DVD player advice

[Uncle Steve]

Hey kids,

Uncle Steve is in the market for a new DVD player. This is difficult, given that his sum knowledge about DVDs is "stick in the disc and press play", and is compounded by the large variety of models on the market at present.

So - can anyone recommend a good model? What features are "must-haves", and what features could you do without? I'm not interested in DVD recorders, just players, and would spend up to $500 if the machine was right. Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[dreamkillers]

Originally posted by Uncle Steve
Hey kids,

Uncle Steve is in the market for a new DVD player. This is difficult, given that his sum knowledge about DVDs is "stick in the disc and press play", and is compounded by the large variety of models on the market at present.

So - can anyone recommend a good model? What features are "must-haves", and what features could you do without? I'm not interested in DVD recorders, just players, and would spend up to $500 if the machine was right. Any advice will be appreciated.

Do you have a surround sound system to hook it up to or would you be looking to get this as part of the package..............

 

[Mooster7]

I was shopping for a DVD player just a couple of months ago. Here are a couple of lies from electronics salesman that I believed:

1. Don't get a VCR/DVD combo unit. If one side crashes, it all crashes.
2. A Sony Playstation 2 is a poor quality DVD player - even when compared to the cheapest brands of DVD players. So get a DVD player AND a Sony Playstation 2.

I ended up buying a medium quality player. It works just fine. Great picture & great sound. What's more, when you get to a part in a movie where the hot actress drops her clothes, the pause is picture perfect. The only problem I have with it, is it is a new brand name and it doesn't work in with my universal remote control. I have to have two remotes.

I spent just a little over US $100.00 for mine. I don't know how that translates into Australian dollars/shopping nor the Aussie electronics market.

Peace,

 

[RadioShark]

Here's where I stand..

OK...

Depends what you really need or look for...

If you're the type who only wants a DVD for movies...We bought a cracker of a player for my in laws @ $99 at Big W...

Then there's the options of the gaming systems that offer DVD playability...We bought a PS2 for the al-roundedness...It plays PSX 1 games, DVD's and PS2 games...

Don't fall for the DVD multi-angle thing...Not many DVD's run with that option, Unless you're a music freak, a lot of music oriented discs I think run with the multi angle sales gimmick...

Other than that...Best run with what YOU want, and can understand...Take a friend who's in the know, and they can explain in layman terms what it can do for you!!!


Cheers...

Radio Shark.

 

[Desredandwhite]

Well.. do you have a nice big TV (preferably widescreen), surround sound system to hook it up to? If not, then you should be able to get just the bog-standard $150 model. In fact a lot of the cheaper models are the easier ones to hack for multi-region and macrovision. Make sure you have appropriate connections on the TV for the player...

- A lot will play mp3s, this may or may not be important to you.
- multi-region - Are you planning on buying DVDs from overseas? If so, this is important.
- macrovision - this is the copy protection thing that will fuzz up the picture if you connect it through a VCR.

Most players these days, even the cheapest ones, will have all the basic features. You're paying a lot for the last 10% of quality, basically.

You might also want to consider one of the all-in-one DVD player/surround sound systems. These go for 400-1500, and are good for minimum fuss and smaller rooms. Trust me when I say that good sound is easily worth it. So many people buy DVD players and just hook them up to their TV's speakers.. blech. You're missing out if you do that. Oh, also, check if your TV has a 16:9 mode (if it is not a widescreen model). This compresses the resolution into the widescreen frame and therefore you get better quality for DVDs.

 

[Danni]

I'd suggest checking the 'real' makers of the 'cheap' brands. ie I got one a few months ago - brand is something like 'magnashy' or something - turns out is the 'black & gold' style brand of Phillips. Fantastic machine, AV'd it thru my Aux input on my cheapish stereo and I have a great setup going there now. The picture is A1, the sound is fantastic and the only difference between it and my Dad's expensive one, is that mine only rewinds or fast-forwards to a speed of 12x compared to dad's 20x.

 

[M29]

Steer clear of these brands all of which I have seen break down numerous times:
Thomson
TEAC
Akai
RCA
(A few others I've forgotten.)

For $500 I'd go for the middle of the range Pioneer(s). Has everything, CVO, S-Video, Digital jacks Optical and coax.

Also, alot around that range come with free rentals and/or free movies.

What Des mentioned to look for come as standard now in many units. But, if the unit dosen't say have macrovision, they can always be modified for pretty cheap.

You can always save up another $200-$500 and get yourself a Denon or Onkyo. Mind you, you'd want a fantastic TV to compliment those units.

 

[Diego Forlan]

The PS2 DVD playing abiltity got bagged, what about the XBox's?

 

[ozzult]

I just got a Voxson DVD player from **** Smith for $178 and it works great, have only had it for two days, but seems pretty good.

It has MP3, VCD, DVD, CDR and CDRW capabilities. Also has 5.1 and DTS apparently, but I haven't used that stuff yet.

 

[myee8]

Originally posted by Mooster7
I was shopping for a DVD player just a couple of months ago. Here are a couple of lies from electronics salesman that I believed:

1. Don't get a VCR/DVD combo unit. If one side crashes, it all crashes. ...

Oh dear, i have a Sharp DVD/VCR player that is only a few weeks old. Sharp is a good brand, so fingers crossed it won't conk out. When our old VCR player died, we were shopping for a new one and we were also considering to get a DVD player too, so instead of getting both seperately we got one combined together. This particular promo in which i got the DVD/VCR combo meant i get the DVD's for Star Wars Episode 1 AND 2 for free! Just gotta fill in a form, attach the receipt, post it and wait 6 weeks. I saw the combo on sale at Myers in the city and it cost about $80.

 

[Hollypig]

You`ll never find one that plays your73/ 85/86 grand final replay tapes.

 

[Pornstar]

There's a Toshiba model around the $300 mark that got brilliant reviews, even when compared to $600 models of other big name brands. Can't remember the model number, but it has everything you need for a DVD in that price range, ie. mp3, karaoke, vcd, svcd, dvd-r, 5.1 sound, etc.

Toshiba and Pioneer are the best brands to buy when looking at DVD players.

 

[grayham]

Originally posted by Danni
I'd suggest checking the 'real' makers of the 'cheap' brands. ie I got one a few months ago - brand is something like 'magnashy' or something - turns out is the 'black & gold' style brand of Phillips. Fantastic machine, AV'd it thru my Aux input on my cheapish stereo and I have a great setup going there now. The picture is A1, the sound is fantastic and the only difference between it and my Dad's expensive one, is that mine only rewinds or fast-forwards to a speed of 12x compared to dad's 20x.

The electronic industry has a very unusual branding system. Basically only about a dozen companies make TV, DVD's etc.

In the quality control process at the factory, everything that passes 100% is branded with the original brand. Eg. Toshiba, Sony, etc

Those that fail the quality control, but still work, are given the cheaper brands, Teac, Thompson, <any name you never heard of>, and are sold at discount.

So if you are buying some no-name brand, it pays to actually see the one you are buying working first. Especially TV's as the picture quality of the TV tube can vary considerably.

I brought a Teac TV a few years ago, thinking it was a bargain, but now the brightness is stuffed, so once widescreens drop a bit in price, I'll be after a new TV again. I'll go for a brand name this time.

 

[Uncle Steve]

Thanks for the replies, folks.

(even from you, Holly! )

 

[Docker_Brat]

Originally posted by Hollypig
You`ll never find one that plays your73/ 85/86 grand final replay tapes.

Or 69/70/74/75/77/81/82/87/88/90/92


Go with a multi-zone player and MP3 compatibility.