The foremost reason I got it was because I ran some of the tests for artifacts on DVD players and mine was horrible. It is one of those things- if you don't know what to look for, it doesn't bother you, but once I read about the artifacts- I couldn't watch anymore. Galaxy Quest, Monsters Inc, etc. had specific chapters and menus to look for- I reran the tests on this unit and it passed perfectly.
The second reason I wanted it was that it did upconversion. My projector is native 1366x768 LCDs. Playing 480p is ridiculous- so, I wanted the upconversion (even though my PJ has a good scaler, figure scaling done digitally will be better). It is an upconverting DVD player- but only through the digital interface. For some reason, the studios do not let anyone make an upconverting player through component output. This doesn't make any sense to me since I can do it on my PC, or inside my projector. Anyhow- just having the higher quality (no artifacts) was good enough to keep it. Footnote: some players (I think Oppo is one) are ignoring the studios and allowing upconverted component output by going through a couple of simple menus. When I finish my HTPC, then I won't worry about it.
As far as the other features- DivX and MP3/JPG playback... well, it is one of those things they list- but you probably won't use. I plugged a USB drive into it and it flipped thorugh the photos- but was agonizingly slow- and it showed them at a weird scale and low quality. I only played with DivX for a little while and couldn't play the one movie I tried, but I'll go back to that another time.
Now the cons:
The remote is stupid. Non-backlit (no biggie, this is a budget player), but it is designed to used by people from parallel galaxies. :raped: Let me explain- unlike something designed to be used by left-or-right handed, when you pick it up without looking at it, you can't tell which way to point it- it feels just as natural having the sensor pointing at you as at the player- perfectly symetrical in a mirror sense.
Major Con: WILL NOT PLAY DTS. This one blows my mind since all the player has to do is pass along the output- no decoding needed. I guess to save a nickel, they left that out. I only have a couple of DTS movies, but that really irks me.
UPDATE: with firmware update, it now plays DTS.
Annoyance: There's a red LED on.. when it is off. Why do they do this? In my industry (telecom), a red light means an alarm.
Annoyance: The first thing I do is put a DVD into the player- why do I have to turn it on- then push the open button? I'd rather the unit turn on and open it when I push the open button. (My other dvd player worked that way and I liked it).
So- I'm happy with my purchase. For the price, you can't go wrong. It is a good looking box, with HDMI output and upconversion. The lack of DTS is bizarre- and that may be enough to make you look elsewhere. Honestly, had I known about that, I wouldn't have bought it- but just being artifact-free is good enough to keep it. I paid $70 for it, but the price is $80 now, maybe you can find it on sale at Circuit City.
Other review:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Philips_DVP5...2.html?tag=sub
08-28-06, 02:59 PM
Advertisement 
Similar Threads 
