Toshiba - SD-3960

MPEG Maker: Toshiba MPEG Model: TC90602FG Deinterlacer Maker: Toshiba Deinterlacer Model: TC90602FG     MSRP: $69.99 Website: http://www.toshiba.com

The Toshiba SD-3960 probably did the best of all of the players in the July, 2004 shootout. Overall I felt it was a decent player but not as solid as some other budget units out there.

The player is built on a Toshiba-based MPEG decoder that also seems to handle all of the de-interlacing functions. In the core tests, the player did pretty well, passing our blacker-than-black and video levels tests. White level came in at a respectable 101 IRE. Video frequency response was good for a budget player with only a slight dip in the upper frequency range.

The user interface is pretty good with some menus but a bit sluggish with others. This player does pass all of our chroma tests which is a first for a Toshiba player. Y/C delay is not a problem, and pixel cropping is only slight with 3 pixels clipped on each side.

As far as de-interlacing goes, Toshiba has three modes available with this player; Auto, Film, and Video. Auto and Film are identical in our tests and did a fair job. This player does okay with bad flagging but is not motion adaptive. It is also flag-based, so you will see quick recoveries during transitions from film to video.

The Video mode is completely forced and will not lock on to a Film flag at all. I wouldn’t suggest using Video mode, as the Auto mode handles video just as well.

Overall, this Toshiba is quite good as an entry player. I would have liked to have seen a motion adaptive de-interlacer but as a flag reader it did pretty well.

Video Frequency Response
Toshiba

Coby - DVD-515

MPEG Maker: Zoran MPEG Model: Vaddis 6 Deinterlacer Maker: Zoran Deinterlacer Model: Vaddis 6     MSRP: $59.99 Website: www.cobyusa.com

I had never even heard of the company Coby before this review. Turns out they have quite a few DVD players on the market at really low prices. I picked up the DVD-515 for the Benchmark. This is a very cut and dried player, but it did feature an onboard Dolby and DTS decoder with 5.1 analog outputs, which was a bit surprising at this price point.

The 515 is based on the Zoran Vaddis 6, similar to the Cyberhome 300. Like the Cyberhome, the core performance was a bit of a mixed bag. The player passes blacker-than-black, but the white level is a tad low at 96 IRE. The video requency response is rolled off in the upper end, contributing to a softer image where fine detail is concerned.

The Coby suffers from excessive pixel cropping, with 9 pixels chopped from the left side of the image. The user interface is very sluggish in both menus and chapter skips, and the remote is terrible. The disc loader is also very picky, and at times I had to load test discs 3-4 times to get them to play.

One of the bright sides of the Vaddis 6 is its PAL-to-NTSC conversion. If one knew how to make this player region free, it could have been a decent choice. However, its de-interlacing capabilities are average at best. It's also not motion adaptive and tends to trip up a lot with bad flagging.

I would have to pass on this one. The core performance is poor, and it doesn’t make up for these problems with its progressive performance.

Video Frequency Response
Coby

Daewoo - DVN-8100N

MPEG Maker: Media Tech MPEG Model: MT1379EE Deinterlacer Maker: Media Tech Deinterlacer Model: MT1379EE     MSRP: $69.99 Website: http://www.e-daewoo.com/

Yes Daewoo!! Guess everyone is trying to make DVD players these days. Wonder if Honda or Ford will be next!

This is another Media Tech player, but like the others, it has its share of shortcomings. The player fails the blacker-than-black test as well as the Y/C delay test but did fairly well with the other core testing. White level was a respectable 101 IRE, and the video frequency response didn’t have the trademark roll-off like the other players in this benchmark. Pixel cropping was a tad excessive, with 7 combined pixels missing from the right and left side and 3 from the top.

On the plus side, like the other Media Tech players, this transport is extremely fast, but not as fast as some of the others. Menus were speedy but not blinding like the Vivo Vision. The layer change also hiccupped slightly at about 0.25 seconds. This was the only player of the bunch that offered HDCD decoding which I thought was a nice touch for a bargain player.

Another high point of the Media Tech chip is its PAL-to-NTSC conversion which is excellent. I tested this using the PAL edition of Digital Video Essentials. I didn’t notice any distracting artifacts at all when the player converted the picture to NTSC for my display.

