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BUSHWACKED
COPY
BUSH DVD2002,
£180
Contact, Bush,
020 8594 5533
Having set the
benchmark for budget players with the DVD2000 Bush seeks to up the ante once
again with another low-cost model, though this time it’s a case of one step
forwards, and two steps back... Like its stablemate the headline feature on the
2002 is a built-in Dolby Digital decoder and the cost of owning this once
high-end feature has fallen to £180, £20 less than its predecessor, but the new
machine has lost a number of worthwhile features, and gained one that few
people will want or can use.
The losses
include relatively minor things like a 3-scene memory but the most obvious
omission is an on-screen control system. There’s a initial setup menu for setting
picture shape, language, sound and video outputs but during replay all you get
is a time and chapter display, everything else has been shunted over to buttons
on the remote control, which frankly is a mess.
Also missing is
the 2000’s unadvertised ability to play back Region 1 discs straight out of the
box (no hack codes or mod chips); pop an R1 disc into the 2002 and you get a
stern ‘Code Violation’ message on the screen. (We are fairly sure it can be
unlocked but at the time of writing details were unavailable). The new feature
we alluded to a moment ago is component (YUV or Cr/Cb/Y) video output. No,
that’s not a misprint; this machine has a feature previously only found on
exotic high-end machines. And a fat lot of good it is, unless you happen to have
one of a tiny handful of high-end home cinema TVs or a specialised video
projector. It makes even less sense to output the YUV signals on the SCART
socket since none of the compatible display devices we know about have YUV
input on SCART so it would require a custom made lead. To add insult to injury
the 2002 doesn’t have a dts compatible output – the people who would appreciate
a YUV output are also the most likely to want dts -- is that daft or what?
Enough griping,
let’s look at a few good points, apart from the price and the 5.1 decoder, it
has a headphone socket and level control on the front panel, the styling is
definitely a notch up on its rivals and the assortment of trick play modes
isn’t too bad at all. One other welcome change is the power supply, we noted
that 2000 ran unusually hot and we would be a bit uncomfortable about putting
it close to other AV components, the 2002 never gets more than warm to the
touch, and the ‘cooking’ smells have gone.
More good news,
on screen performance is virtually unchanged from the 2000, that is to say it
works as well as most other budget to mid-range machines on the market,
producing a clean, sharp picture with no processing artefacts to speak of. The
dynamic range is fairly average and some detail is lost in shadows but it’s by
no means the worst offender. Layer change is quick, it’s all over in a couple
of frames, and in fact it’s unlikely most people will even be aware that it
happened. The 5.1 decoder and mixed stereo output both sound very good, the digital
channels are clean with no detectable colouration and there’s minimal
background hiss on demodulated Dolby Surround soundtracks.
Talk about a
mixed bag! Hats off to Bush for bringing down the price of Dolby Digital once
again, but there’s a price to be paid and the downgrading of the control system
and consequent increase in complexity of the remote is a retrograde step. And
what’s that component video output all about? Who needs it, a simple RGB output
would have been much more useful for the European market. The re-imposed region
lock is a blow too, even if it can be disabled. For our money the 2000, even at
£200 was a much better deal, get it while you still can!
BOX COPY 1 –
REMOTE VIEWING
For such a
basic player the 2002 has a remarkably busy remote. It’s far too complicated in
fact, littered with titchy, badly labelled buttons. This is mostly due to the
fact that the 2002 has no on-screen control system (apart from the initial
setup menu), consequently every function has to have its own button on the
handset, making it a real pain to use!
THE HARD FACTS
Bush DVD-2002
OUTPUTS
SCART 1
S-Video 1
RGB out no
Optical digital yes
Coaxial digital yes
5.1 decoder yes
EXTRA FEATURES
20/30
Region 2,
PAL/NTSC replay, multi-speed replay, headphone socket, component video output
GOOD POINTS
Outstanding
value, good looks and component video output too, should you need such a thing…
BAD POINTS
A generally
basic spec, lack of on-screen controls and over complicated handset
Ease of use 3
Picture 4
Sound 4
Features 3
Overall 4
BUYERS GUIDE
EXTRA INFO
Price £180
SCART 1
S-Video 1
Digital out coaxial, optical
Decoder Dolby Digital
Good Points
Outstanding
value, good looks and component video too..
