Bartman1553552672 Posted July 20, 2003 Posted July 20, 2003 I just picked up one of these at the supermarket (bigfresh and foodtown have them) and I'm actually quite impressed. The main reason for buying is that is has convential VGA connector!!! (as well as normal Component and Svid connectors) No macrovision, multiregion, and I can skip past annoying Copyright warnings. AC3 and DTS decoding built in, MP3 player, SVCD, JPEGS, Kodac CDs, this think plays anything...even DVDRs...all this for $149 Havn't done a picture comparison with my older Yamaha 795 yet (with both running in S-Video mode to be fair) but will be doing so shortly. The progressive output looks great on my Sony D50, but I still prefer using Svideo and scaling to 1024p. The scaler I have at the moment doesn't allow me to scale the progressive image unfortunately, with the VGA input being only a passthru. More testing and comparisons to be done, but for $149 I think you really can't go to far wrong. Anybody else got one of these badboys?
Max Christoffersen Posted July 25, 2003 Posted July 25, 2003 The Mizuda is one of the most extraordinary 'budget' AV products I have used. Period. Ever. Both sonically and visually it over achieves in spades. In use, it has the fastest tracking I have ever seen (on both CD/DVD) - it is super-quick in moving from chapter to chapter or song track to song track. Musically I am using it as a transport only linking to my Yamaha A-1 and the sonics are outstanding - I'm getting 'more information' from the disc to the Yamaha's on board DAC. Visually the VGA output is a genuine '32K' on both PAL and NTSC and while (predictably) slightly soft, it is nonetheless a very high quality line doubled signal and an extraordinary achievement at this price. (Faroudja were selling an entry level progressive DVD player at $5000US a few short years ago..) On board it has a range of sonic EQ/processing and visual image controls that are a genuine bonus and at this price shouldn't be expected. And the VGA port makes it a genuine steal. On the downside (if there is one) there is no power on/off via remote; it appears to be very sensitive to power supply fluctuations (occassional audio drops outs if other high power devices around the house etc kick on); there is no 'play' button - just open-close; and I detect an occasional pitch difference - it seems higher..I'm still working on that one. But frankly I'm stunned. This machine has no right to be this good at this price. Sure the remote feels a little cheap, but that's about all that gives it away. The rest is pure fun at a price where you have to say the glass is quite a bit more than half full. And it's covered for a full year warranty. The supermarket shoppers buying their first cheapy DVD player are getting a lot of bang for their buck and they probably don't know it. Put a high-end badge on it and nobody would know the difference. Buy one..(in fact but two).. I did. Max Christoffersen
michaelw Posted July 26, 2003 Posted July 26, 2003 Why didn't you guys tell me about this $149 wundermachine before I bought my used Sony 7000.
Bartman1553552672 Posted July 26, 2003 Author Posted July 26, 2003 Max why doesn't yours have a play button? Mine does You better take another look.
Mycenius Posted July 27, 2003 Posted July 27, 2003 Bartman, Max why doesn't yours have a play button? I think Max is referring to the remote which has the Enter/Menu Command and Play buttons combined into one, rather than the player itself which as you say does have a play button. Most (if not all) DVD remote's I have seen or had (I've owned 5 different DVD players in the last 18 months, inaddition to checking a heap out earlier this year when I bought my top end model) have a distinct play button versus an "enter" button. Admittedly the difference is pretty subtle, but there are a couple of instances where there is a distinction. M.
michaelw Posted July 27, 2003 Posted July 27, 2003 A question for the fans. Does this Mizuda fiddle NTSC for use on PAL only TVs ? cheers
Max Christoffersen Posted July 28, 2003 Posted July 28, 2003 Update #1. OK after a few discs and things thru it over the weekend, occasionally it's making some vibration type noises - little more than something not being totally tight in the construction of the disc drive somewhere. A tap on the top stops it. But worth mentioning. Any other noteworthy gremlins anywhere? And thanks for the 'play button' prompt - I missed it in my mad rush to budget bliss. Max Christoffersen
Mycenius Posted July 31, 2003 Posted July 31, 2003 Haytona, Here you go... Yell out if you want a close up of the output jacks... From left to right there are 6 plugs for 5.1 speaker output (and can be used for Stereo, etc, via the audio configuration), Then 2 plugs for Composite & S-Video, and 3 for RGB output, and finally 2 plugs (co-ax and optical) for digital audio output. There is also a VGA socket for a computer monitor... P.S. Front & Rear view! P.P.S. You can also get them from Woolworths and possibly Price Chopper & Countdown, as they are all part of the 'Progressive' Group. Attached files
Michael Jones Posted July 31, 2003 Posted July 31, 2003 Originally posted by mycenius Then 2 plugs for Composite & S-Video, and 3 for RGB output Are they RGB output or component video?
