1. Introduction
Nowadays, the DVR (Digital Video Recorder or Personal Video Recorder as it is also called) has become a necessary appliance,
especially for those who want to record their favorite TV programmes
in digital format without
having
to understand too much about complicated functionality or confusing formats. While the first
DVRs were released with only an optical storage drive, KISS Technology as well as several other manufacturers
have begun introducing DVRs with a HDD installed that's big enough to store up to 120 hours of continuous
recording with the Mpeg2
format. We tested the latest DVR and Mpeg4 player from KISS
Technology, the DP-558 and we present its main features along with the results
of our "real life" tests. Lets begin :-)
- Features
The DP-558 from KISS Technology is a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) and as KISS
states in the product homepage "...Digital Video Recorder from the
next generation, the DP-558 proves to be more than what is first expected from
such a product. What if you could watch live television, then pause it for
a while and start it again when you are ready to watch more. What if you could
browse through an electronic program guide, find the desired program, press
Record and the schedule for the next recording would be set. What now if you
could have online services directly available from your television screen,
be able to see the weather forecast or just play games..."
The main feature of the DP-558 is its internal HDD with a capacity of 80GB
that allows recording up to 120hours of television programs, depending
of course on the chosen recording quality. Recording can also be scheduled, if you know the
time of the program you want to record, or for immediate recording
just press the record button on the remote control.
Another interesting feature of the DP-558 is the so called "Time Shifting". In
case you don't exactly understand what it does "...You're watching
a good movie on television when the phone rings. It's an important call,
but you don't want to miss the plot. Easy... just press Pause on your remote
control, and just like magic the image freezes. After the call, just press
Play to resume watching..."
The KISS DP-558 includes a 10/100 network connection, which means that it
can be connected to the local network and of course to the internet, for retrieving
interesting information that is provided by the KISS Electronic Program
Guide. The EPG is a service giving you the opportunity to check all
TV programs on the KiSS DP-558 player. This service provides you with the
opportunity to check the latest TV programs
directly on your TV screen and makes it easy to decide what to watch and record.
The EPG covers all the TV stations available in Europe. But more on this feature
later...
Something really interesting is the KiSS Remote EPG. In short, you can log on to the TV Guide from your computer, WiFi-enabled PDA or GPRS and browser-enabled phone, and schedule it for recording within seconds. Another use of the network connection...
There are also three other online functions available: the Online Weather Report , Online Games and probably the most interesting, WebRadio 3.
KISS, in order to connect the DP-558 with your local network, offers the PC/MAC Link
software. If you have Windows XP or a later Windows version installed on your PC,
you can play Audio, Video and picture files located on
the connected PC. The DP-588
also lets you transfer files from the PC’s hard disk to your KiSS DP-558's
Hard Disk. All this makes it easy to view and play audio, video, and picture files
directly from the PC. Of course KISS doesn't support transfer of copyrighted material "...Please
note that original audio CDs, video CDs, and DVD videos cannot be copied down
to the hard disk!..".
The PC/MAC Link software also allows direct access to
your DP-558's Hard Disk from a connected PC through FTP. Simply enter
the DP-558’s IP address on your PC’s Internet browser to
view the full contents of the player’s Hard Disk. You can now copy all audio,
video and picture content to and from the DP-558. You can rename the Hard Disk’s
audio, video and picture files from your PC as well as any recordings you
have previously made. If you need to share your recordings, no problem
at all. Just copy them to your PC and burn a DVD.
2. Specifications
According to KISS, the DP-558 has the following specifications:
The DP-558 as a player can playback DVD, Mpeg4 compliant streams (DivX certified, XVid), Audio CDs, MP3, Ogg and of course view JPEG files.
Looking at the back, we notice the 10/100 Ethernet jack, the antenna in/out, SCART in/out, S-Video in/out and Composite Video. There are in addition Analog, Coaxial and Optical Audio output jacks. We were also somewhat surprised to find that while the picture on the retail package includes Coaxial/Optical input jacks, in the model we received, these weren't present.
