CDR'S
Decoder built in
Easy to use
no lip sync problems

doesnt play Kodak cdr's
remote does not light up

UPDATE****I did a review a couple of weeks ago, and I mentioned that it did not play cdr's past track 7...after further review, I have narrowed it down to just Kodak cdr's having this problem, all other cdr's play fine...So, I have decided to give the Hitachi unit a 5/5

Low Cost
Can play CD-R/CD-RW
Built in DD Decoder
Zoom Function

Matrix Problems

All around this is a great unit for the price. Can be upgraded to multi-region using CDs (no opening the unit required. Has built in DD Decoder, can pass 0 IRE, 96/24 output, good picture and sound quality.

Only trouble I've really had with this unit is that it can't handle the "White Rabbit" scenes in The Matrix well. Every unit I tested (with different discs) skipped/stuttered momentarily at these scenes. I contacted Hitachi and they informed me several units with copies of The Matrix were sent to Japan for evaluation and diagnosis. Hope an upgrade is released soon, I don't want incompatability with future titles.

I use this site quite often since I found it about a year ago and I find that ratings for most products to be pretty close to my oppinions of that product. The overall rating of products that are good usually show up over 4/5 ie: Toshiba and not so good products such as the Hitachi usually show up under 4/5. It really annoys me when people make a mistake on their first review and re-submit another review to correct themselves. This can potentially allow them to give the product another 5 star rating which throws the average off, especially with only 20 or so reviews. I found this product to be extremely poor even after upgrading with the upgrade CD. Matrix was fixed. Big deal. What about all the other movie problems this player has. What about the loud thumb I get through all the speakers upon recognition of a 5.1 DVD. I originally gave this product 1 star. The average for this player has been unfairly raised because of reviewers resubmitting corrections. Therefore I'm lowering it with this review for future reviewers who want a more accurate rating of this product.
PS: Read the review guidelines. They ask you to only review ONE TIME!

So many features

None so far(after the fix)

Someone emailed me and asked if the upgrade really removed the anti-copy. Yes !!! But for the strangest reason only when hooked up to my Hitachi VCR (smile). Really!! It would still distort when I tried it with my Sony VCR. I don't know why and I didn't ask the rep.
To bad about the guy below, but as with almost every product manufactured (including some very expensive cars) a lemon be found. That doesn't make them all bad. I've owned quite a few DVD players(see previous post). I feel the same about the Sony models...I'll never own another one with the expection of the 7700 (perfection!). Sony actually tells you to send it's defective DVD players in to a fix it's lip-sync problem. Not good here in the UK!

Similar Products Used:

see previous post

QUITE A FEW FEATURES ONLY FOUND ON HIGHER END DVD PLAYERS

MORE DIFFICULT TO SET UP THAN OTHERS IVE TRIED

I had a Toshiba (sorry cant rember model number)it had a dual DVD tray though, and a Hitachi DVP 250U. I tried both and decided to keep the Hitachi. It was a close contest though. I found the Toshiba easier to set up and use and the remote was laid out a little better. But the Hitachi was faster getting to the Movie and to go through chapter searches. It was also capable of playing CDR-Ws which is handy for MP3s burned on CDs. But the Hitachi started freezing up during movies. I found out later that this is quite common among DVD players. I also found that because the Hitachi is so new that it was next to impossible to program into another Universal Remote. I traded it in for a 3 disc Pioneer System had it up and running, and programmed with my Kenwood remote in about 10 minutes. It works fantastic.

Similar Products Used:

TOSHIBA

Overall a good machine, everything you could want in a DVD player. Hitachi Canada's customer service was very quick in response for firmware upgrade (4-6 weeks quoted/rec'd in less than 2)

After using the player for about 4 1/2 months I tried to do the firmware upgrade. Couldn't upgrade. The laser assembly was defective (none serviceable). Bought the player at Future Shop with extended warranty...had to fight with Future Shop to get a new Hitachi player, they were out of stock and wanted to replace with another manufacturer. They finally got me a player from another store after waiting for 3 days.

Even after getting a defective unit, I will stick with Hitachi, they have great products. Can't fault a good DVD
player on one defective unit, if this was the case everything on the market would be junk. Hitachi Canada's
customer service staff has been great to deal with, on the other hand Future Shop in Bayer's Lake Halifax has a lot
to learn about customer service. I'd tell anyone to go buy a Hitachi DVD player, just don't buy it from Future Shop @ Bayer's Lake...

Great Picture Quality and Sound

Front display went out after only 3 weeks, that's why I only used it for three weeks.

I really liked this player. Everything was fantastic and I especially liked it's fast forward capability, smooth 2x and jumpy 5x, 10x and 30x.
Really great product but like all other Hitachi products I have ever owned it breaks down to quickly and easily.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer K102, Pioneer DV-C302D

great look,features galore

remote sucks, could use light

i bought the dvd player about 3 weeks ago and have tried all the movies listed as problems and have found no problems at all with exception to a small skip in the last 007 movie but i think it was the disk which was the problem. the version i have is 1.41, and i believe Hatchi has done an exceptional job at looking at and fixing any problems it had , i am very happy with my system which sounds fantastic going through my new Onkyo tx ds777 and athena tech p2 s2 speakers. i would refer this dvd to anyone looking to get good value and a quality product.the 4 stars is due to the lousy remote and ugly on screen feature.