On the de-interlacing side, this player faired quite well. This chip is designed to be motion adaptive, but unfortunately, unlike the Vivo Vision, it is not cadence-based. But that didn’t seem to hurt it since it did well even with poorly flagged material like The Big Lebowski and our Galaxy Quest test.

The Daewoo was easily one of the most solid players in the July Benchmark. It could have used a bit more tweaking, but if you need HDCD and PAL-to-NTSC conversion at a budget price, this one is a pretty good choice.

Video Frequency Response
Daewoo

CyberHome - CH-DVD300S

MPEG Maker: Zoran MPEG Model: Vaddis 6 Deinterlacer Maker: Zoran Deinterlacer Model: Vaddis 6     MSRP: $39.99 Website: http://www.cyberhome.com

At 40 bucks, the Cyberhome DVD-300 is about as entry level as it gets for DVD. The player is literally a transport and tiny power supply wrapped in a shell that is just big enough for it. This thing is very small, and so is the price tag. My parents bought this player for less then $40 from Best Buy for their camper. I spotted it at their house and asked if I could borrow it for a few days to do my tests on it.

I was a bit surprised when I opened up the chassis. The MPEG decoder used is the Zoran Vaddis 6. For those familiar with Zoran decoding solutions, you may recall that Zoran is used in the high line of Arcam players. But don’t get confused, the Vaddis 6 is different than the Vaddis 5 used in the Arcam players and represents the budget line of the Zoran chips, along with the Vaddis 7.

The core section of the player did okay given its price point, but isn’t really anything to call home about. The player passes blacker-than-black, but falls short in the video level department with a peak white of 95 IRE. The video frequency response is a tad rolled off in the upper end, but not nearly as much as some other players I have tested that cost quite a bit more than this. Pixel cropping was decent except for the left side which clips 8 pixels. Y/C delay was perfect with no signs of delay at all.

The Vaddis 6 appears to pass all of the CUE tests with the exception of the ICP test, which is as expected. I don’t know why Zoran got it right on this chip since both the 5 and 7 series have CUE issues, although VERY minor.

As a de-interlacing engine, the Vaddis 6 is not up to par with its brother the Vaddis 5. For one thing, it isn’t motion adaptive. It is also flag-based and tends to trip up quite easily with bad flagging. But considering its price point, this player’s performance still beat out a lot of players at several times its cost. I guess this is truly one of those reviews where I can put the infamous phrase, “Better than players costing over twice as much!!!!”

Video Frequency Response
CyberHome

Terapin - TT-2600DVD

MPEG Maker: Media Tech MPEG Model: MT1379G Deinterlacer Maker: Media Tech Deinterlacer Model: MT1379G     MSRP: $69.99 Website: www.terapintech.com

I picked up the Terapin player due to the requests on one of the forums to have me to include it in the budget benchmark. Evidently some forum members had obtained this player and spoken very highly of it.

The Terapin is based on the Media Tech chip, which is the reason for the praise. This chip makes the Terapin player extremely fast in both navigation and chapter skips. It also has a near seamless layer change with only a fraction of a second hiccup in our test.

Unfortunately for our other core testing, the player didn’t fare so well. Media Tech players do not pass blacker-than-black and this player’s white level was a bit low at 97 IRE. The player also suffered from Y/C delay at just over a full pixel. The video frequency response is a bit rolled off in the upper band and I also noticed some noise in the image that looked to be power induced. I used the same outlet on my Exact Power EP-15A that I used for all the other players so I can only surmise that this is something inside the players power supply.

The Media Tech chip employs chroma filters similar to the Faroudja de-interlacers. This MPEG decoder has all forms of the chroma bug but masks them in progressive mode, giving it a borderline score on our tests. The only exception is this player doesn’t pass the ICP test like the Faroudja-based players do.

The Terapin is not cadence-based like the Vivo Vision but is motion adaptive. Overall it did fairly well with our de-interlacing tests but still showed some weaknesses on our flagging tests.

Overall the Terapin is a decent player given the price. It could use a little work, but its quick navigation can be a bit spoiling.