Bad points
A generally
basic spec, graphics and over complicated handset
Rating 4
---end 1---
HEAD
FLAT MAT
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MATSUI DVD110,
£190
Contact Dixons 08000 682868
Presumably the
DVD-110’s introductory screen, which displays Dixon’s help line number, is
supposed to inspire confidence but if you look at it another way it’s almost as
if they expect something to go wrong…The little Y2K compliant sticker on the
front also seems a bit odd since DVD never was vulnerable to the millennium ‘bug’.
Not so long ago
a DVD player for less than £200 would have seemed like a pretty good deal but
events have caught up with and overtaken this Dixons/Currys exclusive. To begin
with the spec is fairly basic, certainly some way behind what’s available from other
machines in the sub-£200 price bracket, and even some of the core facilities
have been short-changed. For example, there’s only one coaxial digital bitstream
output, and no S-Video socket, though it does have a second composite video
output but we suspect it’s only there to make up the numbers.
On a more
positive note it does have an unusually comprehensive set of trick-play speeds
(4 forward and reverse search and slomo speeds), there’s also a shuttle dial on
the front, though it has to be said that it’s one of those features that sound quite
useful on paper, but get little use, unless you sit very close to the screen or
have long arms. Picture zoom is also questionable, more so on this machine as
it’s buried deep in the menu, taking no less than ten button presses to get at
it. The front panel display is quite colourful and the casework is fairly
unobtrusive, though a bank of blanked off buttons and socket holes looks
decidedly odd, but that’s about it.
The on-screen
display takes a bit of getting used to, several of the icons which appear at
the top of the screen are a bit obscure, not to say confusing, what do you
suppose a close book might mean? Nevertheless, the control system is fairly
easy to get to grips with and the remote is not too bad at all, though the position
of the fast forward and reverse picture search buttons could have been better
thought out.
Fears that
owners might be mystified by the operation of this machine and need quick
reference to a helpline number seem largely unfounded, though some aspects of
its operation might appear puzzling. The picture breaking up into squares,
freezing and random coloured blocks is one of them. Digital artefacts are a
fairly rare sight these days but not if you own one of these machines, the
processor and error correction circuitry is unusually intolerant of coding
errors and dirty or scratched discs, more so than any other player we’ve tested
lately. Of course you should treat DVDs with care but it’s hard to avoid the
odd smudge or smear and you have no control over the condition of rental discs.
The problem is particularly acute on the outer edges of the disc, where the layer
change occurs and the place most likely to get grubby finger marks. Replay on a
clean disc is usually okay but the picture isn’t as crisp or detailed as we
would have liked; the dynamic range isn’t especially wide, the picture can
appear quite murky at times and bright colours are a touch muted. The mixed
stereo output is satisfactory, there’s some background hiss but not much more
than average.
The bottom line
is that the DVD110 is a generally lacklustre machine with a rather ordinary
specification, so-so picture and sound quality, few interesting features and an
uninspiring price.
BOX COPY 1 –
REMOTE VIEWING
One of the
DVD110’s few redeeming features is the small and mostly easy to use remote
control handset and operating system. The only small quibble concerns the
positioning of the picture search buttons, which should be either side of the
play button, rather than above or below it, and the chapter change keys, which
look like volume up/down buttons.
THE HARD FACTS
Matsui DVD 110
OUTPUTS
SCART 1
S-Video none
RGB out no
Optical digital no
Coaxial digital yes
5.1 decoder no
EXTRA FEATURES
Region 2,
PAL/NTSC replay, multi-speed replay, picture zoom
GOOD POINTS
Well, it’s Y2K
compatible…
BAD POINTS
Basic spec, intolerance
of scratched dirty or poorly coded discs
Ease of use 4
Picture 2
Sound 3
Features 3
Overall 3
BUYERS GUIDE
EXTRA INFO
Price £190
SCART 1
S-Video none
Digital out coaxial
Decoder none
Good Points
Well, it’s Y2K
compatible…
Bad points
Intolerance of
scratched dirty or poorly coded discs
Rating 3
---end 2---
HEAD
DVD TO GO
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SONY DVP-F11, £450
Contact Sony
(0990) 111999
One glance at
the diminutive and discretely styled box tells you what this one is all about! The
DVP-F11 is a mobile DVD player; that’s mobile, not portable because it doesn’t
have its own internal battery power supply or indeed a viewing screen. It is designed
to be used in cars, caravans, boats or anything else that moves for that
matter, not that it can’t be used in the home because it comes with an external
mains adaptor (a car adaptor lead is an optional extra). Two other features
single it out for a life on the road, it is supplied with a quick-fit mounting
bracket, and it can be used horizontally or vertically. The deck mechanism is
also very stable and despite out best attempts to unsettle it, it didn’t miss a
beat when subjected to quite violent knocks and bumps.
