Need inexpensive Scaling DVD player. Recommendations? (1 Viewer)

[Chet_F]

Looking for a DVD player that has the scaling ability for non-anamorphic DVDs. Ideally I would like one that can force the scaling for improperly flagged non-anamorphic DVDs but I here that the Panny RP91 is the only one that does this. I just checked and the RP91 is out of my price range. I'd like to spend $50 but I know that is not realistic......I could afford 100-200 range. I would like component hookups but S-video will do, DVD-R compatibility(not neccessary), CD-R compatibilty, DVD-A would be nice but not a must, Fiber optic out for audio is a must....that's all i can think of.

Thanks ahead of time guys and gals!!!

Chet

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

If you don't mind the CUE, check out a Toshiba player.

If you do mind it, maybe try the Malata 520 though it's a less reliable player. Still, it's feature packed and should probably fit your budget.

_Man_

 

[Chet_F]

"the CUE" ?? What is this? And what model Toshiba Player?

Thanks for the recommendations.

Well...just checked out the Malata DVP-520 and that is definately a no go. I actually spoke with a company that sold them and they flat out told me not to buy one because of the quality control issues. They sold approx. 290 units and received 260 back from theior customers. When they contacted Malata for warranty service they refused.

Anyone have any other recommendations?

 

[greg_t]

The 91 has dropped considerably in price. Try crutchfield. Their price is good and you may be able to talk them down a little more. Crutchfield is a great online seller. You aren't going to find any low end players that scale like the 91.

 

[Chet_F]

"I just checked and the RP91 is out of my price range"

Still is.

 

[rin]

Take a look at the JVC XV-FA90BK. It scales properly flagged 4:3 LB discs, plays DVD-Audio discs, has no CUE(Chroma bug), has component video out, coax and optical digital audio outs, and it's a 7-disc changer. I have one and have been very happy with it. I picked it up at Good Guys for $149. You can find it online for even less.
Not sure if it plays DVD-R or CD-R discs.
I hope this helps.

 

[Chet_F]

Thanks Rin! I just checked some reviews of this unit and found some negatives with Q/C as well as complaints that the unit makes a great deal of noise when switching DVDs. There were a few other things they mentioned also. Does JVC make a single disc loader that has these same features? The reason I ask is I would rather avoid multi-disk units as they seem to break down more frequently than the single disc units. And when you say it scales do you mean you can adjust the scaling or do you just push a button an it automatically stretches the picture to a 1:85 image or 2:35 image.

thanks again

 

[rin]

The changer does make a little noise but I never did understand why that would be considered a negative. It's only making noise between movies so it's not like you can't hear the dialog over the noise or anything like that.

The scaling is automatic(no adjustment possible) when the player is in 16:9 normal mode. The player will take a 4:3 letterboxed movie and re-scale it to fit a 16:9 display. The aspect ratio of the movie as encoded on the disc is not changed. The end result is an image that is usually better than most display's zoom modes, but not as good as most anamorphic discs.

The Panny RP-91 has adjustable scaling.

 

[Dalton]

Does JVC make a single disc loader that has these same features?

Yes that would be the XV-SA75GD which i recently picked up refurbished on ebay for $83 shipped. A great deal. This player does an awesome job scaling non-anamorphic discs. That's all i bought it for too. Very happy i got it!

 

[Don_Berg]

I have a JVC XV-SA75GD for sale now if you are interested in it. I just upgraded to a new model JVC XV-N50 since I didn't need the DVD-AUDIO or DD5.1 analog output capability of the 75. I stuck with the JVC line since it has all the features I like, I tried a Panasonic and took it back - it sucked. The XV-SA75GD works with CDR/CDRW/DVD-R/DVD+R and has zoom in/out plus auto-scaling of non-anamorphic widescreen DVDs, the new models only zoom out. PM-me if interested in the XV-SA75GD DVD player.

 

[Chet_F]

Don. You have mail.

Thanks Rin and Dalton for the additional info. You've both been very helpful.

Chet_F

 

[rin]

Don't mention it Chet, glad to help.

