When
progressive-scan DVD players first emerged almost two years ago, the already
excellent picture quality we’d come to expect from standard players suddenly
got a whole lot better. That’s because the new models could convert video signals
to a progressive-scan format for display on a TV or monitor with progressive-scan
capabilities. (Ordinary analog video is “interlaced,” meaning that the scan
lines making up each frame are presented alternately, while a progressive-scan
display presents all the scan lines in sequence, resulting in a solid-looking
image with less flicker.)
But the early progressive models were so pricey, they’d have seemed at home in a display case at Tiffany’s. In the past year, one or two odd players leaked out in the $500 range, but they provided sub-par progressive-scan performance and generally weren’t worth the extra money manufacturers asked for them. Now, like everything else related to DVD, progressive-scan players are proliferating and their prices are tumbling. To find out what level of performance you can expect today from players with this capability, we lined up a quartet of shiny new models and put them to the test.
We evaluated JVC’s XV-S60BK ($349), Sony’s DVP-NS700 ($349), and Yamaha’s DVD-S1200 ($999) — all single-disc models — and the Marantz VC5200 ($650), a five-disc changer. The Yamaha can also play DVD-Audio discs, which accounts for its higher price. In addition to a progressive-scan video output with 2:3 pulldown — a feature that improves image quality even further by compensating for the difference between the 24 frames per second (fps) of film and the 30-fps rate of video — each model can play MP3 files recorded onto CD-R and CD-RW discs.
Since the focus of this test was progressive-scan video performance, all evaluations were made with the player’s progressive-scan mode active and its component-video output connected to an HDTV monitor’s wideband component-video input. Our Spotlight DVD-player report last issue (“DVD in the Fast Lane”) proved that the standard performance from the interlaced composite- and S-video outputs of typical players is excellent even in models at very modest prices. But manufacturers of progressive-scan players use a wide range of chip sets to upconvert the interlaced video signal stored on DVDs to a progressive-scan format. For that reason, we’ve found that progressive-scan video quality can vary quite a bit among players.
Marantz VC5200
| DIMENSIONS 17 1/3 inches wide, 4 3/4 inches high, 16 3/4 inches deep WEIGHT 12 1/2 pounds PRICE $650 MANUFACTURER Marantz, Dept. S&V, 1100 Maplewood Dr., Itasca, IL 60143; www.marantz.com; 630-741-0300 |
The
Marantz provides a standard group of A/V outputs, including two sets of analog
stereo jacks. A back-panel switch toggles between the component- and S-video
output, but selecting between an interlaced- or progressive-scan signal from
the component output requires a visit to the player’s onscreen setup menu.
Though solidly built and comfortable to hold, the changer’s remote control proved difficult to use when the lights were dimmed and a DVD was playing. The keypad isn’t backlit, and the most-used buttons are too small and close together — I had to resort to my pocket flashlight to pick them out. Also, the remote can’t control a TV or any other component you might want to use with it.
The player’s onscreen displays are simple, clear, and easy to navigate. Marantz eschewed fancy features like picture presets, aspect ratio control, and video noise reduction in the VC5200, so all you have to worry about is the basics, such as navigating DVDs and programming playlists for the CDs and MP3-filled CD-Rs you pop into its tray. But all DVD players should have at least one frilly feature, and on the Marantz it’s a zoom button that lets you enlarge an image up to six levels in either play or pause mode and then pan across it using the remote’s arrow keys.
A good deal of control is built into the player for scanning through discs and analyzing specific scenes. Fast-scan speeds range from 2x to 100x (reverse scan offers only 2x, 4x, and 16x). Compared with the other players here, the Marantz offered somewhat disappointing 2x playback. Instead of smooth, fluid fast motion, the double-speed picture often “stuttered.”
The Marantz easily passed my progressive-scan video torture tests, delivering pictures with smooth lines and solid edges even in shots with vertical camera motion. It also handled bright colors, such as the heavily saturated reds and oranges of the animated ’60s classic, Yellow Submarine, without adding any combing artifacts on edge transitions. As for picture resolution, the Marantz was pretty much nose to nose with the other players in this group.
