Question about durabrand DVD player from walmart
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needhelplease Unregistered guest | hey all, just wondering if anyone knows whether or not the durabrand htib (150 watts) model sts98r is compatible with vcd's or svcd's, or even if the system is worth buying at all |
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Bronze Member Username: ReinhartPost Number: 91 Registered: Nov-05 | Don't bother. In addition to the fact that the Durabrand system is cheap and shoddy, it will not support VCD and SVCD formats. This is because the manufacturer would have to pay additional licensing in order to support them, so they save on the cost by omitting VCD/SVCD support from their product. If you need a DVD HTIB, just stick with the known name brands, namely Sony, JVC, Pioneer, or Panasonic. They may be more expensive, but you most certainly do get what you pay for. - Reinhart |
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happywithdurabrand Unregistered guest | I previously purchased a sony from future shop. got it home to discover it had NO INPUTS!!! arrgghhh, very frustrating. i mean it was only a 200 dollar system, but no inputs? returned and... *gasp* ... bought the durabrand sts98r from walmart for ... *double gasp*... $75. Now, i gotta say, i'm really happy with it. I know many audiophiles here will scoff at a system that can be bought for less than a season of the sopranos on dvd. Here's the thing, I already have a pioneer in the living room for gaming and stuff, but this was just for the bedroom. So i wasn't looking for much to begin with. And taken on it's own merits, this thing iis definitely worth the money. The sound is pretty great (although the bass is too low, not totally unexpected), with a surprising amount of sound from the surrounds. it has prologic 2 and digital 5.1 surround. Upon dvd playback, i experienced good sound from all channels (minus the sub-more on that later). No dts, but still, the pl2 helps a lot for us ps2 gamers out there. The thing that really surprised me is that it has excellent control for sound on all speakers, allowing you to set the volume for each independently. And the best thing? I have thrown any and all types of media into this thing. Although the tech support told me that it will not run vcd or svcd formats, i'm watching an svcd right now, and it's playing beautifully. vcd's as well. I've tried many different dvd copies, on many types of media, and not one has failed to play yet. Even the subtitle tracks i have on japanese video copies work just fine (although they come up a little close to the bottom of the screen-this could be the copy...) minor gripes: (or huge depending on tastes) this unit does not support optical inputs. as a matter of fact, it has only one set of rca inputs, and that's it. I didn't have a problem with this, i was only running dvd's on this anyway, with my playstation sometimes. But if you're planning on getting something that will give you a perfect main system, go with something a little higher up. as a second system, this unit is excellent, especially for the price ($80, or lower in some areas). dvd player is pro-scan (i know, almost all are, but for one this cheap, sometimes they aren't) and the picture quality is okay. it looks as good as the ps2 dvd player, maybe a bit better. And it is fully functioned with zoom, component out, slow motion, etc. wires and unit itself seem to be fairly durable, at least so far. sound from speakers, again, is nice and clear, with no hissing or distortion noticable. for only 150 watts, it won't blow your eardrums, but it will impress at a smaller level, for clarity and overall sound quality. and now more on the sub: it's not good, at all. but it's also not the right sub for the system. It says that the subwoofer included is around 50 watts, but i'd say it is closer to 15, maybe 20 tops. I plugged in a 50 watt subwoofer from another system, and the bass is MUCH better now, with a more audible punch. Now, what could be really bad. as kip wells above states, this system could end up being cheap and shoddy. My friend bought the same system, and his was, well, a dud to say the least. His sub produced no volume, and the video in did not work. After returning twice, he now has a working system and depsite his initial frustration, he is also very happy with this product. but it could very well be a hit-or-miss situation overall, given the nature of cheaply produced electronics. This short explanation is running a little long, but one last thing that must be mentioned, if you have any trouble with this unit, a 1-800 tech line is included, and the people are extremely helpful, friendly and fast (upon calling three times about the broken unit, my friend reported never once having to wait for more than a minute in que before his call was taken by a customer service rep). All in all, i'd say three and a half stars out of five. |
