tucknroll's Full Review: Philips DVP642 DVD Player
Overview
These days the stores are full of cheap DVD players. You can even buy DVD players for under $20 at the local drug store. If the Philips DVP642 was just another DVD player, I wouldn't even bother to review it here, as they are pretty much all the same. However, this DVD player has a few tricks up it's sleeve that allow it to seperate itself from the rest of the clones.
Features
The key feature of this player can be summed up in one word: DIVX
What is DIVX and why is it important to me?
DIVX is a video standard that uses an advanced video compression system to allow DVD quality video at much smaller file sizes. Along with it's compatible sister format XVID, it is the most popular video compression codec for file traded on the internet. While some people use this format to pirate DVD copies of full length films, another popular use is to download converted episodes of TV broadcasts. There is some question as to where this type of file sharing falls, after all, the majority of these shows are provided for free over the air anyway. However, many networks are now announcing that they will be providing a method for users to download TV shows direct from the network, although details remain scarce, chances are good that DIVX will be used for these downloads.
In Use
When my last el Cheapo DVD player bit the dust, I decided to spend a little more to buy a player that supported the DIVX format. I often use the internet to download episodes of shows that I have missed. However, I like to watch TV on TV and not my computer, this process involved converting each downloaded file to a DVD compatible format and burning each episode to a DVD, a time consuming task. With the Philips player, I can simply download the video file in DIVX/XVID format. ThenI can burn the file to a much cheaper CD-R disk in under 2 minutes.
The playback of DIVX/XVID encoded files is incredible, the quality is great and there is no need to jump through any hoops to play the video files.
Playback of standard DVD's is also great. The player has component output connections on the back which give great picture quality. It also supports progressive playback, although that feature is wasted on me since my TV does not support it.
The only minor complaint that I have is that the remote control has a slightly non-standard layout that takes a while to get used to. It's too easy to hit the system menu button when you are trying to bringup the DVD's menu.
I would recommend this player to anyone who had an interest in watching TV episodes downloaded from the internet. The process is so simple and painless that practically anyone can do it.
Measures 17.1 x 1.7 x 9.3 inches (W x H x D); Plays DVD-Video, video CD, audio CD, JPEG image CD, and CDs loaded with MP3, MPEG-4, or DivX 3.11/4.x/5....More at Amazon Marketplace
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