The loading
mechanism is similar to in-car CD players; discs are posted in through a thin
slot above the display. There’s a bare minimum of controls on the front panel,
and not much to see on the back panel either, just two sets of AV outputs
(composite video and mixed stereo), two S-Video sockets, optical and digital
bitstream outputs and a separate sub-woofer output. It runs off a 10.5-volt DC
supply and there’s a headphone socket and level control on the front.
Everything is controlled from the rather busy-looking remote control handset,
but around a third of the buttons are for Sony TVs and other AV devices. The graphical
on-screen displays for setup and disc replay are similar to the ones used on
Sony’s home deck DVDs. The audio spec is fairly routine, there are no on-board
5.1 surround decoders but it has both optical and coaxial bitstream outputs,
and it is dts compliant.
Not
surprisingly the feature list is quite sparse, there’s a 2-stage 3D sound
option, all of the usual sound and language options and a bit rate/layer change
display. It can play code-free NTSC discs but regional coding appears to be
pretty solid and we have no details of any hacks or mods, which seems like an
oversight considering this player is going to be bought by people who by
definition move around a lot, possibly transporting the player between DVD regions.
In addition to
our rather drastic physical shock test we also tried the player in a variety of
configurations and it does indeed work in any position or angle, including
standing on its end, and pointing downwards. On screen performance is
comparable with Sony’s home decks, the picture is very clean, colours are
bright and natural looking and it manages to pick out lots of detail in dark
scenes and shadows. We didn’t see any processing artefacts, even on our wonky
test recordings and layer change occurs in less than half a second, with
minimal on-screen disturbance. The trick play options are limited to two-speed
picture search and slomo but they’re all very steady. The mixed stereo output
has a flat response with negligible background hiss, Dolby Surround soundtracks
are very lively and effects channels are well separated; bass effects can be quite
dramatic and deserve to be heard through an active sub.
Whilst there’s nothing
to stop you using the DVP-F11 as a home player its singular talents would be
sorely wasted. This is the player to have if you’ve got a caravan or boat, or
even a flash car with a screen in the back. We can also see a healthy demand
from coach operators and if any Lear jet owners would like to get in touch, we’ll
happily let them test our sample en-route to some exotic location…
BOX COPY 1 –
REMOTE VIEWING
It looks a lot worse
than it is; around a third of the buttons are for controlling Sony TVs and
other AV components. The layout is okay and the important buttons are easy to
identify. The on-screen displays are up to Sony’s usual high standard, menus and
the initial set up are easy to navigate using the four way cursor control.
THE HARD FACTS
SONY DVP-F11
OUTPUTS
SCART none
S-Video 2
RGB out no
Optical digital yes
Coaxial digital yes
5.1 decoder no
EXTRA FEATURES
20/30
Region 2,
PAL/NTSC replay, dts bitstream out, multi-speed replay, 3D sound, headphone
socket, mounting bracket supplied, TV remote
GOOD POINTS
Small size,
potential for mobile/in-car use, great picture and sound
BAD POINTS
None really but
a bit specialised
Ease of use 4
Picture 5
Sound 4
Features 4
Overall 4
BUYERS GUIDE
EXTRA INFO
Price £450
SCART none
S-Video 2
Digital out coaxial, optical
Decoder none
Good Points
Small size,
potential for mobile/in-car use, great picture and sound
Bad points
None really,
but a bit specialised
Rating 4
---end---
Ó R. Maybury 2000, 2303
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