The "Freeola Customer Forum" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Personally, when I got my DVD player, I popped into Currys and had a good look around, seeing prices ranging from £140 up to, well, you name it, with Sony being the most expensive model on the shelf.
Another quick browse around, and I spotted the Manager's Specials, a little shelf with what looked like opened boxes and a few DVD players on it, with one DVD player being marked up as £100.
Asking the manager why it was so cheap, he said that it had simply been transferred from another store when the other store had closed, and the box had already been opened, so they'd knocked £40 of the RRP.
So I bought it. It was a Grundig 110, Region 1, it's got all the features I could want from a DVD player, and the quality is amazing?
I know Sony are meant to be feature packed and higher quality, but to be honest, looking at the comparisons showing on display screens, I couldn't tell the difference, so I stuck with mine, and have never had a problem with it.
It it really worth forking out more than £200 for a DVD player nowadays?
Is the difference in quality of display and features really worth the asking price?
Are the different models really that different?
Another quick browse around, and I spotted the Manager's Specials, a little shelf with what looked like opened boxes and a few DVD players on it, with one DVD player being marked up as £100.
Asking the manager why it was so cheap, he said that it had simply been transferred from another store when the other store had closed, and the box had already been opened, so they'd knocked £40 of the RRP.
So I bought it. It was a Grundig 110, Region 1, it's got all the features I could want from a DVD player, and the quality is amazing?
I know Sony are meant to be feature packed and higher quality, but to be honest, looking at the comparisons showing on display screens, I couldn't tell the difference, so I stuck with mine, and have never had a problem with it.
It it really worth forking out more than £200 for a DVD player nowadays?
Is the difference in quality of display and features really worth the asking price?
Are the different models really that different?
> It it really worth forking out more than £200 for a DVD
> player nowadays?
> Is the difference in quality of display and
> features really worth the asking price?
> Are the different models really that different?
I bought a multi-region Pioneer DV-626D for about £400 just over a year ago and have been extremely pleased with it since. The picture quality is the absolute best you can get anywhere and has as outputs coming out the wazoo. I'd recommend it (or rather, it's successor - it's been replaced by another model now) if you have the cash to splash. That's what you're really paying for when you get above the £200 mark - built in Dolby decoding, DTS support, digital outputs, etc. And, of course, multi-region.
However, things have moved on quite recently. Some of the cheaper DVD players are quite good picture-wise, but lacking in features. A friend o' mine recently got an LG player (can't remember which model) - it was as basic as hell, with only scart or phono outputs at the back, but the picture quality was good and the setup simple. But, some can be really poor quality.
So, er, in conclusion - if you have the cash, go for something more advanced, but if you don't - choose wisely. Some cheap players are just that, but some can be good. Caveat emptor, as the saying goes.
> player nowadays?
> Is the difference in quality of display and
> features really worth the asking price?
> Are the different models really that different?
I bought a multi-region Pioneer DV-626D for about £400 just over a year ago and have been extremely pleased with it since. The picture quality is the absolute best you can get anywhere and has as outputs coming out the wazoo. I'd recommend it (or rather, it's successor - it's been replaced by another model now) if you have the cash to splash. That's what you're really paying for when you get above the £200 mark - built in Dolby decoding, DTS support, digital outputs, etc. And, of course, multi-region.
However, things have moved on quite recently. Some of the cheaper DVD players are quite good picture-wise, but lacking in features. A friend o' mine recently got an LG player (can't remember which model) - it was as basic as hell, with only scart or phono outputs at the back, but the picture quality was good and the setup simple. But, some can be really poor quality.
So, er, in conclusion - if you have the cash, go for something more advanced, but if you don't - choose wisely. Some cheap players are just that, but some can be good. Caveat emptor, as the saying goes.
I went for the Grundig GDV520 in the end (again, in Currys) and this came with a full olby 5.1 set up with a nice wooden effect subwoofer.
I'm really pleased with it as not only does it play the second disc of Gladiator (which has been having problems with some players, including Grundig ones) but the sound is wonderful and it now means I never have to go to the cinema again!
I have tried a lot of DVD players, both in shops and at other people's houses. Sony and Philips are the other makes that I would buy if I had to make a choice, mainly due to the quality I've seen from their various machines.
In the end it's all down to budget and features. I'm not too worried about being able to watch Region 1 films (although I'm sure someone will find a hack for my machine sooner or later) but I wanted great sound and a clear picture.
I'm really pleased with it as not only does it play the second disc of Gladiator (which has been having problems with some players, including Grundig ones) but the sound is wonderful and it now means I never have to go to the cinema again!
I have tried a lot of DVD players, both in shops and at other people's houses. Sony and Philips are the other makes that I would buy if I had to make a choice, mainly due to the quality I've seen from their various machines.
In the end it's all down to budget and features. I'm not too worried about being able to watch Region 1 films (although I'm sure someone will find a hack for my machine sooner or later) but I wanted great sound and a clear picture.
