PLAYERS
OF THE MONTH
MAKE/MODEL
SAMSUNG DVD-H40, £TBA (between
£550 and £650?)
By rights DVD recorders should now be taking over the VCR market but
things haven’t exactly gone according to plan. A lengthy format tussle, the
prospect of an even better optical disc format – BluRay – a few years down the
line has slowed progress and a new breed of video recorders, using hard disc
drive (HDD) technology has muddied the already murky waters.
HDD Recording makes a lot of sense for basic timeshifting but devices
like TiVo and SkyPlus make it look complicated and expensive, but the new
Samsung DVD-H40 should liven things up a bit.
It’s a combination DVD player and HDD recorder but the latter is
designed to work just like a regular VCR, with the addition of a couple of
interesting extras. More about those in a moment but first, the DVD bit. It has
the usual assortment of trick play functions, it can play MP3 music files on
CD-R and there’s a very useful extra in the shape of JPEG replay, so you can
view pictures shot on a digital camera by downloading them onto a CD-R -- all
DVD players should have this feature! A ‘Jukebox’ facility lets you compile
playlists and slideshows of tunes and pictures on disc or copied to the hard
drive. Our very early sample was region 2 only but don’t give up hope as
Samsung players have good track record of being hackable.
The HDD recorder does just about everything a normal VCR can do, it has
NICAM stereo sound, a Video Plus+ timer and excellent DVD-like trick play
facilities. The extras are near instant access to any part of a recording, and
pause live TV. That’s exactly what it does, if the phone rings just press the
pause button and the TV programme you’re watching freezes; the programme is
still being recorded though, so when you come back press play to resume where
you left off, or press fast forward/picture search to catch up. The disc holds
around 5 hours worth of recording at the lowest quality setting, the medium
setting is probably best though and pictures and sound look noticeably sharper
than the best VCRs.
DVD performance is fine, not the best we’ve seen but its on a par with
the better budget machines, however, it’s the sheer convenience of having
everything you need in one box that makes it special. It’s got a few rough
edges – the displays could be better, the controls take some getting used to
and you still need a VCR to archive recordings
-- but until affordable recordable DVD comes along this is definitely
worth investigating.
Samsung 0800 521652, www.samsung.com
SPECS
Video output composite/S-Video/RGB
SCARTs 2
Audio output analogue mixed
stereo/coaxial/optical
5.1 decoders n/a
EXTRA FEATURES
DVD player: Region 2 PAL & NTSC replay, JPEG & MP3 replay,
picture zoom, Hard disc recorder: up to 5 hours HDD recording, pause live TV,
NICAM, Video Plus+, stereo hi-fi sound, multi brand TV remote
FOR
Very convenient all-in one solution for DVD replay and TV timeshifting
AGAINST
Some works still needs to be done on the controls and displays
IS IT WORTH IT?
Yes, just about and it looks like a very promising combination of
technologies so look out for slicker and probably cheaper rivals soon
RATING
4/5
MAKE/MODEL JVC XV-S302,
£150
A year ago a DVD player from an A-brand manufacturer costing less than
£150 would have seemed unlikely but the days when companies like JVC could
afford to stay out of the budget player market are over. JVC could have easily
badged up a cheap machine or stripped features from a model higher up the range
but the XV-305 appears to be neither of these things. It’s a generally
well-specified entry-level model with good trick play, picture zoom and 3D
sound and features like Scene Digest are definitely not something you see every
day on budget players but like most JVC players the region lock is fixed. A
couple of corners have been cut, there’s no MP3 replay, for example and it has
only coaxial digital audio output, but the only really obvious sign of
cost-cutting is the very plain, borderline ugly, cosmetics.
As far as picture and sound quality are concerned it could easily be
one of JVC’s mid-range players. Contrast balance might have been a shade wider
but colour and fine detail are crisply rendered. The mixed stereo output is
clean and noise levels are low. Maybe not a player to arouse great excitement
or debate but a solid performer, from a name you know, at a price you can
afford.
Telephone JVC 020 8450 3282, www.jvc-europe.com
SPECS
Video output composite/S-Video/RGB
SCARTs 1
Audio output analogue mixed stereo/coaxial
5.1 decoders n/a
EXTRA FEATURES
Region 2 PAL & NTSC replay, Scene Digest, Strobe, multi-speed trick
play, picture zoom, 3D sound
FOR
A good all-rounder, a familiar name and a very fair price
AGAINST
It’ll win no beauty contests and leaving out MP3 replay looks like
corner cutting
IS IT WORTH IT?
Yes, not the prettiest machine we’ve seen lately but overall
performance is fine
RATING
4/5
PANASONIC DVD-XV10, £250
There have been a few attempts to liven up the look of DVD players but
now Panasonic raises the stakes with the DVD-XV10, which – depending on your
sensibilities – either looks stunning, or gaudy, either way you can’t ignore
it!
The XV-10 is thin and shiny and a real departure from the traditional
black and silver boxes we’ve become accustomed to but apart from the hard to
read LCD display on the front, under the skin it’s business as usual. It’s a
fairly straightforward entry-level player with no special features to speak of,
unless you count a very strange sound on 2x picture search. It’s strange
because the sound is almost unintelligible and therefore of very limited use.
The remote control also leaves a lot to be desired, the buttons are small and
closely packed, there’s no picture zoom or coaxial digital output. Plus points
include the near idiot-proof setup and extra picture and sound controls.
AV performance is outstanding revealing all sorts of details and
textures in darker scenes and shadows, colours look natural and it sounds as
good as it looks with the mixed stereo output generating a big, dynamic
soundfield with lots of gut-rumbling bass. You’re paying for the flashy
styling, but picture and sound will not disappoint.
Panasonic (08705) 357357, www.panasonic.co.uk
SPECS
Video output composite/S-Video/RGB
SCARTs 1
Audio output analogue mixed stereo/optical
5.1 decoders n/a
EXTRA FEATURES
Region 2 PAL & NTSC replay, multi-speed trick play, 2-mode 3D
sound, picture control, bass output
FOR
Very snazzy eye-catching design, top-notch AV quality
AGAINST
A touch pricey for what it is, hard to read display and horrible remote
IS IT WORTH IT?
Could be, particularly if you’re looking for something really different
RATING
3/5
LG DVD 5095, £250
Step back, squish up your eyes and the LG 5095 could pass for one of
those shiny ‘lifestyle’ AV components. The company has certainly put a lot of
effort into the design. There are some neat touches, like the minute buttons on
the front panel, though you may feel form comes a poor second place to function
if you ever have to use them…
The highish price -- for LG -- is mostly down to the fancy case and a
built-in 5.1 channel surround decoder. These days most AV amps come with the
Dolby Digital and dts decoders built in, so it’s of limited value to many
users. The rest of the spec is fairly ordinary, there’s 3D sound, a picture
zoom and MP3 replay; the region locks on LG players are usually hackable but we
have no details on this one yet. Incidentally chapter skip and search share the
same buttons on the remote, which can make life difficult.
Darker scenes suffer from the relatively narrow contrast range,
otherwise it does reasonably well, colours are bright and lifelike and there’s
plenty of detail. Movie sound is okay and audio CDs are all right, which
contributes to a general impression of mediocrity. All things considered it’s a
wee bit expensive but there’s no doubt the flashy cosmetics help it stand out
from the crowd.
LG Electronics 01753 50047, www.lginternetfamily.co.uk
SPECS
Video output composite/S-Video/RGB
SCARTs 1
Audio output analogue mixed
stereo/coaxial/optical
5.1 decoders Dolby Digital
EXTRA FEATURES
Region 2 PAL & NTSC replay, Dolby Digital decoder, MP3 replay,
multi-speed trick play, 3D sound, picture zoom, 9-scene bookmark
FOR
Flashy cosmetics and good all round specification
AGAINST
Average performance and value for money
IS IT WORTH IT?
Possibly, if you like the design and have a need for a player with
built-in Dolby Digital decoder
RATING
3/5
SONY DVP-NS405, £200
The smooth styling and panel layout tells you it’s a Sony well before
you spot the badge. The DVP-NS405 looks like it should cost quite a bit more
than the £200 currently being asked for it but study the feature list and it’s
quickly apparent that it is really little more than an entry-level player.
Apart from a picture zoom all of the usual replay utilities are present and
accounted for; needless to say the region lock is unhackable. MP3 replay is a
new addition on Sony players and it comes with a multi-brand TV remote but
that’s about it.
No matter, you quickly forget about the toys and gadgets when it’s
playing a movie, picture quality is exceptional with colour and texture leaping
off the screen, even in tricky low light shots and shadows. It gets better,
graduated shades and skin tones look perfectly natural and it has no problems
dealing with sudden changes in brightness or rapid movement. Sound quality is
also above average, the analogue mixed stereo output has very low levels of
background noise and it stacks up well alongside some serious hi-fi components
when it comes to audio CD replay.
A characteristically stylish and well put together player with the
added bonus of the sort of picture and sound quality that would normally cost a
fair bit more.
Sony 08705 111999, www.sony.co.uk
SPECS
Video output composite/S-Video/RGB
SCARTs 1
Audio output analogue mixed
stereo/coaxial/optical
5.1 decoders n/a
EXTRA FEATURES
Region 2 PAL & NTSC replay, MP3 replay, multi-speed trick play, 3D
sound, 4-mode picture control, 3-mode 3D sound, picture enhancer, multi-brand
TV remote
FOR
Classy good looks and superb AV performance
AGAINST
An ordinary spec
IS IT WORTH IT?
Definitely, outstanding picture and sound and it looks like you paid a
whole lot more for it
RATING
5/5
---end---
Ó R. Maybury 2002,
1406
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