- The package
We received the retail package for the DP-558 for our review. The package includes the player itself, a CD with the PC Link software, the remote control, two AAA batteries for the remote control, and cables for power, composite video, scart and audio. The European edition doesn't include the S-Video cable (the US does). Of course the cost of such a cable is not so high and can be easily found at a local electrical goods store.
On the front of the player, we find all the certification logos for the DP-558 (Dolby Digital, DivX, DVD-Video), the on/off button, the tray and of course, the basic control buttons for operating the player without the remote control (play/stop, next, previous, etc...). The display, located just above the tray, is not all that big and displays the current function as well as the playback format (DVD, Mp3, CD). The remote control has a very good grip and has very good layout and placement of each function.
After removing the mounting screws (not suggested since you will void your warranty), we can see the internal layout of the DP-558, which is very simple. We can clearly see the HDD drive (Samsung SV0802N) and the DVD-ROM reader (TOSHIBA SD-M1802)
along with the chipsets (click for a hi-res picture)
The main processor is from Sigma Designs: "...The EM8510 family provides highly-integrated solutions for products requiring
MPEG-4, MPEG-2 and DVD decoding. Incorporating flexible, advanced audio/video processing, the EM8510 family enables cost-effective solutions for consumer products, such as portable media players, digital media adapters, and networked DVD players. Unique features offered by the EM8510 family include analog YPbPr/RGB video outputs with optional scaling up to HDTV resolution and support for external MPEG encoder and networking chips. A wide variety of media types are supported, accessible through a powerful navigation engine..."
The remote control, according to the information, comes from Bang & Olufsen. Its effective range is about 5 meters and you need to have it pointing at the DP-558.
There are two special menus that can be activated with a special sequence from the remote control:
- Hidden Menu: Eject - Return - 2 -7 -6
- Reset Menu: Eject - Return - 1 - 2 -3
You can see various interesting bits of information available from the KISS DP-558 hidden menu. The used DVD-ROM comes from Toshiba SD-M1802 (with KISS ID) and the CPU speed is 216Mhz.
3. Installation - Page 1
After unpacking the DP-558, we hooked up the antenna cable to the recorder and connected the TV via the SCART output cable. As KISS Technology suggests, the TV Tuner inside DP-558, will give much better picture than most TVs. This setup however has a big negative. In order to watch TV, you have to use the DP-558 functions and not your TV, so its suggested you use a second antenna cable and bypass the DP-558 TV tuner. Next step was to connect the device to the local ethernet network. We simply used a 10/100 cable and connected it to our switch/router, which was connected to the internet. The player automatically determined the IP settings and was immediately able to access the Internet. In case you need to use a different setup, you will need to make changes in the appropriate setup menu.
When we powered up the DP-558 for the first time, the welcome screen came up followed by the quick setup wizard. The first thing on the agenda is to choose the language.
We chose English and were then prompted to indicate our location (region/country):
This is then followed by the type of video connection used between the player and our TV, the format of our TV (widescreen or conventional) and finally, our audio configuration:
4. Installation - Page 2
We then had to format the HD Drive:
The last step before being able to use the DP-558 was to search for TV channels. We used the automatic search function:
With all steps finished, we have to congratulate KISS for the very good job they've done with the step-by-step wizard
5. Installation - Page 3
We pressed the setup button and checked the player's firmware version (1.1.1).
KISS had released a newer firmware that improved many features (1.1.2), so we went ahead and installed it. The procedure is simple. Download the latest firmware, burn it onto a CD disc, insert the disc in the player's drive and...
You need to power the player down and then up in order to start the firmware flashing... Shortly after the DP-558 boots and reads the disc, we were given two options: a full or partial update. It is advised to choose partial update, or you will lose all your settings...
After rebooting, we checked that the player's firmware had been upgraded to v1.1.2
6. The Menus - Page 1
The setup menu includes many functions that were already set with the start up wizard.