Video Frequency Response
Terapin

Vivo Vision - DVDP-1500

The Vivo Vision DVD-P1500 was a last minute entry. I was walking out of the local Circuit City and almost missed it as it was in a small pile on the floor near the cell phones for some reason. This was one of the cheapest players of this test coming in a bit under $50.

The Vivo Vision uses the Media Tech chip for its MPEG decoder and de-interlacing solution. This is similar to the recently tested Pioneer 578a and a few of the players in this Benchmark. This chip has some real strong points but also a few weaknesses. I still think, based on the tests being all over the place with this chip, that this solution could be quite good if implemented correctly.

On the core side, this player didn’t fare all that well. The Media Tech chip does not pass blacker-than-black in any configuration, and the player's white level was a bit high at 103 IRE. The video frequency response was also a bit too, rolled off in the upper end, giving the image a bit of a soft look. The player also suffers from over a full pixel of Y/C delay and at least a full pixel of Pb/Pr delay.

On the up-side, the 1500 is very fast, as most Media Tech players tend to be. Chapter Skips and menu navigation are just about instantaneous and there is no layer change delay to be seen.

On the de-interlacing side, this is one of the better implementations of the Media Tech solution. The player is motion adaptive, one of the few in this Benchmark. It is also cadence-based which was a real plus, especially at this price point. Unfortunately, the players cadence drops to video too easily as evidenced by its poor performance with our video flagging, bad edits, and incorrect progressive flag tests.

Given its rock bottom price tag, this player is darn good. With a bit more tweaking, it could have been at the top of this Benchmark’s list. Unfortunately it fell on its face a bit with our core tests.

Video Frequency Response
Vivo Vision

Sanyo - DWM-400

MPEG Maker: ESS MPEG Model: VIbrato II Deinterlacer Maker: ESS Deinterlacer Model: Vibrato II     MSRP: $59.00 Website: www.sanyo.com

The Sanyo DWM-400 is an ESS-based DVD player. The ESS chip is quite popular in some circles and is used extensively by Denon in its top end players. Unfortunately, Sanyo isn’t coupling it with an outboard de-interlacing solution like Denon, so you won’t be seeing that kind of performance here.

The core section did fair overall. On the plus side, the player has a perfect white level of 100 IRE and an excellent user interface that is quick and responsive. On the down side, the player exhibits over a full pixel of Y/C delay, is a bit too rolled off, and fails below black. It also has some rather excessive pixel cropping with 5 pixels cut on both the right and left sides of the image.

Like the results for the Denon players, the DWM-400's MPEG decoder passed all of our CUE tests with the exception of ICP since it doesn’t use the Faroudja chip. The ESS chip is one of the worst in regards to this, with noticeable banding when using 4:2:0 material (this is readily apparent in the title menus of Digital Video Essentials for the menu highlighting).

As a de-interlacer, the ESS is a bit below average. The chip is not motion adaptive and, like so many others, is flag-based. I really wish these all-in-one chips would get away from this and start using cadence-based solutions.

As a whole, the Samsung is a below average player. It didn’t really impress me with its core performance or as a progressive player. I would recommend looking elsewhere.

Video Frequency Response
Sanyo

Philips - DVP-642

MPEG Maker: ESS MPEG Model: Vibrato II Deinterlacer Maker: ESS Deinterlacer Model: Vibrato II     MSRP: $79.99 Website: http://www.consumer.philips.com

The Philips DVP-642 is another ESS-based player. This player is almost identical in every way to the Sanyo DWM also reviewed in the July Benchmark.

For core tests, the Philips didn’t fare well at all. Y/C delay and navigation speed are the only real highlights and the player does extremely well with both. But unfortunately, the player has a low white level of 97 IRE, fails below black, has some excessive pixel cropping (5 on each side), and is a bit too rolled off in the upper frequency range.

The ESS Vibrato II is used for the MPEG decoder and also doubles as the de-interlacer. This chip is a decent MPEG decoder but a rather average de-interlacer. It is flag-based, so it tends to trip up on most of our flag tests. The player is not motion adaptive and failed almost every test that deals with poorly flagged film and video. The chip did pass all of our chroma tests with the exception of the ICP test.

