Philips DVP642 DivX-Certified Progressive-Scan DVD Player
by Philips
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List Price: Category: Home Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Philips DVP642 DivX-Certified Progressive-Scan DVD Player
Customer Review: DivX DVD Player - DVP-642/37
Summary: 5 Stars
PLAYS DVDs, CDs, MP3 CDs, JPEG CDs AND VCD!
AND: PAL-to-NTSC FORMAT CONVERSION
Tap into multimedia fun with the Philips broad-format, high-style, and ultra-slim DVP-642 DVD player.
This sleak looking DVD player features progressive-scan output creating a picture using 2 times the scan lines of
a conventional DVD player for seamless, flicker-free images on HD-ready TVs.
If your home entertainment system currently includes an HDTV or if you are planning on adding an HDTV in the future,
this DVD player stands ready to deliver the full potential of your DVDs.
PAL-to-NTSC format conversion enables viewing of non-region-encoded European discs.
PLAYS: CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DivX, DVD, DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVR-R, DVD-Video, MP3-CD, MPEG4, Picture CD, SVCD,
Video CD, Audio CD, JPEG image CD, and CDs loaded with MP3, MPEG-4, or DivX 3.11/4.x/5.x files.
The five disc resume feature allows you to pick up where you left off on up to five of your most recently viewed DVDs.
SmartPicture and 4x video upsampling enhance all outputs.
Optical and coaxial digital-audio terminals pass Dolby Digital and DTS surround signals.
SUPERB AUDIO and VIDEO PERFORMANCE:
4x video upsampling for improved image quality
192kHz/24-bit audio DAC delivers high-quality audio
Progressive Scan for razor-sharp and flicker free images
Plays practically any disc format
Movies: DVD, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R, (S)VCD, DivX, MPEG4
Music: CD, CD-R/RW and MP3-CD
Picture CD (JPEG) with music (MP3) playback
Ultimate convenience Smart Picture provides personalized image settings
PICTURE/DISPLAY:
Aspect ratio : 4:3, 16:9 D/A converter:10 bit, 54MHz Picture enhancement : 4x Video Upsampling,
Progressive Scan, Smart Picture
SOUND:
Crosstalk (1kHz) : 105dB dB D/A converter : 192KHz/24 bit Distortion and Noise (1kHz) : 90dB dB Dynamic
Range (1kHz) : 90dB dB Signal to noise ratio : 90dB Sound Enhancement : Smart Sound Sound System :
Dolby Digital (AC-3), MPEG2, Stereo
VIDEO PLAYBACK:
Compression formats: Divx 3.11, Divx 4, Divx 5, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4 Playback Media:CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DivX,
DVD, DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD-Video, MP3-CD, MPEG4, Picture CD, SVCD, Video CD Disc Playback Modes: A-B Repeat,
Disc Menu, Fast Backward, Fast Forward, OSD, Pause, Screen Saver, Standard Play, Zoom DVD Region : 1 Loader Type:
Tray Number of Discs :1 Video disc playback system : NTSC, PAL Video Enhancement : Progressive Scan, Smart Picture
AUDIO PLAYBACK:
Compression format : Dolby Digital, MP3, PCM Playback Media : CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3-CD Disc Playback Modes :
A-B Repeat, Next/Previous Track Search MP3 bit rates : 32 - 256 kbps MP3 sample rates : 32, 44.1, 48, 112, 128, 256 kHz
STILL PICTURE PLAYBACK:
Playback Media : Picture CD, DVD+R/+RW Picture compression format : JPEG Picture enhancement : Rotate Rotation :
90 degree steps Slide show : yes, with music (MP3) Zoom:Yes
CONNECTIVITY:
Digital audio out: cinch, coaxial, optical Other connections: ComponentVideo out Progressive, Composite video (CVBS)
out,S-Video out Output rear : Audio L/R out
CONVENIENCE:
Child Protection : Parental Control Convenience
ENHANCEMENTS: On-screen Display Display Type:FTD Ease of use.
