I just want to share some infomation.

I also had similar problems playing some DVD's. It was fixed by the local dealer applying a simple 15 minute software uprade (via a CD).

When you power the unit on, it will display the the software version in the top left corner of the screen.

Version 1.74
02

I'm not sure if this is the latest version, but I've had no problems since the upgrade was done.

Although I was disappointed to of purchased a player that did not work correctly from day one, I was impressed by the support, and reassured that Arcam were able to provide easy software uprades without having to ship the unit back to the factory. I view this ability to upgrade the software (and hardware to DVD-A) as a real bonus because it provides some future proofing for the unit.

quiet drawer motor, female connections solid

sound. timber, balance, build quality, motor noise, poor readout, undersized power cord

This is the most over rated piece of crap that the Brits have ever exported. I have a 12 year old Luxman transport (paid $75 new at a close out) that runs circles around this for soundstage, depth and overall balance. This product should not be allowed on the same continent as the Sony 9000ES. I'm at a loss as to what to do with it as I don't want to sell it to someone else who will be greatly disappointed. Avoid this product like the plague

Similar Products Used:

Sony 9000ES

Sharp and with accurate colors [teams up well with my 36" Panasonic Widescreen TV ;-)]
Plays CD like a standard Arcam CDplayer
Plays HDCD
Plays CD-R, CD-RW (Many good DVDs lacks i this department)
Plays MP3 (ehh... ignore my audiophile classification)
Firmware upgradable from CD!!!
Arcam personel (John Dawson) active on Newsgroups
Will play DVD-Audio (DAC will operate in 192kHz)

Remote IMPOSSIBLE to read in the dark (ought to be back lit)
Remote IMPOSSIBLE, well, to separate from AVR100 remote
No progressive scan

Video:
The Zoran Vaddis III video decoder works fine - and the region hack is performed via the handset. Crisp clear
colors and easy to understand uncluttered menues. No
progressive scan - but my TV won't accept it anyway.

Audio:
This baby plays audio as well as any decent CD player,
with the ability to decode the HDCD format, but I can't
wait for DVD-Audio.

Looks:
Also OK, pretty low key and minimalistic for a DVD
player. Kinda looks brittish.

The value rating as a DVD player i 4stars - the fifth
is given to the HDCD playing part of it.

Setup:
TV: Panasonic 36" 16:9 100Hz Digital Cam / Flat
DVD: Arcam DV88
Reciver: Arcam AVR100 (well, this one rocks...)
Front: B&W CDM1 (Will soon be a Nautilus 805)
Center: B&W CDM CSE (Ugly)
Rear: B&W DS 6
Sub: Dali SWA-12 (Will be a REL Strata or Velodyne)

Audioquest interconnect
Tara Labs speaker cables

/Oscar

Similar Products Used:

None

I sell this player and am in general agreement with all of these great reviews, however I have yet to hear a DVD player that is truely audiophile in cd reproduction. This arcam is easily the closest thing out there and if you want a combo cd/dvd its the one to buy. I just don't want anyone to think this is a replacement for a great cd player. The $800 cd only Arcam alpha cd72 is better. Their FMJ player kills it and just about anything else at the price other than the Naim CD5. I don't feel I should affect the ratings here so I'm rating at the current averages which are very close to my feelings. By the way, an FMJ version of this player is only a month away. Progressive, more power supply, and better audio DACs and less than $1k more. The fmj cd player is a good deal better than the cd92 which uses the same hardwear so there may yet be hope for us die hard audiophiles when the fmj dvd arrives.

sound quality/build quality

remote

This is a top DVD player in every respect (but then is should be at 900 UK pounds). CD quality is excellent using the onboard DACs, and DVD video is superb.

The remote is a bit naff, and very similar to the AVR100's remote which means you are forever picking up the wrong one. When I purchased the DV88 and AVR100 at the same time I was able to get a good deal with a CR9000 learning remote thrown in. Although it does not support either the DV88 or AVR100 nativly it can be taught at all the functionality you need and makes the whole package very usable.

Top marks to audio-t in Southampton. good service, good deal, highly recomended

Similar Products Used:

Denon

Picture, CD audio, Upgradeable!

None other than goofy remote

Great picture and awsome sound to start, then add future upgrade path and you have a winner! This is a very sleek machine that is one of the best DVD players I have found for under $3500.00 and at the same time an excellent CD player with seperate power supplies and 6 DAC's. It will play CDR, CDRW and MPEG. For the price you will be hard pressed to find another unit at this level for DVD and CD performance.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba, Sony, Denon topline players

Very good on Video and cd playback is excellent

Remote could be backlit.

I have used this unit for 2 weeks and it just keeps getting better! Video picture is sharp, all focused and almost 3-d in the way it details everything on screen yet is not grainy. CD playback is in my opinion very close to the Alpha 8se. I wanted a single source for cd and DVD but nothing met my standards until now. The DV88 is really the best compramise without having to give up cd sound quality.It has seperate lasers, power supplies and clocks for both cd and DVD. I think that this unit as a dvd player alone is worth the price and to have the level of quality in cd playback is a bonus. I am sure one day I will upgrade to progressive ( $800.00 from Arcam factory) but after seeing most progressive players on the market today, I am not giving up anything with the non-progressive Arcam.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba dvd, Arcam 7,7se, 8, 8se, 9 cd players.

picture, flexibility, and a little "thing" you can do by pressing 1,1,1,1!!

remote

what is there to say, this player is a hands down winner!!
one thing i dont get though, why would a company like meridian sell a dvd "machine" for 14k? this would mean that it would have to be 9.33 times better than the dv88...right? sounds reasonable to me. but anyway, i must agree with my fellow reviewers here, this player delivers the goods, picyure is sharp and focused, colors are bright and lively, and the detail is amazing (redundant?) i have this hooked up to my avr100 and the two make a wonderful pair, cd play is great, but i have the cd72 for that.

my system is arcam and paradigm speakers, with lat, monster and dh labs cables.

Similar Products Used:

panasonic, jvc, sony

picture quality

remote

15 great reviews and 1 negative one.....hmmmm??

i do believe that the previous reviewer may have a disliking of arcam products.

i found nothing wrong with my player at all, except for what mr. lopez described, i had a scratched copy of terminater 2 and it would screw up during play, so i took the dvd and sold it and bought a new copy, viola...no more problems, thats the biggest problem and best thing with high end products, they can be overly sensitive. this player brings the best out of good source material, and also brings the worse out of mis-handled source material. but not everybody will agree to this, so thats why we get negative reviews, all i know is i like it and thats all that matters.

Similar Products Used:

sony, panasonic, jvc

Picture Quality
Sound Quality
Features - MP3 decoder etc.

Remote
Disk Load Time
Wake up from standby mode

My setup is:

Arcam DV88
Musical Fidelity A3 Amp (2 channel)
Monitor Audio Silver 8i Floorstanders
Sony KV32DS60 TV

I'm very happy with the picture quality of this player - it is absolutely outstanding. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon really brings out the video qaulity of this box. CD reproduction is also excellent (I'm currently using it as my CD source), however, for what I'd term poor quality recordings (U2s - All that you can't leave behind for example)..it can sound rather flat and uninspiring. For this reason, I'm considering the Perpetual Technologies P-3A DAC to improve things - I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has followed a similar path? BTW, I read a rumour that the Arcam DAC is a variant of the dCS ring DAC - does anyone know if it's true? If it is, I might be wasting my time with an external DAC?