The most competitive segment of the DVD Player market is, without question, the budget end. You see, if you're going to spend £300+ on a DVD Player, you already know (to a certain extent) that it's going to be good. If, on the other hand, you're looking at something in the region of £200, you will find that some players are *substantially* better than others, meaning that hours of careful research has to be done before handing over any cash. Well, I've already done my homework, and ended up with the relatively new Aiwa XD-DV370.
The most popular player at this price is definitely the Wharfedale 750S, but the problem I have with it is this: If it's so good, why is every DVD forum on the Internet filled with posts like "<DISC X> won't work on my wharfie!!"? It clearly offers good performance, but with an incompatibility list nearly as long as this review, it doesn't deserve to sit under Reficul's TV.
So, with one player already eliminated, I set the following list of requirements:
1. Can be made multi-region with a handset crack. 2. Can play CD-R/RW 3. Can play VCD (on CD-R/RW) 4. Can output DTS sound (more or less standard nowadays, but my last player couldn't do it so I thought I'd mention it anyway).
Well, the Aiwa satisfies all of these requirements, and adds a few more surprises. Read on.
To convert the XD-DV370 to any particular region, follow these steps:
1. Press Pause 2. Enter the code 314159
The player should now display "CODE --".
3. Enter the number of the region you want to set the player to, or enter '0' for region-free. 4. Press Pause 5. Power off your player and wait a few seconds 6. Power on your player
Maths geeks will notice that the code you just entered is the first six digits of Pi (Pi = 3.14159). Curious as I am, I tried entering the first six digits of 'e' (e = 2.71828), which resulted in 'CODE L' being displayed on the screen. It has no obvious effect, but hey, it's interesting.
Playing foreign discs is actually made very easy with this player - there is a 'TV SYSTEM' switch on the back which allows you to output pure NTSC if your TV can handle it, but if not, there is a 'Quasi-PAL' option in the player's setup menu which will convert NTSC to PAL50. Also on the back, you will find a single SCART socket, an S-Video output, Optical and Coaxial digital audio outputs, as well as composite video and stereo audio outputs. As usual, an RGB signal over the SCART gives the best possible picture, but be warned that the player's setup menu calls it 'Component'.
If you've read the player's description, you will notice that it can play MP3s burned onto CD-R/RW. To make an MP3 CD, simply use your favourite CD-Recorder software to make a CD containing your MP3s as if it were to be read in a computer. You can divide it into separate directories if you must, but note that the player reads the entire CD before you can play any MP3s, and the more complicated your directory structure is, the longer this will take (sometimes up to a minute). The MP3 interface is fairly basic - *play* MP3s is pretty much all it does, but considering that it is primarily a DVD Player and that this is only an extra anyway, it's more than acceptable. The quality of the playback usually good, but it depends greatly on that of the original file - 44.1Khz and a bit rate of 128kbps is recommended. I doubt whether many people here will use this feature much - most will be using only their TV speakers anyway, so the MP3s won't sound much better than on your computer. It's a nice toy, especially if you're using a separate audio system, but not enough to sell the DVD Player by itself.
When unpacking the player, I was massively impressed by the quality of the remote control. It has a few odd button placements (the power button is on the bottom left, and the Open/Close one on the top left), but compared to the one supplied with my last player (a Proline 1000), it is truly exceptional - the buttons are a sensible size and well spaced, and the whole thing feels incredibly solid and well made. The same applies to the player itself - unfortunately I couldn't find the black version, so I'm stuck with silver, but the build quality is still very impressive.
Now, then, that's all very nice, but how well does it actually play movies? Very nicely, thanks. Here's why:
Just in case you were wondering, I'm connecting to my TV via RGB SCART, and to my Digitheatre DTS using the Digital Coaxial output.
The first disc I tried was Gladiator - firstly because it's a great film that I'd only watched once before, and secondly because I know that it's Special Features disc upsets many players (including my old Proline 1000). First good sign: The TV automatically switched to 16:9 - the olde Proline wouldn't do this, and although it sounds like a minor niggle, it gets incredibly annoying after a time. Second good sign: The disc actually loaded! Now that was out of the way, I was free to go back to the main disc and enjoy the film - and the Aiwa handled it brilliantly. At first glance, the picture didn't look any better or worse than my last player, but given time, certain minor improvements manifested themselves - most notably, colours are rendered far more naturally, which allows for much more accurately represented skin tones, especially in close ups.
Next I tried Sleepy Hollow, as I remembered how good that fog used to look, and wanted to make sure the Aiwa was up to the job. If anything, it looked better than I remembered - sharp yet not over-processed, and with no colour-banding.
There is one problem, though, and although it doesn't apply to me, owners of non-widescreen TVs might want to avoid the Aiwa. At first, I didn't have access to my 16:9 set, and I noticed that the player's conversion of anamorphic widescreen DVDs to 4:3 Letterbox is nowhere near as good as my old Proline. Modern 4:3 TVs usually have a 16:9 mode, which should clear it up, but on the once state-of-the-art (but now 12 years old) 25" Panasonic I was using, the picture shimmered and wobbled at every opportunity.
Anyway, now I'm back at home (where the widescreen TV lives) and the picture is rock solid, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyway.
The sound quality contains all the richness and detail that we have come to expect from DVD, and the addition of DTS is greatly appreciated. The player contains one of those 'pseudo surround' modes that technophobes seem to love, and although it does sound better than standard stereo, I *never* felt as if sounds were coming from behind me - but then I might have been spoiled by my lovely, lovely, Digitheatre DTS. If you want surround sound, go for the real thing - it's worth it.
In conclusion, this is an excellent DVD Player. The dodgy 4:3 conversion might put some people off, but if it doesn't apply to you, I don't honestly believe you could do much better for the money.
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