Since it was baseball season, I decided to watch For the Love of the Game, director Sam (Evil Dead) Raimi’s first — and I hope his last — foray into baseball-related drama. In the stadium shots early on in the film, the Marantz did a great job of delivering details like the texture of the players’ uniforms and the craggy, rough-hewn faces of the fans shouting in the stands.
One issue that caused the Marantz to pale — literally — in comparison with the other players here was its overly bright video output, which washed out colors and flattened shadows, draining them of detail. Adjusting the brightness and contrast controls on my carefully calibrated reference TV (something I usually don’t have to do when testing a DVD player) helped restore richness to the picture, but it still lacked some of the crisp, 3-D quality that the other players delivered.
Otherwise, though, video performance was essentially fault-free in both the interlaced- and progressive-scan modes. Add in the ability to play MP3 files from CD-Rs and the changer features, which give you the convenience of programming a whole evening’s worth of listening, and the Marantz VC5200 has a lot to recommend it. And at $650, its price is reasonable.
JVC XV-S60BK
| DIMENSIONS 17 1/4 inches wide, 2 3/4 inches high, 10 1/2 inches deep WEIGHT 5 3/4 pounds PRICE $349 MANUFACTURER JVC of America, Dept. S&V, 1700 Valley Rd., Wayne, NJ 07470; www.jvc.com; 800-526-5308 |
I’d heard a great deal of buzz about JVC’s new XV-S60BK DVD player — much of it revolving around the low $349 list price and the anticipation that it would deliver artifact-free progressive-scan images. Buzz aside, the player looked unassuming enough when I removed it from its box. The sleek front panel has only the most essential control buttons, plus an indicator that lights when the player is set to its progressive-scan mode.
The
back panel is equally streamlined but has all the usual outputs. The component-video
jack is switched to progressive mode by pressing the Progressive Scan button
on the remote and holding it for a few seconds. In a new and very welcome trend
that saves you quite a few bucks, JVC packages a set of component-video cables
with the player.
The JVC’s remote control felt substantial, with large buttons I could easily locate by touch in the dark. The controls you’ll use most often are on the lower half. Directly above them are buttons for less used functions like picture zoom and shrink, Digest (displays a grid of images from each chapter on a DVD), and picture-quality presets. The remote can also be configured to control your TV.
Pressing the On Screen button near the bottom of the remote during playback shrinks the movie to a quarter-screen window and fills the rest of the screen with a control panel. Several functions can be accessed from this panel, including repeat modes, time and chapter search, and selection of soundtrack and subtitle language or camera angle. It also includes bar graphs indicating elapsed time and the disc’s data-transfer rate. When you’re playing a CD, a similar onscreen control window is available to set up repeat modes or program track order — if you don’t mind turning on the TV.
The JVC’s 2x fast-scan mode delivered smooth, fluid playback. Another neat feature is aspect ratio control, activated by selecting the 16:9 Normal setting in the setup menu. This will prove useful if you have a widescreen HDTV that locks into a 16:9 or “full” display mode when it receives a progressive-scan signal (a number of them do). Set to its 16:9 Normal mode, the JVC player formats standard 4:3 images so they’ll appear on widescreen displays with correct geometry instead of being stretched out to fill the screen.
Like the Marantz changer, the JVC effortlessly sailed through my progressive-scan torture tests. Scenes with fine horizontal lines combined with moving cam erawork all came through without any artifacts. Colors, too, looked solid, with no combing visible in either the bright reds of Yellow Submarine or the catcher’s orange chest protector in For the Love of the Game.
When I switched to another reference DVD, the Hitchcock classic North by Northwest, I thought at first that the JVC came up somewhat shy on picture detail. Checking the sharpness control in the player’s Normal preset, however, I noted that it was a notch below maximum. Bumping it back up let me clearly see both the texture in Cary Grant’s impeccably cut gray suit and the details in the intricate furnishings of James Mason’s library. Setting sharpness to maximum added slight ringing artifacts to the lines in the resolution pattern of Ovation Software’s Avia test DVD, but I didn’t notice any with movies.
