I bought this player hoping that as a CD player it would sound as good at least not much worse than my existing Philips CD player which was due for retirement. I shouldn't have worried. As a CD player this unit is exceptional. It has an incredibly detailed high frequency performance that somehow manages not to be harsh. Sibilance is also reduced or softened. As a DVD player it also performs well. I extensively tested this unit back to back with an $800 Toshiba player (dont know the model name in the US)I could detect no difference. Negatives. You cant start play from a specified time on a disk. It does seem slow to change layers. Budget build quality although mine has performed well to date with no problems with the on/off switch! This unit makes an odd noise every 5-10 secs. like the laser is misreading but it isn't. Other 825's do the same so mine isn't faulty. You only hear this during very quiet patches but it is distracting. Overall this unit is fantastic value especially if you need a cd player as well.

I've had this player about 4 months. It works right only about 95% of the time. The rest of the time, it has trouble. Some problems I've had:
1. Menu screen malfunctions - the unit won't allow me to select certain special features. When selecting "Languages," for example, it will bring up the "Subtitles" menu instead.

2. Playback speed malfunctions - when I select fast forward, the unit stays in play mode, even though it displays the FF indicator.

3. Other playback malfunctions - occasionally the player will get jerky; it will play normally for 2 seconds, then hang for 1 second. This cycle repeats indefinitely until the disc is stopped and then restarted. I'm starting to think Philips got Microsoft to program the thing.

As for video/audio quality, when it's working, it's great. I intend to get it repaired or replaced under warranty.

And tried some of my CD-R's and commercials CD's, and I'm really happy with thequality of this equipment at such reasonable price (I pay $290 at Fry's).
When playing audio CD's the audio quality is awemome! (I have mine connected
Trough the optical link).

I just check the Philips home page but this model is not there?
Does someone knows?
I can't find others reviews than this page also.

BTW: this unit is NTSC-PAL too.

Regards,

Cesar B.

I am happy with this DVD player. The other DVD player that I did consider before buying this one is Panasonic A-120. I think the Panasonic has better speed control but Philips has better sound quality. I read some review about Panasonic A-120, people saying they have problem closing the tray. Also, by comparing the price Philips is $100 cheaper then Panasonic. I experienced delay of halt problem with Audio CD but it happened only once. There always a delay on DVD movie when changing layers which similar to fliping from side A to side B. You can get it from Best Buy for $299.

Hello Cesar B. I have my 825 connected to Yamaha 795 A/V using optical connection. I tryed the DTS using my new Patch Adam DVD, it sounds extremely good just like in the movie theather. Before you use the DTS you have to go to the setup menu to enable the audio to "ALL" first. Otherwise, it will not have any digital signal. Try it out!!! Were you able to play regular CD using optical connection? Or you have both RCA and fiber optic connected.

DVD825AT at $269.99 BEST BUYThis my second Philips player. I bought for DTS features
and anolog CD play back being able to pass 18 bit data
for HDCD playback. The one feature yet to be supported is
the flash ram for future software upgrades. I like Philips
forward thinking on this. Possible speed search and direction
items can be changed if and when Philips makes a DVD or
CDR downloaded from internet. Thats COOL! For movie playback
works very good.

It seems the common problem with most inexpensive DVD players right now is inconsistency of performance from unit to unit of the same model. From the reviews here, it seems that no inexpensive unit is dodging this bullet. Apparently, this unit is no exception judging from the negative reviews here. My own experience with this unit has been a good one. I got mine at Circuit City three weeks ago and after playing 15 or so DVD's and innumerable audio CD's I've had none of the problems others report. In store comparisons showed the Phillips to be as good or better than similarly priced Panasonic and Toshiba units in terms of picture and sound. No lip-synching problems, average pixellation for the price range, and stellar audio. Using the analog outputs for sound, the Phillip's DACs did a great job, but not as good as the internal DACs on the Denon 3300 which I'm now using. The remote is small, but works just fine. Based upon a very satisfying experience with this unit so far I will give it five stars.

Outstanding CD audio playback
Good video reproduction

None so far

Bought this about 2 months ago, absolutely no problems whatsoever. Plays the matrix fine and no level transfer problems as described above. Good choice if your looking for an entry-level DVD Player.

Decent all around performance.

Remote control.

I have used this DVD for about 2 mos and have not had any problem with duel layered discs or Audio CD's. The sound on DVD Movies is very good. The picture is about average or a bit above. So far i am satisfied with its performance and feel this is a great entry level performer.