I was hoping that since Philips is a huge electronics company, they would have put a bit more into this player.

Video Frequency Response
Philips

Magnavox - MDV458

MPEG Maker: Media Tech MPEG Model: MT1397AE Deinterlacer Maker: Media Tech Deinterlacer Model: MT1397AE     MSRP: $59.99 Website: http://www.consumer.philips.com/global/b2c/magnavox/index.jhtml?divId=MAG&country=US&language=en

For those readers who don’t know it already, Magnavox is a splinter corporation of Philips. We tested a Philips player for this Benchmark, but surprisingly, it didn’t do as well as the Magnevox. The Magnavox uses an entirely different core section, which I found very surprising. Most the time splinter companies just rebadge the efforts of their parent company as a way to save money, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

The Magnavox uses the Media Tech MPEG decoder/de-interlacing solution. You may notice that this is a pretty popular solution with many of the budget players in this Benchmark. Magnavox did a decent job with the incorporation of the chip, but still not as good as I would have hoped for.

Like all the other Media Tech players, this one doesn’t pass blacker-than-black. The white level was also a bit on the low side at 96 IRE. When you go into the setup menus for this player, there are two video levels available, so make sure you use the Standard one. The other selection changes the IRE levels output from the player, creating peaks and valleys in what should be a smooth ramp.

This player is extremely fast with layer changes, and measured in at a hair under seamless. The menu speed on this player is superb, and chapter skips are instantaneous. Another big upside to this player is its PAL-to-NTSC conversion, which is excellent.

The Media Tech chip uses chroma filters for progressive playback that mask the chroma problems inherent in this MPEG decoder. This resulted in a borderline score for the chip.

On the downside, this player suffers from almost a full pixel of Y/C delay and has a bit of excessive pixel cropping. The video frequency response is also a bit more rolled off than I would have preferred.

On the de-interlacing side, the Media Tech chip is fairly dialed in. This player is motion adaptive but is still flag-based. The player didn’t trip up too much with improper flagging but did show a few hiccups now and again. It is a shame that this chip isn’t used to its full potential. It seems each player does a different job with it but none gets it completely right.

Overall, the Magnavox is a pretty solid budget performer. The core section could use some work but the blinding speed is an awesome feature.

Video Frequency Response
Magnavox

Sony - DVP-NS575P

MPEG Maker: Sony MPEG Model: CXD9781R Deinterlacer Maker: Sony Deinterlacer Model: CXD9781R     MSRP: $89.99 Website: http://www.sony.com

Throughout our Benchmark testing, we have covered a good majority of the Sony ES line of DVD players. This is the first time I have tested a non-ES player. The Sony DVP-NS575P is as entry level as you can get. The player is built by Sony from the ground up and even incorporates a Sony MPEG decoder.

In our core tests, the Sony did OK. The player has a few shortcomings, including a full pixel of Y/C delay and some rather excessive pixel cropping (7 on the right and a combination of 5 from top and bottom). The player does pass blacker-than-black, and actually had a pretty decent video frequency response for a budget player.

In our chroma tests, the player incorporated a chroma filter in progressive mode that eliminates the chroma bug; however, the player still exhibits the problem with alternating flag material such as Monster’s Inc.

In our usability tests, the player did very well. This player’s interface is extremely fast with both menus and chapter skips, and also has a completely seamless layer change (seamless, meaning that you can't tell the layer is changing, there is no pause in the movie). I found that surprising since none of the ES players I have tested do this.

The Sony MPEG decoder also serves as the de-interlacer for the player. It has two modes of operation: Auto and Video. Funny thing is, they are both identical. I would recommend just leaving it in Auto and forgetting about it. The de-interlacer is flag-based and has a tendency to trip up with bad flags. Recovery time is pretty quick though, so artifacts shouldn’t be too obvious.

Overall, the Sony is a nice offering, with only a few issues. Compared to the other players in the July Benchmark, it is a decent contender.

