Phillips DVP 642 DivX Certified Player

[CrisCr0ss]

This is my Second Review and I'm hoping to see some comments. On maybe what I should add in my reviews etc.

With new DVD technology arising daily, DivX players have become increasingly popular.

Who wouldn't want to fit six-seven movies onto one disc rather than three-four. DivX and XviD Technology have began their reign over the 'codec' of choice for Movies.

Why?

Simply because, they offer great video compression 700mb and DVD quality video and audio.

I have recently purchased the Philips DVP642 from Radioshack for (CDN) $103.00. And to tell you its my first and probably the best DVD player I have used. Its simplicity to install, to setup and to use is remarkable. As well as the options it provides. It plays Progressive Scan and can also read video/audio files burned on CD and DVD+R.

And one little bonus with this, It can be Region un-locked simply with the remote No Need for Firmware Hack

Exceptional audio and video performance

• Progressive Scan for razor-sharp and flicker-free images
  
• 4x video unsampling for improved image quality
  
• 192kHz/24bit audio DAC
  Plays practically any disc format available
  
• Movies: DVD, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, VCD, SVCD, MPEG-4 and DivX 3.11/4.x/5.x
  
• Music: CD, MP3-CD, CD-R and CD-RW
  
• Pictures: Picture CD (JPEG) with music (MP3)
  The Ultimate convenience
  
• Smart Picture for personalized image settings
  A Baisic Player Information:
  Unit Type:
  
• Player
  General Features:
  
• Multi-Camera Angle Select
  
• On Screen Menu
  
• Parental Lock
  
• MP3 Support
  
• 3Progressive Scan
  Disc Mechanism: Tray
  Video Features:
  
• DVD Resume Playback
  
• Repeat Mode
  Audio Features:
  
• Dolby Digital? Surround SoundAudio DAC:>
  
• 192kHz / 24 BitVideo DAC:>
  
• 54MHz / 12 BitInputs & Outputs:> Analog:>
  
• Video output:
  o Component video (Y, Pb, Pr)
  o S-Video
  o CVBS (Yellow cinch)
  
• Audio output:
  o Analog (L+R): cinch (white/red)
  Digital:>
  
• Audio output:
  o 1 x digital coaxial
  o 1 x digital optical
  o IEC60958 for CDDA/LPCM
  o IEC61937 for MPEG-1/2
  o Dolby Digital
  
• Control: IR In, IR Out
  Display Format:>
  
• Progressive ScanNumber of Discs:>
  
• 1DVD/CD Playback Formats Supported:>
  
• Audio CD
  
• CD-R
  
• CD-RW
  
• Divx
  
• DVD
  
• DVD-RW/-R
  
• DVD+RW/+R
  
• JPEG
  
• Kodak Picture CD
  
• MP3
  
• XviD (Exceptions: Qpel/GMC Encoded XviDs)Remote Control: > Basic RemoteBattery Type: > AlkalineIn the Box:>
  
• DVD-Video player
  
• Remote Control
  
• 2 x AA battery
  
• video cable
  
• audio cable
  
• user manual
  Height: > 1.7 inWidth: > 17.1 inDepth: > 9.3 inWeight:> 6.6 lbsLimited Warranty:> 1 Year (12 Months)
  

Notes:

It has two flaws, it cannot play XviDs encoded in Qpel or GMC and for some DivX/XviDs that have AC3 Audio you will need an extra sort of speaker to play that audio. (If you have a home theatre you should be fine)

Conclusion:

This is an outstanding player for baisic needs, plays everything has zoom/subtitles/Progressive Scan great quality video and audio. I suggest before burning videos check them with Gspot (http://www.headbands.com/gspot/) and if they have Xvid Codec to check if it uses the GMC or QPel codec use MpegModifier (http://www.moitah.net/) You need .Net Framework 1.1

I would rate this DVD/DivX Player 9/10 It has played every DivX file and Xvid file I have placed, I have yet to have a problem. Also it has a nice little menu so when burning mutlple .avi files with nero onto it you can select which one you want to play. I have been using it together with the Pioneer DVP-109 DVD Burner and the results are fantastic.