7. The Menus - Page 2
Since the TV tuner had detected a large number of channels, we decided to play around with the channel management functions for the detected channels ( remove, rename). By pressing on "Manage TV Channels", you get a list of all the channels that have been detected. After quite sometime, we managed to arrange the channels the way we wanted them, in the order we wanted. Unfortunately, you cannot make multiple selections (for either move or erase), which makes the whole process very time consuming. KISS could improve the channels management functionality in this area...
Going to the Main Menu, you have access to the main functions of the DP-558. The pictures below are self explanatory and show how simple to use the player is:
8. Online Functions - Page 1
Since the player was already connected to the Internet, we decided to see what KISS offers to its buyers. We selected the KISS TV Guide function and shortly afterwards we were presented with this interesting screen:
By selecting "What's On Now?", while we could see the programs available, they were not for our particular region but from a pre-defined channels list.
We moved to the settings, selected our country (Greece)
and we were given a list with all the major TV channels.
Selecting a station, you can then see today's program for that station.
While you are viewing any program, you can easily access the "What's on now" function by pressing the down button and moving to the "What's on now" option. Very handy!
9. Online Functions - Page 2
In short time, we removed all the unwanted channels and made our own favorite channels list
Below you can see the list that appears with all programs available for the channels list we created, including the title and of course duration, which is needed for scheduling any recording.
Choosing a specific program, will give you further details, if available,
and still further details, after connecting to the IMDb :-)
You can choose to record a program from this screen too. Simply select the Record button.
In our case, we had already made another selection for the same timed period and with the DP-558 having only one TV tuner inside, meant that we could not record from two channels at the same time, nor watch one channel and record from another.
Returning to the main setup window, we then had to map the current channel to our favorites list, which will enable the DP-558 to know from what channel to record what...
10. Online Functions - Page 3
Selecting KISS Online directs us to the main portal that includes all the online functions:
Choosing webradio3, we can access many online radio stations, filter them by genre and see the various details about the selected station:
11. Online Functions - Page 4
The online weather function is another neat feature. All information is taken from www.weather.com where we can see the weather from all over the world in a matter of seconds.
Very low temperatures in Athens
Satellite image is also available!
Lastly, KISS online games may be of interest to you if you have some spare time, and includes four classic and well known games...
12. Recording
There are two ways In order to schedule a new recording. Either from the TV guide or manually
After making a selection, from Main Menu->Manage Recording Schedule, you can see what you have scheduled and optionally remove it.
In order to start recording immediately, just press the record button. On the top left corner, a timer will come up, indicating the remain recording time.
The DP-558 can record continuously up to 5 hours before stopping...
All videos are recorded at Mpeg2 VBR (Variable Bit Rate) format, according to what the user has selected in the menu setup screen. We suggest using at least the 4Mbit setting, since the lower recording bitrates produce many noticeable artifacts.
13. FTP Link
In order for a user to view their recorded files or edit them, they would have to use the network functions and specifically the FTP server, which allows the contents of the DP-558 to be shared around the local network. From the Setup screen, we can set the FTP server access: disabled, read only or allow both reading and writing to the DP-558.
By selecting either Read Only or Read/Write, you will be able to read the contents of the DP-558 HDD.
From your PC, you can then access the contents of the DP-558 by using an FTP client program or by simply using an internet browser and entering in the address bar the following url: ftp://KISS_DP_558_IP_ADDRESS.
Entering the PVR folder, you can view all the recorded videos. As you can see in the snapshot below, the recorded videos have been given a unique name based on the program number, name of the channel and recorded date/time. The file sizes are variable of course, depending on the bitrate and total recording time. Note that the .IDX files (typed as "Subtitle Files" by IE), are required in order to carry out any editing of the VOB files.
Unfortunately, while it is not available on the DP-558, we would like to have the option to be able to edit the VOB files directly on the DP-558 player, since this is a feature offered on other DVR recorders.
