Philips DVD580M Lifestyle DVD Player
Awesome DVD Player!  Great Image & Sound with Composite Link!
I previously owned the Coby DVD-224 Compact DVD Player, and for some reason the Progressive Scan outputs on the Coby was not working with my HDTV Flat Panel LCD. So I needed something similar in size with Progressive Scan capabilities. Sadly, most high end Progressive Scan DVD players are large, flat and wide, and also extremely expensive.<br /><br />I saw this one online for only $47.99 and spent some time deciding between this and the Memorex MVD2030 Vertical Progressive-Scan DVD Player  ($79.99). I decided on this one since it was cheaper and I wanted something simple and easy.<br />After a week of use this Philips DVD580M Lifestyle DVD Player really impressed me. The sound and image outputs are very crisp, clean and smooth thanks to the progressive scan output.  The controls and outputs are numerous  and useful.<br />There is a full interactive menu for the player itself that enables the owner to adjust and tweak just about everything from channel output (sound), to color/video output schemes.<br />I thought the menu were a little too much above simplicity for my tastes (most users will only select the best sound and visual output once and never go back to these controls again).<br />The Remote Control was also tactile and easy to use compared to sony remotes. My only complaint was that the remote is almost as big as the player itself. And the remote has an extra 3 inches at the bottom with controls for what seems to be some other \\"phillips\\" devices and a Multichannel audio surround sound reciever. Unless you have an appropriate Phillips brand receiver/theater system the controls don't work. Also the extra outputs don't seem to work for anything other than phillips branded receievers. I tried to hook up to my Sony theater box and there was no resulting sound, I also tried my Altec Lansing Computer surround sound/sub woofer system and got the samething.<br /><br />So unless you have a phillips brand or high end multi channel receiver the result is that you'll have a larger remote with extra buttons that do nothing and extra sound outputs on the back of the player that also do nothing. At any rate the normal L and R outputs provided really great sound thru my Samsung Flat panel LCD speakers, then again my TV already has really good speakers.<br />The player also the ability to play music DVD-Rs, CDs and CD-Rs as well as MP3s. You can also view JPEG picture files that are saved on a CD-R/CD-RW on your TV thru the player. It also creates a slideshow for presenting vacation photos, etc...<br /><br />Finally my favorite feature is the way DVDs and CDs load & eject thru the slotted opening on the glass front. It is very cool-looking and easy to do, you'll wonder why DVD makers still make clumsly DVD trays instead of these smoothly functioning slots.<br /><br />The player also came with a solid steel stand and like the player itself everything is built with really great craftmanship and quality (ABSOLUTELY no cheap plastics are used here). This is evident in the weight of the player. It's not heavy, but when you pick it up the firm wieght makes you know it's expensive and built with the best of materials.<br /><br />I would recommend this product, but probably can't because I believe I may have bought the last one for sale anywhere at the moment. But if you see this player for sale get it and you will be very happy.ra buttons that do nothing and extra sound outputs on the back of the player that also do nothing. At any rate the normal L and R outputs provided really great sound thru my Samsung Flat panel LCD speakers, then again my TV already has really good speakers.   The player also the ability to play music DVD-Rs, CDs and CD-Rs as well as MP3s. You can also view JPEG picture files that are saved on a CD-R/CD-RW on your TV thru the player. It also creates a slideshow for presenting vacation photos, etc...    Finally my favorite feature is the way DVDs and CDs load & eject thru the slotted opening on the glass front. It is very cool-looking and easy to do, you'll wonder why DVD makers still make clumsly DVD trays instead of these smoothly functioning slots.     The player also came with a solid steel stand and like the player itself everything is built with really great craftmanship and quality (ABSOLUTELY no cheap plastics are used here). This is evident in the weight of the player. It's not heavy, but when you pick it up the firm wieght makes you know it's expensive and built with the best of materials.    I would recommend this product, but probably can't because I believe I may have bought the last one for sale anywhere at the moment. But if you see this player for sale get it and you will be very happy.