The JVC XV-S60BK is an all-around excellent progressive-scan player that’s also very reasonably priced. Having finally gotten my hands on it, I can attest that it more than justifies the buzz.
Sony DVP-NS700P
| DIMENSIONS 17 inches wide, 3 inches high, 10 1/8 inches deep WEIGHT 6 pounds PRICE $349 MANUFACTURER Sony Consumer Electronics, Dept. S&V, 1 Sony Dr., Park Ridge, NJ 07656; www.sel.sony.com; 800-222-7669 |
Like a campsite-crawling bear pursuing a Snickers bar, I was immediately sucked in by the shiny silvery case of the Sony DVP-NS700P ($349). But good looks aside, what intrigued me most about this player was how much you can do from its front panel. In addition to the basic transport buttons, there are controls for navigating menus and scanning discs at various speeds via a shuttle ring. You won’t need most of these controls most of the time, but if you happen to misplace the remote, you’ll be glad they’re there.
The
Sony’s back panel has more than the average number of outputs, including two
A/V sets with both composite- and S-video connections. A three-position switch
is used to set the single component-video output to interlaced-scan, progressive-scan,
or “selectable” mode, which lets you choose either format from the onscreen
setup menu. Like JVC, Sony gets a big thumbs up for supplying a set of component-video
cables.
Sony’s remote control is styled like the company’s other handsets — blocky, black, and festooned with big buttons. I was pleased to find that some of the buttons glow in the dark. The remote doesn’t have a shuttle ring like the one on the front panel, but there is a new and very cool control, Instant Replay, that backs a scene up a few seconds. This should come in particularly handy when you’re trying to catch the dialogue in British movies with characters who have heavy Cockney or Scottish accents. The remote can also control a few basic functions of your TV.
The Sony player’s fantastically detailed onscreen menu/display system provides graphic displays of soundtrack format, bit-rate transfer, and current DVD layer. You can call up a menu to select three different levels of video noise reduction with a single remote click. There are also Video Equalizer and Enhancer menus, which let you adjust picture controls and edge enhancement, respectively.
Like every other Sony DVD player I’ve used, the NS700P provided extremely smooth playback in both directions in its 2x mode. The Sony also did a great job of delivering smooth, seamless images in progressive-scan playback. In a scene from For the Love of the Game where Kevin Costner faces off against a nemesis, for example, the rows of bleacher seats looked solid even as the camera panned across them. Contrast and color were also excellent, with deep, vibrant, and richly rendered images.
One problem that cropped up in For the Love of the Game, however, was a small amount of combing primarily visible on solid patches of bright, intense color, especially bright oranges and reds. Whenever the action cut to an object like the catcher’s orange chest protector or the bright red graphics of the signs lining the outfield walls, I could see a colored line “floating” above the object’s edge. I noted the same effect on Yellow Submarine. I’ve seen this glitch on many other, more expensive progressive-scan players, but on the Sony the problem seemed less pronounced.
The Sony NS700P’s wealth of features, above-average video performance, and low price combine to make it a worthy option when you’re shopping for a progressive-scan DVD player. Indeed, its only drawback is that progressive-mode video artifact I described above. Even so, the player was such a pleasure to use that its benefits easily outweighed this minor flaw.
Yamaha DVD-S1200
| DIMENSIONS 17 3/4 inches wide, 4 inches high, 11 inches deep WEIGHT 7 3/4 pounds PRICE $999 MANUFACTURER Yamaha, Dept. S&V, 6660 Orangethorpe Ave., Buena Park, CA 90620; www.yamaha.com; 800-492-6242 |
There are times when things aren’t exactly what they seem, and there are times when things turn out to be more than they seem. In the case of Yamaha’s DVD-S1200 ($999), the second scenario applies. At first sight, the S1200 is just another black-boxed DVD player. Its front panel sports only a few control buttons, plus a headphone jack with volume control and a button to activate the progressive-scan output. But once I started using the Yamaha, I realized that it’s very similar to a Panasonic player I had recently reviewed and liked very much. Things were starting to look up.
