Philips DVP-642 progressive DVD player $50 shipped amazon

[Devistater]

Philips DVP-642 progressive DVD player is on sale for $50 shipped at amazon. This is THE player to have plays divx, xvid, subtitles, etc
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000204SWE

Here's some info on it:
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDnameid=4117&Search=Search&#comments

Has component, svidio, RCA video outs, and for audio RCA, digital, optical out.
I hear it can be made region free as well.

Latest firmware:
http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbi...NG&mid=Link_Software&hlt=Link_Software

Supposedly it supports outputting DTS digitally to a decoder in addition to the standard dolby.

As for the quality of this: Yeah, I agree, if you want top of the line audiophile/videophile type stuff, this is not it. Wait for HD equipment for blu-ray HD DVD or both. And I can garuntee you that stuff wont be $50 for a very long time Same thing goes if you only ever play retail DVDs, might as well grab something else. But if you like to play a variety of media & formats this is one of the better inexpensive choices for its versatility.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Nice player and great features. I wasn't impressed with the image quality on DVDs though.

 

[msi1337]

Nice player and great features. I wasn't impressed with the image quality on DVDs though.

second that!! I bought one played a couple different DVD's in it..and was amazed at how bad dvd's looked

maybe I had a bad one...it was hooked up via component cables to my HDTV

 

[htne]

Originally posted by: msi1337

Nice player and great features. I wasn't impressed with the image quality on DVDs though.

second that!! I bought one played a couple different DVD's in it..and was amazed at how bad dvd's looked

???? I have a 52 inch rear projection Toshiba, the Philips 642 is connected through the Svideo connector, and the picture looks fine to me.

 

[amdskip]

I love mine, great deal here!

 

[maxcom]

Cnet review

 

[maxcom]

"dvd's must be labeled for all regions or region 1" per the manual

 

[Woody419]

According to the Secrets tests the player is a dog, but you get what you pay for.

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: Woody419
According to the Secrets tests the player is a dog, but you get what you pay for.

It kinda depends how you are using it, though. If you have a nice non-porgressive scan TV like my 24" Sony Wega, it's actually a decent player. Remember the problems this player has are with de-interlacing. If you don't have a progressive scan TV, the picture looks fine because you are never de-interlacing it. The DivX playback was what really sold me on the player.

Also, the model I bought was the 642/37, which seems to be a newer version of the hardware, it is possible that my version fixes some of the issues that CNet had when they reviewed it over a year ago. For example, when I switch my movies that have DTS over to the DTS track the little DTS light on my receiver comes on and the soundtrack plays just fine, so I'm not sure what the review meant by the player not supporting DTS.

 

[Devistater]

Yeah its true if you want top of the line equipment, this is not it. However, if thats the case, you are should wait for HD movies anyway

This is a very inexpensive player that plays divx/xvid (and supports subtitles) so if you have large video file collections that dont play on most players, then this is a great one to have. For the money, and the format/media support, this is one of the better ones. But if you only ever play retail DVDs, yeah this is a poor choice.

Originally posted by: maxcom
"dvd's must be labeled for all regions or region 1" per the manual

Yeah well the manual isn't about to tell you how to make it play any regions. They would get in big trouble from MPAA etc, because all dvd stuff sold is supposed to be RPC 2 region locked.
If you goto www.videohelp.com and pick dvd h**ks on left menu you can pick the dvd models and see how to do it. Basically its a secret code you put into the remote (probably for factory service usage). I'm not going to direct link it because the DMCA is so frigging nazi, I'd probably have to remove my link.

 

[hytek369]

good deal, i love mine

 

[conehead433]

Not sure exactly about the DTS statement. When I play a DTS only DVD I get the error message 'cannot decode DTS signal' on my screen. Since I'm using the optical output to my Onkyo receiver which decodes DTS with no problem I can still watch the movie and have a DTS soundtrack. I have 2 642s and neither decodes DTS but using the optical output you can get all the audio outputs sent to a receiver.

 

[Lvis]

I've been happy with mine for over a year now.

 

[Ketteringo]

I really love mine, had it for a year and a bit now

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: conehead433
Not sure exactly about the DTS statement. When I play a DTS only DVD I get the error message 'cannot decode DTS signal' on my screen. Since I'm using the optical output to my Onkyo receiver which decodes DTS with no problem I can still watch the movie and have a DTS soundtrack. I have 2 642s and neither decodes DTS but using the optical output you can get all the audio outputs sent to a receiver.

It's a weird complaint. As long as the player can pass the sountrack out to your receiver, you're golden. I remember back in the day when I was shopping for my very first DVD player and the sales guy was trying to steer me away from the lower end Sony unit. He insisted that the higher end unit was the one I wanted because it could decode DD 5.1 and DTS soundtracks in the player. I just looked at him and asked him why the hell I would want the DVD player to do that? That's what a home theater receiver is for.