Hitachi DVP415U DVD Players Reviews

Price Paid:  $289.00 from Bleeker's Nepean

Summary:
I had nothing to complain until recently, when the CD's all of a sudden do not always play anymore, forwarding to another song doesn't work (it just plays where I stopped it, no matter what number on the CD I choose). There is the odd freeze of an image on the DVD. However, I probably play two CD's a week and on average a DVD or two per month, so in one and a half year, after say 100 Cd's and 20 DVD's at the most, I am disappointed that the electronics already give up. Yes, I know that they are built to last only for a while, but this shouldn't happen. and of course, the warranty just finished 5 months ago.

Strengths:
it worked nicely

Weaknesses:
it stopped functioning to fast as explained above. slow to start, no shuffle option for CD's

Similar Products Used:
-

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Wacky's

Summary:
I'm convinced that all Hitichi DVD players are garbage. I had a P250 which had the exact same flaws as the P415. Boondock Saints and Scooby Doo are two quick examples of DVDs which screw up every time in the exact same places and neither have any flaws on the DVD. The customer service is also terrible. Here is my correspondance with them: Dear Jason, Thank you for your interest in Hitachi products and visiting our website. I apologize for the inconvenience. With regret, this is not normal operation. I recommend contacting an authorized service center for assistance. To locate your nearest local service center, please call 1-800-HITACHI and your call will be routed to Hitachi (Canada) for assistance. Thank you for writing Hitachi. *** I own the above model and when playing dvds it often skips scenes, has jaggies on the screen or the sound pauses for a second. Sometimes all of these symptoms at once. For example, the latest Scooby Doo dvd is pretty much unplayable because it suffers from all of the symptoms above. I always check the dvds and they are clean with no scratches. My question is, are there known issues with this dvd player model or more specifically with this model playing certain types of dvd formats. Some dvds are fine, but most are not. I bought this unit from wacky's but I wanted to know directly from the source if there are issues with this unit.

Strengths:
Tons of awesome features. Plays VCDs, SVCDs, MP3s and burned CDs fine but regularly screws up on DVDs.

Weaknesses:
DVD's usually have the following problems: 1) Sound cuts out from time to time or is distorted - switching from pro-logic to dolby digital or dts for a split second. 2) The DVD skips full scenes regardless of the quality of the DVD (only some DVD's are like this but there doesn't seem to be any consistency) 3) The screen goes green or shows jaggies or both for brief periods.

Similar Products Used:
P250 which was also a piece of garbage. It had the same problems and was repaired twice, after that they replaced it with the above model.

Price Paid:  $199.00 from a&b sound

Summary:
Plays most everything you stick into it and is a great deal with the price. It also supports DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The only really bad thing about it is the remote.

Strengths:
plays vcd,dvd,cd,cd-r,cd-rw,mp3s and svcd's

Weaknesses:
the damn remote

Price Paid:  $156.00 from www.oemexpress.com

Summary:
Took one look @ the price and then bought one without comparing zoom (figuring them to be pretty much the same on all dvd players). Wrong! The 2X/4X zoom sucks compared with the many more settings that the toshiba offers. Only practical when pausing a movie to view still image. Despite this disappointment its really a good player and compares really well wiht the toshiba. It's less noisy. quicker load times and does not seem to mind scratches as much. Plus for the price I paid I guess I have no reason to complain. The reason that I'm so dissappointed with the lack of better zoom is I just 'copped' out and got a 27" flat so the 1X zoom with the toshiba really would have helped. Too bad its over $60 can more! Oh well!

Strengths:
Good quality unit, clear picture impressive picture quality.

Weaknesses:
Zoom is nowhere near as good as the Toshiba model

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba 2710, Konika crap.

Price Paid:  $180.00 from Future Shop

Summary:
For the price, this DVD Player really is a hit! When I bought it it was a brand new model. Now you can get it for even less than I paid. While the Strenghts and Weaknesses really sum it up, I really have to say again that it has played every disc I put in it with no problems. With its digital optical out and my Pioneer Home Theatre System, the sound is just like a movie theatre. I recommend this DVD Player for everyone, but especially if you are gonna load up a cd with MP3's and use it as a personal jukebox. Runs all features very well.

Strengths:
This DVD Player is stacked with features! Up to 4x zoom, 3 types of slo-mo, Angle, plays MP3's. It also plays VCD's and SVCD's I make at home on my computer flawlesly! The DVD Picture is really superb, It comes with every possible connection, S-video, Component, Digital Optical and Coxial and regular RCA. The MP3 player is really amazing, no skipping. It has read every single DVD, CD. CD-D and VCD I've ever put in it, (except for a very dirty and scratched Blockbuster rental).

Weaknesses:
The remote is not backlit. The MP3 screen list only shows 8 characters, so "Radiohead - Knives Out" shows up as "Radiohe". But I know of no other DVD Player that shows more than 9 characters so I guess it's OK.