1. Introduction
Philips DVP720SA
DVD Player - page 1
Philips
develops and manufactures innovative products for all your hi-tech entertainment
needs ? home, car audio, multimedia and DJ equipment. By combining cutting-edge
technology with sophisticated design, these products can transport you to
a world
of fun.
This
year, Philips has given a new meaning to the phrase ?home cinema?. With
the new digital home cinema packages and systems, home entertainment has become
extremely
attractive and practical. The consumer will immediately become addicted to
the effects provided by surround sound and the razor sharp images with vibrant
and intense colours. For state-of-the-art
DVD,
look no further. With new additions in Philips' range, consumers are sure
to find just what they want ? from the latest DVD-A/DVD-V/SACD machines
to portable DVD players.
The DVP720SA is one of the latest players in Philips' product list. It is
an affordable solution for a DVD player with a very large features
list.
- Features
Progressive Scan (PAL & NTSC)
Progressive Scan doubles the vertical resolution of the image resulting in
a noticeably sharper picture. Instead of sending the field with the odd lines
to the screen first, followed by the field with the even lines, both fields
are
displayed together. A flicker-free, high resolution image is created
giving you better viewing quality.
Multi-channel Super Audio CD
This new generation music format gives you:
- Ultra high quality music reproduction
- 5.1 multi-channel surround sound
- Full backward and forward compatibility with CD
Built-in decoders
A built-in DTS and/or Dolby Digital decoder eliminates the need for an external
decoder by processing all six channels of audio information to provide an astoundingly
natural sense of ambience and dynamic realism. Dolby Pro Logic II provides
five channels of surround processing from any stereo source.
Multi-format playability
Multi-format playability allows you to view images in the comfort of your living
room and play most dics formats for maximum disc compatibility, viewing and
audio pleasure.
DivX® 3.11/4.x/5.x
playback
With DivX® support, you will be able to enjoy DivX® encoded videos
in the comfort of your living room. The DivX® media format is an MPEG-4
based video compression technology that enables you to save large files like
movies, trailers and music videos on media like CD-R/RW, memory cards and DVD-Video.
DivX® CDs can be played back on selected DVD players, DVD Recorders and
Home Theater Systems.
- Specifications
2. Unpacking
Philips DVP720SA DVD Player
- page 2
Unpacking
The European retail package includes the unit, the remote control, two AA/R6P
dry cell batteries, power cable and a Scart cable. We would like to see
a coaxial cable included as well. Full multilanguage manual and warranty
are
also included.
Below we can see inside the DVP720SA, after opening
the cover, an action which is not recommended since you void the manufacturer's
warranty.
The following chipset, used in the unit, is manufactured by Mediatek in
partnership with DivXNetworks and has the DivX certification.
MediaTek?s chipsets, including the MT1389, are used in over 45% of the world?s
DVD players. The DivX Certified? designation of the MT1389 means that it
has passed DivXNetworks?s rigorous testing process to confirm that it fully
supports videos encoded in the DivX® video format, and videos protected with
the DivX® VOD digital rights management system. The popular DivX® video technology,
which offers DVD-quality at 7-10 times greater compression than MPEG-2, is
often called the ?MP3 of video? and has over 100 million worldwide users.
MediaTek will offer the DivX Certified? MT1389 chipset to DVD player manufacturers
around the world.
On the back of the player are the audio / video connections. We can find
coaxial and optical digital audio outputs as well as the Video and S-Video.
For excellent sound, we recommend you use the coaxial output for digital
sound,
with an
A/V 5.1CH
(or more) amplifier. Philips offers a wide
variety of home theater solutions. One strong feature of the player is
the built-in 5.1CH decoder.
Below you can see the component video connections of the player.
The Scart provides quick solution for those who
prefer convenience.
The remote control is also included in the retail package. The buttons are
placed in a logical sequence, and if you notice that there is no eject button,
but instead you'll have to keep the stop button pressed for 2 seconds.
