Low end DVD players - a good place to start ?

I noticed on the Richers Sounds site that they have a Region 2 Player at 30 Quid. Can't be long now till you can get a Multi Region/DVDA/progressive scan capable player for under a ton from a Big Name manufacturer.

Yours in Music

Syd

David

If you just want to watch films then I am sure any of these low cost DVD players will do an OK job.
If you want to develop towards DVD-Audio and music DVD-Videos you may want to consider a somewhat higher quality player with DVD-Audio playback capability.

The opinion is that digital COAX out is better than optical out, but it is not very significant.

5.1 audio out is the way that DVD-A is played back. If you choose to you can also decode DD5.1 and DTS etc in the DVD player instead of in the AV processor but the onboard decoders in DVD players are usually not as advanced as in the processors.

GEOFFP

I have the Pioneer DV 565 (I think that's the model - I'm not at home so not sure but it's just been awarded machine of the year or something in one of those magazines...) which I paid £199.00 for as a multi region model.
Picture quality into my Toshiba 36" "Picture frame" CRT TV is very good indeed.
Sound is also fine on DVD. Music not so good but as a DVD player, I think it's amazing value for money. It can also play just about any disc format you can think of! MP3, CD, CDR, CDRW, DVD, DVDR, DVDA, SACD etc. I even found out by accident that it can play Jpeg images as a slideshow after I put in the "wrong" CD!
It also has digital audio out, componant out - useful if you have the corresponding inputs on your TV or projector. Very comprehensive machine.

Computers are supposed to work on 1's and 0's - in other words "Yes" or "No" - why does mine frequently say "Maybe"?......

Geoff,
The DVD player quality is as important for movies as it is for DVD-A. Watch the picture (and sound) on a cheap player compared to a good one.
Source first also rules for movies!

Emmanuel

All opinions are my own, and reflect those of the organisation i work for, even if not stipulated.

Argos (yes really!) in the UK do a really good one for the really silly price of £47 (one up from their cheapest) I bought one for my son - It is every bit as good as the Sony I bought for myself for £250. It won't be long before magazines have DVD players attached to their covers as a cheaper alternative to cover mounted CDs

"Let your life proceed by it's own design. Let the words be yours, I have done with mine"

Richer Sounds do a Cambridge DVD-V, DVD-A, progressive scan-Pal multi region player for £199. If you can ditch the DVD-A, they do a similar model at £155.
For video in the future and the plasma you will eventually get, progressive scan PAL is a must.

OK, this is the #1 stupid question of the year, and it's all mine (well, a little bit on behalf Rosie's who wants to watch movies in the year 2004).

So what do you do? Do you need a processor between the DVD player and the TV? Or, if you don't want five different speakers all over the place anyways, can you plug the DVD player straight into the TV? (There is a spare Kenwood receiver that has AV options, I believe.)

Herman

quote:

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The DVD player quality is as important for movies as it is for DVD-A. Watch the picture (and sound) on a cheap player compared to a good one.
Source first also rules for movies!

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Manu
I do agree with you. I was assuming David just wanted to watch the occasional DVD movie on a relative average European TV set.
The interlaced image put out by the TV is not going to improve much with a high quality DVD player.
If the intention is to have a progressive scan "display", be it TV (unusual over here) plasma, LCD or DLP etc then the quality of the DVD player has much more impact.

regards
GEOFF

David,

I have used a couple of Shincos. Their latest model costs about ukp70 and has progressive scan.

More importantly, it has played every dvd and vcd I ever placed in it.

cheers
Gus

Personally I'm more tolerant of lower quality video than audio. I just play DVDs through the (stereo) TV. It's completely separate from my Hi-Fi.
Why not get one of the cheapo DVD players with a view to discarding it if you ever decide to go the whole home cinema route?
(Multi-region was a requirement for me though.)

Paul Rowlands

Jez -

'Jack Straw' by the Dead / Hornsby ?