Video Frequency Response
Sony

JVC - XV-N44SL

MPEG Maker: unknown MPEG Model: unknown Deinterlacer Maker: unknown Deinterlacer Model: unknown     MSRP: $79.97 Website: http://www.jvc.com/main.jsp

It has been a long time since we reviewed a JVC player, so I was anxious to see how the newer ones perform. There were several to choose from at the local store, and I selected this one as representative.

I was not able to determine what MPEG decoder this player is using. The video board was hard mounted to the transport, and I didn’t want to push my luck on getting it out and making the player completely inoperable before testing it.

The player fared low on our core tests. The N44 did not pass blacker-than-black, and the white level was extremely hot at 111 IRE. This would artificially pump up contrast levels and lead to clipping on some displays. The video frequency response was a bit rolled off in the upper area like most players in this Benchmark.

The player did well with our Y/C delay tests and fared pretty well with our chroma tests, failing only the ICP and 3-2 alternating flag tests. The user interface is a tad sluggish, especially with menus, but the setup menus are pretty easy to navigate.

On the de-interlacing side, the JVC features four different modes to choose from: Auto, Film, Video Normal, and Video Active.

None of the modes did very well. The Film mode did the best, but suffered from some severe combing artifacts in our motion adaptive tests. This player is flag-based and had some issues with bad flagging, making it drop to video more often than not.

The video modes on the JVC were pretty bad, contributing to some strange artifacts and loss of resolution. Despite having four different modes to choose from, I wasn’t very impressed with the player’s performance at all. If you are inclined to pick this one up I would recommend using either the Auto or Film mode.

I was hoping for a bit more from JVC here. I figured it would do as well if not better then the Toshiba, but unfortunately that was not the case.

Video Frequency Response
JVC

Panasonic - DVD-S27

MPEG Maker: Panasonic MPEG Model: unknown Deinterlacer Maker: Panasonic Deinterlacer Model: unknown     MSRP: $79.99 Website: http://www.panasonic.com

Ah, Panasonic! I remember the good old days when Stacey and I would test the RP line of players and really get excited about what they were bringing to the table. Unfortunately those days have gone and Panasonic has moved on to a more mass market approach, that, like Sony, is built by them from the ground up.

This player uses a Matsushita MPEG decoder, but I was unable to get the serial number off of it. Unfortunately this is not the same chip that we saw in the late great players that did so well in our Benchmarks before. This MPEG decoder suffers from all of the chroma issues and failed all of the corresponding tests.

The player crops a few pixels on the left and right side, 2 and 5 respectively and also suffers from a full pixel of Y/C delay. The S27 passes below black information, and its white level just squeaks by a pass with a measurement of 98 IRE.

The player has a very intuitive menu system for setup that is easy to use. Menu navigation on this player is extremely fast, but I found chapter skips to be a bit on the slower side. The layer change clocked in at 1.25 seconds, which is OK.

For de-interlacing, there are three different modes; Auto 1, Auto 2, and Video. The only difference between Auto 1 and 2 comes from Auto 2’s ability to handle a 2-2 cadence. This is great for PAL discs or for DVD handheld recorders that use this cadence. This de-interlacer is a flag reader and tends to trip up a lot with poorly recorded video. The video mode is exactly what it says, and forces video. Unless you watch a lot of PAL discs, I would recommend just leaving it in Auto 1.

I know there are a lot of high hopes for the upcoming Panasonic S97. I too am hopeful, but I realize that Panasonic is geared more at the mass consumer and not the videophile. While this shouldn’t preclude them from creating a great DVD player, it seems it makes most companies a bit less staunchy with the performance of their end product. The S27 is a pretty average budget player overall, but nowhere near the greatness of its predecessors.

Video Frequency Response
Panasonic

RCA - DRC232N

MPEG Maker: @MLOGIC MPEG Model: AML 3280C Deinterlacer Maker: @MLOGIC Deinterlacer Model: AML 3280C     MSRP: $89.95 Website: www.rca.com

The DRC-232N is the first player I have ever tested from RCA. I didn’t care for this player for the most part. Its interface is based on a menu screen that is always present if a disc is in the player but stopped, or if you have the player on with no disc in it. Personally I don’t like player-based menus unless I bring them up.

