Price Paid:  $202.00 from Audio vibe

Summary:
This is just a updated review for my DVD player. I have had it connected to my new TV, a JVC AV-30W585 I'Art Pro HDTV and 2006 Marantz SR7500 THX reciever with a component video cable from the DVD player to the receiver, and then back out to the TV, also with a monster cable component video cable, and straight to the receiver with a monster cable digital coax cable for the sound. Now that I have the system set up this way, and running progressive scan 100% of the time, and trying to view movies in DTS as much as possible, I'm really happy with the results. The picture quality is simply stunning...it can look both razor sharp on certain movies, and also have a believeable "grainy" look to it on movies like Man on Fire and Oceans 12. It has fantastic flexibility with system hookup (can do a lot of options between analogue and digital sound output and with picture output settings), making it easy to use this as your primary player for almost every format (other than SD memory cards like the newer high-end models do). The sound is fantastic too, especially when listening to DTS soundtracks, or movies that are THX certified for Dolby Digital. This player does it all.

If you want a good quality player for almost anything you can think of playing in it, and don't want to lose your shirt paying for it, give this unit, or it's Jr. Brother, the 412S a look..

Strengths:
Awesome flexibility, easy to use remote, amazing picture quality and sound output, small/slim chasis design, cool blue light on disc tray, dollar for value

Weaknesses:
Doesn't let you make any changes onscreen when playing a mp3/wma written disc, doesn't let you fast forward through audio tracks on mp3/wma discs, doesn't have ports/inputs for SD memory cards or USB (but this unit IS almost 2 years old now)...

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba, Panasonic, Samsung

Price Paid:  $179.00 from Audio Vibe

Summary:
Well, where to start...I have a lot of people tell me I payed too much for this DVD player, and could have bought one (another player) from Walmart or Futureshop for less than $80. True, but they wouldn't be as nice, and not in the same league at all. Besides, I payed over $550 for my first DVD player 4 years ago when they first came out in mass on the market. Anyways, this player is worth the $202 taxes-in that I payed for it. The picture quality is nothing but flawless, especially being progressive scan. I haven't even seen it's true visual potential since I'm using an older Zenith 27" TV that's dieing a slow, terrible death. The number of audio/visual output settings and options is surprising...you can configure the unit to the TV and stereo system it's connected to. The sound playback on DVD's and music CD's of all types is nothing short of awesome...it's not overly bright sounding like a lot of Japanese made products tend to, and it reproduces even the smallest of nuances in a recording...I hear sounds in movies and songs I didn't notice/notice as much as I do now. Besides the great sound and video output, it's got a lot of options in terms of connections on the rear of the unit...Digital PCM, Optical, Colourstream, analogue, etc. It also comes with an awesome remote that you can access any feature the player has, as well as control your TV, and even the volume of your stereo (think if it's a JVC stereo like the mini I have it connected to). I also like the cosmetics of the unit...it's very thin, it's silver, with a plexiglass insert on the front, and a blue backlight on the disc drawer (which matches a lot of 2003/2004 JVC products). Other things like very fast load times, a fast and smooth single disc drawer, dimmable front display and the mentioned stereo volume on the remote are all nice extras. Anyone who's looked at my DVD player think it's one of the nicest looking and easy to use ones they've ever seen. I don't regret my purchase for an instant, and think it was well worth the 100-plus dollars it cost more than bargain players.

Strengths:
Good looks, loads of options, easy setup onscreen, easy to use, fast load times, great sound quality, beautiful picture like glass

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba