I just received this DVD player tonight after struggling with a crappy Panasonic S-58 I purchased locally based on a few enthusiastic, albeit ill-conceived, reviews I came across on Amazon and elsewhere. I can't tell you how happy I am with this unit and the myriad ways in which it excels both my previous Phillips 3962 (rendered it useless due to a sticky rental from Netflix)and the previously mentioned Panasonic model (of sorry memory), but I'll make a feeble attempt by way of this brief review nonetheless:
Image quality: The Phillips wins hands down here, offering what appears to my eyes at least to provide a level of picture quality (out of the box with ZERO adjustments) comparable to high-end units commanding upwards of three times the price. The Panasonic, in contradistinction, offered a level of image quality that I judged to be,at best, mediocre, or what a more discerning home theater electronics fancier would refer to as "terrible". It would indeed be no exaggeration to describe the difference as dramatic and eye-catching. The upscaling to 1080i of my Samsung LCD is simply phenomenal. I can't even imagine how good the image would be with 1080P compatible TV models.
Features: This DVD player has every feature you need and even some features you don't need. For those of you with DIVx-laden flash drives, fear not, as this unit provides front connecting USB facilities that effortlessly transport the tech- savvy votary of cutting-edge home theater to DIVx heaven with the the simple plugging of a cord.
Price: Cheap and good. This is true of so few things in life. For all those currently vacillating between "cheap dvd players", I would advise you to not look a gift-horse in the mouth when considering this unit. Don't even think twice before hitting the purchase button and certainly don't wast your time and tire your poor eyes "researching" any longer. This is, unequivocally, the HOLY GRAIL of cheap DVD players. So save yourself some time and money and just hit the purchase button.
Accessories: For all those here endlessly kvetching about the "flimsy" remote, I beg to differ. The remote is actually very elegant and well constructed for a player in this price class. You want to see a cheap remote? Buy the Panasonic S-58 and be prepared to cringe as the dollar-store quality Chinese toy-like polyethylene plastic tenses and creaks helplessly under the pressure of your child's feeble grip. In any event, this complaint amounts to nothing more than the most minor of quibbles considering the superlative features and quality of the player itself. For my part, however, I stand by my judgement that the remote is just dandy.
In closing, I would like to thank Phillips for manufacturing this superb product and for providing it to the public at such a modest cost. In doing so, they are affording the non-enthusiast public a viewing experience whose value far outstrips the mere pittance for which it is exchanged, and which will only serve to further consolidate Phillips unshakable position as the leader in home entertainment electronics for years to come.
And, as always, Amazon.com is peerless in their prompt, worry-free delivery of new products.
Both, therefore, win my unqualified and unreserved endorsement. FIVE STARS! Philips DVP3560/F7 DVD Player with 1080p HDMI Upscaling and Multimedia DiVX
This little bad boy of a DVD player comes packed with features. There are 2 major reasons you should get this player
1. The up-scaling on this player is very good. I have some DVD of older shows (like Babylon 5 and the original Star Trek, not remastered) and they never looked better! The image quality on the player is very good. While not 'top notch' like those $1000 up-scaling players, you are getting INCREDIBLE bang for the buck when it comes to the quality of your DVD image
2. Region Free. When you first get the player it will be locked to Region 1. There is a code/hack to unlock the player that can be found on the web (and even in the review section here if you look hard enough).
- Some say this player is slow to load but I actually find it very fast. Could of just been my old DVD player was just slow but I personally find this player loads fairly quickly.
- For "up-scaling" you need to use the HDMI port (no HDMI cable included) . I recommend leaving the HDMI settings on AUTO and enable the HDMI Color Enhancer.
**By leaving it on AUTO it lets your TV decide the resolution which means maximum compatibility (the DVD player up-scales the TV decides the resolution to upscale to)
**The Color enhancer by default is left to off, at least it was on mine. Basically if left OFF it will use 8-bit color (256 shades of each color). If turned on it will use 24-bit color (over 8 million total shades) it will make a noticeable difference especially on subtle colors
- The Menus for the player are simple and easy to navigate. In fact I'd say they are almost generic as if you bought a $5 DVD player. Philips clearly kept costs down by sacrificing on the bells and whistles but focused on what counts.
*There is no clock on the player (at least I couldn't find one)
*Menu is ultra generic almost Commodore 64 computer graphic look (but it is smooth and works as intended)
*remote is ultra basic but the buttons are generous in size, well spaced and easy to use
In summary this player gives you exactly what you are buying it for. Up-scaling DVD's and multimedia use. I've tested the DiVX and various media out on the player and it works exactly as intended/advertised. There is even a USB button on the remote so you can access the USB drive via remote control instead of going into menus. A great player with a great price and is ultra light weight.
** Up-scaling. Basically this DVD player is going to take your 720x480 DVD and convert it into a 1920x1080 image via HDMI. What separates a cheap player from a quality player is the Image Quality. When you "upscale" an image you essentially are matching the image pixel for pixel where as a regular DVD player will "stretch" the image to 1920x1080.
- By doing this you will get better color quality, image quality and it gives the movie/show a much smoother look to it
***** EDIT *****
I noticed a few people mention that this player turns itself off after 10-15mins if you aren't doing anything (like you stay on pause, or just turn it on and let it sit) You can actually turn this feature off. You can find the feature in "General Setup" ---> Auto Standby Just set it to OFF and the player will no longer turn itself off - 1080p - Hdmi - Divx-player - Upconverting Dvd Player'
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