The
Yamaha’s feature set reads like a laundry list of current technologies. In addition
to DVDs and audio CDs, it can play DVD-Audio discs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs loaded
with MP3 files, and DVD-RAM discs (a rewritable format supported so far only
by Panasonic and a few other manufacturers). It even played a DVD-R disc that
I burned on a Macintosh G4 computer (see “Make Your Own DVD!” on page 100).
Besides the usual outputs, the back panel has six RCA jacks for delivering decoded
DVD-Audio, Dolby Digital, or DTS signals to a receiver or processor’s external
multichannel input.
The compact remote control is covered with a fair number of small, poorly differentiated buttons, none of them backlit. Naturally, that makes it tough to use in the dark while you’re watching a movie. Also, it’s not designed to operate a TV or other components you might use with a DVD player. I suggest a trip back to the drawing board for the S1200’s remote.
Most functions can be controlled via an onscreen menu system, called up by pressing the remote’s Display button. The menus run several layers deep and include video noise-reduction settings and eight picture presets, four of them user-adjustable; two user presets are designed for progressive-scan output and feature advanced controls such as horizontal and vertical sharpness. You can save custom settings for a total of 200 discs in the S1200’s memory, and the player will automatically recall them whenever you load one of those discs.
Other interesting features include a progressive-scan transfer mode, which can be switched to optimize either film or video source material, and aspect ratio control, which also applies to progressive-scan signals and is used to display 4:3 images with proper geometry on a 16:9 screen. Search modes can be activated via the remote control, the front panel, or an on screen “shuttle” menu. The 2x fast-scan speed provided smooth motion in either direction, with the option of soundtrack accompaniment.
The Yamaha’s video performance proved to be consistently excellent with every disc I watched. In progressive-scan mode, it sailed through the difficult scenes, rendering diagonal lines and edges without any problems. Fine details of the leatherbound books and ornate furnishings in the library scene from North by Northwest came across clearly. And in the stadium sequences from For the Love of the Game, blacks looked deep and colors solid, without any trace of combing artifacts on heavily saturated patches of red or orange.
One of the best DVD-Audio discs I’ve heard is the 4.1-channel mix of Buena Vista Social Club (Warner Bros.). Listening to Track 4, “Pueblo Nuevo,” on the Yamaha was a serious sonic treat. The song starts out with soft piano accompanied by light percussion. The mix spreads the piano from the front to the rear channels, creating an immersive, loungelike atmosphere. Halfway through, the track suddenly switches to an upbeat tempo. The sense of immersion continues, but it feels like you’ve stumbled out of a lounge and into the center of a party.
Yamaha’s S-1200 delivers flawless progressive-scan video, and when you add in the numerous features such as aspect ratio control, DVD-Audio playback, MP3 and DVD-RAM playback, and a bounty of video-processing modes that let you tweak the look of discs in your collection, it’s the standout in this group. Of course, its higher price also sets it apart from the rest. But if you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Yamaha fan who wants the company’s top-shelf DVD player, the S1200 delivers the goods.
Progressive-scan has come a long way in a short time, from an esoteric, high-end feature of interest only to well-heeled videophiles to one that’s available in low-priced players. As this report shows, progressive-scan DVD players that deliver excellent image quality are now available for as little as $349.
Marantz’s five-disc changer would be a very good choice if you demand progressive-scan video but also want to mix up your music and keep it running all evening long. The JVC and Sony players also deliver excellent progressive-scan video at very low prices, though the Sony suffers from a glitch you may notice on animated features and movies with highly saturated colors. Finally, the Yamaha offers excellent video performance and cutting-edge features like DVD-Audio and DVD-RAM playback, but at a considerably higher price. High-definition TV programming may be expanding at a glacial pace, but with great progressive-scan DVD players available at such reasonable prices, at least you’ll be able to enjoy the wait.