Technika DVD104

Author's product rating:   

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

Advantages:	Rock solid reliability, okay looks, good selection of output sockets .
Disadvantages:	Awful remote, only 2 . 0 sound, lacking some newer features .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

DVD has all but replaced VHS Videos these days. And while two competing technologies attempt to catch our eye for the 'next generation' high definition DVD technology, there is still plenty of time for the regular DVD yet.

The Technika DVD-104 is a fairly basic DVD player. It's somewhat lacking in more high end features, such as DivX, mp3, or 5.1 surround support. But what it does do, it does well.

First off, appearances. This unit is the usual all width and no height affair. With only six function buttons and one power button along the front, the remote is vital. The front of the unit is the usual reflective plastic affair, with the display and infrared sensor to the right and various logos splattered around the place to make the unit look more posh, it's "just another DVD player" in that department, but it fits in well with my silver TV, silver PVR and silver mini Hi-Fi system. Along the back, you have your expected SCART socket, which is the only connection I use. There are also Left-Right phono sockets, a optical sound output socket, and s-video and coaxial sockets. This unit would seem to be good if you have a sub-woofer or a amplifier to connect the unit too. This isn't really the case, and I'll talk about that later.

Actual performance? One can't complain. It takes a few seconds to load up a DVD, and plays VCD's instantly (not tested SVCDs). Menus load just fine, and all 'bonus' features I've tried work flawlessly. I've not tried DVD 'games' on here (not my thing). This unit also supports PhotoCDs, but I've not tested that either.

The configuration menu is a bit clunky. Someone who is a technophobe will have issues here. I've never ever needed to change anything here, anything that can be changed it a little superficial anyway. Confusingly, many options which are in the configuration menu are also on the remote. The N/P (NTSC / PAL) button, which changes the unit's output to better suite your TV is also available in the configuration screen. What's the point in this? How often are you going to change TV? And if you're in the UK, you're never likely to use NTSC, and with region lock-in and only being able to accept UK power sockets it may as well just be in the configuration screen only.

And whilst I'm on the subject, the remote. One does wonder if the designers were on something illegal when designing this. The buttons are so small and fiddly only a child would feel at home. Thankfully the main 'left right up down OK' buttons are fairly big, so navigating DVD menus is easy... But anything else? Forget it. It looks like the designers have tried as hard as possible to cram as many buttons in as they can. The remote doesn't look bad, per say, it's just a royal pain in the ass to use when you're trying to play the next episode of 24 in the dark, cold winter nights. And don't loose the remote, the player is practically useless without it. A definite letdown.

There is no way to put the unit on stand by. You can only turn it on with the power button, or off, which is the same as plugging it in or unplugging it. Not a major deal, but being able to put it into standby and have your television automatically switch back to normal stations would be very handy. Instead I have to get off my fat ass and walk to it to turn it off, a tall order.

Back to the sound. Like I say, it has got some nice sound outputs, and I almost brought a nice 5.1 surround system for it. But I'm glad I researched this first. This only only has 2.0 output (IE. left and right). So the benefit for a proper sound system would be fairly low. Another shame really. Other than that, the sound is good. And has always been in sync. I was shocked when I saw a friend's LG unit constantly get out of sync on a certain DVD, requiring her to pause and play it again. When testing the same DVD on this unit, no problems at all. So that's a few brownie points.

Like I said, anything this unit does do, it does well. Sure, the remote sucks, it doesn't have some of the more fancy features of the newer units on the market, but it does have rock solid reliability, and copes perfectly with any DVD or VCD I've thrown at it. You can't really ask for more.

Should you buy it? Well, that depends. This unit isn't made anymore. If you can get it cheap (IE. less than £20), then go for it. Anything more than that, and you should probably consider a newer £30 unit from Tesco or somewhere, which may have more features. DVD players are cheap these days, and the technology is mature, so it's difficult to go wrong. I personally wouldn't touch high definition DVDs or players for a while, at least not until this silly technology war is sorted out (and it will take years). So a cheap DVD player is still a good investment, and this one isn't half bad if you can get it cheap.