If You're Still Renting VHS Videos, read this!
Written: Jan 16 '04
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Pros: Picture and Sound Quality, Ease of Use, Sleek Appearance
Cons: Remote keys are small, but still functional
The Bottom Line: I would recommend the Hitachi DVD Player because of its low price and quality output.
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| joga56's Full Review: Hitachi DV-P325U DVD Player |
This is my first DVD Player. We have always owned VCRs, and have increasingly noticed that many Video stores have a great selection of DVD movies, so thought it was time to change to DVD. The difference is remarkable, and we’re glad we made the change. We kept our VCR for recording movies on television, and for an alternative, but now we only rent DVD movies.
The nice thing about a DVD movie is that not only do you get a great picture and sound, but also a lot of extras. There are scenes in which the Directors, Producers and Actors will talk about the movie, how it was made, or if it was a true story, you sometimes get to meet the actual person whose life is portrayed in the movie. They also add director’s cuts, alternate endings, voiceovers and many other interesting add-ons.
Our DVD player is small and fits perfectly on top of our Panasonic CT 27D12D 27” television (see a previous review I wrote on this). The depth is 8.5”, width 17.13”, height 2.94”, and only weighs 4.63 lbs. The DVD player is silver with a black front panel, so complements our television nicely.
The Hitachi DV-P325U is a Standard model which means it’s a console unit meant for single-home use. This particular model doesn’t have Progressive Scan (creates a picture as a single image, scanning all lines in succession which makes it appears sharp and crisp). However, I don’t see that the picture quality is affected negatively at all.
Hitachi introduced this model in March, 2002 retailing for $139.95 US.
Features:
Auto Detection of Discs - DVD, MP3 or CD.
Search, Skip, Pause buttons – allow you to do a search by chapter or time, go to a marker, skip chapters, and pause.
Zoom & Marker – the zoom is 2-time and 4-time magnified, and you can program a Marker at the place you wish to call back late (use A-B Repeat button on remote). The Clear button on remote clears the markers.
Jog Dial Control - is on the unit itself, and can be used to fast forward, and reverse at different speeds.
Languages – a choice of 136 audio languages are provided, as long as the DVD being played allows for this.
Number Buttons on Remote - to select a specific chapter on the DVD video or track on a CD.
Parental Controls – Parents can limit playback of discs that are not suitable for children by setting the control level. There are 8 levels - #8 is the Adult level, #2 - #7 are general use, and #1 level is kid safe. This is password protected.
Playback Modes – Still picture, fast forward/reverse, slow motion, step frames, and resume play.
CD and MP3 Playback – can shuffle the order or playback in specific order.
Audio Outputs – coaxial, optical and RCA.
Note: It’s important to match the type of digital output on your source components to the type of digital inputs available on your receiver or recording devices.
Playable Audio Formats – CD, CD-R, CD-RW and MP3.
Playable Video Formats – DVD-R, VCD and DVD.
Surround Sound– Virtual, Dolby Digital (aka AC-3), and DTS which is newer and produces a slightly better sound (Digital Theater Sound).
Both Dolby and DTS are 5.1 channel systems which means the sound is processed into 6 different paths (center, front right, rear right, front left, rear left and the .1 stands for the subwoofer which is low bass). This creates a theater like surround sound. This model DVD type is “compatible” and doesn’t have decoders built in. This would cost more, but are said to be better. You may want a decoder if you have your DVD hooked up to your home entertainment center, but make sure your receiver supports this.
Video Outputs – Component (the best), S-Video (better) and Composite (good)
How to Program the Remote Control: (very easy)
Simply turn off the television, aim the DVD remote at your television, hold down the TV POWER button while you press the number (See table in manual pg 30) applicable to the brand of television you have. That’s it. You’re ready to go!
History of DVD:
“DVD” stands for Digital Video Disc. The disc is 4 ¾” in diameter and 1.2mm thick and can store 8.5 gigabytes of data on one side (equivalent to 6,800 floppy disks).
