none

doesn't play DVDs

Well, I posted a review here 8/9/99 and gave this player 2 stars. Now it's been a year and half and I get the same problems as everyone. Went to the JVC website -- no help. Best Buy said they thought JVC had recalled a player but couldn't remember which.

Totally unprofessional.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 3200

returned the unit after having problems such as some discs freezing up in the menu, had problems reading some cd's, when in pause, the picture was really jittery, still maybe i just got a lemon. The audio quality was really good though. I eneded buying the toshiba 3108 and cound not be happier.
3 stars cause i had problems with the jvc

Just bought this dvd player becuase I had to upgrade to one that could play dts dvd's. It is JVC'S newest dvd player (The Good Guys just got it in yesterday) Anyways, for the money, I don't think you can buy a better dvd player. It was only 399.00. For 399.00, you get- component video, 96khz/24-bit, dolby digital and dts, picture adjusment, a digest, zoom, and strobe function, multi brand remote with a joystick, and it even came with 4 movies, but two of the movies I already had. My old dvd player was a panasonic 100, and the jvc sounds alot clearer. But the picture quality is about the same. For 399.00 I was ether going to get the pioneer or the toshiba, but this one had more features than both of them. The picture quality looked about the same in all of them, I just couldn't get over all the things I was getting for 399.00. It probably deserves 4 stars, but since they threw in a s-video cable and the four movies, I think I'll give it 5.

I recently purchased the JVC unit during the holidays. I had been holding out for a player that incorporated the new DTS format along with the component video outputs. I was very pleased with its performance and with its price you, can't ask for more. For $350 delivered to my door along with 4 movies, the pioneer and toshiba didn't match. People have commented that the JVC unit is very lightweight. At 9.9lbs it is nearly twice as heavy as the other two. Although it doesn't have a coaxial output, the optical output is preferred. Afterall most receivers have both inputs.
THe remote control easy very easy to use, and the front panel features full control. MOstly i was impressed with the black level in the picture. Unlike the near $1000 Sony DVP-7000 the is zero artifacting in the blackness of the picture.

We've had the JVC XV-501BK ( http://www.jvc-america.com/dvd/dvd.html )at home for about 3 weeks now. Here are my impressions:

The good:
1.) Excellent feature set. Progressive rewind and fast-forward scan, picture search with shuttle control, slow motion, zoom, picture quality adjustment, component video output, DTS output, can read CD-Text discs, virtual surround sound mode, etc.
2.) Excellent picture quality compared to the dozen or so DVD players I've tested.
3.) Fairly good CD audio quality (may seem a bit bright out of the box though -- I plan to use my existing CD player for audio CDs anyway). As always, I recommend listening to it yourself.
3. Onscreen menus implemented fairly well.
4. Doesn't play DIVX discs... (Categorize this however you wish)

The bad:
1.) No coaxial digital audio output -- it only has the digital optical Toslink output. I don't care. Some people may see this as a somewhat serious drawback though I guess.
2.) The XV-501BK produces an annoying "chirping" noise while playing DVDs. It's a bit louder than most other players I've seen, but it isn't all that loud. You have to be fairly close to the player to notice it if a movie is playing. Every JVC XV-501BK I have seen produces the same noise. The Denon DVD 3000 seems to have this same problem.
3.) No HDCD decoding. (Sort of minor for a DVD player).
4.) Will not play CD-Rs, CD-RWs, CD+Gs, CD-MIDI, Kodak PhotoCDs, etc. Only plays audio CDs, Video CDs, and DVDs of course. Very few consumer DVD decks actually play CD-Rs or CD-RWs for some reason (a couple of the Sony DVD players play CD-Rs and the Denon DVD-5000 only plays CD-RWs). Be careful: DVD players not designed for playing CD-Rs may actually damage them!!
4.) I'm being picky, but the JVC is extremely lightweight. The build quality seems suspect. Only time will tell...

Of course, If I had a few thousand U.S. dollars to spend on a DVD player, I'd get the Denon DVD-5000. For under a grand, the JVC XV-501BK seems to be a good deal -- so far. Most of the drawbacks seem relatively minor. Expect to pay around $400 for it including S/H (the MSRP is ridiculously high).

I give it a 5 star rating, because I feel that the rating should take the price point into consideration. For the price, you can't do any better at the moment. One last note: I haven't experienced any of the problems the previous reviewer noted.

