| Overall Rating: |
|
4
out of 5
|
A good Secondary DVD Player,
11/23/2009
I have this DVD player connected to my secondary TV (Sony LCD 32 inch).
I picked up this DVD player locally and brought the first one back, because something inside was moving as I shifted the DVD player - sounded like loose solder across the bottom of the player. The second one was OK.
I purchased this DVD player, because of the following useful options:
1. Multi-disc resume from a stopped position (6)
2. Multiple sound-fields through the TV, which transfers through to my Sherwood stereo amplifier, two small bookshelf speakers and an unpowered sub. The sound-fields add punch to movie and TV soundtracks.
3. Multiple picture modes (Dynamic, Cinema, etc), including a custom mode, which I can manually adjust the picture in greater detail. This works great for some of the TV series on DVD with grain.
4. Does not up-convert - This is what I wanted - a basic DVD player, with 480P progressive output.
5. The remote will control my TV power; volume; and TV input (video 1, component 1, etc)
While the picture and sound are very good, my Panasonic player from 2003 connected to my 50 inch Panasonic TV seems better. I think this may be attributed to the difference in the TVs, the video source and better cables. The Sony DVD player video is crystal clear for DVDs, like Finding Nemo (Most are), but needs some tweaking for TV series, even new ones that are in widescreen. I have a better component cable connected now, but will be upgrading to see if there is a difference.
The menu is fairly simple and easy to use, once the operating instructions are reviewed. I can navigate through multiple options while the movie is playing, but can not change the TV Set UP - Custom Menu for various settings, such as output from 16x9 to 4x3 (Full or Normal) while watching a movie- I have to stop the movie. Luckily, my Sony TV has the option to switch via one button on the remote from normal to full to wide.
Unfortunately, the zoom is limited to 2x or 4x, without multiple screen sizes, nor a manual adjustment. The 2x will zoom up the older wide screen movies that are in the older narrow format, like Nixon.
Lastly, I was hoping this DVD player would play damaged DVDs that I have. I have a Tombstone special edition DVD that has had problems on other players (Panasonic, Toshiba, Sanyo, etc), where it played half way and froze, pixilated after starting, skipped, etc. On the Sony DVD player it loaded, played the initial generic warning message featured on the video, but would not even jump to the menu.
Overall, this player is a keeper for my secondary TV, but I will keep looking for another back-up for my 2003 Panasonic as my primary player.
| Value: |
|
5
out of 5
|
| Meets Expectations: |
|
4
out of 5
|
80 of 84 people found this review helpful.