Pretty cheap to buy, supports CD-RW, CD-R, VCD. Digital Decoder Built-In

Crappy remote, silly 'virtual surround' option

I got this as a replacement for a faulty DVP250U, it was in the shop waiting for parts forever (3+ months). Just Hi-Fi is an amazing store and they were really helpful, but the DVP250U died way to quick. This player seems a little more robust, and has a better menu system, but it should still be considered entry-level. It isn't great, the remote feels like it was made for a $1.99 Dollar-Store CD Player. However, the picture is pretty good, it has some bad times decoding pure black on occassion (too many artifacts) but the same problem seems to exist on many players and is more a case of poor encoding. For the price, it is a decent deal... buy one, wait a year or so for new features and upgrade... ;)

Similar Products Used:

DVP250U

Solid, clean looking. simple controls, nice remote. Plays anything that you stick in it.

no speaker size control for dolby digital

I bought this player for its reputation that it will play anything and given my previous experience with Hitachi (I have a top of the line HIFI VCR which I bought in 1991 which still outperforms any HIFI VCR made to date).

The player has a built in Dolby Digital decoder which is great for me because I have yet to upgrade my ProLogic reciever (which is only Digital Ready.)

It is a nice looking unit with simple controls. The on-screen menu is relatively simple to use. The picture quality is excellent. The sound is excellent.
Very pleased.

Paid $430 Canadian.

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RCA (crap)

Plays multi formats.

Remote. Too many firmware updates required to fix problems.

This model was a warranty replacement for my older DV-P250U which was purchased in Dec.99. I got this upgrade because my DVD was in the shop six weeks and was told repair parts would have exccessively long delivery time, previously back in April it was in for the 'firmware' upgrade. This replacement model does not appear to have the previous models problems with skipping, freezing or studdering. So far so good. However, this is probably my last purchase of a Hitachi product. This kind of service record from my personal experience is unacceptable.

Similar Products Used:

DV-P250U

Plays Wide Variety of Formats

Units made before Jun 2000 need a Firware update to fix Audio & Video skipping problems on Dual Layered DVDs

Well, back again. Thanks to The Iron Duke, I was able to get the Firmware Update for the Hitachi 505 on the Web. THe firmware update that the Store got never worked. THe Iron Dukes Did & fixed the problem with the audio & video intermitant skipping on the Dual layered DVDs. I went to the store after downloading the firmware update from Iron Duke, the salesman was excited to see me, he said his manager had just got the firmware update for the 505 and he was going to flash it in 5 mins, I told him I had brought with me The Abyss Special Edition DVD, that skips on the 505 to test the new firmware, he said good. He brought out the CDR and we put the disc in, nothing, it didnt work. I then told him I had got a firmware update off the Web, and had it with me, he said cool, I put the disc in and in 10 secs it updated the the Rom chip and turned off. I turned it back on, put the Abyss DVD in and crossed my fingers, walah, no skipping, Hoorah!. I then bought that unit off the shelve and went home. I am now the happy owner of a Hitachi 505 that plays everthing including 1.1 VCDs & SVCD's. If you buy one make sure its made after JUN 2000 if not you will have to get the firmware update. Good luck.
My road rage has vanished. : )

Similar Products Used:

JVC, SONY, KENWOOD, SAMSUNG

Able to play MP3's, The Zoom Feature, Digital output.

The Remote, The unit is unable to read certain DVD's

The ability of this unit to read MP3's was a major plus on buying this unit. It has a separate menu for the MP3's when a disc is inserted. It will be able to read up to 999 titles on one disk. The fact it can read all formats of CDR's is a plus.

Now the problems. I have been pulling out my hair trying to figure out why the player is skipping on certain dvd's when played. I own over 100 DVD titles and about 5-7 of them will Skip or clip or pause for a fraction of a second. Now if it happened once even twice I could live with it, However it happens all over the DVD's and never in the same spot. SO I thought maybe it was a bad DVD. NOPE I thought maybe it was the Receiver, NOPE I hocked the DVD Player straight to the tv and I could still see the skips. This would happen on Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Whitney Houston's greatest hits DVD, and a few others. I've called Hitachi as I have now had this unit for 2 months now, they quickly said bring it in for repair. he said it was a known problem and the repair center will know what to do. So I'm getting ready to pack it up and send it in. It's a good thing I still own my JVC 2000 model, it seems to be playing the titles no problem.

The other issue I have with this unit is the remote, it's not back lit and the buttons are two small. The other issue is the fact that no other remote can be programmed to work the dvd. The reason for that is it seems the manufacturer doesn't like to give out the codes to other manufacturers.

The features of this DVD player are great I just hope that after this repair that it fixes the problem.