On Screen Display On-Screen Display languages : American, Canadian French, Mexican Spanish
FEATURES:
4x video upsampling
Progressive-scan output
PAL-to-NTSC format conversion
Optical and coaxial digital-audio terminals
Disc Lock Parental Controls
Picture Zoom
Dimensions: 17.1'W x 1.7'H x 9.3'D
Model No: DVP-642/37
Weight: 6.5 Lbs.
Customer Review: Great DVD player for the money
Summary: 4 Stars
So far I have only played commercially-recorded DVDs, but I have to say that they look great. It took me about 10 minutes to completely set up the player, including setting the video and sound options.
VIDEO: I use the component-out video connection, and, unlike some other reviewers, had no problem with it--although I did have to go into the system set-up menu and tell it to use component-out to a non-progressive 4:3 TV, but the menu for doing that was very easy to find and use (before doing that, the picture was kind of a monochromatic grayish-blue). The picture is clear and the colors are true. I haven't seen any jitter or weird artifacts in fast scenes. **edit: I read other recent reviews that complained using component video output to the TV resulted in a blue picture. This occured when I first set my player up with the component cables, but in under a minute, I completed the set-up and the output was "normal" and sharp. Completing the video set-up according to the directions in the user manual is quite easy and fast--though you do have to read the manual as you go. If you have an HDTV, you also have to make sure it's set to progressive output, or the picture will be distorted--the same is true for non-HDTVs--if you have a distorted picture, check the settings for your video output. The player needs to "know" what kind of TV you're using with it.
AUDIO: The player's connected via a coax digital cable to my receiver, and the sound is very good. Others have complained about a "chirping" noise, but I haven't heard it--I suspect that it may have to do with what kind of disks you are playing. The player itself whirrs slightly, but it's only noticeable when it first starts up, unless you are standing right next to it.
REMOTE: The remote is not programmable to control other devices, unlike so many remotes these days (to a greater or lesser degree of success), so I end up with at least 2, if not 3, remotes at my side. Since I hooked up the player to my stereo receiver using a digital connection, only the "mute" on the remote works on the sound--for raising & lowering the volume, I have to use my receiver's remote. On the bright side, this means that the buttons on the remote make sense, since there are few of them, making the remote easy to use.
EXTRA FEATURES: The player is supposed to "remember" the last point any of the last five DVDs were at when you stopped them. At first, I thought I was doing something wrong, pressing "stop" twice, or something, that overrode that feature. **edit: The player sporadically "remembers" the last point in the DVD. There seems to be a limit to how long it will "remember."
The manual states that the player can output PAL VCDs to an NTSC TV (converting the PAL signal to NTSC); however, I get the impression from other reviews that PAL DVDs also play successfully to NTSC TVs on this player -- and the various promotional statements I've seen also give that impression. So I suppose this is more a question than a nitpick--does the player play PAL DVDs and convert the output to NTSC?
I am very happy with my purchase--there could be more bells-and-whistles, but if all you want to do is watch DVDs, occasionally listen to MP3 CDs, and maybe view jpeg photoalbums, this player seems like a great buy. I hope I feel this way in a year!
EDIT: I have had this player for approximately 9 months now, and so far, so good. It's still playing, and has presented no problems.
EDIT #2: I have now had the player almost two years, and I've had no problems with it at all. Still reliably playing whatever I put in it. I'm still very happy with it!
Customer Review: Crappy product with even worse customer service
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this player about 6 months ago for our bedroom as a backup player to the Sony in the den. We have played less than 10 DVD's on it and it is now dead. When I put a DVD in, it comes back with the "No Disc" message. I have tried numerous DVD's and they all give the same message. It will play CD's. I did some research on the internet and it seems this is a fairly common problem. I also read somewhere that you could bump it while loading and it would play. I tried that and got it to work once so I am guessing something is just out of line.
