JVC XV-N 55

...buying it. It was a JVC which is a known make, it was cheap, and it had a year's guarantee, and we are avid film watchers.

It confused me the formats that you can play on the machine. It plays DVD and CD which are straightforward, either films or music, it plays DVD-RW and I was not sure what this was, whilst this became apparent afterwards. This is CD's that have been created on the computer. SVCD, which sounded complicated, although ...
...60 minutes of entertainment, i.e. slide shows with background music, which I can produce on the computer, VCD which is a video compact disc, JPEG which may be a more recognisable thing to computer users, i.e. digital photographs, WMA which is Windows Media discs, and of course MP3 which is music that is in a super small format and can be put on CD.

Are you completely baffled yet ?

You shouldn't be because I tried to ... more

As some of you know on here, I am a little afraid of new technology, although I make the effort. When DVD's first came out, I thought "No, stick with the video" and I left it thinking it would go away. It didn't. Little by little videos are being replaced by DVD's. It is a fact of life.

Another persuading influence on me is that here in France, if I buy a video, it is in a foreign language and although I am fluent french, a lot of my friends are not and it would be difficult to share a french film with people that do not know the language. DVD offers multi language, and I can buy a DVD here in France that speaks English.

I was still not entirely convinced because I live on a limited budget. My biggest expense to date has been my computer without which I would not be here, and I have only just paid for the computer, so I was warey about shelling out on a new product.

However all that changed when I went into the supermarket in Pontivy and found a "promo". A promo is when they have things on special offer. They are a little like mini sales, and there was a DVD player at £35 or 49 Euros and I could not believe it. I had to go away and think about it, but I went back, knowing that they were disappearing fast.

I discussed the pros and cons with my husband who is a complete technophobic, and we could not fault it enough to put me off buying it. It was a JVC which is a known make, it was cheap, and it had a year's guarantee, and we are avid film watchers.

It confused me the formats that you can play on the machine. It plays DVD and CD which are straightforward, either films or music, it plays DVD-RW and I was not sure what this was, whilst this became apparent afterwards. This is CD's that have been created on the computer. SVCD, which sounded complicated, although this is simply a CD containing up to 35 to 60 minutes of entertainment, i.e. slide shows with background music, which I can produce on the computer, VCD which is a video compact disc, JPEG which may be a more recognisable thing to computer users, i.e. digital photographs, WMA which is Windows Media discs, and of course MP3 which is music that is in a super small format and can be put on CD.

Are you completely baffled yet ?

You shouldn't be because I tried to explain it in non technical terms, but basically, this DVD player can play things generated by your computer, which is all the above settings mean.

I am impressed by the ease of use, but something else stands out more than this to me. I hate big machines, and this machine is slimline, and stylish. It was really easy to install and the instructions were in English as well as French, so it was simple to understand.

The remote control unit which comes with the machine is easily explained in the manual and really when you have a new machine like this, you need to look at the manual and go through the process of trying all the buttons and seeing what they do to get yourself comfortable with the machine.

Setting the DVD up could not be easier, you simply plug it into the back of the television set or if you have a digibox, into the back of that, and away you go.

The benefits of this machine are numerous. I have friends that hate computers, although with this machine, I can show them photographs and the programs that I have for making CDs of photographs mean that I can go from menu to menu simply and I can now share my digital photographs with friends that otherwise would not see them.

As far as MP3 goes, I can record a CD full of MP3 music which is in a very small file format and can get over 199 tracks on a single CD !!! Amazing. I can have music and not have to keep changing the disc.

Back to the machine. What do I think of it, and has it enhanced my life ?

Yes to both of these. I did not have to spend a fortune and I have everything that I desired in a neat machine that has a years guarantee. What more can a girl ask ?

As far as comparisons go, what else is there on the market at this price ? The answer to that is not a great deal and those that are certainly do not have any known maker and I am warey of spending any money on a "maybe".

I have come into the 21st century, and I have a machine that is stable, seems solid, and does what it purports to do, so I would have no problem recommending it to people that see it in the shops. Snap it up. It is a great little machine.

I hope that some of my explanations have helped those who like me are baffled by all these new formats. To understand what they all are, I actually typed into google "What is ..." and it explained everything clearly to me, and made the purchase of this item a more enjoyable experience.

This is my new toy and I love it. The picture playback is wonderful. Clear and sharp. The sound quality is equal to that of my television which is sufficient for me and the range of features suits both a technical and non technical person, hence at last I can share with friends who have an aversion to all things computer.

Good one JVC.

Rachel
 

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