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Silver Member Username: ReinhartPost Number: 120 Registered: Nov-05 | First off, what was the model of the Sony system you purchased? Secondly, why didn't you bother to check if it had inputs or not when you were shopping? Thirdly, there are other choices from other good brands besides Sony. Why didn't you check them out? "Although the tech support told me that it will not run vcd or svcd formats, i'm watching an svcd right now, and it's playing beautifully. vcd's as well. I've tried many different dvd copies, on many types of media, and not one has failed to play yet." Then Wal-Mart is selling a product with unauthorized support for VCD and SVCD. They must pay for a license to be able to claim support (which could be a reason why they say that your unit doesn't support it). As for what your system can and can't do: that's not the issue. It's whether or not the system will last. You can have a good player, but it may not last as long as you would like (and that's happened to a lot of people who thought they were getting a great deal with these cheap electronics). "dvd player is pro-scan (i know, almost all are, but for one this cheap, sometimes they aren't) and the picture quality is okay. it looks as good as the ps2 dvd player, maybe a bit better. And it is fully functioned with zoom, component out, slow motion, etc." The bigger issue with any DVD player is whether or not it will display video at, or close to, SMPTE standards. So far, no DVD player is built that is able to work at SMPTE standards, but some players from lowest end to highest, do come close. However, most players produced cheaply like the Durabrand tend to have problems with excess edge enhancement and a horrid upper range frequency response for the video output (which translates into a softer picture). Another issue is that many DVD players use MPEG decoders that have a distinct problem known as the chroma upsampling error. In the process of upsampling the chroma channel from its native 4:2:0 format back to 4:4:4, an incorrect upsampling algorithm is used which causes the chroma phase to be upsampled incorrectly. This causes color streaks, especially with bold colors. Some players are better about it than others. For instance, both the Sony DVP-S360 and Samsung DVD-611 (old models, but two that come to mind, hence the mention) have problems with CUE, but the LSI Logic MPEG decoder used in the Sony isn't all that noticeable with regular playback while the C-Cube MPEG decoder used in the Samsung will streak the colors like crazy! Both, however, will exhibit their problems when checked with specific video test patterns. And, finally, do not expect decent progressive scan performance from the Durabrand. There are not very many DVD players from any manufacturer that are able to deal with deinterlacing the video properly for display on a progressive scan television. Many have bad recovery times while some have poor cadence detection or rely on flags (which are improperly implemented on most DVDs). The precious few that do have good deinterlacing performance includes the Denon DVD-5910 and the Oppo Digital DVD player (www.oppodigital.com). The Oppo will set you back about $200 while the Denon will set you back about $5,000. - Reinhart |
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Anonymous | wow, reinhart, sorry to see you took personal offense to a review based on PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. as to why you would try to discredit me for no reason, i have no idea. but after reading your other posts and seeing that you seem to be the "top-of-the-line-or-nothing" guy, i guess it kind of makes sense. as noted previously, i was simply relating my experience on this item, from the viewpoint of someone who MAY NOT CARE about smpte settings, or chroma unsampling errors, or simply may not have the money to be able to care about these types of problems. but happily, i have experienced no major picture problems such as stretching or softening, or color bleeding. some aliasing is noticeable, but edge enhancement doesn't seem overly terrible. Black levels are good, with no heavy evidence of color banding, or blacks fading together. just so you know, this is not a personal attack on you, reinhart. i actually agree with most of your points, especially that you usually get what you pay for, and companies like durabrand should not always be seen as attractive alternatives, just based on their price. it's just that IN THIS CASE, i didn't have a totally bad experience with a smaller company. as for not checking while i was shopping, well, i guess i wasn't. you got me there  as to what model of Sony it was, i couldn't even tell you. the fact is WHO CARES??? in the end, you simply totally missed the point of my post. sorry if it offended you, but seriously, if you took offense to that, you really need to lay off the electronics for a bit ;) |