Max Christoffersen Posted July 31, 2003 Posted July 31, 2003 Apparently both. There is a suggestion (as yet untested) that the component output also offers RGB with synch on green. Irrespective, the VGA output takes care of the need for RGB. Max Christoffersen
Mycenius Posted July 31, 2003 Posted July 31, 2003 Yeah Sorry, Max is right... I probably should have said "...3 for Component (and RGB)" or something like that...
michaelw Posted July 31, 2003 Posted July 31, 2003 Does it really have onboard DD ad DTS ? The website I found only mentions DD 5.1 analog outputs and DTS is only digital. Will it transcode NTSC to pseudoPAL for use on PAL only Tvs ? What became of Max's strange noises ? regards,
Max Christoffersen Posted August 1, 2003 Posted August 1, 2003 " What became of Max's strange noises?" Mike W I continue to make them... The player however seems to make it on just one DVD (and now I can't find it) and one or two CDs. It's actually a bit of a non-issue. Max Christoffersen:p
Mycenius Posted August 1, 2003 Posted August 1, 2003 The website I found only mentions DD 5.1 analog outputs and DTS is only digital Michael (W), It appears to be near identical to the Auriga DV-2188 http://www.avwholesale.com.au/product.asp?productid=123 - even the controls layout on the front panel, back panel plugs, etc, and the menu and features, etc, are identical (well except the original Auriga didn't have the Graphic Equalizer). Suggests it's got the same motherboard, etc... I sold my Auriga to a friend but from memory it handled both DD & DTS fine out it's internal DAC (for the Auriga mini surround sound system)... Is that what you are talkng about? If no one else answers I'll have a look at my Mizuda more closely over the weekend... And do some quick tests... :cool: Cheers, M.
Max Christoffersen Posted August 1, 2003 Posted August 1, 2003 Update #2. I put the component video signal out to a good quality video processor while viewing through a small screen computer monitor. The image is *very* good indeed; stunning in fact. 'Garbage in - Garbage out' applies, but the image thru this processor is very detailed, with great image depth, colour rendition and stability. The VGA output is noticeably soft in comparison, but screams 'potential' with a little bit of hacking of filters and the like (out of my depth here) being a possibility. One minor glitch has arisen though: I have the Zone 4 The Shawshank Redemption - this DVD threw my old Samsung for a loop as well, with it being a 'fun-game' of random chance to see if it would play or not. On the Mizuda it won't play at all. Which isn't unexpected. I suspect the authoring of this DVD is 'unusual'. So anyone else able to get Shawshank to play 100% -100% of the time. But the lasting image from last night's viewing is more of the same - how do they get it this good at this price (and that's just the outboard video scaler) - the same question applies to the Mizuda. Budget home theatre bliss - there's nothing like it. Max Christoffersen
Mycenius Posted August 2, 2003 Posted August 2, 2003 Max (and others), Mine runs fine (Shawshank Redemption) - I ran it through completely on the Mizuda this morning. I have an R4 copy and have never had any trouble playing it... I've now used it on all the Players I've had, all without problems: Panasonic DVD-RV31 Auriga DV-2188A Pioneer DV-355S Denon DVD-3800 Mizuda DVD-331K So I think you just have a crappy copy Max, I'm afraid... Watching this this morning, I was trying to do other stuff with it playing in the background but ended up sitting down and watching the last half intently, just reminded me of what a great movie & story it is - and why it was about the second DVD I ever bought! Hope is a great thing! I noted however my Mizuda is very noisey spinning this particular disc... BUT only intitally, while accessing the menus and loading, once the feature started it quietened down... My Mizuda does however make a faint click-click-click-click noise constantly most of the time when playing most disks (Max take note) - However this can only be heard by placing your ear within 5cm or so of the front/top of the player. FWIW I'm convinced the disc drive itself and the main board, DAC, firmware programming, etc, are the same as in the Auriga (which came out 15 months ago), just with an upgrade to a newer version for the extra menu features (primarily