The only thing it doesn't do is make the popcorn
Written: Dec 04 '00 (Updated Dec 04 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: great picture and sound
Cons: doesn't play CD-R discs
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| martytdx's Full Review: Sony DVP-C670D Multi-disc DVD Player |
My birthday is coming up soon (I'm sure that your cards are already en route, so I'll thank you all now), so my parents decided to splurge on me (it's one of those BIG birthdays). I was torn between a new camera, a collection of old KISS albums, a night of drunken debauchery in Peoria, IL and a DVD changer to replace my ancient and ailing CD player. As tempting as having bad pictures taken of me drunk on Elm Street listening to Love Gun was, I had to go with the DVD player.
I started looking at Sony DVD's for several reasons:
1) They were one of the co-developers of the technology;
2) I have all Sony components already and have never had a problem with any of them (that aforementioned CD changer is 10 years old and is only now starting to have problems)
3) I got a hell of deal.
After shelling out my parents hard-earned money (thanks, Mom & Dad), I waited eagerly for the player to arrive. I ordered myself some DVD's (can't be sitting there without anything to play, could we?), lifted the stack of other components and waited. And waited. And waited. [at this point, let me say that UPS is not on my 'Nice' Xmas list).
But Friday, it finally arrived - time to play!
SET UP
This player was easy to set up, although I am intimately familiar with setting up this type of equipment, since I used to move every year ... anyway, I had it on the shelf and ready to go in less than 5 minutes.
They send you the necessary cables, including an S-Video link (the preferred method for high-quality picture and sound), the remote & batteries. It's all ready to go.
CONTROLS
The controls on the player itself are very basic, but most of the time you are going to be using the remote, so it's not that big a deal. I spent the first hour playing with things to get the hang of all of the configurations.
The interface is pretty basic, even a bit sloppy aesthetically. But it serves its purpose once you get used to it. There are controls for:
-- sound - whether you want to use DTS, Surround, how your speakers are set up, etc.
-- video/aspect ratio - do you want to see it letterbox, widescreen or 'pan and scan'
-- DVD display - when you run Disk Manager, do you want to see the title, a title and picture, etc.
-- Language - what language do you want to display menus and DVDs (where applicable) in?
-- Custom - this is where you decide whether you want it to automatically decide the best way to display everything, whether you want the disc to play automatically, do you want captions, more advanced video functions, etc.
As I said, although visually the menu system is very basic, it is very functional. It gives you a lot of control over what you see and hear, and it takes a while to understand everything that you can do.
The remote controls are a little more tricky to get use to, but once you do, they are a snap. The jog wheel on the remote allows you to change the speed and direction of the video very quickly, although switching from 2x or Forward1 (normal fast forward) back to play can sometimes be tricky. Surprisingly, fast forward images are extremely clear, unlike VHS fast forwards. Additionally, the remote lights up for easy access in the dark.
Almost all of the functions of the player can be accessed here, such as angles, languages and other features that make a DVD the superior product over a VCR that it is. Unfortunately, I felt like the kid that got the sweater instead of a bike on Xmas - none of my DVD's had any of those features.
VIDEO
The picture from this machine is nothing short of spectacular. There is very limited 'ghosting' from the digital image (where you can see the pixelated digital picture - something that film never had), and you really have to look to find what little there is. The sound of it is also fantastic, giving very well-defined distribution of sound across all of the channels.
MUSIC
I tried playing some of my music CD's in the player and they sound great. Granted, there won't be a whole lot of improvement over your normal CD's in sound quality because there isn't a whole lot that you can do when the production isn't geared for Dolby 5.1 surround sound. However, the newer CDs and Super-CDs are designed to take advantage of the enhanced sound features of 5.1, and should sounds fantastic once I get one.
I miss the sound features of my old CD changer (Hall, Live, etc.), but this isn't designed to be a CD player as much as it is a DVD player that you can play your CDs in. As such, there is the ONE big minus I have found so far - this DVD player will not play CD-R. This crushes me because a growing number of my CDs are CD-Rs that I am recording or are live shows. In fact, I actually pulled my CD changer back out of the basement and now have BOTH players there - one for DVD, one for music. I'll use the DVD player for the higher end discs, when the music quality is more necessary.
PLAYER IN GENERAL
Many players don't actually come with the decoders, but this one does - a bonus because I had a AC-3 ready receiver but no decoder. FYI - AC-3 is the standard in which the decoder which splits the sound signal into 5 channels plus a subwoofer channel. If you already have a decoder in your receiver/amp, you might want to go with the lower model which is identical save for the AC-3 decoder. This DVD player comes with both the Dolby Digital 5.1 standard (you'll find this in just about all DVD players) but also comes with DTS which is a higher end sound system that only a few players have. Also, although it is not officially a THX machine, it does sound spectacular playing the THX intro and includes a THX testing protocol within the menu system.
Size-wise, this player is relatively sleek and thin, about half the size of my CD changer. Its width is comparable to most of my other components and it fits snugly in the stack (CD-changer, DVD player, receiver, tape deck one, tape deck two, vcr one, vcr two, Playstation).
Again, I bought the changer version because I was replacing my CD changer, and loved the ability to put in five discs for a long session of music. This player retains that capability, but transfers it to video. I can't think of too many situations where I would need to watch 5 movies back to back to back... but I can have five DVDs loaded or a movie and 4 discs, if I like. The changer factor was a major reason I looked at this player in the first place.
As I mentioned, it comes with the S-Video cord, which is the preferable way to connect it to an S-video equipped TV because signal is much stronger than simple patch cords. However, the cord supplied is rather short, so if you are not going to have this DVD player very close to the TV, you will need to buy a longer version - which would also give you a chance to buy a higher quality cable, should you desire it.
DVD's IN GENERAL
DVD players are the next step after VCRs, although they do lack one essential VCR attribute - recordability (well, if you want to shell out $2,500, you can have THAT, too). But the picture given is far beyond. Soundwise, they also take that next step, creating a fantastic theatrical experience in your own home.
DVDs also increase the convenience of watching your favorite films. Each DVD has a Chapter Index - usually accessible from the main menu - which allows the viewer to pick which scene they want instantly. No more fast forward and rewind until you find the right spot. The number of 'chapters' available varies on the movie itself, but regardless it gives a quick, convenient way of moving through the movie to the place YOU want to start from.
But perhaps on of the top reasons that most people are buying DVDs - aside from the increased quality - are the bonus features that every one of them seems to include. Because of the expanded room and quality, there are many add-ons that directors, producers and studios are throwing into movies to enhance their appeal. For older movies, this most often involves missing scenes and commentary from the director/producers, which often times are amazing to watch. Other DVDs include story boards, alternative endings or even interactive games which you can play - features that would be impossible on a video tape.
More and more, as the DVD technology is used to create first generation home entertainment (instead of simply copying over from tape to digital), the discs will have more chanced to change the viewing angle and which way scenes are portrayed. This is where DVD is going.
CONCLUSION, or HOW FAST SHOULD I GO OUT AND BUY IT
I would personally recommend this player to anyone who is ready to upgrade from their own CD player and VCR. As you read, it doesn't necessarily REPLACE either in its entirety but provides a superior alternative to both. I prefer Sony products because of a consistent amount of quality their components have always shown me, and I would recommend it to others as well.
If you are ready to step up, I can't see how you can go wrong with this player. It's already become a staple in its short life in my home, except it has this overwhelming compulsion to make me buy more movies...
Recommended:
Yes
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martytdx
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 481
Trusted by: 180 members
About Me:
Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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