ans Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Ok, so while I was doing some last minute Xmas shopping on Friday, I was in WH Smiths and I glanced at a stack of cheap DVD players made by some brand I've never heard of. Normally I'd just ignore them, DVD players are two a penny these days and a no name brand isn't a big selling point. However, I noticed on the box it said 'DivX' too. Weird I though, especially at this price. Unfortunately, DivX was replaced a good while ago in most dvd ripping circles by the vastly superior Xvid and there was no mention of that on the box so I carried on shopping and went home. Later that evening when I returned home drunk, Unisol sent me a message through MSN about something and after we'd had a brief chat, he said 'I was in WH Smiths today' and I went 'Yeah, the DivX player'. Anyway, he'd bought two and mentioned that it did Xvid too. I was very surprised and slightly sceptical but today, I went down and bought one to see. Plugged it in, threw a normal DVD in, no problem. Put a random SVCD in, again no problem. Threw in a CD with a movie in Xvid format and it brought me up a nice menu asking me which file I'd like to play. As it was only a CD, there was just the one on there so I selected it and lo and behold, it played flawlessly. I scampered upstairs to the hive and burned a DVD-R with 3 Xvid files on it, dropped downstairs and the same menu came up and I was able to select the file I wanted to play. All worked perfectly, even the Xvid/OGG rip. And the price? £29.99 This little unit does the same job as my modded Xbox, the same job as a dedicated media PC and the same job as a KISS dvd/divx player (minus streaming of course). All of which are massively more expensive. The only flaw in it is that the loading tray is flexible so if you have any small kids, it might get broken, but at this price, it's unbelievable value if you get hold of compressed DVD rips (from your own DVDs of course, no advocating piracy here!) on a regular basis. It's a Skyworth DVD 3650 DivX if you're not sure which one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 hmm yer Id seen that in WHS. XVID and SVCD u say, was going to get the parents a dvd player Mite have to part with some cash. Thanx ans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 DVD players are two a penny these days and a no name brand isn't a big selling point.The cheapo brands tend to be better in many ways. Typically they often seem most capable of playing the greatest number of media and formats. Often not all of the formats are documented. Try (for example) to find a named brand which will usefully play mp3s off a DVD+ RW disc. Certainly 6 months ago - only a few of the cheapo models could do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I have a JVC DVD and the specs are: DVD Video, Compact Disc Digital Audio CD-DA files, Compact Disc ReWritable CD-RW CD-DA/JPEG/MP3 files, Video CD / Super Video CD Compact Disc Digital Video - Compact Disc Super Video (Video CD & SVCD) Compact Disc Recordable CD-R CD-DA/JPEG/MP3 Files, Compact Disc CD-ROM JPEG/MP3 Files. DVD RAM, DVD-R & DVD-RW. It has something else called SQPB but I think that is something to do with the VHS Recorder. I don't actually know if that list is any good but it's about the fith DVD Player / Recorder that I've been through and I thought that I'd go for something by JVC or Panasonic. I've tried Phillips, Sharpe and various others but I'm placing my bets on this one. It's got a really cool little blue light that lights up the front when it's switched on. The down side is that this one cost £399.00 but that's still £200 cheaper than the last one I blew up! Stav. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Will it play mp3s off a DVD disc which you can write on your PC? Most of the decent brands (AFAIK) will only play mp3s off CDs. It's a licencing issue AFAIK. 18 months ago Safeway were selling a model for £60 which would do mp3s off DVD + RW discs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Having looked at the distructions, it doesn't say that it does. It doesn't say that it doesn't either so I think that the only way to tell is if i try it. I'll burn an MP3 onto DVD using the PC and test it on the JVC! I don't actually have any MP3 files (now I know how my grandad felt!) can I just download them or does someone want to email one to me for burning. I presume that they can be mailed? Stav. /no mention of my old 78's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I'll burn an MP3 onto DVD using the PC and test it on the JVC! Hey he's a poet and he didn't even know it. This is all lost on me, I just put my dvd into teh player and hope it works! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I was going to go further but I thought it would get lost. No, I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure with all the jargon, I would have got lost! I just like toys and it was one of my latest additions. Haven't actually got a clue what it does but I know it plays / records DVD's & vidoes. I have junior Stav here to do all the technical stuff like set the timer etc. It has Video Plus and real time memory thingumy but I'd never figure them out! Stav. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Ooo, ooo, I'm liking the sound of it stav, I think you've sold it to me! I really do need to get a player/recorder some time soon. Maybe I should start with the cheapy one from WHS (shock horror, did I actually say I was going to shop there?) and if I break it, it's no big loss really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tee Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Shame this wasn't on offer a few month back, have now got dvd recorder that plays them all, but this could of saved me a fair few £'s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parchedpeas Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 The Skyworth 3650 is basically a modded Yamada 6600, and I can highly reccomend them. The remote control is a bit shoddy on it though, but it plays nearly every bit of media you stick in it - and it will play mp3's off a DVDR, and it even displays the cover of the album you're listening to. It's a smart bit of kit and for £30 you're a mug if you step it up. BTW, for anyone who owns one and wants to flash their firmware up to the latest model, try this page: http://www.denver-electronics.com/pages/we...ubMenuguid=5395 It'll help on those xVid files that have packed bitstreams and stop the playback being so choppy. Read www.videohelp.com for more details before you upgrade it though, as it will mess up your first 'display' screen. Apart from that, most people are reporting an improvement, and nobody's had problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugs Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 The remote control is a bit shoddy on it though Aren't the remote controls on all DVD's badly designed? I hate them all. Why can't the 'Disc menu' be more prominent and why can't they be more like a video remote with back/play/forward/stop/pause be more obvious. When you're watching something with lights down low it's a nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I've got a tv/dvd combo and I have to say I find the remote that comes with it very straightforward, even when the lights are out. The buttons seem to be in a logical place on that one anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans Posted January 2, 2005 Author Share Posted January 2, 2005 BTW, for anyone who owns one and wants to flash their firmware up to the latest model, try this page: http://www.denver-electronics.com/pages/we...ubMenuguid=5395 Thanks for link. Not come across any that are choppy yet but it can't hurt to flash it to llatest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uni Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 I found three faults! -Tray doesn't extend all the way and isn't very deep. -When plugged in and connected to my TV, all the Teletext and TV Menus go black so you can't see them (anyone know a fix?) -Remote has to pointing directly at it, my other I can bounce of walls from down stairs Worth it though, just for the DivX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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