the GEQ functions). Externally I can't remember if the Auriga had the VGA plug but I'm sure it had extra analogue out stereo audio plugs. Everything else I've checked physically looks and operates identically. My Auriga also made a very faint noise when operating, though not so distinct as the Mizuda, more of a faint hum, but I doubt it's anything to worry about - especially at this price. Michael (W) - I can't verify the NTSC/PAL thing for certain - my Mizuda player seems to detect the fact my AVR and TV are both dual NTSC/PAL capable and the menu option for this is automatically disabled when I try to go to change the TV Mode option. I'm pretty sure it does handle that (i.e. you can set the output to PAL, and play an NTSC movie). Again comparing to my experience with the previous (and older) Auriga this did this okay IIRC, but the function never did the disable itself thing, so presumably is simply a function of the newer version of the Firmware in use? Actually if anyone has bought the newest Auriga model recently it'd be interesting to know if the extra features (such as the GEQ) are present in that also... M.
Michael Jones Posted August 2, 2003 Posted August 2, 2003 Originally posted by mycenius Mine runs fine (Shawshank Redemption) So I think you just have a crappy copy Max, I'm afraid... Max's copy of Shawshank Redemption works just fine in my Toshiba.
Mycenius Posted August 2, 2003 Posted August 2, 2003 Max's copy of Shawshank Redemption works just fine in my Toshiba. Gee, well, there you go then?! :confused: I must admit I have intermittent faults with maybe 25% of all my DVD's - many of them, even when new from the factory and still in sealed cases, and even after being carefully cleaned and checked visually that the surface looks immaculate and retried; hiccup! Usually this consists of my Denon pausing for a few seconds (or rather locking up) on the point in question but then recovering and carrying on with no loss of picture or dialogue, other than an unplanned pause of 2-5 seconds... Perhaps there are just more quality control issues than realised with current DVD production? M.
JimmyC Posted August 4, 2003 Posted August 4, 2003 I'm glad to hear that pauses in DVD playback seem reasonably common. I wrote my pauses off to the cheapy Mustek player I have. I realised that the regular stop half way through a movie was the layer change (5-10 secs) but every now and then a movie will pause for no reason, then continue on. It's not regular, nor confined to any particular DVD I have.
Mycenius Posted August 4, 2003 Posted August 4, 2003 Hi Jimmy, Yes - occassionally it may well be an extra long layer change or something... But most of mine that I'm referring to do it more than once, and often in succession (like 2-4 times in a 10 or 20 minute period) - suggesting the disc itself or such is the issue... M. P.S. And yes sometimes cleaning does reduce the number times and very occassionally eliminate it...
Geege Posted August 4, 2003 Posted August 4, 2003 Originally posted by JimmyC I realised that the regular stop half way through a movie was the layer change (5-10 secs) 5 - 10 seconds seems incredibly long for a layer change. They dont take that long on the cheapie players do they? :eek: Ive only ever had experience with Pioneer DVD players, and none have had layer pauses longer than around 2 secs at the worst.
JimmyC Posted August 4, 2003 Posted August 4, 2003 Yip, a 5-10 second gap on layer change would be right at least half of the time. There must be a reason why cheapies are cheap and the quality of their optics must be a good place to start. That's why I was interested to hear that others with more expensive players still have the same problem, perhaps not with the layer change specifically but with miscellaneous pauses. Makes me feel better!
michaelw Posted August 4, 2003 Posted August 4, 2003 Thanks for all the info on the Mizuda guys. All those pregnant pauses with cheepies ! Maybe my used Sony 7000 wasn't such a bad buy ? If anything it goes through layer changes even more seamlessly than my newer Sony 7700.
Mycenius Posted August 4, 2003 Posted August 4, 2003 All those pregnant pauses with cheepies! Michael W, I get these even on my Denon DVD-3800, and with brand new discs that I've just removed all the security seals off the packaging! M.
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