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Silver Member Username: ReinhartPost Number: 129 Registered: Nov-05 | "wow, reinhart, sorry to see you took personal offense to a review based on PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. as to why you would try to discredit me for no reason, i have no idea. but after reading your other posts and seeing that you seem to be the "top-of-the-line-or-nothing" guy, i guess it kind of makes sense." I didn't take any kind of offense. An offense would characterize itself as an insult. There were no insults in your post as far as I know. All I did was post a counter to your claim. You decided to misconstrue the intention of the counter, which is your problem. Your claim was of personal experience. My counter was based on professional experience (not to mention the general consensus of most posters here about Durabrand, including many "satisfied" customers). To put it simply, I repair and analyze electronic components and I've seen some of the best and the worst in this hobby. Durabrand is, quite simply, not worth the savings you get when spending only a little more can score you a component that will not only outperform the Durabrand, but will also last longer. And, if the component lasts longer, that means that you're getting more out of your purchase. Look through the Durabrand posts and you will notice a pattern. Initially, the posts indicate good reviews, then the reviews start to turn sour until it gets to the point where there are many posts from people who regretted the purchase of their malfunctioning Durabrand component and they begin to wish about spending a few dollars more on a name brand. "as noted previously, i was simply relating my experience on this item, from the viewpoint of someone who MAY NOT CARE about smpte settings, or chroma unsampling errors, or simply may not have the money to be able to care about these types of problems." Of course, the funny thing about this is that you can get a player that does many things right without spending an arm and a leg. Furthermore, you make a good choice and you will have a player that will work for longer, allowing you to get more of your money's worth out of your investment. The Oppo Digital OPDV971H is one such player. It is considered one of the very best players ever made, even surpassing players in the $1,000+ range, and it only costs about $200. And, then there's Pioneer. The DV-285 is their lowest end player, but it gets many details correct including a good frequency response for the video and no chroma upsampling problems and uses one of the most reliable DVD drives around. And, it only costs around $70-$80. That, right there, reflects a good performer for about a few dollars more than a Durabrand and is, IMO, still inexpensive and a bargain considering the aforementioned points. Because of that, there's no excuse for settling for a mediocre product when a superior one is available for not much more money. You don't have to spend a fortune for good stuff. But, it requires that you know your stuff, research your options, and make the best choice. That's the difference between buying smart and just plain buying. "but happily, i have experienced no major picture problems such as stretching or softening, or color bleeding. some aliasing is noticeable, but edge enhancement doesn't seem overly terrible" That's good, so far. Although, stretching would only occur if you turned off anamorphic downconversion with anamorphically enhanced DVDs (and most widescreen DVDs out there are). "Softening," or a soft picture may be one artifact of anamorphic downconversion depending on the downconversion method. Aliasing or "jaggies" is another artifact, also dependent on the downconversion method. Edge enhancement characterizes itself as a noticeable haloing around objects. The problem with edge enhancement is that it sharpens the picture, but it is not true resolution. Instead, it exaggerates the detail that's already there and can obscure fine details due to the haloing effect. "just so you know, this is not a personal attack on you, reinhart. i actually agree with most of your points, especially that you usually get what you pay for, and companies like durabrand should not always be seen as attractive alternatives, just based on their price. it's just that IN THIS CASE, i didn't have a totally bad experience with a smaller company." Proving my point about assuming? "this is not a personal attack on you, reinhart" I didn't think that you were attacking me. It is quite strange to be accused of being offended when all I did was voice a disagreement and explained my contention to clarify why. As for you not having a totally bad experience, fine. But, typically, people do have bad experiences with stuff like Durabrand. Most bad experiences, however, do not begin until a few months down the road. Initially, the stuff that's bought actually may work well. But, on average, they simply do not last long enough to justify the purchase. "as for not checking while i was shopping, well, i guess i wasn't. you got me there as to what model of Sony it was, i couldn't even tell you. the fact is WHO CARES???" That just indicates that you bought more on impulse than seriously considering your choices and making a smart decision. That's part of the reason why most customers feel burned when they buy something when, in reality, they didn't take it upon themselves to do their homework and then make the right choice for themselves based on their findings. "in the end, you simply totally missed the point of my post. sorry if it offended you, but seriously, if you took offense to that, you really need to lay off the electronics for a bit ;)" In the end, you need to lay off the assumptions for a bit. ;) - Reinhart |