-The Infamous Someone

Overall I''ve been very happy with the 501BK. It''s a very solidplayer all through. About the only thing this player seems to lack is a
Dolby Digital Decoder, but I think JVC figures if you''re buying equipment
this good you''re going to have a decoder in your receiver anyway. That
assumption works for me. The decoder is about the only feature this player
lacks, though.
It has RGB outs, which is really nice. If you''re looking for
untouched picture quality, RGB is the way to go. You''ll only find these in
some high end TV''s though(i.e. the Toshiba (CN) cinema series). Of course,
it has SVideo out (and comes w/ cable). One of the reason''s I bought it was
the Optical out, most players have one though. This is really nice for
Dolby Digital. One (expensive :) cable. High quality.
This receiver has a ton of built-in goodies. I didn''t think there''d
be a big difference, but DTS is unbelievable (you''re receiver will have to
decode it). I was definately glad for the DTS once I had this thing home.
The on screen menus are great, besides the normal language, wide screen, and
other standard DVD options the 501BK has an awesome menu screen. You can
put the picture in the upper left portion of the screen, and adjust camera
angles, chapter, and language, or view the movie length, length into the
movie, etc. It''s a very pretty menu. As are all of the menus on this
player. It''s a very asthetically pleasing unit. Even the menus for audio CDs
are nice (and it recognizes Text CDs -- CD that know their
name/artist/tracks).
The only thing this receiver lacks is a 5 disc changer, but I''m
afraid to admit that I''m too lazy to require that. It street''s for about
$350, which makes it untouchable. If you have other JVC products... look
out. This thing integrates like you wouldn''t believe. The 1024VBK
receiver''s remote actually has DVD menu buttons on it. This unit''s remote
will control the volume on your JVC receiver, and of course, it has A/V
Compulink. No doubt this unit get''s all five.

Overall I've been very happy with the 501BK. It's a very solidplayer all through. About the only thing this player seems to lack is a
Dolby Digital Decoder, but I think JVC figures if you're buying equipment
this good you're going to have a decoder in your receiver anyway. That
assumption works for me. The decoder is about the only feature this player
lacks, though.
It has RGB outs, which is really nice. If you're looking for
untouched picture quality, RGB is the way to go. You'll only find these in
some high end TV's though(i.e. the Toshiba (CN) cinema series). Of course,
it has SVideo out (and comes w/ cable). One of the reason's I bought it was
the Optical out, most players have one though. This is really nice for
Dolby Digital. One (expensive :) cable. High quality.
This receiver has a ton of built-in goodies. I didn't think there'd
be a big difference, but DTS is unbelievable (you're receiver will have to
decode it). I was definately glad for the DTS once I had this thing home.
The on screen menus are great, besides the normal language, wide screen, and
other standard DVD options the 501BK has an awesome menu screen. You can
put the picture in the upper left portion of the screen, and adjust camera
angles, chapter, and language, or view the movie length, length into the
movie, etc. It's a very pretty menu. As are all of the menus on this
player. It's a very asthetically pleasing unit. Even the menus for audio CDs
are nice (and it recognizes Text CDs -- CD that know their
name/artist/tracks).
The only thing this receiver lacks is a 5 disc changer, but I'm
afraid to admit that I'm too lazy to require that. It street's for about
$350, which makes it untouchable. If you have other JVC products... look
out. This thing integrates like you wouldn't believe. The 1024VBK
receiver's remote actually has DVD menu buttons on it. This unit's remote
will control the volume on your JVC receiver, and of course, it has A/V
Compulink. No doubt this unit get's all five.

Got this dvd player for $325. It came with 4 free dvd's, 10 free rentals, and a coupon book including a free $100 pair of JVC headphones. The picture quality is great, and the sound quality with an optical cable is great too. It is difficult to beat this dvd player in terms of value.

Received the 501 about two weeks ago as a replacement for the Toshiba 2108 I purchased from One Call(the service was quite good I have to say, except for the fact that I had to pay the shipping back for the Toshiba unit). I was very leary of any dvd players because of the bad experience I had with the Toshiba(audio dropouts galore)and I was not expecting much better from the JVC unit. But to my surprise the JVC did everything the Toshiba did and more. It had a much nicer onscreen menu to boot. I wish it had a coax digital connection but that's a small gripe. It has the DTS capability as well. Overall I am very happy and would have to give it five stars for an exceptional value(especially after the Toshiba debacle).

I`ll keep this short and sweet. You can read more technical reviews below. The XV-501BK is the best DVD player in its price range. You can purchase it athttp://www.computability.com/homepage/ for $349.00. No audio drop out problems, no lock ups but it does have an awesome set of features. A no brainer for this price range.