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Review 1 of 2
Price Paid:
$600.00
from ebay Summary:
This review is for the 480i version of the Carmen.
Picture Quality: The component picture looks beautiful on my 65 inch Mitsubishi RPTV. The Carmen produces a picture with a very film-like quality that other players don't. You don't see any individual scan lines in the picture at all. I liked the picture quality in 480i better than the Toshiba in 480p. I compared the Theta Carmen with the David (both at 480i) in a head-to-head match and could not tell the difference. I did notice that the black level appeared to be lower on the Carmen, which is good... but the detail and color appeared to me to be the same.
Video Outputs: The player has all the standard analog video outputs. The component outputs are BNC. I use a set of Acoustic Research master series cables which came with RCA to BNC connectors. Composite and S-Video are also available. If your display does not accept analog inputs, then this is not a DVD player that you can use.
Audio Outputs: This player does not perform any audio processing and therefore does not have analog audio outputs. It provides coax digital output so you will need a pre-amp or processor.
Picture Enhancement: I tested the Carmen with the Silicon Optix Benchmark DVD and found the player did not do very well on most of the tests (jaggies, waving flag, etc). I don't believe Theta makes any claims to that the Carmen has any picture enhancement capabilities. Match this with a good video processor or scaler if needed.
Build Quality: This player is built like a tank. The face in silver is gorgeous and it will look fantastic in your cabinet.
Remote: The remote is not backlit, and so can be difficult to use while watching a movie.
Even with its age, I believe that the Carmen provides a better picture than most of the DVD players available off the shelf at your local Best Buy or Circuit City. It definitely provided a better standard DVD image that my HD DVD player could generate. Since you can get this player used for under $600, I rated this very highly. Strengths:
> Excellent picture quality for DVDs
> Excellent build quality
> Excellent audio quality Weaknesses:
> 480p or SDI outputs are optional add-ons and hard to find
> No upconversion for HD-TVs
> No additional processing available to enhance picture (e.g., Faroudja)
> Component and Composite outputs are not live at the same time. When you select Component, the Composite signal is black & white. Similar Products Used:
> Theta David
> Escient Powerplay
> Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD player
> AMX MAX DVD system
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