Anyway, I called Philips over the weekend and after going through their standard troubleshooting script, they informed me it was out of warranty but could be exchanged for a fee. As I discovered, the warranty is only 90 days free replacement. From 91 days to a year, there is an exchange program for a fee. I guess I should have known the warranty was only 90 days but I never even looked at the warranty. In my experience, if electronics work out of the box, they don't fail in 90 days. I now realize that is true for quality electronics but not Philips electronics. I asked how much the fee was and the lady said the fee was not listed on her sheet. She gave me a claim number and told me to call back on Monday. I called on Monday and went thru a similar experience. This time the lady put me on hold to call the RMA department to get the fee. After three attempts (the line was busy), I asked to be transferred to a supervisor. The supervisor came on the line and I explained the situation to him and asked for consideration on the warranty. He said there was no flexibility or exceptions with the warranty. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the product and lack of consideration. I then asked to speak to someone higher up in management. He flatly refused to provide me with any other contact information. He said it was his department's job to "give the bad news to the customer" and not to pass them on up the chain. He then asked if I was interested in paying the fee or not. I asked him how much it was. He said they had still not gotten in touch with the RMA department because the line was still busy. He seemed oblivious to the significance of a long wait for someone in RMA. He told me he would try to get in touch with them by at least tomorrow. Obviously they are having more product problems than they can effectively handle.
From the other reviews on here, apparently this is a pretty good player when it works. I wouldn't know since I only played a few DVD's with it. My advice is to avoid any products from Philips, especially this one. With their short warranty and lousy customer service, it's obviously a gamble doing business with them. Electronics should last years, not days.
PS..Almost forgot. When I was talking to the Philips customer care representative, he asked me where I bought it. I told him Amazon. He then went on to tell me that when you buy Philips products online from places like Amazon and Overstock that you are buying refurbished units. I told him it was advertised as new and that I knew Amazon would not misrepresent the product. Amazon had also shipped it to me within 2 months of the manufactured date so I didn't believe him. He just repeated his statement. I called Amazon after getting off the phone with Philips. The Amazon customer care rep was very friendly, professional and assured me the product they shipped was new and she did not know why Philips would be saying that. I also must add what a contrast in customer care experiences between Amazon and Philips in the span of 10 minutes.
Customer Review: Does what it promises, hope firmware is fixed for 1.5x zoom
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all, let me say that this unit is very well worth the money. As "just a dvd player" I give it FIVE over FIVE points (or ten/ten if you wish).
The unit comes locked for Region 1 DVDs, but can be easily unlocked (just google for the asnwer) to make it region-free. I have tested my unit purchased on amazon.com and unlocked with Region 1, region 2 dvds purchased from Britain, and region 4 DVDs purchased in South America. It just works.
The unit's COMPONENT-VIDEO output is superb, even if you use an CRT TV. I recommend you get a quality component video cable and use that instead of the "composite video" output.
When playing MPG and AVI files, the component video output shows pixelation and artifacts on low-quality or low-resolution avi/divx/mpg files, but when playing back the same files and switching the tv to component video, these problems go away!.
Component video, it should be noted, is superior to "s-video" (which just separates color information from luminance), as each basic color (Red-Green-Blue) travels on a separate shielded cable.
Now, the "extras" besides basic DVD playback
1. DIVX and XVID are supported. But some .avi files will play back with NO SOUND if the original file was encoded with a "codec" (compression algorithm) that is not supported by this unit. Just because a file plays back ok on your PC with "Windows Media Player" it doesn't mean it will playback in this unit.
2. DVD-R media *IS* supported. You might need, however, to update the firmware (it's available for download from the philips.com web site. You have to download a .iso image, burn the data to a cd-r, press a key combination on the remote and then insert the cd-r disc).
Now the problems:
1. Even while DivX is supported, mpeg4/divx files compressed with the Divx Pro software using the "QPEL" (advanced motion optimization and prediction) will NOT PLAY on the unit. The unit will display an ugly "QPEL CODEC NOT SUPPORTED" message and stop there. There's no way to play back QPEL encoded files on this unit (it would require a much faster processor inside).
