How useful is zoom feature on DVD players? (1 Viewer)

[Daniel Mc]

I'm going through an intense mental struggle choosing between a few DVD players...one of them has zoom and the other doesn't, but I don't know just how important this feature is.

1. Do you use zoom often?

2. What do you need it for?

3. How do you get by if your player isn't equipped with zoom?


(My TV will be a widescreen, if that makes a difference.)

 

[Matt DeVillier]

the standard zoom feature is useless, IMO. I tested a JVC S500bk (which has a zoom feature) for a few weeks and never used it. Scaling (which the JVC also does), OTOH, is a feature absent on many players that is useful especially if your set locks into full when fed a porgressive signal.

 

[yekai]

It's a useless feature.
Nobody will use it frequently.

Some guys maybe use this feature for Adult Moive.
I guess.

 

[Duane Robinson]

Right here.

 

[Peter Rohlfs]

The most popular feature when watching Basic Instinct.
I did find the zoom feature useful when reading the historical Tombstone newspaper on the 2 disc Tombstone set.
It's not realy needed but can be fun if you have it.
Peter

 

[ChrisMatson]

I agreee, it is a fun feature to have, but not necessary. I don't know about other players, but with my Tosh 4700, I can zoom OUT to overcome slight overscan. Generally though, it is an unused feature.

 

[Kwang Suh]

One very big advantage with a player that zooms:

When watching non-anamorphic movies, the subtitles are shown in the correct area.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

It's mostly so that J6P can fill his screen

(with pixely images!)

 

[Mark Zimmer]

If you have something like the Malata N996, which has a dandy scaler that moves in very small increments, you can use it to zoom out and eliminate overscan completely. I've found that I love this feature more than just about anything else about the player. It's also EXTREMELY handy for nonanamorphic 1.66 films on a widescreen television.

 

[Chris PC]

For non-anamorphic DVD's do you just zoom in or do you have to stretch something too?

 

[Ken Garrison]

I use the Zoom feature to read the credits easier.

 

[rick bie]

I wouldn’t consider it a "have to have" function, but it can show some interesting or amusing things at times. I used it to look at wanted posters that were in a police station in the movie “Jeepers Creepers” and they were hilarious along the lines of “missing person - known to get in cars with strangers”. Ever since that I find myself using it occasionally to examine parts of movies for “in-house jokes” or bloopers. Other then that I don’t really use it.

 

[Eugene Hsieh]

There is a difference between the basic zoom of a standard player vs. the scaling on a DVD player like the Panasonic RP91.

On a widescreen TV, the scaled Panasonic RP91's image from a letterboxed non-anamorphic movie is way better than the same from a DVD player with a simple zoom. The Panasonic's scaling is a must have in my opinion.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I'm with Mark on the Malata Advantage. My 520 is great for watching nonanamorphic films of various aspect ratios with the zoom feature. The Malata also allows reverse zooming, allowing for the elimination of overscan.

I use this all the time on this player, and it was one of the key selling points.