The RCA uses a MPEG decoder that I have never seen before, the @MLogic. This all in one chip solution didn’t do very well at all in any of our tests. On the core performance side, it failed just about everything. There is some slight Y/C delay as well as a bit of Pb/Pr delay of almost 5ns. The player fails below black, and its white level barely passes our video level test at 102 IRE. The video frequency response is quite rolled off in the upper frequencies, which tells me that the power supply isn’t very dialed in.

Overall, the user interface is a bit sluggish, especially in menus. The layer change was decent at 1 second, and chapter skips were pretty quick. This player fails all of our chroma tests.

The de-interlacing wasn’t very good either. The chip is flag-based and not motion adaptive. It did do a decent job with poor flags though as evidenced by the incorrect progressive flag test and bad edit test.

Overall this is a marginal player at best with a very poor core section and user interface.

Video Frequency Response
RCA

Kenwood - DVF-3080-S

MPEG Maker: ALi MPEG Model: M3355A Deinterlacer Maker: ALi Deinterlacer Model: M3355A     MSRP: $119.99 Website: http://www.kenwoodusa.com

It has been awhile since we tested a Kenwood player. The last one came from Kenwood’s flagship “Sovereign” line. The 3080 is one of the more expensive in this budget Benchmark, but evidently price doesn’t always dictate performance (as we’ve shown for quite sometime now!!).

This is another player that uses a totally new MPEG decoder solution that we haven't seen before the July Benchmark, namely ALi. I checked their website, but unfortunately it didn’t have any real information on the chip used in this player, only one of their older ones.

The Kenwood fell pretty short with our core video tests. The player boasts a black level adjustment setting but still did not pass blacker-than-black. I was a bit surprised at this and wondered how it got past their QC. The white level was quite hot at 106 IRE, and the frequency response of the player had some roll-off in the upper band.

The Kenwood failed all of our chroma tests but didn’t show any signs of Y/C delay. The user interface is a bit on the sluggish side, but on a positive note, the layer change was completely seamless.

The de-interlacing was about average for this Benchmark. The solution is not motion adaptive and only did fair on our flag tests. This is a flag based player, so recovery times were pretty quick, but artifacts were very noticeable.

Of note, this player had some very strange artifacts during most of the testing, almost like blocking in the test patterns. All of the problems were repeatable, but did not show up on the other players.

Despite being from a pretty well known company, this player should probably be skipped when you shop. It seemed like too much slipped by Kenwood’s quality control people as evidenced by the core performance and artifacts inherent in the image.

Video Frequency Response
Kenwood

Zenith - DVB-412

MPEG Maker: ALi MPEG Model: M3355A Deinterlacer Maker: ALi Deinterlacer Model: M3355A     MSRP: $59.99 Website: www.zenith.com

I recently tested the Zenith DVB-318 which not only offered a DVI output but also incorporated a Faroudja de-interlacer and scaler. The 318 did fairly well with our de-interlacing tests, as expected, but was pretty weak in our core testing. The 412 looks almost exactly like it but doesn’t use any of the same internals.

The 412 utilizes an MPEG decoder from ALi. This all-in-one solution is not nearly as good as the STMicroelectronics chip used in the 318. The ALi chip didn’t impress me at all with its performance. The chip has all of the chroma problems associated with it and most of them are quite bad in degree. The only core test this player did pass was the Y/C delay measurements. The 412 did not pass blacker-than-black information and had some rather severe pixel cropping issues with 9 pixels chopped from the right side and 2 from the top.

The white level of the player was quite high at 104 IRE. This would exaggerate contrast levels on most displays. The player did quite well with the layer change test, clocking in at just under a half second. The menus and chapter skips were also quite good, though not as fast as the Media Tech-based players.

The de-interlacing tests didn’t go so well either. The ALi chip is not motion adaptive which led to some obvious artifacts in the image, including instability. The chip is flag-based and showed a few hiccups with some of our flag testing. We really hope that companies will move away from this as time goes on.

Overall, this was a pretty disappointing showing from Zenith, especially after the 318. I would look elsewhere if you are in the market for an inexpensive, but decent progressive scan player.