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windbag hater Unregistered guest | god dam kip, shut the hel up. you are a tiresome windbag. in case you miss the point, i am insulting you. |
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Silver Member Username: ReinhartPost Number: 154 Registered: Nov-05 | "in case you miss the point, i am insulting you." Which is probably the only thing you can do here. And, I'm not insulting you but stating an apparent fact. - Reinhart |
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tv_casualty Unregistered guest | wow, it's been a while since i read this thread. reinhart, i believe i owe you an apology. my last post really came off the wrong way. when i read your original post, i felt it opened with very accusational questions, and i took them the wrong way. but to my credit, i did not try to come off like the jerk i ended up sounding like. i was trying to make light of the subject, and it didn't come off at all as expected. sorry for sounding so childish about it all. as for the comment from "windbag hater" please do not associate that post with any of mine (check ip's if necessary, but that wasn't me), i'd like to hope my grammar is much better than that ;) and also, i have a question for you regarding the now-controversial durabrand system i have purchased. as noted earlier, i disconnected the included sub immediately. i have an old phillips-magnavox fw 585c, 4-speaker surround system, with subs built into each front speaker, and three directional tweeters which simulate a centre speaker and full surround (which never quite worked, due to the subs overpowering all other sounds from the fronts...). i have wired one of the front speakers from this system into the jacks for the sub on the durabrand system, and the sound produced is very clear, and surpisingly of a good range (I have ran several thx optimizer tests to ensure the speakers are all working properly). the only issue arises while trying to playback mp3 cd's. whereas normally the speaker used as a sub plays only the sound you would expect to hear from the sub unit, while playing mp3's the three small directionals seem to output the sound from the front and rear channels at the same time. upon connecting the sub which came with the package, everything works as normal. any reason why this may be happening? thanks in advance, tvcasualty |
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Silver Member Username: ReinhartPost Number: 174 Registered: Nov-05 | "i have a question for you regarding the now-controversial durabrand system i have purchased. as noted earlier, i disconnected the included sub immediately. i have an old phillips-magnavox fw 585c, 4-speaker surround system, with subs built into each front speaker, and three directional tweeters which simulate a centre speaker and full surround (which never quite worked, due to the subs overpowering all other sounds from the fronts...). i have wired one of the front speakers from this system into the jacks for the sub on the durabrand system, and the sound produced is very clear, and surpisingly of a good range (I have ran several thx optimizer tests to ensure the speakers are all working properly)." One thing about audio is that a change in speakers has a greater effect in changing how your system sounds than changing the amplifier. It's still a good idea to properly match a set of speakers to the right kind of amplifier. Not so much for sonics but as a measure to prevent damage to the amp and especially the speakers. Too powerful an amp will damage the speakers if you push the amp hard enough. Why this happens is pretty much obvious in of itself. Too much speaker for too weak an amp can also cause damage to the speakers as the amp can be pushed to clipping well before you hit the max wattage of the speakers. Clipped waveforms can overheat the diaphragm of the speaker and cause damage since a clipped waveform will not allow proper mechanical motion to help cool the driver. But this would happen only if the amp was powerful enough to do this yet is not powerful enough to provide clean driving power. "the only issue arises while trying to playback mp3 cd's. whereas normally the speaker used as a sub plays only the sound you would expect to hear from the sub unit, while playing mp3's the three small directionals seem to output the sound from the front and rear channels at the same time. upon connecting the sub which came with the package, everything works as normal. any reason why this may be happening?" Dunno. If the sub is passive and relies on the receiver not only to provide the audio feed but the power to drive the speakers as well, it might be that not having the proper load could allow some sort of bleed to the other amplifier channels. This is a guess, and a highly wild and probably even a dubious one at best. - Reinhart |
