Page 1 of Advice, budget DVD player vs PS2

At the mo I use a PS2 as my sole DVD player with region x.

What I want to know is if I was to go for a budget deck, such as the £70 Bush in Tesco, will I notice any improvement over the PS2? ie picture, sound quality.

Or should I keep the PS2 and buy some more DVDs?

What should I do?

Cheers guys.

Based on my experiences with one of the best budget decks (the Alba DVD114, £70 from Argos), I`d say that you won`t notice much improvement in picture and sound quality (it certainly isn`t any worse though!), but there is a big difference in terms of convenience and features.

The DVD114 is multi-region out of the box - no need to arse around with a Region X disc, just shove your Region 1 (or whatever) into the player and it plays. It also outputs RGB without any need for a workaround. Additionally, if you`re currently using the PS2`s joypad when playing DVDs, you will probably find the DVD114`s remote much more convenient. (It`s not great, as remotes go, but much better than using a pad!)

The extra features of the DVD114 include:

* SVCD and VCD playback. (The PS2 only plays DVDs)
* MP3 playback.
* Plays CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW. (The PS2 only works with CD-R and DVD-R)
* Optical and coaxial digital out. (The PS2 only has optical)

Considering it costs the equivalent of about 4 full-priced DVDs, I would spend your £70 on this player and leave the PS2 to do what it does best.

Mike

Thanks for that, I will have a look at the Alba.

You`re right about arsing around with the region x. It`s going to seem like a breeze when I play R1 discs in a stand alone DVD player.

Would you know if the Alba can play RCE discs?

Thanks for the advice.

"Would you know if the Alba can play RCE discs?"

Yes, it can - I have the R1 "Hollow Man" which is RCE, and it works fine.

Mike

I have a question that I wouldn`t mind answered without starting a new thread. Why does the PS2 get such a beating about its DVD player. I think DVD`s look good playing through it and can`t notice much difference in picture quality. I do, however, notice the difference in sound when it is hooked up to my amp. But what do people expect? Its a console.

I may be rambling, but it plays fine through my (damaged???) eyes.

>> I do, however, notice the difference in sound when it is hooked up to my amp. But what do people expect? Its a console.

Precisely the point of the thread, eh Chewie? :-) Leave the console to do what it does best, play games.

I think that the PS2 also got a rep for lunching discs. Aparently, it`s quite bad for scratching them (games too), although I believe that this is only a problem if you stand it on its end.

PS2 = Good for games

DVD Player = Good for playing DVDs

PS2 = Functional only for playing DVDs

DVD Player = Can also play CDs, VCDs, SVCDs, MP3s....

DVD Players = as cheap as £70

Conclusion = buy cheap DVD player AND PS2 :-)

If you`re gonna get a DVD player and are serious about films then, don`t bother getting a silly named i.e. Chinese, Korean player, you should push the boat out that extra £50 or so and get something decent that`s had good reviews or is a brand you trust. The ones you see on the shelves in Safeway or Tesco which are dead cheap are almost certainly crap and if they go wrong could be more expensive to fix as less people will own them.

Rich_H,

I have to admit I was sceptical too, but I decided to swallow my brand snobbery and actually try out the Alba player I mentioned (the DVD114), and I was pleasantly surprised. It performs as well as many of the brand-name players I`ve seen.

Many of the "off brand" players may well be crap - I haven`t looked at that many of them - but my experience with the Alba has shown that there *are* fantastic bargains to be had for well under £100. If you`d rather pay £50 extra to get Sony or Pioneer then that`s fine - all I`m saying is, don`t assume something is crap just because it`s an Alba.

As for the "more expensive to fix" problem - I don`t think that`s a big consideration these days. Like it or not, we live in a throwaway society, and in a world of £50 VCRs, £70 DVD players, £100 tellies etc. there now seems little point in getting anything repaired beyond the warranty period. Most repair men won`t get out of bed for less than £40.

Mike