3. Control Menu - Page 1
Philips DVP720SA
DVD Player - page 3
Control Menu
- Page 1
Below are some screenshots of
the player's menu. The menu interface is quiet easy and provides numerous
options.
4. Control Menu - Page 2
Philips DVP720SA
DVD Player - page 4
Control Menu
- Page 2
The following screenshots are from MP3 files playback:
The player has a zoom feature during playback:
5. Reading Tests
Philips DVP720SA DVD Player - page 5
Reading Tests
When it comes to a DVD player, the main focus lies in the reading performance
of the device. Technical performance tests could include detailed testing of
the performance of the player with various video
and audio input signals (MPEG-1 /2 Video/Audio, VBR High/Low switch, CBR, AC-3
implementation,
LPCM multichannel audio, A/V synchronization navigation commands, transitions
etc). However, such detailed testing is out of the scope of this review
in an attempt to offer testing procedures which directly resemble and correspond
to the average user's needs, performing common everyday tasks. Hence,
the performance of the DVD player
can be described in terms related to reading speed, reading accuracy,
compatibility with various CD/DVD recordable/rewritable formats as well as
data/audio playback
support, stored on any common, everyday media.
DVD support
Our
Philips DVP720SA was a region-2 drive, which means that
the player
is able to decode (play) only the pressed DVD-Video discs coming
from
the European
region.
We
connected the DVP720SA
through the Scart interface with the corresponding cable, included
in the player's package. The player supports the DVD-Video format, so we recorded
a 4.35GB DVD-Video file on various DVD+R/-R, DVD-RW/+RW media. The recorders
we used are some of the latest dual-format available on the PC
market, as well as some 1st generation recorders. Pressed single /
dual layer DVD-Video discs were also included in the test. Here, we
remind you that the Philips DVP720SA supports DVD±R/RW and DVD-Video
playback. All the test discs
were
created with the same PC /software in the DVD-Video mode.
We checked the player's disc recognition as well as smooth navigation
and playback. The results were very impressive, since all the discs were
read completely. See the drives and media we used in the table below:
Recorder |
Media |
Speed recorded |
Recognition |
Playback |
Philips
DRX-500UL v1.0c |
TDK DVD+RW 2.4x |
2.4x |
OK |
Philips
DRU-530A v2.0h |
Mitsubishi Chemicals DVD+R 4x |
4x |
Taiyo yuden DVD+R 4x |
4x |
N-Tech DVD+R 4x |
4x |
Philips DVD+R 4x |
4x |
Philips
DVR-107D v1.05 |
JVC DVD-R 8x |
8x |
MKM DVD+R 8x |
8x |
CMC DVD-R 4x |
4x |
CMC DVD+R 4x |
4x |
NEC
ND-2500A v1.06 |
JVC DVD-RW 4x |
4x |
Maxell DVD+RW 4x |
4x |
Ritek DVD-R 4x |
4x |
Mam DVD-R 4x |
4x |
TDK DVD-R 4x |
4x |
Plextor DVD+R 4x |
8x |
Mitsubishi Chemicals DVD-R 4x |
8x |
Taiyo Yuden DVD-R 4x |
8x |
Optorite
DD0401 v1.30E |
MKM DVD+R 8x |
8x |
Hi-Space DVD-R 4x |
4x |
Verbatim DVD-R 4x |
4x |
BTC
DRW1008IM v0.55 |
Philips DVD-R 4x |
4x |
LiteOn
LDW-811S vHS0K |
FujiFilm DVD-R 4x |
4x |
Philips DVDRW885K |
MKM 2.4X DVD+R DL |
2.4x |
NEC ND-2510 |
MKM 2.4X DVD+R DL |
2.4x |
BenQ DW-1600A DL |
MKM 2.4X DVD+R DL |
2.4x |
Sony DRU-700A |
MKM 2.4X DVD+R DL
|
2.4x
|
LiteOn SOHW-832S |
MKM 2.4X DVD+R DL
|
2.4x
|
The results were nevertheless to be expected from a newly released
player like the Philips DVP720SA. A DVD player offers limited features by its
own nature,
meaning
that it lacks
the DVD recording capabilities and advanced video authoring/editing features
found on DVD recorders. Thus, reading reliability as well as compatibility
are the key factors which will encourage most users to run out
and buy a player. What is really interesting in our
case is that the Philips
DVP720SA did
not face
any
problems reading even the latest 8x DVD±R and 4x DVD±RW discs.