Similar Products Used:

JVC 2000VBK, Toshiba 4260 DVD, Encore DXR 2 and 3.

Plays all formats

Haven't seen any yet

This is my first dvd player so I am relatively inexperienced. I chose the hitachi because a friend has some hitachi components and he hasn't had any problems. I haven't noticed the momentary skips that others have commented on in their reviews. This unit has worked perfectly in all movies I have watched. I give it 5 stars for product quality. Hitachi went all out with this one!

Similar Products Used:

none

Plays MP3 and SVCD; Reads CD-R & CD-RW

AC3 5.1 Downmix (to 2 channel) is not loud enough. Does not display the MP3 song name only track number with a folder name in 8 character format.

Bought this for $410CDN (after the $30 rebate from Hitachi) and tested with almost everything. Plays everything: MP3, DVD, SVCD, VCD with the exception of miniDVD. I find that the SVCD playback is more choppy than the Apex. Played many DVDs including James Bond - The World Is Not Enough, The Abysss & Whitney Houston Greatest Hits without a single problem (no audio freeze). I have not encountered any problems that were reported by others. The image brightness could be set and no dark image like the Apex. I am very satisfied with it so far. Manufacturing date of my unit is Sept 2000. Perhaps my unit has the latest firmware, this is why I am not experiencing any problem. No lip sync problem like my previous Apex. Although I find that the Apex MP3 sound quality is slightly better.

The only weak points are: MP3 name display (haven't found any ramdom play for MP3 yet) & AC3 5.1 downmix resulting a sound level that is much too low. The desing of the remote control could use some improvements. Layout is poor. Some buttons are just too small. Also missed the Karaoke feature of my Apex and of course no secret menu to disable the macrovision and the region code.

Much better quality that the Apex. I had many problems (Seamless branching problem, lip sync, not able to read CD-RWs, dark image, support issue, short warranty) with my Apex and Future Shop has discountinued the sale of Apex AD600A. I recommend that anyone who wishes to buy an Apex should have a look on this Hitachi first.

Hope that Hitachi is not going to remove the MP3 playback capability as some rumours seem to indicate.

Overall, I am very happy with this Hitachi DV-P505U player.

Similar Products Used:

Apex AD600A

Plays everything.. cdrs, svcd, mp3

remote is brutal

I bought this machine sometime early september. It's worked great since. I own about 25 dvds and havn't had any problems with skipping or audio synching etc. Also all my anime cdrs run fine with it. The only problem is fast forwarding through SVCDS... for some reason it doesn't work.. besides that the picture quality is great(just watched gladiator) and the audio is pretty good too.

Similar Products Used:

none

MP3 playback, SVCD support & CD-R & CD-RW media compatible

skipping problem on early units, no MP3 song name display and lack of random play for MP3.

This is follow-up from my Dec 18, 2000 review.

After more than 2 month long effort, I finally got an unit that is operating according to specs. It took me two repair trips before soving all my problems. I got a brand new unit as the repair is too costly for Hitachi.

On my first trip, they only repaired the skipping problem. They upgraded the firmware to version 0.324.

I had to bring the unit back and explained to them what I mean by AC-3 downmixing problem. There are still a lot of technicians that do no fully understand what AC3 downmixing is all about. I had to write a one-page long detailed description of the problem with the diagram of the hookup to my receiver. The AC3 Downmix problem is due to a defective DVD loader. The new part requires another expensive part (perhaps the decoder board) so Hitachi decided to replace my defective unit with a new one.

My new DVD player manufacturing date is November 2000. The firmware version is 0.319. The skipping problem seems to be solved too. I am happier now.

I am still wondering what they have fixed in v0.324 from v0.319. One more time bomb waiting to explode?

I am still having some wavy lines on my video. Looks like impedance mistmatch to my receiver. Well, I am not interested to go through another round of repair. Hitachi service is barely acceptable. Hope the new one will not break down before my warranty expired. I have already lost a good 4 months with my first unit.

Similar Products Used:

Apex 660A, JVC XV-521BK

Great array of functions. I originally purchased a SONY DVPS-330 but was not happy with it. The functions of the Hitachi were far more then the Sony. Escpecially the media types that could be played.

On screen menu system is minimal. The visual display of the setup is not as nice as it could be. The picture seems to have problems were you can see blocks of pixels that are a shade different then the rest of the picture. The remote does not have the ability to control the TV as well.

I paid $450 Canadian for the product and for the amount of functions it provides it looked like a great deal. The only problem I have is with the pixel hues being off on the movies and I will be returning the unit for something different. If this problem didn't exist I would be really happy with the device.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVPS330, Sony DVPS360