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Silver Member Username: ReinhartPost Number: 175 Registered: Nov-05 | Forgot to add. It's hard to make a determination why the Durabrand is doing what it's doing without taking a looksie and figuring out how it works. Hence, why I think my guess should be taken with a grain of salt. As for your apology, thanks. You didn't have to, but I appreciate it. And, perhaps I should try to revise how my posts are worded to make them less intimidating and for that, perhaps I should apologize. - Reinhart |
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tv_casualty Unregistered guest | i decided to take your advice, and open it up for a look... which has had mixed results. i'm not much of an audio electronic guy (admittedly, i feel much more comfortable ripping apart broken gaming systems, especially playstation, because say what you want about sony, but they use simple to understand components). but while i have it open, can you suggest any problem areas i may want to look at in regards to shoddy wiring, etc. and as a follow up, if the problem is with transistors or other circuitry, are they easily self-replaced? and as for the apology, not to drag it out, but i simply believe courtesy is like anything else in life, what goes around comes around *enter cheesy preachy music here ;)* tvcasualty |
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Silver Member Username: ReinhartPost Number: 192 Registered: Nov-05 | "but while i have it open, can you suggest any problem areas i may want to look at in regards to shoddy wiring, etc. and as a follow up, if the problem is with transistors or other circuitry, are they easily self-replaced?" Wiring may, more than likely, be okay. Soldering on the mainboard may or may not be so great, but sometimes soldering isn't something that's perfect with a lot of mass produced gear even from some decent brands. Power supply components may not be substantial, nor would the power circuit itself. And, it's also not just the parts but how they are all put in place. Sometimes, everything may be packed densely in a small place which could cause problems of their own, such as overheating. In the event that a component fails, it may or may not be replaceable depending on the component itself. If it's a surface mounted component that is dense with leads that are finely soldered in place, replacement of that individual part will likely not be possible; you'd have to replace the entire affected module, assuming that it's even available. Other cases, including amplifier components, may or may not be available for replacement in the event of failure. Some components may be industry standard while others may be strictly proprietary and exclusive to that model only. And, even if the component is industry standard, they may not be available at a RadioShack. You may have to order parts from a supplier, and most may not sell to you unless you own a licensed business or are willing to buy lots or a set minimum as opposed to buying only the item you want. Most likely, many parts will not be available for replacement due to the fact that the item in question would more than likely be replaced rather than repaired if it ever fails. Because of this, it is assumed that the market for replacement parts for cheap electronics is, for all intents and purposes, virtually non-existent. - Reinhart |
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B. Gates Unregistered guest | ReinAss...get a friggin life! |
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Hattori Unregistered guest | Holy crap, that kip guy is a longdrawn windbag. All he had to write was: "sorry, just trying to help". I have to give tvcasualty props for getting into him quickly and not allowing this guy to continue on with his self-important scribblings. You see this type of poster everywhere- boring everyone without really contributing to the conversation or topic with trivial self propping facts that no-one cares about or wishes to comment further. Just words. Most readers don't get past the third line if it hasn't appealed to them as seen above in that monstrosity of a post by Kip. It has nothing to do with the intelligence or attention span of the reader just the content and relevence of the post. Funny thing is that most of the time the windbag doesn't realize he's doing it and keeps dribbling on and on with their own one-way conversation. |
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Hattori Unregistered guest | Sorry, I meant I have to give props to Anonymous. The rest remains the same. But I still give props to tv_casualty as well. You seem like a pretty cool guy. |
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