The Philips DVP720SA does not support reading of DVD-ROM discs, even if they
contain MPEG-1/2 video files or MP3/WMA files. This is normal for most
DVD players since native DVD-ROM format is not supported.
The Philips DVP720SA supports AudioCD, CD-R/-RW, VideoCD and Super-VideoCD
playback. The cda files of any audioCD are recognized flawlessly, regardless
of whether the disc
is factory pressed or is a CD-R/RW. In addition, CD-Text is also supported.
In our case, when talking about data CD (CD-R/-RW), we refer to either
audio compressed files (MP3, WMA, Ogg Vorbis..) or pure wav files,
or to
VideoCD and
Super VideoCD.
In the case of pressed AudioCDs, the player recognizes and plays all the tracks,
offering additional features such as CD-Text reading and navigation between
tracks, as already mentioned in the previous page. This also applies to
CD-R and CD-RW discs. The device played audio files on CD-R, 10x HS-RW,
24x US-RW and 32x US-RW discs we inserted in the disc tray.
In
addition, no problems were noticed when we played 8cm CD-R/-RW (185MB), 90/99min
CD-R as well as CD business cards, as long as they are round shaped.
The player's tray is not designed to accept any other media shapes, as is sometimes
the case with smart
cards or business cards.
For anyone that has purchased any protected audio discs from
a music store, the Philips DVP720SA will not let you down. The discs we tested
were "Natalie
Impruglia - White Lilies island" protected with Macrovision' Key2Audio
system, and "Celine Dion - A New Day Has Come" protected
with Cactus Data Shield 200. Both titles were recognized and played flawlessly.
After all, those protection schemes
are designed to discourage PC users from copying them and as such
are not playable on PCs only.
The Philips DVP720SA supports Super AudioCD, a very big advantage for
any player. You don't need to be an expert to feel the difference beetween
the playback of
a normal CD and a SACD.
-
Compressed Audio (data CD)
Let's
see now how the player performs with various compressed audio files
stored on data CD-R/RW media. Although the specifications of the DVP720SA clearly
indicate MP3 support, it is not sure whether the drive can handle all MP3 compression
modes. CBR or VBR encoding mode and variations in the sampling rate could be
hard for
any reader to decode. Below is available the performance of the player
with the various MP3 and WMA files.
Compression type |
Compression settings |
Recognize / Play |
MP3 |
CBR 20kBit 11025Hz Mono |
Yes |
CBR 20kBit 11025Hz Stereo |
CBR 32kBit 11025Hz Stereo |
CBR 32kBit 22050Hz Mono |
CBR 40kBit 22050Hz Stereo |
CBR 48kBit 22050Hz Stereo |
CBR 48kBit 44100Hz Mono |
CBR 56kBit 22050Hz Mono |
CBR 56kBit 44100Hz Mono |
CBR 64kBit 22050Hz Stereo |
CBR 96kBit 22050Hz Stereo |
CBR 96kBit 44100Hz Mono |
CBR 96kBit 44100Hz Stereo |
CBR 112kBit 44100Hz Stereo |
CBR 128kBit 44100Hz Mono |
CBR 128kBit 44100Hz Stereo |
CBR 160kBit 44100Hz Stereo |
CBR 192kBit 44100Hz Stereo |
CBR 224kBit 44100Hz Stereo |
CBR 256kBit 44100Hz Stereo |
CBR 320kBit 44100Hz Stereo |
VBR - High compression |
VBR - Highest compression |
VBR - Low compression |
VBR - Lowest compression |
VBR - Medium compression |
Windows Media Audio
(WMA)
|
WMA 48kbps |
WMA 64kbps |
WMA 96kbps |
WMA 128kbps |
WMA 160kbps |
WMA 192kbps |
WAV |
WAV |
No |
The player supports decoding of the most popular CBR and VBR MP3 modes.
