This review is about the Yamada PVR-500 not the PVD-500 as this category suggests. I don't know what the difference is since they look exactly the same and appear to have the same features but just so you know,.... I own the PVR-500.
Readers of my other reviews may be aware that I spend ... Read review
Advantages: Compact, lightweight, good picture, external playback, PAL & NTSC Disadvantages: Disk can stick when player gets hot
This review is about the Yamada PVR-500 not the PVD-500 as this category suggests. I don't know what the difference is since they look exactly the same and appear to have the same features but just so you know,.... I own the PVR-500.
Readers of my other reviews may be aware that I spend a lot of time away from home, mainly with work. Currently I’m in US waters (dodging hurricanes) and the DVD player on the ship only plays Region 1 ... ...trashed. I came across the Yamada PVR-500 whilst surfing the net. It was advertised at the very reasonable price of 140 quid on Amazon. In fact it was the cheapest I could find anywhere. I was a bit skeptical at first but each review was glowing in its praise so I thought I’d give it a go. (I’ve bought other products from Amazon based on the good reviews that other consumers have written and so far I haven’t been disappointed)
This review is about the Yamada PVR-500 not the PVD-500 as this category suggests. I don't know what the difference is since they look exactly the same and appear to have the same features but just so you know,.... I own the PVR-500.
Readers of my other reviews may be aware that I spend a lot of time away from home, mainly with work. Currently I’m in US waters (dodging hurricanes) and the DVD player on the ship only plays Region 1 (US) DVD’s. Obviously this is a problem for me, since I like to watch DVD’s from the good old UK too. The solution was obvious,.. a portable multi-region DVD player! But which one? There seemed to be a lot of high priced alternatives when I was researching this product and all I really wanted was a cheap, small player. Something that I wouldn’t be too upset about losing or getting trashed. I came across the Yamada PVR-500 whilst surfing the net. It was advertised at the very reasonable price of 140 quid on Amazon. In fact it was the cheapest I could find anywhere. I was a bit skeptical at first but each review was glowing in its praise so I thought I’d give it a go. (I’ve bought other products from Amazon based on the good reviews that other consumers have written and so far I haven’t been disappointed)
The shipping was free and it arrived within 2 weeks, which was fine by me. Displaying my usual technical ineptitude I ignored the manual and started shoving plugs in the obvious looking holes. Low and behold, it worked first time! Result!
The PVR-500 has a 5 inch screen which some may find too small. I think its great for my purposes. The larger the screen the pricier the product remember! The picture quality is impressive although the sound is not brilliant without headphones. If you intend to use this in a public place, headphones are essential anyway, if only to cut out background noise. I normally watch it lying in my bunk and I rest the player on my chest or stomach so it feels like wide-screen anyway. (A mate has just commented that I could easily rest a complete home cinema system, including surround sound, on my belly! Cheeky sod!)
This unit supports DVD, CD and MP3 formats. It will play all regional and copied DVD’s no problem. The player also has several clever features, including an S-Video and phono output for connecting to a bigger screen. (S-Video gives greater picture clarity). Other features include multi-angle, multi-language, parental control and Kodak Picture CD compatibility (so you can show photos on your TV). It can also output the picture in PAL or NTSC format. This is a true ‘multi region’ player!
The player comes with the following inventory: 1 Portable DVD player 1 pair Audio cable 1 S-Video cable 1 pair Video & Coaxial cable 1 Ni-HM Battery Pack 1 Remote control 1 External power adapter 1 power cord 1 cigarette lighter adapter 1 operating manual 1 stereo headphone
It is claimed that the battery pack can be recharged 300 times and will power the unit for about 2.5 hours when fully charged (4-5 hours to charge fully) although I haven’t got round to testing this properly yet. The battery pack clips onto the rear of the player.
Using the player is simplicity itself although the remote control is vital to access all the functions. For safety reasons the player has a screen saver mode if you pause play or leave a menu on for too long. After 3 minutes of screensaver the unit will power itself off automatically.
The unit itself weighs a couple of kilos, (about the same as a bag of sugar)
I’ve used this player successfully for about 6 months now. There have been no problems with it and I’d be happy to recommend it to anyone!
PS I’ve just done a search on Amazon and this item appears to be out of stock
