I'm looking into getting a DVD player. I need one under $200, 'cause it's not my money. I want something with component video, so I can get the best video quality my TV can handle. So far, I'm looking at this one, this one, and this one. Far as features go, the first one looks best, but it got some bad customer reviews as to reliability.
Does anyone have any personal experience with any of these models, by some infinitesimal chance? Experience with DVD players in general? Anything and everything will be appreciated.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
I think all the DVD players I've heard or seen are all remarkeable high-quality machines ... then again, I remember when the cheapest brand was $500 ... that said, I remember the LD/DVD joint player ... ::whistful sigh::
I've got a Panasonic RV-30. Seems to have all the buttons and whistles (except for that "10-disc feature", but who wants that?) My friend Keith's model seems to have some problems (namely, whenever he borrows a disc, it won't play on his machine -- that same disc has no problem playing on anyone else's machine I lend it to). When he gets back from Italy, I'll find out what he has (I think it's a Sony) ...
I'm not quite sure I know what you mean by "component video" ... mind elaborating on that for the less techincally inclined? All DVD players have, as best as I can tell, super resolution to the TV screen ... (a lot of that no doubt depends on the TV you hook it up to, though).
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
OK, see, back when they had black-'n-white TV, they needed a reverse-compatable format, so B&W could handle color signals. So they combined the audio and visual signal into a single connector, the co-axial cable. They later realized that this caused signal bleeding, so they split that up into seperate audio and video cables, the advent of RCA cables. They eventually split the sound in half, for stereo. Now they've decided that they can split the video signal thrice, into one luminance and two chromanance cables. This helps prevent color bleeding even further. Thus, component video. It's the current standard for high-quality video transmission.
There's also something called progressive scan, which is supposedly even better, but my TV doesn't support it, nor do most others.
I've also heard that to get the best picture, you have to buy some souped-up RCA cables that cost $60 a set. True? My standard double-shields won't get it?
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
Well, to be honest, I get a good enough picture I'm not worried about it.
All the DVD players I've seen have the Red/Yellow/White RCA cables you speak of ... (I've only got my cable coax running into my VCR, and then another coax from VCR to TV ... I'm off track). I haven't heard anything about souped up $60 RCA cables, and to be bluntly honest, I'm more then happy with what I've got ... of the three formats I've got (VCR, Laser, DVD), the DVD is by far the sharpest and clearest (unless you've got some giant-screen, in which case ...)
Posted by Jernau Morat Gurgeh (Member # 318) on :
I suggest getting a Playstation 2, if you think you'll play games AND watch DVDs.
Posted by MaGiC (Member # 59) on :
NOOOOOO!!!!! Don't do that! Although I am more than happy with my PS2 for games, it is horrible as a player. Some of my widescreen format discs it plays full screen making the picture all distended. Won't play all the interactive menus on all my DVD's. They are really not designed as a DVD player. Its just a bit of a bonus thrown in for good measure.
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
And to make Sony a couple of million bucks.
First it was the Christmas Elmo craze, last year was the Christmas PS2 craze.
And they still cost as much as an arm and a leg. I'm also told they do not play VCDs.
Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :
I dunno about you guys, but I haven't had any problems with the DVD capabilities on my PS2. The only problem I have with it is the fact that I have to use the PS2 controller and that there is a volume glitch where you have to turn up the volume above normal.
Of course, now I have a Pioneer ELITE DVD player hooked up with S-Video cables (top of the line for picture) and Optical Audio cables (top of the line for audio).
The latest in RCA Cables is 5 cables in blue, green, red, yellow, and white I believe.
Progressive Scan (I think...) is for when you hit the FF button on your DVD player. Most standard DVD players, when you hit the FF button, will "skip" around (i.e., they show a single frame for a brief second before skipping to another single frame that is so many seconds ahead in the movie). Progressive Scan allows you to FF the same way a VCR does, so that everything is flowing normally, just at a fast pace. Same for rewind.
Posted by G.K Nimrod (Member # 205) on :
I boguhuta a new Philips DVD/VCD for 230$ (2400 Kronor) four months ago, including region crack, "Gladiator" and "Jeanne d'Arc".
Also, by purely blind luck, I got hold of the last three volumes of Robotech on DVD. The VHS line only went to Episode 20, the bastards. Now I'm a happy camper.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
S-Video cables (top of the line for picture)
Component's better.
In fact, progressive scan's better still, but my TV doesn't support it, apparently. I'm not sure how it's connected, but the deal is that most TVs redraw the odd-numbered lines with the tube on the way down, and the even lines on the way back up, for a total of 30 redraws per second. Progressive scan allows for 60 redraws of each line per second. Better framerate.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Interlace is the term you're looking for, I believe.
And with "component", are you sure you don't mean "composite"?
You don't have SCART leads in the US do you? They offer the best quality, as they split pretty much everything up (sperate red, green, blue signals, and the sound is split too). Big oblong box shape. About 20 pins.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
No, component and composite are two seperate things.
We don't have SCART, far as I've seen. Sounds like a good idea, though.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
It is. It has zero bleeding of colour (to my eyes). It also automatically switches (so, for example, you press play on your video, then the TV switches to that signal straight away). It's possibly communist though.
