sound

not robust, bad remote control

all was nice during 2 years & 6 monthes, suddenly, after 5 minutes playing, the sound stop & the drawer won't eject the inserted disk. Have to unplug, wait for 15 min to open the drawer. repair it ? try another manufacturer ? witch one ?

Cost is reasonable
DTS player (even though it doesn't say so on the cover)
You can hack the region code (25 times only)
Great sound.
Simple usage

It makes an annoying grinding noise when the disc is entered into the machine (not sure if that's just my player)
There are superior lower priced models (eg Samsung 709) on the market now.

I originally bought a Samsung 709 which I loved but I couldn't hack it with the region code so I swapped it for the Phillips 710. I am impressed with sound and picture quality but it didn't have the extra features that the Samsung had such as using the remote for TV and video aswell. The style is more akin to a stereo separate than a DVD player and therefore it is simple to use and fits great under your full sized hi-fi. There are no nifty features such as zoom mode but there is DTS on it (as with all Philips DVD players) through the optical out. Sound is superb for films, but not so good for plain old CDs (don't replace your CD player with it). The price is pretty cheap now so it is comparable with other budget models. Select this player if you want the quality without thrills.

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Samsung 709

DTS out (even when it doesn't say so on the front)

slow to load a disc, remote is also very slow to react, strange mechanical noises

First the picture quality. I don't know if my problem is specific for my DVD710 player, or if it's a problem with the DVD standard in general (The MPEG2 data-compression). Normally the DVD picture quality is superb. Crisp, razor sharp and chrystal clear with scenes that take place in daylight or are generally well-lit. But whenever there is a dark scene in a movie it seems the image is chopped up in very noticable blocks and rectangles, jumping around like mad with every camera pan/tilt. I find this very annoying and distracting. It affects all the DVD's I have seen, from older movies (Outland) to newer ones (The Avengers). The fact I'm very much into dark, gloomy, horror/science fiction movies (Spawn, Blade Runner, Alien, and so forth) doesn't help of course. I sure would like some feedback on this.

Second, the player itself.
Whenever you put a disc in the player it clicks, buzzes and whirrs for what seems an eternity. And when it has finally decided on what you have just fed it, it reacts very sluggishly to commands. This becomes annoyingly apparent in the DVD menu's. Because the cursor lags behind, not seldom I end up in the wrong menu selection.

Third, the sound quality.
Since two weeks I am the (fortunate) owner of a Sony STRDB930 DD/DTS receiver. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sounds amazing, and for everyone who thinks Dolby Prologic is good enough, Think again!!!
Whith this receiver I had the opportunity to hook my DVD player up in two different way's. One, through the analog connection using the DVD players D/A converter. Two, through the digital/coaxial connection, thus using the Sony receivers D/A converter.
The result:
BUY A CHEAP DVD PLAYER WITH A DIGITAL OUT AND HOOK IT UP TO THE D/A CONVERTER OF THE RECEIVER!!! My CD's have never sounded this good! The difference is remarkable.

So overall, It is a cheap DVD player whith all the nessesary features, and does what it is designed to do I guess: Play DVD's
But because I don't know if the issues I have with the picture in dark scenes have to do with the player or the DVD standard, I will give the player the benefit of the doubt and give it an overall rating of 4 stars.
Good value for money.

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None

This is an addition to the section that I worte above.
I am adding this on for the simple reason that, after a couple of month's use, I can now safely say that I under-estimated the performance of this player.
I have just typed in a code which has un-locked the regional coding on this machine, allowing it to play whatever region I choose, while never having to fiddle about with Region-coding, or worrying about the Mpeg board locking up on the 25th attempt, as with using the PLAY 1 5 9 technique.
What a player this is!!

Excellent picture, sound, useability. Awesome CD features.

Looks a little cheap, but who cares about looks!

This review is actually for the 711 model. Not sure why they even have the 710 listed since it doesn't exist. Anyway, on to the review. This is the third DVD player that I bought within a period of a week. The first was the Apex DVD player which was just a piece of cow dung. The second was an RCA dvd player, which didn't support CD-R(W). A rep at Best Buy suggested the Philips DVD-711 which was just shipped in that day. He told me about the CD-R(W) support which really pleased me. That was just the beginning. When I got home with this player I was shocked at it's quality and performance. I watched Matrix throught the S-Video out with Digital 5.1 surround and was amazed at how the quality greatly surpassed the RCA and APEX players I tried earlier. My jaw dropped at how smooth it played EVERY single disk I through at it.. even the dirty scratched up rental disks had no problems at all reading. A lot of people complain about the remote.. but I think it's on of the best I have ever had. It's extremely small and lightweight and is color coded for all the DVD/CD needs. I would reccomend this player to ANYONE. Not only is its use as a DVD player outstanding.. the CD feature just blows me away. The on screen menus are very friendly to the eye. The best part is the sound. Listening to music through optical digital output is amazing on the ears. Blows any other cd player away. Please please please get this machine! You won't be sorry!

Excelent picture and sound for the low price. possibilty to change region code with remote up to 25 times. No problems reading CD-R's.

Makes a small ticking sound during playback, nothing that bugs me though. Doesn't handle scratched discs(like rentals) very well.

A very good quality player for it's price. Excelent picture and sound. Has some problems playing discs that are the least scratched, doesn't take much to get it stuttering. If you wan't a basic DVD player i would really recomend the 710.

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None

Good Picture, inexpensive.

After the warranty period expired, the player won't play Audtio CD's. Slow at reading the disk. Paused a bit too long for my taste when changing layers

This is for DVD 701AT. I cannot find this model any longer on the Philips website.

Player worked fine. Great picture. Used component and svideo.... couldn't see much difference between the two. Also used component and coaxial audio. The coaxial audio was nice.

The only problem I had was when the warranty expired on the DVD player so did its capabilities for playing any type of CD. The DVD part worked, but it no longer read DVD's. I called philips and they told me to buy a lense cleaner and it should work. Well, it didn't. I no longer use the unit (even though it still plays DVD just fine) since I found the Pioneer 5 disk changer DV-C503 at costco for $199 plus a $30 mail in rebate.

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Pioneer DV C503

All format including CDR/RW except MP3

So far, none.

This is actually for the model DVD711. Had it for about 5 hours now. Played two rented DVD's, one audio CDR, and one audio CDRW. All works fine. The menu system uses all icons that I found myself going back to the instruction manual too many times. The music is clear and the picture is sharp for my eyes but I'm just using the composite video out. The color is a bit pinkish. Construction and workmanship looks ok though the unit feels feather light. I've never given anything rating full score unless I can't pick out anything I dislike so 4 stars are my "perfect" score for now. For value it's not the cheapest model out there so can't give it a 5 either.

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First ever DVD player except for the DVD drive in my computer.

PRICE !!!
Piture and sound

remote control

Pictures :
Very hot colors, good quality picture.

Sound :
The 3D (SRS-TrueSurround) is really good. Really, I can't understand how it works, but the 3D sound is real !

Look :
Argh! The palyer look like an Audio-CD... Bad !

Use :
Simple and friendly... Exept the remote control.

Nice price, S-Video, dig. out

None so far

Have this hooked up to a 35" tube. S-Video makes a difference. No problem with the unit so far. I actually have the 701 model. Don't know what the difference between the 701 and 710. Sounds is fine through VMPS Super Towers. Pan view does not fill up screen. Don't know why I would pay $250+ for same features in another unit. We'll see.
DOES NOT INCLUDE S-VIDEO CABLE. Monster cable ran about $25.

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First DVD