During the DP-558's FTP-Server Setup we chose reading/writing access, which means that we can read from as well as write to the device. What was a bit puzzling though was the transfer rate which was only 1.63MB/sec, meaning that big files would take a long time to transfer to our PC HDD. We don't know where the problem is since KISS states that the player is 10/100 compatible...
14. PC Link
In order for the DP-558 to access your PC/MAC HDD contents, you need to install the included KISS PC-Link software. After our installation had finished, we had to make some changes to the Windows Firewall (allow access). The KISS PC-Link interface is very simple. You can either do an automatic search or manual add folders/files.
Probably searching with the Search Wizard is what most users will use:
In our case, we added a MPEG file and several .VOB files (CSS free) to test if the DP-558 could play them. The KISS PC-Link doesn't offer any kind of transcoding, meaning you won't get any additional playback features (as in the case with IODATA's AveLink).
The info tab shown below, gives a few details about the network setup. The more astute readers will have noticed the "Connected Players" box which indicates that more than one player can be connected and accessed on the same network.
Going back to our DP-558, we tried to access our PC by selecting the option "Search for PC-Link host" from the Main Menu->PC Link screen.
We waited for a few seconds...
The Kiss DP-558 found our PC-Link host PC...
And the HDD contents were immediately available for playback!
15. The Tests - Page 1
Disc compatibility
| Format |
Content |
Booktype |
Playback |
| DVD-R |
DVD-Video |
- |
Yes |
| DVD-R DL |
No |
| DVD-RW |
Yes |
| DVD+R |
DVD+R |
Yes |
| DVD-ROM |
Yes |
| DVD+RW |
DVD+RW |
Yes |
| DVD-ROM |
Yes |
| DVD+R DL |
DVD+R DL |
No |
| DVD-ROM |
No |
The above tests were performed with the stock CD/DVD loader installed on the DP-558. The KISS DP-558 couldn't recognize ±R9 media with either DVD-ROM or DVD+R DL booktype set.
Playback Tests
In order to test the KISS DP-558, we used several encoded files with the latest versions of XVid, DivX, x264 Mpeg4 codecs, along with several Mpeg1 and Mpeg2 clips. You will find further details regarding all encoded files in this PDF. The tests were performed with the player's CD/DVD loader. In short, the device supports the following audio/video/picture extension file types:
- Audio: .AC3, .MP2, .MP3, .WMA, .OGG
- Video: .AVI, .MPG, .MP4, .DIVX
- Pictures: .JPG
Audio Tests
We used several audio formats covering almost all current compressed/uncompressed music file types:
| Format |
Details |
Result |
MP4
(.MP4 & .AAC) |
CBR (32~192Kbit) |
Yes |
VBR (30~300Kbit) |
| HE/LC VBR 2.0 |
| HE/LC VBR 5.1 |
No sound |
AC3
(.AC3) |
5.1 |
Yes |
ACE
(.AC3) |
2.0 |
Yes |
DTS
(.DTS) |
5.1 |
No |
MP2
(.MP2) |
2.0 |
Yes |
MP3 (Layer 3)
(.MP3) |
ABR (32~320Kbit) |
Yes |
| CBR (32~320Kbit) |
Yes |
| VBR (32~320Kbit) |
Yes |
MP3 (Layer2)
(.MP3) |
CBR (8~160Kbit) |
Yes |
MP3 (Layer 2.5)
(.MP3) |
CBR (8~160Kbit) |
Yes |
MP3 Pro
(.MP3) |
CBR (18~ 96Kbit) |
Yes |
| VBR (Lowest-Highest) |
Yes |
OGG
(.OGG) |
CBR (45~500Kbit) |
Jerky playback |
| VBR (25~100 Quality) |
| VBR 5.1 |
Unsupported codec |
WAV
(.WAV) |
PCM 44.1 /48Khz 2.0 |
Doesn't recognize the file format (.WAV) |
| PCM 48Khz 5.1 |
| DTS_CD_5.1 |
WMA
(.WMA) |
CBR (5~320Kbits) |
Yes |
| VBR (48~192Kbits) |
Yes |
| WMA Pro |
5.1 |
No |
The KISS DP-558 with 1.1.2 firmware doesn't support the AAC, WAV and DTS file formats. We didn't notice any problem with MP3 playback or WMA. However, the OGG format which uses a lot of CPU time, produced some jerky playback with almost of the used test files.