I should add that when I said:

an image that is usually better than most display's zoom modes, but not as good as most anamorphic discs

What I should have said is that the scaled image is not quite as good as most anamorphic discs. Some non-anamorphic discs like Planet of the Apes(1968) look amazingly good. It seems to depend a lot on the transfer.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Chet,

As mentioned in passing, you should note that the JVC players will only do letterbox scaling when the DVD is properly flagged, and sometimes they are not. A couple DVDs that are known to have bad flags for this are Titanic and True Lies.

In such cases, you'll be stuck w/ either 4x3 windowboxing or 2x zoom, which crops off significantly from the sides (and top/bottom too for

 

[Dalton]

I'm not sure about Titanic but True Lies scales perfectly with the JVC. I didn't even realize it wasn't 16x9 because the only player i had watched it on was the JVC. It wasn't until i tried it in the Denon 1600 that i realized it was non-anamorphic. The JVC has properly scaled all non-anamorpic discs i have tried(about 25). Improperly flagged discs are the exception and not the rule IMO. I had the Toshiba 4700 and the zoom mode don't cut it for non-anamorphic discs IMO. The JVC makes them look almost anamorphic. Good luck with whatever you choose Chet.

 

[Don_Berg]

I rented the non-anamorphic Titanic DVD recently and it scaled correctly for 16:9 on the JVC SA75GD. That DVD is improperly flagged for progressive, but with the JVC you can manually select "FILM" mode for such DVDs. There are only two I've heard of flagged that way (old ones): Titanic and Austin Powers1. But I like that the JVC nas manual override for FILM oR VIDEO modes, in addition to AUTO mode, as opposed to many players that are AUTO only! I too have the original Planet of the Apes (1868 movie) DVD that is non-anamorphic and never even realized it with the JVC since it scaled it like an anamorphic DVD automatically. One thing I noticed in comparing DVD players with scaling is that the JVC's scale 4:3 windows properly on a 16:9 display including menus and subtitles. I tried a new Panasonic S35 with that scaling and when it displays a 4:3 menu screen windowboxed on a 16:9 display it doesn't scale the menu items and subtitles - they are in the wrong position relative to the scaled background!

 

[rin]

Personally, I would not want a JVC player, if letterbox scaling is top priority

Which player would you choose if LB scaling IS top priority?

 

[Don_Berg]

I personally would pick a JVC player if scaling of non-anamorphic letterbox titles is the main feature you want! JVC models are a bargain compared to all the other models I have tried and have the best combination of features and a decent de-interlacer. Sure a Panasonic RP91 would be great but its several times the price and I heard its discontinued like the other great older Panasonic models that are now impossible to get except by paying super-high prices on EBAY. The new Panasonic models have inferior electronics that I have confirmed with AVIA test patterns are worse at de-interlacing than the JVC models.

 

[Don_Berg]

I just confirmed that the JVC model SA75GD autoscales non-anamorphic (letterboxed) widescreen titles like the original Planet of the Apes correctly for 16:9 displays. The newer JVC model players don't do it autmatically but using their manual zoom at 1.8:1 does the same thing. The newer JVC players only have zoom in, no zoom out. The older JVC SA75GD has both zoom in and out.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Don,

I believe you are the first of MANY JVC owners to say that Titanic auto-scales correctly.

And I still contend that True Lies is not properly flagged for auto-scaling although I can no longer doublecheck this since I no longer own a scaling player.

Some other DVDs that have been reported for improper flagging include Mission Impossible and Con Air. I have never tried them myself for auto-scaling.

Amongst the non-16x9 DVDs I've tried w/ either Panny S35 or RP91, all Hong Kong DVDs seem to be improperly flagged. So if you plan to use the player for Hong Kong DVDs, then forget about the JVCs.

Finally, in most reports I've seen of older JVC players, their zoom modes (for manual scaling) do not preserve OAR. They generally overzoom and end up cropping some picture off the sides.

Of course, if you're looking at a new JVC model, you could probably buy it from somewhere w/ a good return policy and try for yourself.

_Man_