Upon searching for a home cinema system, I would naturally head for Sony or Panasonic, well regarded names in the world of electronics. However, my budget would not allow for it, so I searched for a good mid-price system.
Upon finding this system, I was extremly please with the wealth of features available. The 5 speakers + subwoofer can play Dolby Digital sound (in any setero, 2.1, or 5.1 formats), alswell as Q surround 5.1 and DTS digital sound (lesser known surround sound formats but equally valuable in a player). The built in decoder means speakers are run straight off the player, no need for seperate plugs or decoders. The passive (meaning it does not require its own power source) subwoofer and five speakers have their own colour coded wires for ease of set up, and the speakers themselves are small and elegant and should not be unsightly viewing areas, whether ultra-modern or traditionally decorated.
Picture qulaity is great. It does of course depend upon your TV system, but the ouptut in terms of picture is flawless. Sound quality is magnificent too. Dialogue in films is easily balanced and audible amongst background sound, and film scores, orchestral moments and roaring
sound effects are well presented with no distortion (atleast at the levels I've heard...and they can be quite high!)
The system is easy to set up. An idiot proof manual (which is relevant to THIS SYSTEM ONLY, so theres none of that 'If you bought system A, do this instruction, or if you purchased a product with one of these, do something different' confusion) contains a wealth of diagrams showing exactly what should go where with the least of hassle. It also guides through use easily too, although it is largely self explanatory. The simple 'Play' 'Power' 'Skip' and 'Eject' buttons on the system itself make that easy to use, and placed on top rather than front of the system you are not required to bend down to find the button you need! The large volume knob is simple too, no fiddling with holding buttons! The remote control contains all the other features, but again the main ones stand out easily in glow-in-the-dark buttons, so that without touching anything else a first time user can watch a film without worrying with what the extra buttons do.
The extra buttons, when you do wish to use them, however, are simple (and are readily explained in the manual, too), and above all, USEFUL! I use all of the features so you needn't worry about spending money on things you won't need (although of course you should double check, as your needs may be different to mine). Audio and angle buttons utilise the increasingly used features of modern discs to have multiple audio tracks (including commentaries) and viewing angles (yes, you can watch performances from the angle YOU choose on selected discs!) at the touch of a button without needing to go through extensive menu searches on the disc. Audio option buttons allow a user to change between surround sound, stereo etc., as he sees fit to his uses. Replay buttons and repeats allow you to review an important piece of fottage without requiring to press and hold rewind, miss the important part, etc. And on this subject, there are 5 speeds of fast-forwarding aswell as the standing chapter/title skip and selection, so it is easy to find absolutely any point on a disc!
The most useful feature I found was the 'last memo'. One drawback of DVDs, initially, over videos, was the continuity over numerous split watchings. On video, when you stop and eject it half way through, you can put it back and it is in the same place. On DVD, you perfrom the same action, and you need to find the correct chapter and fast-forward etc. as the disc always retruns to the main menu when first inserted into the player. Although with this sytem, as I have prevously mentioned, it is not too much difficulty, it is still an unnecessary hassle. With 'Last Memo', you can press stop on a disc, turn power off and eject it. When it is next entered, however long afterwards, the disc will remember where it was and give you the option to play from that point (the memory can hold up to 3 discs). Like I said-a USEFUL feature.
The player can play different angle, different language and subtitles (as previously describes) from the remote control, multi-aspect featues (widescreen, full-frame etc.), and closed-caption dialogue. On top of this, the player can play audio CDs, including MP3 formats, and VCDs. Another useful feature is that it can play picture discs! Without the hassle of connecting digital cmaeras with wires, but without the expense of a memory-card reader, you can view digital photos. Any disc you have with JPEG files on from you rcomputer can be read and transmitted on your computer! This again has been very useful to me as a TV is a far better viewing screen than a computer monitor. You may browse pictures, zoom in on them, and view them as an automatic slideshow! And if the disc is specifically a KODAK PICTURECD, you can view thumbnail pictures and view them very easily!
The system has a single SCART outlet (AV socket) that transmits video images which is easily to connect to your TV. It also offers an S-Video output, for those with S-Video leads connected to tehir televisions (far less common than SCART soccets, if you haven't got them then don't worry!) It has video lead output to connect to basic video leads found on the front (sometimes the back) of televisons (the small yellow circular holes). It also has stereo audio input (PHONO leads), so you can connect a Hi-Fi deck and listen to this in surround sound. It also has an AM/FM digital radiotuner, so there is a lot to listen to!
Drawback is there is no audio output besides the speaker socket wires supplied from inbuilt decorder. I.E. sound does not travel through SCART leads and will not be heard on your TV's speakers, which would be a problem if the speakers or 5.1 decoder failed. You can only listen through the 6 speaker outputs (which are clip-in-wires, not plugged leads) built into the system.
Above all, I found it great value. The features are useful and not just appreciated for novelty value. Sound and picutre quality is fantastic, and it is simple to use!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
this sounds like it's packed full of features and options for a "mid-priced" package (BTW, what sort of price is that?). My husband spent over £200 on his DVD player as part of his home cinema system for the living room. I spent £30 on a DVD player for the bedroom, and yet when I plugged it into his surround sound speakers, it actually sounded as good (if not better!). Just shows that it's not always about what it costs... KT x
very helpful by (95%):
helpful by (5%):
