Starlogic 5520

Author's product rating:   

Picture Playback	Good
Sound Level	Good
Range of Features	Above Average
Durability	Excellent
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	It's even cheaper now  -  only £24 . 99 !
Disadvantages:	If you care about that sort of thing, no DTS

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

When it comes to technology, I'm quite easily pleased. Hubby, on the other hand, likes his DTS, widescreen, subwoofer… and lots of other (far more complex) things that I have no idea about (or no need for). That's why generally, I leave it up to him to choose our home entertainment equipment (well, that, and the fact that I can't wire up the spaghetti junction of cables!).

Then recently, we decided to split our long living room into two separate rooms - a dining/play room, and a proper lounge (that won't get ruined by juice, crayons, glitter-glue…). Then we decided to allocate a room each, and give each other free design reign on the space. After all, he likes to plan his room around the optimum speaker set-up, whereas I… well, I'm not too bothered about all that. More interested in the cushions and stuff!

So, for "my" dining/play room, I bought a (Bush) 14" TV with a built-in VCR, and then started to look for a reasonably priced DVD player. It was when browsing on amazon.co.uk that I discovered that my favourite horror movies series, Hellraiser, had released a Region 1 only 6th installment (yes, I like British rom-coms, AND horror movies. I can't explain it, either). So of course, I was now looking for a reasonably priced multi-region DVD player.

It was on amazon.co.uk that I came across the Starlogic Multi-region 2.1 DVD Player for £29.99 (with free delivery). Thanks to the magic of one-click ordering, it was soon winging its way to me. I mean, sure, who's ever heard of Starlogic, but I couldn't really argue with that price for a multi-region player, could I?!?!

The features boasted on the Amazon website are:

Multi-angle function
Full function remote control
Graphical user interface GUI
DVD, DVD-VIDEO and CD compatible
Plays both PAL and NTSC recorded DVDs
Includes Parental Lock
Subtitles can be displayed in up to 32 languages- DVD title dependent

All in all, the player will play back DVD, SVCD, VCD, CD, HD-CD, JPEG, WMA, DVD-R, CD-R and CD-RW discs.

If you're like my husband, you'll notice that it doesn't support DTS (and for people like me, that means "Digital Theatre Sound").

The slimline Starlogic measures just 360 x 50 x 250 mm (W/H/D), which is handy, because the room it was going to live in is quite, well, compact.

There was no SCART cable included, but one of these can also be purchased on the Amazon website for as little as £4.99 (or in the "used" section, as little as 1p!).

The manufacturer's description is the usual sales-banter, peppered with phrases such as:

" Join the DVD revolution!"
"Outstanding value for money"
"Ideal as a starter machine… feature-packed DVD player"

What I didn't read at the time of purchase was the brief reviews left by previous purchasers. It probably would have put me off. Quite frankly, a large proportion of these customers were NOT impressed, with complaints regarding the picture/audio synch, inability to turn off subtitles, inability to open the drawer to actually get the discs out again, and some discs not playing at all!

"Don't keep us in suspense!" I hear you cry. "Is your machine a dud too?"

You know what, I think this little DVD player is excellent. I've had it since Christmas, and I've experienced none of the problems described above, or any others for that matter. It's easy to connect to the television, plays clearly, has an easy-to-understand manual (English only), and the remote even comes with batteries (which are still going even now).

I've used it connected to our widescreen TV and Sony Home Cinema set-up (with Mission speakers), and although it sounds different to our Sony DVD player, it's not in a bad way. Voices seem to be clearer using the Starlogic system. Pairing it with the little TV/VCR combo has given me no complaints, either. The sound and picture are absolutely fine.

It comes with a one-year manufacturer limited warranty, so you are covered if it does start playing up. As I say, I'm really pleased with mine, and think I got a real bargain.

I've noticed that the price has come down on amazon.co.uk, and now one of these can be purchased for £24.99 (still with free delivery), or with the option of a 5.1 home cinema surround sound package for £39.99 (this is 1 centre, 2 front, and 2 rear speakers, subwoofer and 2 remote controls, one for the player and one for the speakers).

I think though, that the absolute best thing about this DVD player is that my husband was carrying it downstairs on Friday, and accidentally dropped it from halfway up the staircase. It bounced, and the SCART lead (that was still attached) shattered. But the player still worked!! Miraculously, there was no damage done whatsoever - the casing was still undented, and it played as well as ever. So add "hard-wearing" to the list of features, too!

From amazon.co.uk, this is only available for delivery to the UK and Ireland. From what I can gather, this system is only available to buy online, and amazon.co.uk seems to be the most recognisable place to purchase it.

Oh, and Hellraiser 6? It was rubbish.

UPDATE:

Amazon.co.uk now sell this for £19.99... even more of a bargain!!!