I know Sony are meant to be
> feature packed and higher quality, but to be honest, looking at the
> comparisons showing on display screens, I couldn't tell the
> difference, so I stuck with mine, and have never had a problem with
> it.
Just watching any old film wont show up any significant difference between one player and another. Examples of good things to watch out for are fine, angled lines (ideally white on a darker background) and, more commonly, thick smoke. The line will look a little segmented and the smoke will look pixelly (real word?) on poorer players.
You've made quite a good choice with the Grundig. It's definitely above average for the full price so you've really got a bargain there.
The only problem with it is it's multiregion capabilities - which are VERY important as you obviously have access to the Internet (so R1 DVDs are readily available). It IS remote hackable but I seem to remember there is a limit of 25 changes before the region is permanently locked. You can still set it to auto select and leave it though. It's just that regular manual region setting (if ever necessary) should be avoided, just in case.
If you don't know that hack let me know and I'll try dig it out for you.
It it really worth forking out more than £200 for a DVD
> player nowadays?
Is the difference in quality of display and
> features really worth the asking price?
Are the different models
> really that different?
Probably not, rarely and yes, respectively
Panasonic are an example of a big name company who make quite tosh DVD players. Sonys are good but are by no means fantastic. Toshiba are probably the only big name brand to make really good players and they really do make good ones. Their £200 SD100E absolutely wipes the floor with much of the competition at any price. It's certainly the best player for less than around £500 (but it needs 'upgrading' to be multiregion - not a problem as loads of places sell it already done for the same price). I rejected this one simply becauase of the auto-only region selection which seemed a big problem with RCE discs around my purchase time.
> feature packed and higher quality, but to be honest, looking at the
> comparisons showing on display screens, I couldn't tell the
> difference, so I stuck with mine, and have never had a problem with
> it.
Just watching any old film wont show up any significant difference between one player and another. Examples of good things to watch out for are fine, angled lines (ideally white on a darker background) and, more commonly, thick smoke. The line will look a little segmented and the smoke will look pixelly (real word?) on poorer players.
You've made quite a good choice with the Grundig. It's definitely above average for the full price so you've really got a bargain there.
The only problem with it is it's multiregion capabilities - which are VERY important as you obviously have access to the Internet (so R1 DVDs are readily available). It IS remote hackable but I seem to remember there is a limit of 25 changes before the region is permanently locked. You can still set it to auto select and leave it though. It's just that regular manual region setting (if ever necessary) should be avoided, just in case.
If you don't know that hack let me know and I'll try dig it out for you.
It it really worth forking out more than £200 for a DVD
> player nowadays?
Is the difference in quality of display and
> features really worth the asking price?
Are the different models
> really that different?
Probably not, rarely and yes, respectively
Panasonic are an example of a big name company who make quite tosh DVD players. Sonys are good but are by no means fantastic. Toshiba are probably the only big name brand to make really good players and they really do make good ones. Their £200 SD100E absolutely wipes the floor with much of the competition at any price. It's certainly the best player for less than around £500 (but it needs 'upgrading' to be multiregion - not a problem as loads of places sell it already done for the same price). I rejected this one simply becauase of the auto-only region selection which seemed a big problem with RCE discs around my purchase time.
er..that should be Region 2 I should have said, not Region 1, in my previous post.
Personally, when I got my DVD player, I popped into Currys and had a good look around, seeing prices ranging from £140 up to, well, you name it, with Sony being the most expensive model on the shelf.
Another quick browse around, and I spotted the Manager's Specials, a little shelf with what looked like opened boxes and a few DVD players on it, with one DVD player being marked up as £100.
Asking the manager why it was so cheap, he said that it had simply been transferred from another store when the other store had closed, and the box had already been opened, so they'd knocked £40 of the RRP.
So I bought it. It was a Grundig 110, Region 1, it's got all the features I could want from a DVD player, and the quality is amazing?
I know Sony are meant to be feature packed and higher quality, but to be honest, looking at the comparisons showing on display screens, I couldn't tell the difference, so I stuck with mine, and have never had a problem with it.
It it really worth forking out more than £200 for a DVD player nowadays?
Is the difference in quality of display and features really worth the asking price?
Are the different models really that different?
Another quick browse around, and I spotted the Manager's Specials, a little shelf with what looked like opened boxes and a few DVD players on it, with one DVD player being marked up as £100.
Asking the manager why it was so cheap, he said that it had simply been transferred from another store when the other store had closed, and the box had already been opened, so they'd knocked £40 of the RRP.
So I bought it. It was a Grundig 110, Region 1, it's got all the features I could want from a DVD player, and the quality is amazing?
I know Sony are meant to be feature packed and higher quality, but to be honest, looking at the comparisons showing on display screens, I couldn't tell the difference, so I stuck with mine, and have never had a problem with it.
It it really worth forking out more than £200 for a DVD player nowadays?
Is the difference in quality of display and features really worth the asking price?
Are the different models really that different?