Link to that review is Here

[Cloud Constructors]

I want this DVD PLAYER! Where can I buy it? I live in Toronto, ON Canada!

Nice review by the way

(Sold my APEX AD-700 - looking for another 1)

[CrisCr0ss]

I got mine from RadioShack however Zellers also sells it, I live in Richmond Hill so if you drop by Hillcrest Mall you can pick it up from there. (there is a Zellers/RadioShack in the mall)

[wetcoastguy]

I bought 2 of these puppies just after Xmas. They play just about everything that you can d/l. Just burn as data disk. For $80 (cdn) it is hard to beat!

[neocyber_16]

I also have that Divx player. I got mine back in October works great. I believe i paid $80Cad at ncix.

[Makeshift Hammer]

Kiss DVD Players handle many more formats and start from less than $60.

[grid001]

does this thing play divx or xvid movies with AC3 encoding? (like 2 cd rips?)

[Marduk]

Sounds interesting!

[CrisCr0ss]

does this thing play divx or xvid movies with AC3 encoding? (like 2 cd rips?)

585799604[/snapback]

It self it cannot decode AC3 Audio however if you have like good speakers or a TV which supports AC3 audio i dont see why it wont work. Remember audio isnt really a big deal you can demux it, use Vdub Mod to convert and remux it.

[^el_dub^]

The 642 kicks major A**. It wouldn't play only 2 of my 400 or so Divx :cool:

[Ash]

I've been tempted to get one of these for the past 6 months, but could never find any reviews on it. I know they have em sometimes at Walmart (they sell out quickly).

What is the video quality for playing DVDs? Is it as sharp as other more expensive dvd players, or a PS2? for me the Picture quality is one of the most important things.

Thanks

[CrisCr0ss]

quality is probably best than most competing divx players..

also this with gspot (beta) makes the BEST COMBO for playing Xvids if its qpel/gmc use vdub to re-code if its ac3 simply use vdub mod to demux convert and remux n burn. Plays 99.9% of all my dvds thrown at it.

[grid001]

I went out and bought the player from my local Walmart.

I have a 7.1 Sony receiver - and with a combination of the Phillips player and the receiver - it plays AC3 encoded xvid or divx files fine (via coaxial digital output).

Only thing is, the audio tends to go out of sync when playing back these files, as the sound cuts in and out - i'm thinking its either cuz that i originally burned the cd (cheap brand name) at a high speed - or cheap cd - or the cd is deteriorizing.

Anyone else experiencing this?

[etempest]

I first off own one of these players after doing research and this is one of the best dvd players that play divx / xvid. I love this player and it works great and it's cheap to boot.

There are some minor flaws to this player but they don't bother me.

The file menu system is Dos 8.3 File names aka chops off letters of file names after 8 characters and only shows 3 digit extensions. This also applies to folders/directores.

Only allows 25 files listed so if you have a 30 files you have to put them in folders.

I perfer Japanese Anime in subtitile and if you set it up correctly in the menu / or dvd menu it works great... until you switch to next episode and it keeps reverting back to english language.

In requards to divx / xvid files, you will find 2 types of players, cheaper one that don't support QPEL and GMC, and more expensive one that do support QPEL and GMC.

Cheaper ones that do official (divx certified) and divx not certified. These play most files. Qpel and GMC are not in the "Divx Certified" standards.

More expensive ones that support QPEL and GMC that require far processing power and to get a player that does this cost starting at $200 or more.

And it will take both DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD+RW too boot.

I wanted to point out some of the negative aspects to this but I agree with the posters review, this is the BEST dvd player I've ever bought.

[Cloud Constructors]

I'm purchasing this DVD player from RadioShack got a friend working there and he said he'll hook up the Employee Discount on it for me