DVD Players. ?30 / ?80 player difference.

[Ginza]

Afternoon.

I'm going to get myself a DVD Player soonish and a DVD burner at some stage.

In What TV and DVD Magazine or something similarly titled they rated the Toshiba SD340SE the best value player for its features at ?79.99

However this is baffling me...

Excuse my ignorance but from looking at it what does this player do differently at ?79.99 to this one thats at ?29.99

?79.99 DVD Player

?29.99 DVD Player

[dave heats]

Holy ****, a multi region ?30 player? That might have to be bought I think.

I look forward to hearing peoples views on it.

[Ginza]

Me too Dave. Me too. Its in my checkout at the moment but am wanting to know what people think of it first.

[MartyG]

You might be interested in this - multi region and divx player, for your home movies.

Regards
Marty

[Yoshimoto]

I got a ?30 DVD player from Asda a few months ago to play some Region 1 discs i aquired. Its a Pacific model and is completely region free out of the box.

I'll admit its not as nice as my main Sony Player and its makes a horrible racket when loading discs but the picture and sound quality aren't too bad at all. Definitely worth ?30 in my opinion.

[Ginza]

Havent got any divx movies myself so the ?29.99 one sounds a bargain. My only worry was what could possibly be the differences apart from maybe build and quality between a ?30 multi region player and say a ?150 player.

You get what you pay for in most cases...

[xtremeboat]

I got a Panasonic multiregion off of Amazon marketplace a while back for around ?40 and its flawless, has a perfect picture and plays DVD Audio as well as nearly every other format. The cheaper ones often don't have RGB output and play less types of media such as not playing MP3 CDs or DVD-R, DVD+R, -RW +RW etc etc. My sister's got a cheap one from Richer Sounds I think and the picture is fuzzy like analogue TV

Edit: Just taken a look at the 29.99 player on Amazon and its looks pretty awesome for such a good price. Plays practically everything (not DVD Audio though) and its got great reviews.

[Ginza]

xtremeboat here's the product description for the ?29.99 one off Amazon...

Product Description
The DVD Master XL2 is Yakumo's first foray into the world of DVD players and they have clearly started with a scorcher. As well as being a stylish looking player, the XL2 is packed with features; and at an unbelievable price too. The XL2 will have no trouble playing DVD (-R, +R, -RW, +RW), VCD, SVCD, CD-audio, Kodak Picture CD, JPG-CD, MP3, CD, CD-R and CD-RW media. The picture and the sound quality, whether in PAL or NTSC format, are first-rate for a product in this price range.
The Yakumo DVD Master XL2 comes with all the right connections: coaxial digital out, stereo-analogue, Dolby digital (AC-3), DTS digital out, SCART out, composite video out, coaxial digital out and s-video. Further features like picture-by-picture slow motion, programmable playback sequence or random play, zoom, manual title-search, parental lock as well as subtitles and multiple view angles go to make the DVD Master XL2 more than just a run-of-the-mill DVD player.

The DVD Master XL2 is packaged with a remote control (batteries included), multi-language instruction book and cables for the A/V, S-video and SCART connections. The slim dimensions of 48x430x320 mm (h/w/d) and the lightweight 3.5 kg make this a player that would be welcome in any home.

Manufacturer's Description
The Yakumo DVD Master XL2 doesn't only play your favorite DVDs, but also CDs with mp3 or photo-files (also Kodak Picture CD). It convinces with brilliant colours and excellent sound.

An integrated child lock, a picture-by-picture slow motion, a manual title search, a programmable playback sequence or random play qualifies the Yakumo DVD Master XL2 as a multi-media product for the whole family.

[RLench]

The ?30 one might have problems with layer changes or problematic discs (RCE Region 1 discs for example) It could also have poorer image/sound quality or fewer features (component, prog. scan, MP3 playback, digital/coaxial out etc etc)

I have a Toshiba SD220 which is the predecessor to the 3xx range and it's a fantastic player. At the time I bought it (last year), I honestly don't think there was a better all-round player for less than ?150

[Ginza]

Yeah as above Mr Lench in What Hifi and DVD Magazine or something like that they rated the Toshiba SD340SE the best value player for its features at ?79.99 and I was just wondering really should i get that one because of their rating of it or the ?29.99 one and have ?50 spare for drinks

[RLench]

If you can afford the extra then I think it's worth getting the Toshiba.

From reading that ?30 player's specs, it sounds very good. BUT there's no mention of RGB playback (or component output) so you might be stuck with s-video (which can be ok) or composite

You might be able to find something better than the Toshiba 340 (or as good as it) for less than ?80 though. It's worth shopping around instead of buying the first excellent player you see (and I'm sure it will be excellent)

[Daniel]

Yeah as above Mr Lench in What Hifi and DVD Magazine or something like that they rated the Toshiba SD340SE the best value player for its features at ?79.99

Well you've gotta take into account that anal magazines like 'what hifi' have a vested interest in promoting more expensive, feature rich technology that requires the purchase of its toys for boys publication so readers can seperate the good from the bad. Unless your tv is the dogs bollocks and you obsessively analyse the sound quality of your elaborate speaker setup, i don't think you'll notice a thing.

[MartyG]

I really don't think it is - I've got a mid range pioneer player that cost ?280 and it's decent player - I've also got the Xbox, PS2 and a midi hifi dvd player thingy that cost ?50. The Pioneer has a decent quality pic, but I have to be honest, the rest aren't that far behind.

At the level of 30-80 quid I really don't think you're going to see that much difference as I'm fairly sure they use similar components.

[Mercian]

Ive had that exact DVD player for a while and have been well chuffed with it for the price. It hasn't rejected any of the discs ive thrown at it as i regularly order R3 and other region discs from cdwow and it plays them perfectly. From the menu option you have a choice of changing the output to RGB but im not completely convinced that its true RGB.Despite this the picture quality is good representing blacks well and colours look bright but not garish which is important especially when watching films like Hero (i got the R3 last week and love it ). I would thoroughly recommend it as a second player as mine is perched in my living room with my Pioneer dcs 303 being used as my primary player.

[Ginza]

muppettom the 30 quid one?