Note that the DVP720SA is equipped with a 192 kHz 24 Bit Digital to Analog
Converter for audio.
As presented in the player's specifications, both VCD and Super Video
CD formats are supported by the player. No problems occured during playback.
The DVP720SA
is capable of image playback, not only for Jpeg format.
6. DivX (Mpeg4) Tests
Philips DVP720SA DVD Player - page 6
DivX
All of our DivX test files were played successfully with the Philips player.
The Xvid files were also recognized and played even though the drive
doesn't support them. We did notice several visual glitches and freezes during
playback, but as was said, the Philips
DVP720SA doesn't officially support this format. We hope
that with a firmware upgrade,
this can be rectified.
All the DivX versions we tried, v2,3,3.11,4,5.11, played successfully with
the Philips player even in the case where the Quarter Pixel was enabled,
which produced problems with other players.
7. Error Correction Tests
Philips DVP720SA DVD Player - page 7
Error Correction
Tests
Here, we try to simulate one of the most interesting problems faced
by the average user while using a DVD player, the reading accuracy of a DVD
player when accessing a defective or scratched DVD or CD disc. Of course, the
performance
of the drive here has to do with the quality/precision of the mechanical
parts (Optical Pickup Unit, sufficient servo control, etc) as well as with
the drive's reading strategy under abnormal conditions, controlled by the main
chipset and firmware commands.
In the case of a reader and especially a high-priced stand-alone reader, we
do expect better control during the reading process. We tested the Philips
DVP720SA with a number of pressed DVD-Video and AudioCD test discs. The ABEX
series
from Almedio can provide
a good picture of the error correction capabilities of a CD/DVD reader. In
addition,
we used the SBC444A test disc from Philips and the CD-Check
test disc from Digital Recordings.
DVD-Video
This
is a single-sided, dual layer (S-2 type, OTP) disc with 8.5GB capacity. The
disc can be used for checking the layer switching operation from layer1
to layer 0. The disc also includes test pictures and test signals for Dolby
Digital, linear PCM (48kHz/24bit, 96kHz/24bit) and others to check for high
quality picture and sound. The disc contents is a MPEG-2 NTSC DVD-Video file.
Apart from the disc contents, the TCD-545 includes defects on the disc area
(black dots and fingerprints). The size of the black dots varies from 0.4mm
to 1.0mm. Fingerprints are sized from 0.065mm to 0.075mm.
Although a graphical presentation of the transfer rate when reading the test
disc is always enlightening, it is not an easy task when you test a non-PC
DVD player. As a result, we used the test disc as a normal DVD-Video disc and
checked whether it is recognized and played correctly, with detailed navigation
through the tracks and forward/reverse operations. Note that the size of the
defects increases as we sequentially play the tracks.
The Philips DVP720SA read the disc successfully, and no skips, picture stills
or glitches were noticed. This good behaviour is also prominent amongst
most PC DVD
recorders/players. We proceed to the next test disc, the Abex TCD-541.
This
disc is exactly the same as the Abex TCD-545 tested previously, except
that the defect is a scratch of dimensions varying from 0.4mm to 3.0mm, increasing
by steps of 0.2mm/step.
The Philips DVP720SA showed very good performance again. All chapters of the
DVD-Video were played correctly. Here we should say that not all
PC DVD/CD players
are able to read the specific disc.