16. Playback Tests - Page 2
KISS DP-558 - Page 16
Playback Tests - Page 2
Uncompressed Video Formats (.avi)
| Format |
Details |
Size |
Bit Rate |
Result |
AVI
(.AVI) |
2.1GB sized |
720x576 |
26Mbit |
Unsupported video codec |
DivX Video Files (.avi codec)
| Format |
Details |
Size |
Bit Rate |
Result |
DivX
(.AVI) |
Home Theater Profile |
720x400 |
1~4Mbit |
Yes |
| High Definition Profile |
720x400 |
4~8Mbit |
Jerky playback for 6 and 8 Mbit files |
| High Definition |
1280x720 |
4Mbit |
Jerky playback |
| GMC |
720x400 |
1Mbit |
Yes |
| GMC Multi consecutive |
| GMC & QP |
Doesn't Support QP |
| GMC & QP Multi consecutive |
| QP |
| QP Multi consecutive |
| VBR MP3 & AC3 Sound Streams |
720x400 |
1Mbit |
Yes but you cannot switch Audio Channels |
The KISS DP-558 with 1.1.2 firmware had playback problems, especially with 6 &8 Mbit files, while with 4Mbit fast action, playback was jerky but with less problems than with 6 & 8Mbit. No problems were noticed with 1, 1.5 and 2Mbit files.
Due to the device's chipset limitations, KISS doesn't support Quarter Pixel encoding format and switching audio channels to a file that includes them also doesn't work. Fast forward and rewind seems to work OK in most cases.
Special Video Files (.AVI)
| Format |
Details |
Size |
BitRate |
Result |
DivX
(.AVI) |
ASP Adapt Nero |
720x288 |
965Kbit |
Yes |
| ASP Custom XVid |
720x288 |
406Kbit |
Yes |
| ASP GMC 1Warp Point DivX |
720x288 |
356Kbit |
Yes |
| ASP GMC 3Warp Point XVid |
720x288 |
396Kbit |
Jerky playback |
| ASP Mpeg XVid |
720x288 |
396Kbit |
Yes |
| ASP QPel DivX |
720x288 |
493Kbit |
QPel doesn't supported |
| SP 3ivX |
720x288 |
454Kbit |
Yes |
The KISS DP-558 with 1.1.2 firmware, supports GMC 1 Warp point as supported by DivX but does not support 100% correctly, GMC 3 Warp point as produced by XVid.
Packaged Video Files (Video, Audio and Subtitles Streams)
| Format |
Details |
Size |
BitRate |
Result |
DivX
(.Divx) |
3 VBR MP3 Audio Streams & 5 Subtitles |
? |
? |
No menu, neither you can select Audio/Subtitles |
| Slideshow |
? |
? |
No menu, but slideshow works, pictures are showed very quickly |
Matroska
(.MKV) |
DivX5 Video Stream, VBR MP3 AudioStream, 2 Subtitle streams |
704x288 |
1Mbit |
Doesn't recognize the .MKV file format |
17. Playback Tests - Page 3
Xvid Video File (.avi)
| Format |
Details |
Size |
BitRate |
Playback |
Xvid
(.AVI) |
No special modes |
704x288
|
1Mbit
|
Yes |
| BVop |
Yes |
| BVop & Packed BitStream |
Yes |
| BVop & Packed BitStream & QP |
QPel doesn't supported |
| BVop & Packed BitStream & QP & GMC |
| BVop & QP & GMC |
Unfortunately, FF and RW skip doesn't work very well with XVid files...
