Philips DVP5900/37 DVD Player with Divx
Impressive.  Great video - minor bugs.
I didn't think there was much difference in video quality between the various DVD players but the DVP5900 is a SUBSTANTIAL improvement over my old magnavox.  Video Upscaling is a tremendous benefit.<br /><br />  Using the HDMI connection helps quite a bit - both on the picture quality and the ease of setup.  Pages of stuff to do in the manual if you're using component cables.  With HDMI you plug it in and let the TV set and DVD player figure it out.<br /><br />  The major feature of this player is the DIVX support.  It's wonderful to be able to play almost anything that I can fit onto a CD.  And the picture quality - even when the source material is decade old VHS converted to AVI - is much better than I expected.  I was expecting artifacts and pixellization.  I got quite acceptable picture quality on everything that it could display.  Of course, the display from high quality sources like DVDs is fantastic.<br /><br />  What's not to like?  There are some glitches.<br /><br />1.  The manual says the player will remember the position of the last 5 DVDs you've played.  It doesn't even remember one.  So if you turn the power off you'd better note the time display or you'll have some searching to do when you want to watch again.<br /><br />2.  It doesn't handle all the subtitles the manaual says it does.  \\"srt\\" format - no problem.  \\"ssa\\" with \\"idx\\" - nope.  The manual says it does but not on my system.  It's possible that the next firmware update will fix this. Also, I've seen reports on various forums that other people have been able to make this feature work - but others haven't.  We'll see. (by the way, the ability to download firmware updates from the phillips website to add new features or fix bugs is a another major benefit to this player)<br /><br />3.  Bad ergnomics on the remote.<br /><br />4.  Flimsy feel to the construction.<br /><br />5.  Not much flexibility on music playback.  No random play, can't make a playlist, can't limit playback to just one directory.<br /><br />  These drawbacks are minor and many of them could be fixed with a firmware update.<br /><br />  I'm viewing this with a 37\\" Panasonic Plasma (TH-37PX50U).  You should use something of similar quality to get the full benefit of a player like this.can't limit playback to just one directory. <br /> <br />   These drawbacks are minor and many of them could be fixed with a firmware update. <br />    I'm viewing this with a 37\\" Panasonic Plasma (TH-37PX50U).  You should use something of similar quality to get the full benefit of a player like this. <br /> <br />