My experiences with low end DVD players are relatively few and limited to large screens (i.e. 42" and above). What I've found so far is that most players below the £200 are fairly good - i.e. they're not so bad that they're unwatchable.

Now if you're only interested in the player for occasional DVD watching via the stereo system, I guess you're mainly after visuals. It seems to me from what I've seen that the Pioneers manage a really good picture which is at odds with their prices. Their pictures are often as good as those of machines at more than twice or three times the price. Most of the Pioneers are also universal players, but I don't think they're a very good way of dipping your toe in that water since they are very limited in that respect. Musically speaking, they're not much kop.

Fnially, I've always wanted a full surround sound system, but I have a very small lounge so integration into the main system was always going to be a severe compromise. I'm now very tempted by the new Jamo DR50 all-in-one system. It comes with a set of speakers and sub for £600 and has a stunning picture (in the same class as an Arcam DV88!), supports prog-scan and has the best sound from a system below £1200 that I've heard yet. The only things it doesn't support are DVD-A and SACD. There is a more expensive variant at £700 where you get better speakers. Although a lot better sonically than the basic speakers, these are a lot larger than the basic models which reduces their appeal. I'm very tempted to just buy one of these things to do the movie thing and then use the system for what it's intended to do - play music.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Toshiba's entry-level players have been consistent "Best Buys" for the past 3 or 4 years.

Hi

I used to own a Pionere DVD565 bought from Richer Sounds and I can confirm that if you can get hold of it it is an amazing player. It works on the principle of doing a few things very well rather than everything to mediocrity. If you can get one cheap (under £100) grab it. I also run a Marantz DV7010 that is based on the old top of the range pionere circitry bu running Marantz HDAM output stages, this is a stunning player for sound and vision, and had a list price of £500.00. I bought mine from Totenham Court Road for £200 and I have seen them on ebay for a little over £100.00.

In my personal opinion, a high quality "last year model" or second hand player generaly gives a better "feel good" factor. If you need a multi purpose spinner for SACD and DVDA, you will probably do the formats a huge injustice by buying budget players, as the ones I have heard sound awful, espescialy through unforgiving NAIM amplification.

Help Bunnys everywhere!!!!!

No Seriously, everywhere!!!!!!!

hello all, some nice ideas flying about re "LOW-END" dvd players.
my daughter has a library of Disney videos et al and i was fed up with the quality of manufacture of these vhs videos.......so i was off work last week and popped into Richer Sounds and bought her the Cambridge Audio dv55.
Voila! a much better picture and the format is easier to handle for her (4 and a half) to play with.
it has progressive scan,5.1 audio out etc..and is separate from my system ,so well done Richer Sounds!. she'll have to start saving her pennies for the UNIDISK!.
dennis

Hi Dave,

a few pointers:

5.1 audio out means you can:
Run 5 channel sound with a more basic amp (ie without a decoder built in) if you can find one!
Play 5 channel 'stuff' (like SACD) where few amps, if any, can actually decode the signal.

Having recently got a SACD/DVD player, I'd say forget it, aim for a low end DVD without the 5,1 outputs, and to start with pick up a cheapo amp (Yamaha perhaps) with Dolby Digital and DTS decoders. This way if you like it you can always 'invest' in an AV2/NAP175 which will bring the sound on in leaps and bounds.

Picture quality even on budget machine is going to be good on all TV's - except for the expensive projectors and giant plasmas etc.

A Sub is fairly essential - only because the .1 channel has 'noise' content that can't be effectively handled by the rest of the system (you will get clipping if you try!).

Hooking into your main system will be a challenge - typical (ie non-naim) 5.1 amps are VERY wanting in comparison - even against low end stuff like NAITs (runs for cover!!!). This doesnt mean don't do it, just that it will cost a lot more to get remotely similar 5 channel performance to the main sistem...

- I think my set up works OK, but is very lacking compared to the Naim AV demo rooms at the shows!!!

Cheers!!!
Chris