Video Frequency Response
Zenith

KLH - SVP500

MPEG Maker: Zoran MPEG Model: Vaddis 6E Deinterlacer Maker: Zoran Deinterlacer Model: Vaddis 6E     MSRP: $54.99 Website: www.klhaudio.com

KLH has been in the audio business for quite sometime, and I guess they decided to enter the DVD world as well. I visited their website to get a bit more of an idea of what they were after, but unfortunately there is no information about their DVD player on the site.

This is the only changer in the July Benchmark, but it came in at a really low price so I thought I would throw it in the mix. The player is based on the Zoran Vaddis 6E which is a bit different then the Vaddis 6 used in the Cyberhome 300.

This chip seems to have a lot of issues associated with it. Zoran has not utilized any of the chroma filtering that the 5 and 6 chip use, so this player fails all of the chroma tests. The chip is also a bit more sluggish in the navigation than what I was seeing from the other Zoran players I’ve tested.

For our core tests, the KLH didn’t perform very well at all. About the only good thing I could find was that the player passes below black. When I measured the white level of the player I got a really low 90 IRE. This is very unfortunate, as it severely limits the display’s contrast levels, and whites will never look very pure or bright.

The player has some excessive pixel cropping, with a combined 7 pixels on the right and left sides. I was also disappointed to find some very severe Y/C delay as well as some bad Pb/Pr delay.

Once I got past the core tests, I tried some different material and found that the KLH does an admirable job at PAL-to-NTSC conversion. I used the video test material from the PAL version of Joe Kane’s Digital Video Essentials for this. There were no artifacts at all, and the image looked pretty good. This player does exhibit some odd artifacts though, regardless of output format. The image shakes quite a bit almost like a timing error. At first I thought it might be the de-interlacer trying to lock onto a flag sequence, but this player is locked in video mode, so that wasn’t the case.

The KLH bombed our de-interlacing tests. The Zoran chip is set up in forced video mode, so it doesn’t recognize any film-based material at all. This contributes to a lot of artifacts and a very soft image overall.

This is another entry into my "Worst DVD players I have tested yet" list. I am really surprised that a company would release a player with this many problems onto the open market, especially when it is their first offering, and I would imagine they want to make a good first impression. It really makes me wonder if they are actually looking at the product in use before they ship it.

Video Frequency Response
KLH

Liteon - LVW-5001

MPEG Maker: LSI MPEG Model: unknown Deinterlacer Maker: LSI Deinterlacer Model: unknown     MSRP: $206.99 Website: http://www.liteonit.com

The Liteon is the only DVD recorder in this Benchmark, and it is also the only player that surpasses the $200 mark, but only by a smidgen. Since this is really inexpensive for a recorder, I wanted to see how it fared in our tests. Other than being able to record, this player also features an iLink digital video jack for a pure digital path, which I thought was a nice feature for a budget solution.

The Liteon uses an LSI MPEG decoder. This MPEG decoder does double duty, acting as the de-interlacer as well. The Liteon did poorly in our tests and continues the trend I have seen with dodgy DVD playback from recorders (see our Philips DVD recorder test!). For core performance the player did pretty lousy. The only thing it really did right was blacker-than-black. The white level of the player was a bit low at 97 IRE, and the player exhibited over a full pixel of Y/C delay. The gray ramp also showed that that the IRE curve of this player is a bit out of whack. While most players exhibit a smooth and even ramp from 0 to 100 IRE, this player had a few peaks and valleys, suggesting that at certain IRE’s, it is being overdriven.

Other drawbacks include some rather severe pixel cropping (10 pixels) on the right side of the image. The Liteon also failed all of our chroma tests.

As for the user interface, this player is extremely slow. Menus take a long time to navigate, and chapter skips are depressingly slow. I also thought the menu performance was very inconsistent, furthering my frustration.

The Liteon does support PAL playback but does not convert PAL to NTSC.

On the de-interlacing side, this player is about as bad as it gets. There is no film detection at all. The Liteon, like the Philips, stays completely locked in video mode which results in it failing the majority of our tests. This also contributes to a noisy and very soft image.

This is right up there with some of the worst DVD players I have yet seen, so I can't recommend it at all.

Video Frequency Response
Liteon