Basic DVD players

Cross posting again, so please don't reply twice if you see this twice.

First off, thanks for the responses to my newbie questions about basic, no
frills DVD players. Based on the replies I've received, I've decided that
even with my minimal needs and very light usage, I'll avoid the super
cheapies. I was out looking at the stores today and have a couple more
questions:

1) Are Memorex DVD players cheap crap, or is Memorex a reliable well
constructed brand?

2) What is audio/video enhancement? A Panasonic I saw has a "one-touch
audio/video enhancement" feature. Is this of any real value, or is it just
hype for something built into all DVD players? I will only be playing DVDs
rented from the stores and DVD-Rs onto which I transferred my old VHS tapes.
I won't be playing any MP3s, jpegs, etc -- so would anything I play actually
benefit from this audio/video enhancement feature?

3) What would anyone use the zoom feature for? Again, I don't quite
understand the benefit of this feature for just watching rented movies.
What am I not understanding about it?

Again, many thanks.

JEP

Jerold Pearson

>
>1) Are Memorex DVD players cheap crap, or is Memorex a reliable well
>constructed brand?

Crap. Stay away from those things like the plague.

>2) What is audio/video enhancement? A Panasonic I saw has a "one-touch
>audio/video enhancement" feature.

Audio enhancements may include stuff like dialogue enhancer. Dialogue enhancer
is a feature that boosts the dialogue/center channel on 5.1 DVDs, which helps
them to be more easily heard when playing a DVD with 5.1 audio downmixed to 2
channel stereo.

But, I don't recommend Panasonic DVD players. They have had spindle motor
problems which causes an H02, H05 and/or an H07 error usually within a year or
two of purchase. The problem is that Panasonic switched from their excellent
brushless motors over to regular Mabuchi brush motors on their fifth generation
models that are probably not substantial enough to deal with spinning DVDs and
possibly the extra mass of a disc stabilizer platter clamp (on some models).
Plus, their MPEG decoders in all but their highest end players are not what
they used to be with their older models, especially the fourth generation which
included the fantastic model DVD-RV30.

>3) What would anyone use the zoom feature for? Again, I don't quite
>understand the benefit of this feature for just watching rented movies.

Some people like to use the zoom to "get rid of those annoying black bars."
Others use it to zoom into some visual elements to get a closer look.

But, mainly, it's a gimmick. It's included on many players because it was
possible to do so without difficulty, so it's an extra selling point.

I stand by my recommendations of a good basic DVD player model from JVC, Sony,
or Pioneer. - Reinhart

LASERandDVDfan