Sony and Phillips announced in 1994 that they were jointly developing a technology that would replace the CD for data storage. They also wanted to replace the VHS tape and Laserdiscs as a way of storing movies for delivery to the consumer. However, Time-Warner and Toshiba were also working on a similar technology. They both introduced their products within weeks of each other.
When the computer industry producers learned of this, they envisioned another VHS vs. Beta war. They also wanted to use the DVD technology for their computers without having to adapt to two different and new technologies being produced. Therefore, they demanded that DVDs be made in only one format. The companies all got together, and after many months were able to agree on a Uniform Standard for all DVDs, making life easier for all concerned, including the consumer.
How does a DVD work?
The DVD data is read from a disc using an infrared laser using a shorter wavelength than a CD meaning it can read smaller pockets of information where the data is stored. This means you can get more information on the DVD. They also have two layers of information on each side of the DVD. A DVD can hold about 135 minutes per layer or 9 hours approximately. The older CD could only hold 20 minutes of compressed video, so this is a significant improvement.
Comparing CD to a DVD:
*DVD has 540 lines of horizontal resolution vs. 210 for the CD.
*DVD has a better sound.
*DVD can support multiple “aspect ratios” so movies can be viewed in their original wide-screen versions (16:9 ratio) as opposed to being formatted at (4:3 ratio) to fit a television screen.
*DVD can hold up to 32 language tracks
*DVD can support add-ons as mentioned previously.
Price Ranges:
The prices range from under $100 up to $5,000 or more.
Some say that for a good DVD you should expect to pay at least $300, but we found an excellent DVD player for $150. Also, as you know, technology goes down in price fairly quickly. For this price we have a picture that’s clearly superior to a VCR, scanning, zoom, preview options and a variety of other features, as stated earlier.
You will pay around $500 to get to the next level of quality in a DVD player which will give you a bit more control over the images shown and a sharper picture. There is really no need to go any higher than this for the basic user, but if you do, you will only get the benefits if you also have other high-end components.
It is also recommended that you stick with name brands such as Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, Phillips, Hitachi, and Toshiba because they will more likely honor a warranty.
(Warranty on the Hitachi is 1 year)
Three Methods to Connect to a Television:
1)Video (Good Picture) - Straight to the TV – plug one end of a AV cable into the standard Video Out connection on the back of DVD player (round and usually yellow jack) and connect the other end to the Video In on back of the television. (Good Picture)
2)S-Video (Better picture) – (round black plug with a set of pins inside) plug one end of the S-Video Cable into S-Video In on the television, and the other end into the S-Video Out on the DVD player. (Better Picture)
3)Component Video (Best Picture) – plug in three video cables into the Component S-Video In on the television, and the other three cables into the Component Video Out on the DVD player. (Best Picture)
Note: Older televisions don’t have the S-Video connection, so check your television.
Disc Maintenance:
*handle discs so that fingerprints and dust don’t adhere to the surface
*store in a protective case
*use soft cloth to clean off
*wipe disc in a straight line from center to edge (never wipe in a circular motion or use detergents or abrasives to clean).
Summary:
We had a budget of $150 and found this DVD player on sale for that price. We have watched a lot of DVD movies on it so far, and think the picture and sound are both superb. We didn’t want the added expense of buying a combination DVD/VCR because we already had a newer VCR, so just purchased the single unit. The only time we use our VCR now is to tape television programs that we watch regularly or special shows.
If you still use a VCR to view your video rentals, you are really missing out. Once you view a DVD movie, you will never go back to renting VHS VCR movies again.
The DVD will make the VHS videos extinct one day just like the 8 track tape was replaced by the smaller cassette tapes. I usually don’t buy new technology as soon as it appears on the market because if you wait a little while it always gets cheaper, plus the bugs will be worked out.
We are very happy with our Hitachi DVD player and truly enjoy watching DVDs vs. VHS videos. The difference in quality of the picture and the add-ons are well worth the price you pay for the DVD player. The prices of DVDs are very reasonable now, so it’s a good time to buy into the technology.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150
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Epinions.com ID:
joga56
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Location: Canada (from USA)
Reviews written: 35
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
I think it's important to research items we purchase.
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