2. ZOOM LEVELS ARE INCONSISTENT. On DVD movies, zoom levels featured are 1.5x, 2x, 3x, 4x. However when you are playing back ".avi" (mpeg4/divx) files, you will find that often the only zoom levels available are "normal" (no zoom) and "2x", and that's it!. There is no 1.5x zoom level when paying back mpg and divx files! So forget about watching that wide-screen (4:3 format) movie in full screen by switching to 1.5x zoom mode. If it's a DVD movie you can. But if it's a DivX/MPEG4 movie you can't!.
3. A-B loop doesn't work most of the time on DivX/AVI files. Sometimes, when it does work, after you selct an a-b loop, you turn the feature off by pressing the a-b key once again, and when you want to create another a-b loop, the feature no longer works! (unless you press STOP and PLAY the file once again). VERY annoying.
4. PHILIPS doesn't seem very interested in updating the firmware. The last update is dated May 2004, and there has been no update since then, even while the number of bugs is high (see above).
However, even after all this, I think that for ~$70 dollars or less including Amazon.com's free ground shipping, you can't go wrong with this unit, as DVD playback is superb, and the ability to play most (but not all!) .mpg / .avi (DivX/MPEG4/Xvid) video files is just a nice extra to have in there as a "bonus".
Burning .avi and mpg files to DVD recordable media also works.
Customer Review: Very Pleased with Features
Summary: 5 Stars
As a college sophomore, I like to enjoy watching my shows and movies with my suitemates. However, as most of our videos are in DivX or similar formats, we were stuck watching them on the computer.
The Philips DVP642 changed all that. Initially, I placed an order with Amazon.com, but after waiting 4 days and as it was still not in stock, I switched over to Circuitcity.com.
The unit arrived 2 days later. So far, I have tested DivX, Xvid, and SVCD formats on DVD+R amd CD-R disks and have been very pleased with the results. However, some versions of Xvid encoded media files have problems. For example, my Family Guy DVD Ripped Xvid back up copies would play for 8-30 seconds, then skip to the next track. This drove me nuts.
Secondly, while I did not find the remote to be too cheap as others have complained, I also would have appreciated a better layout and a stronger signal to the DVD player.
I have tried the all-region "hack" [7,8,9 ok 0] to of no avail. However, the [5,6,9 ok] worked fine. This may be due to a difference in firmware versions. I also don't know why the "hack" is needed, as the Philips DVP642 is advertised to a be a region-free player in the first place. I have not had any problems so far with regional dvds [regions 1 and 3 tested].
Overall, the Philips DVP642 is an excellent player for the budget-minded consumer who enjoys a sleek, compact, and extremely compatible player. For the price, the DVP642 has few faults and the constant firmware updates are a welcome addition to ensure the extended life of the product.
Update 9/06/04:
Noticed that the DVP642 crops video files. I never noticed it before since everything I played was widescreen, but when I began playing my anime full screen TV shows, I noticed that the top and bottom sections were cut off [ie no subs!]. I will search the forums for a solution [there must be one] and hopefully update soon.
Update 9/16/04 - Player not good for Anime fans.
Small change of heart: a big thumbs down to the automatic cropping feature of the Philips DVP642. While most people may not notice this--it becomes very apparent to those who are anime fans. If the show is not in widescreen format, subtitles are cut off by the DVP642. Unless Philips releases a firmware update that will fix this issue or unless anime fansubbers start placing subtitles higher, this is a pretty big deal for people who buy this unit to play their anime fansubbed shows.
Philips has been hiding their firmware update page, I know at least I had a really hard time finding it. For your convenience, here it is:
http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/d/dvp642_17/
Update 9/25/04:
Regarding the skipping issue I experienced with my Family Guy Xvid encoded back-ups I noted above, I had the same experience with DivX 5.11 encoded files. I am not sure if it is a problem with my burner or if the DVP642 just acts screwy when there are over 30 files per disc.
Yesterday, my suitemate watched the movie Old School which was encoded in Xvid and there were no problems at all. To my credit, I had also burned those Family Guy episodes three times as well. I will try burning the Family Guy episodes on regular CD-R instead of cramming them all on DVD+R and see if it makes any difference. If it does make a difference, that kinda sucks since it means I have to walk ALL ten feet over to the DVD player and open the disc tray to switch discs every 4 episodes ;-).