H264 Video Files (.avi)
| Format |
Details |
Size |
BitRate |
Playback |
x264
(.AVI) |
VBR Mp3 Audio Stream |
704x288 |
700Kbit |
Unknown Video Codec |
| 1Mbit |
| 1.5Mbit |
| 2Mbit |
| 4Mbit |
| 6Mbit |
| 8Mbit |
NeroDigital Video Files (.mp4)
| Format |
Details |
Size |
BitRate |
Playback |
NeroDigital
(.MP4) |
Mobile |
176x144 |
400Kbit |
Yes |
| Portable |
352x288 |
2Mbit |
| Standard |
720x576 |
4Mbit |
| Cinema |
1280x720 |
9.8Mbit |
Doesn't supported |
| HDTV |
1920x1072 |
9.8Mbit |
| - |
XVid Encoded with AAC Sound and Subtitles Streams |
720x576 |
217Kbit |
Doesn't support the encoded file profile |
With the latest firmware, KISS said that its player is NeroDigital compatible. However, both Cinema and HDTV profiles are not playable.
18. Playback Tests - Page 4
Mpeg Video Formats (.mpeg)
| Format |
Information |
Resolution |
Bitrate |
Playback |
| Mpeg1 (.MPG) |
VCD Compliant
|
352x240 |
1152Kbit |
Yes
|
| 352x288 |
1152Kbit |
| XVCD |
352x288 |
1500Kbit |
| XVCD |
352x288 |
2000Kbit |
| Out of specs |
640x480 |
1200Kbit |
Yes |
Mpeg2
(.MPG) |
- |
720x480 |
2713Kbit |
Yes |
| AC3 Sound |
720x576 |
9800Kbit |
| SVCD |
480x576 |
2519Kbit |
Mpeg2
(.M2V) |
Compliant Test Stream |
352x288 |
1.5Mbit |
.M2V extension doesn't supported |
| 704x576 |
4Mbit |
| 6Mbit |
| 8Mbit |
| 12Mbit |
| 18Mbit |
| 40Mbit |
Mpeg2-TS
(.TS) |
5.1 Surround sound |
720x576 |
12Mbit |
.TS extension doesn't supported |
FF and RW doesn't work with Mpeg1 files and if used, sound is lost after a while.
Windows Media Video Video Files (.wmv)
| Format |
Information |
Resolution |
Bitrate |
Playback |
| WMV (.WMV) |
Windows Media Player 10 Digital Life Clip |
320x180 |
300Kbit |
- |
| Windows Media Player 10 Striker Clip |
320x180 |
300Kbit |
- |
WMV HD DRM
(.WMV) |
Alexander Trailer |
1280x720 |
6Mbit |
- |
| 1920x1080 |
9Mbit |
- |
| WMV HD DRM (.WMV) |
Underworld Extended Cut European Edition |
1280x544 |
9Mbit |
- |
WMV HD
(.WMV) |
The Magic Of Flight Clip |
1280x720 |
6Mbit |
- |
| 1920x1080 |
9Mbit |
- |
WMA Pro 5.1
(.WMV) |
Peter Gabriel Sledgehammer Video clip |
240x192 |
466Kbit |
- |
WMV files are not supported at all.