AudioCD
This
is an AudioCD disc used for measurement and adjustment of the error correction
ability and tracking/focusing servo characteristics of a player
against the defects included in some CDs. Three kinds of defects are included
on this disc, interruption in information layer, black dots and fingerprints.
The interruptions are fabricated by intentionally varying the lengths of pits
in the disc fabrication area. Their size varies from 0.5mm to 1.0mm. The diameter
of the black dots are sized from 0.4mm to 1.0mm. Last, the simulated fingerprints
are small gathered dots, of diameters sized from 65 micro-meters to
75 micro meters. 160pcs of black dots in total, construct the artificial fingerprint.
All audio tracks were played in the Philips DVP720SA deck. No audible read errors
(clicks, skips) were reported.
The
test concept with the Philips SBC 44A is the same as in the previous test disc.
Interruptions on the information layer vary from 400 micrometers to 1000
micrometers, while the black dots have a size of 300 micrometers to 800 micrometers.
No audible clicks or skips was noticed during playback, indicating
very good performance.
Same contents as with the Abex TCD-726, but different defect. A scratch sized
from 0.4mm to 3.0mm is on the disc's surface. Error symptoms expected when
playing this disc are noise, sound skips, same sector repeatedly played, start
of tune cannot be detected etc.
The Philips DVP720SA managed to play up to track No 9 which has a defect
size of 1.8mm. The rest of the songs with larger defects produced audible
clicks, albeit low leevel.
We finish this test cycle with the CD-Check disc from Digital Recordings.
Five audio signals (5 tracks) in combination with disc error patterns to rate
the player's ability to read music and reproduce it completely. The five tracks
contain a sequence of progressively difficult tests.
Check level 1 (track 1): Standard manufacturing errors
Check level 2 (track 2): 0.375mm scratch
Check level 3 (track 3): 0.750mm scratch
Check level 4 (track 2): 1.125mm scratch
Check level 5 (track 2): 1.500mm scratch
Any clicks, interruptions
or looping during audio reproduction indicate failure of a Check level (audio
track). Below you can see the test results:
Check level |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Result |
OK |
OK |
OK |
OK |
Audible clicks |
Philips had good behavior with this disc also. The first four tracks
were played flawlessly while the last one failed, producing some
audible
clicks. The overall performance of the DVP720SA in our CD error correction
tests is very good.
8. Conclusion
Philips DVP720SA DVD Player
- page 8
Conclusion
The DVP720SA is a slim DVD player, with a very attractive front panel
and a long list of features. While both the menu inerface is presentable
and remote
control functional, they are not amongst the best we have
seen.
There is no eject button on the remote control, and instead users will have
to keep the stop button pressed for 2 seconds in order to open the tray,
something that most aren't likely to discover easily on their own.
According to our reading tests, the player is capable of reading almost
everything. Advanced formats such as DivX, SACD are
supported, making this device even better. XVid files are also playable but
with some problems. However, keep in mind that the Philips player doesn't
officially support this format.
The player managed also to read
our new DL media burned with the latest DVD DL recorders available on the
market, such as Philips the DVDRW885K, Sony DRU-700A, LiteOn SOHW-832S,
NEC ND-2510 and BenQ DW-1600A DL. In all cases, the Booktype setting was
set at DVD-ROM. The player won't recognize Double Layer media with DVD+R
DL booktype
setting.
Error correction is also very good with the Philips player. It managed
to playback through many artificial scratches sized 1.8mm for audio and
3.0mm for video.
The player is priced at around €220.00. A very good choice for
someone who wants an affordable SACD and DivX player.
- The Good
- DivX support
- SACD support
- CD/DVD error correction
- Reading abilities
- Component Video Out
- 5.1CH built in decoder
- Photo viewer
- Progresive scan
- 108 Mhz / 12-bit Video D/A Converter
- Price
- Like to be fixed
- Coaxial cable in the retail package
- WMA support
- Support for Xvid format
- Seperate eject button on remote control