Sampo DVE-631CF DVD Player with CF Reader and Photo Playback
Not a high quality DVD player
This DVD player doesn't offer a very good DVD playback quality. It has great features - jpg, mp3, vcd, CF card slot, PAL->NTSC conversion etc. but the basic functionality of the video display is lacking. Contrast and brightness of the picture are \\"improved\\" (not!) by the player and colors look dull and inaccurate. The black level and brightness dynamic (shadow detail) are not satisfactory. Sharpness is good. DVD should look better than this (vibrant and accurate color, stable picture ?), so please be careful when purchasing this unit. Also the DVD drive inside is very noisy.<br />I'm comparing this unit to a RCA player displaying on a Sony 27'' Trinitron. The 4 year old RCA clearly outperforms this machine - color accuracy is way better and shadow detail is preserved. I don't know why Sampo added this Black Level extender and smart brightness&contrast enhancement circuitry. It just doesn't work and does more bad than good. I constantly have to adjust brightness and contrast on my TV. With all other video sources I can just leave all picture controls at 50% on my Sony TV and they look good. Maybe I need a Sampo TV. Also some DVD disk start to vibrate in the drive when they spin very fast. They should not have to spin that fast - just at 1x DVD speed as they are DVD-Video disks.<br />So as other reviews may suggest this is the only DVD player you may ever want to own I would disagree. But I agree that it is a budget player and would not outperform higher end machines.