19. Playback Tests - Page 5
Special Tests
| Format |
Information |
Resolution |
Bitrate |
Playback |
Mpeg 1
(.MPG) |
Filename contains Greek Characters |
352x240 |
1Mbit |
Doesn't display correctly the filename, but can play it with distorted sound! |
Subtitles Test Files
| Format |
Information |
Playback |
| Text (.SRT) |
English Subtitles |
Yes* |
| Greek Subtitles |
No |
DVD
(.IDX .SUB) |
English Language |
No |
| Greek Language |
No |
| Netherlands Language |
No |
Text (.PSB)
|
MicroDVD Format English Language |
Yes* |
| Text (.PSB) |
PowerDivx Format English Language |
No |
| Text (.SSA) |
Substation Alpha English Language |
No |
| Text (.SUB) |
Subviewer English Language |
Yes* |
The DP-558 supports several subtitle formats (SRT, AQT, MPEL2, MPSUB, MICRODVD, RT, SMI (SAMI), SSA, SUBRIP (old and
new), SUBVIEW, VPLAYER). However, you have to make sure that your subtitles have exactly the same title as the main video file (.AVI). To give you an example:
- Video file name: Test.avi
- Subtitle name: Test.srt
At the start we had problems playing back subtitles since most of our test files were named Test.avi.srt, a common way to name subtitle tiles. However, those filenames are not recognized by the player. Since many users use different ways to name their subtitle files which are accepted by most PC Media players, KISS needs to improve its subtitle engine. Unfortunately, Greek characters were not recognized in .SRT files, as you will notice below, but were displayed perfectly when playing back a DVD-Video disc...
Picture Formats
| Format |
Resolution |
Playback |
Jpeg
(.JPG) |
2272x1704 |
Yes |
| 2048x1532 |
| 1600x1200 |
Png
(.PNG) |
2048x1532 |
No |
Gif
(.GIF) |
2048x1532 |
No |
Bmp
(.BMP) |
2048x1532 |
No |
Only JPG files are playable with the KISS DP-558.
20. Conclusion
The DP-558 is the first DVR recorder from KISS. It includes an 80GB HDD along with a very good DVD loader (Toshiba SD-M1802). We were impressed by the player's GUI and the very good Online services (EPG) and scheduling system. The recorder offers various recording qualities and with the HDD empty, you can record up to 120 hours of MPEG2 video.
Looking at the playback capabilities, KISS claims that the DP-558 is DivX certified, however we had playback problems, especially with the 4, 6 and 8Mbit encoded DivX files. We are not so sure if the problem lies with the onboard chipset's abilities to encode such demanding files or whether it is a firmware bug. The player also doesn't support Quarter Pixel, an encoding option that gives higher quality and is due to chipset limitations. When playing back Audio files, there are fewer problems with the most noticeable problem being the jerky playback of OGG files. Lastly, a rather negative point is that the device doesn't offer direct VOB files editing (manually remove commercials), so any such tasks have to be done on your PC/MAC system.
Many users in the past have complained about KISS products, since some of the supported features didn't work as expected. We hope that KISS will continue improving the DP-558 with continuous firmware upgrades and fix the various problems we encountered in order to deliver a perfect working product to the market. The retail price for the DP-558 is around €385 and can be found at a local store near you :-)
Update: After our review had been finished, KISS Technology released a newer firmware, 1.1.3, that fixed some of our problems, mostly pertaining to the FF/RW with XVid files. For more information, please visit the KISS web site.
- The Good
- Includes 80MB HDD
- Includes 10/100 ethernet
- Recorded videos (Mpeg2 VBR) are in VOB format, so user can burn onto DVD directly
- Supports many online services (EPG, games, weather, radio)
- Very good GUI and setup wizard for less technically inclined
- Many input/output connections supported
- Supports most subtitle formats (Filename.srt)
- Can recognize CD/ DVD recordable/re-writable discs
- Supports frequent firmware upgrades
- The Bad
- Doesn't support WMV playback
- Limited information is displayed for all playback files
- Due to chipset limitations, QPel isn't supported
- Doesn't offer direct editing of produced VOB files. User must manually edit files on PC.
- Like To Be Fixed
- Support for more languages (like Greek) in filenames, menu navigation and subtitles
- Cooling fan for the HDD. Runs very hot when used for a long time
- Problems with DVD±R9 media
- Better subtitle filename support (Filename.avi.srt)
- Various playback problems as described in the corresponding test pages
- Various GUI problems as described in the corresponding menu pages
- We couldn't make the device work at 100Mbit local network, resulting in slow transfer rates with the host PC
Retail Package |
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Design/Build Quality |
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GUI |
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Performance |
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Value For Money |
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