Solid specs, but many problems.
Written: Nov 07 '00 (Updated Dec 18 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Full-featured; plays CDRs, VCDs.
Cons: Has trouble with dirty discs; can't play some discs at all.
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| ijprest's Full Review: Hitachi DV-P250U DVD Player |
I bought the Hitachi DVP250U after much careful consideration. I was looking for a DVD player with certain key features: optical audio output, ability to read CDR & CD/RW discs, the ability to play VCDs, a quick layer change, and good picture quality. I went around to many different video stores armed with DVDs and CDs to test all of my criteria, and I finally settled on the DVP250U. It met all my criteria. I was happy.
But within 24 hours my opinion had soured considerably. First, I noticed it had a few problems playing "The Matrix." The picture broke up and went pixelated. I assumed it was due to dirt or fingerprints on the disc, and I wasn't very concerned. However, the unit then failed to read my "Clay Pigeons" disc at all. I've tested this disc in two other players, each of which can read the disc flawlessly.
I suppose I should have returned the player at this point, but hindsight is 20:20. I was a three hour drive from the store I purchased it from, so I didn't bother. The player read all of the other discs in my collection (~30, at the time), so I assumed this one was just an anomaly.
The player did not get much use for the next few weeks, as I was busy with school work. Then I busted the tray mechanism when I bashed my knee into the tray accidentally. This was 100% my fault, but Hitachi repaired the player at no charge. Kudos.
Finally, after a lengthy absence at the repair shop, I had the player back again, and started really putting it through its paces. I headed down to the video store and rented a few DVDs.
The first thing I noticed was that my experience with the Matrix was not atypical. This player has a very hard time reading discs that are dirty or smudged with fingerprints. This includes almost every rental DVD. It also has a lot of trouble reading some newer discs (Matrix, Fight Club, etc).
Other annoyances: The player doesn't seem to respect default language or subtitle settings. I've got my default language set to English, but I popped in "Das Boot" and was greeted with German speech. Further, it seems to randomly enable subtitles. I haven't detected a pattern.
A gripe about the remote: The remote feels good and most of the buttons are well-placed. The arrow buttons are much better than those on the Sony remotes. But the remote doesn't have a rewind button! It has a "Speed Up" and "Slow Down" button, but to actually rewind a movie you have to press the Slow Down button four or five times as it cycles through it's various slow-motion modes.
Also, the A/V connectors on the back of my unit are loose, and this causes the image quality to degrade noticeably. This will necessitate another trip to the repair shop in the near future, but I'm waiting to hear from Hitachi about a possible firmware update to correct the problems I've been seeing. I've contacted them, but haven't heard anything yet.
Update! (Dec. 7, 2000)
It appears that if you want any real support from Hitachi, you have to call them directly. Their email support staff doesn't want to answer any questions---they just pass you off to the phone staff.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I managed to get a firmware update disc from Hitachi. But it didn't help, because I apparently already have the newest firmware revision. So none of the problems I've experienced are fixed in the firmware.
Your mileage may vary, but I am extremely disappointed with this player. I recently bought an Apex 500A as a cheap replacement; it was only $87, which makes it practically disposable. It doesn't have any problems with the discs that the Hitachi couldn't play correctly. The problem is definitely not with the discs; the problem is the Hitachi DVP250U.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
ijprest
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Member: Ian Prest
Location: Read, ON, Canada
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 1 member
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