Similar Products Used:

Samsung, Toshiba

Clean styling

Dual layer disks

This is a rather lengthy discussion about my experience into DVD players. After 15 years my Magnavox CD player finally died. Time to buy a new one. After some checking of prices, I discovered that for a few dollars more I can upgrade to a DVD player. All well and fine. My expectation for any DVD player it to play any CD or DVD completely though. I will allow for pause for layer changes. But lip sync, lock up or drop outs are not acceptable. My old CD player and VCR do not have these problems so why should newer technology.

Magnavox 825:
Since my Magnavox CD player lasted 15 years without a problem, I decided to choose Magnavox again; model 825. I paid $229 at Circuit City. Played several disks include the Batman disk that came with the player. Problems began when I rented Homeward Bound for the kids. Every so often the picture and sound would just freeze up. The real bad part is, it was not reproducible. Next came Con Air. After the layer change, the picture and sound would breakup and freeze and the disk would eventually stop playing. Also while playing audio CDs the sound would randomly dropout for a half a second or so. Again, not reproducible. Defective player I thought, I’ll just exchange it for a new one. Got the 2nd 825 home and tried the same Con Air disk (this was now my standard difficult disk) and guess what, the same thing happened; It could not play the second layer of the disk. Boy was this disappointing, back to Circuit City for more adventures. (Total DVD Players 2 - Magnavox 2)


Proscan 8680:
I promptly got a refund for my 2nd Magnavox player and with the Con Air disk in hand, walked over to the DVD player section again. The salesman showed me the Proscan 8680 DIVX player. I initially did not like it because of the DIVX feature, but at $250 it was hard to beat. Put the Con Air test disk in, quickly jumped to the second layer and voila, no lock ups. Out the door and back home with the Proscan. That night I sat down to finally watch Con Air in it entirety. About three fourths the way though the movie, lockup gain. Next day, back to Circuit City again; this must just be a bad player. Exchanged it for the same model, came home to really finally watch this disk. Locked up gain about three fourths the way through. Now, is the disk bad??? Pause… Hmmm… I will keep this player for a week or so and rent a lot of movies (30 day return policy) and see how it goes.
Played several more movies no problem. Then came Willi Wonka. This disk did have some scratches on it, but nothing I would consider abuse. The Proscan locked up and could not play three of the chapters. Well now what, maybe that Con Air disk wasn’t bad and the Proscan just has problems with scratched disks. Back to Circuit City for a refund. (Total DVD Players 4 - Proscan 2, Magnavox 2)

Sony S330:
Now free from the wrath of bad DVD players, I started my search over again. With the Willi Wonka disk in hand, I again walked back to the DVD player section at Circuit City. I liked the Sony models but for $350 it seemed a bit expensive, but might as well try the disk in it anyway. Put the disk in and jumped to the offending chapters and as if by magic it played though flawlessly. I repeated the chapters several times; worked every time. Now life is good, but $350. Time to shop around for pricing. Sears had a sale on the S330; $330. I ask the salesman if the lip sync problem had been fixed yet. He had not heard of any lip sync problem. I figured I’d give the unit a try and if it did have the problem, deal with it then. The unit I got had serial number 0196891. I watched several movies OK, then came RONIN; lip sync problem. Stop and restart corrected it, but to me this was not acceptable. I made a call to Sony. The rude lady at customer service knew nothing of any lip sync problem but did offer to have the unit picked up for repair. I did not want to send the unit in, unless I knew that the problem would be fixed. I decided to wait.
Checked Circuit City’s web site, they now dropped the price to $300. I returned the lip sync plugged S330 back to Sears and decided to another chance on later serial number one from Circuit City and save $30 in the process. Checked the serial number at the store 0262393, higher than the old one, this is good. The serial number is located on the box directly above the UPC bar code. Got the unit home and check the firmware version (Title, Clear, then ON from the remote). It was 2.21. This means I should have no problems with lip sync. As I understand it 2.1 fixed the problem. Looks like I have a keeper. This unit finally meets my standard of playing DVD and CDs completely through without locking up, drop outs, or lip sync problems. (Total DVD Players 6 - Proscan 2, Magnavox 2, Sony 2)

So it appears Sony fixed the problem between serial numbers 0196891 and 0262393. I just wish Sony would be more up front about the lip sync problems and fixes for it. It’s a great player otherwise. Proscan- sorry you could not play scratched disks; very noise transport. Magnavox- total disappointment considering my fondness for my old CD player (anyone remember the FD2040 2nd gen); has many problems playing dual layered disks.

Similar Products Used:

Proscan 8680
Sony S330