JVC XV-FA95BK Progressive-Scan 7-Disc DVD Player, Black
By: JVC Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 5
More Information
by: Anonymous On: 2002-08-23
Great picture, awesome digital sound and 7DVD at once. It even lets you switch them when one is playing. I read some of these reviews and getting annoyed with some of the bitching:
Too Loud
Dont like the buttons
Better remote
Why doesnt it make me coffeeI love the one I have. I paid 190+shipping on UBID and am very happy with it.
On: 2002-03-17
I have had this machine for about 1 month and have been very pleased with its operation. The video is great compared to my old Sony, and DVD audio is astounding (if you implement it correctly, ie. external bass management for satellite speakers or using all full range speakers.) Unfortunately, there is only one DVD audio player currently that comes with dvd-audio bass management, and it is almost 3 times the price. The fact that someone would complain that this machine does not have digital output for DVD audio makes their review suspect. DVD audio is only available in analog output. Digital output on dvd-audio discs is a courtesy for people who dont have dvd-audio machines but would like to hear music in Dolby 5.1. The sampling rate is much lower, closer to a typical cd thus not giving you the resolution that DVD-As are noted for. If you are not sending the sound via the six analogue outputs, you are missing the point of having a DVD-audio player.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-01-20
OK, The DVD end works good as does the CD part. However I have had a very hard time playing MP3s burned with 4 different programs: Roxio, Nero, Cd recorder and musicmatch 7.0,, They all work withg real players supporting MP3, like the portable players for about [price]. The mp3 player was one of my interests with this unit, now because of its inconsistency you may find yourself buying a mp3 jukebox
by: Anonymous On: 2001-12-08
This unit does its job for playing DVDs. Normal picture quality is fine although Im not able to take advantage of its progressive scan capabilities with my regular TV. The zoom function is pretty cool. The remote is ok to use with my JVC TV but it has no "last channel" button. The unit is noisy when switching disks - sounds like its going to fall apart! It will only play MP3s on a "closed" CDR, and will not play at all from a CDRW. Also, it will only play them in order, from 1 to whatever. No random, no program. There are other units (I think Harmon Kardon makes one) that have better MP3 support. On the plus side, I was able to get rid of my 5 CD player. It has a very good manual. I can live with the noisy disk changing as long as it doesnt break, but I give it 3 stars because of its poor MP3 support (which was a selling point for me)
 On: 2001-12-08
(...)Your machine won in terms of features vs price. I guess there is something to be said for getting what one pays for ...However, there are a few features which I would like to have seen changed, or even seen at all. (1) Time Remaining on a DVD Video (at minimum) and/or on other media formats. It would have been nice to at least have Time Remaining for an entire Movie, but would have liked seeing the time parameters per Chapter, as well. (2) Only Shuffle (Random) on 1 disc? What a waste! One wouldve expected to fill all 7 slots with CDs or DVD-Audio discs and randomized the entire lot and walked away for several hours of enjoyment! The feature is useless the way it is today. (3) A Lighted Remote. Now theres a novel idea! Glow buttons fade after awhile - like an hour into the movie. So you still need to turn the light back on to re-charge the glow buttons! Another Useless feature! (4) CAn you make the mechanism a little QUIETER! As much as I laud JVC for their innovation in the design of this mechanism ... What a racket it makes shuffling disc trays going from one tray to the next. (5) Why does my DVD-Audio only output via the Analog 5.1 channels? I would have rather had it direct its output via the Optical connection - now thats digital! (6) I understand the goal of less clutter on the front panel, but I would rather have a few extra buttons, for instance, separate buttons for features such as Program, Search, Time/Text, Shuffle (Random), etc. It is cumbersome to have to traverse the menus with the TV on to get to these features. While your at it, put these buttons on the remote, too. All-in-all - its not a BAD machine, but I am not really impressed! And this machine seems a little flimsy in construction, at least outwardly, since this machine is touted for the solid and shielded internal construction. I am viewing on a Sony KP-57XBR10W HDTV (ready) Widescreen TV. (Okay - so call me a Sony Fanatic!) So far, the Progressive Scan picture is not noticably sharper on the XV-FA90BK via component connection to the TV than it was on my 4-year old Sony DVP-C600D via an S-Video connection (I am using Monster High-grade cables for both). Maybe there is something to be said for the 12-bit video D/A Converter on the Sony DVP-S9000ES (albeit at 3X the price!). ------------------------
After 1 week of ownership: I felt I needed to change my initial rating of 4-stars to 1-star for this product. The intended purpose of purchasing this machine was to take advantage of the its Progressive Scan and DVD-Audio capabilities. (1) DVD-Audio - I was able to play them in my previous Sony DVPC600D via 5.1 channels via the digital Optical Output. This JVC model appears to only output DVD-Audio via the Analog 5.1 channel output (as I had stated above). But in comparison, there are supposed to be some sort of extras on DVD-Audios that I was missing before. I cant tell what those features are. The 2 DVD-Audio samples shipped with the product, nor my Separately purchased DVD-Audio of Vivaldis Four Seasons, seemed not to have any extra features - I was able to see the Track displays on my TV on the Sony - the same happens with the JVC with the DVD-Audio capability (the XDVPC600D is not DVD-Audio capable - but it plays them). So this is no big deal to me, either. (2) But, the main reason of downgrading my rating of this product is that I have found that during Component Video playback to my aforementioned Sony TV, there are certain scenes that black out during play. This XV-FA90BK player manual states to change the Progressive mode options if experiencing bad reception. I tried all 5 modes and get the same blackouts. In fact, this even happens in Interlaced (non-porogressive) mode coming through the Component Outputs. I also have the unit hooked up to another Input on my TV via S-Video - this problem does not occur when I view via the S-Video connection (in interlaced mode). And as such, I have detemrined that the blacked out scenes involve flashes such as lightning-type effects on the screen. I admit this may be a problem with my connection (cable or ports), compatibility with my particular TV or there may simply be something wrong with the XV-FA90BK player. I had considered the Harman-Kardon DVD-50 (5-disk, HDCD but no DVD-Audio) and several Sony models (some with SACD). Unfortunately, Sony doesnt offer any progressive scan multi-disc models. I chose the JVC over HK, becuase I figured on the DVD-Audio feature over the HDCD feature on the HK. I shouldve gone with the HK or any of the Sonys. I am probably going to return this JVC DVD player to whence it came.
On: 2001-12-07
(...)Your machine won in terms of features vs price. I guess there is something to be said for getting what one pays for ...However, there are a few features which I would like to have seen changed, or even seen at all. (1) Time Remaining on a DVD Video (at minimum) and/or on other media formats. It would have been nice to at least have Time Remaining for an entire Movie, but would have liked seeing the time parameters per Chapter, as well. (2) Only Shuffle (Random) on 1 disc? What a waste! One wouldve expected to fill all 7 slots with CDs or DVD-Audio discs and randomized the entire lot and walked away for several hours of enjoyment! The feature is useless the way it is today. (3) A Lighted Remote. Now theres a novel idea! Glow buttons fade after awhile - like an hour into the movie. So you still need to turn the light back on to re-charge the glow buttons! Another Useless feature! (4) CAn you make the mechanism a little QUIETER! As much as I laud JVC for their innovation in the design of this mechanism ... What a racket it makes shuffling disc trays going from one tray to the next. (5) Why does my DVD-Audio only output via the Analog 5.1 channels? I would have rather had it direct its output via the Optical connection - now thats digital! (6) I understand the goal of less clutter on the front panel, but I would rather have a few extra buttons, for instance, separate buttons for features such as Program, Search, Time/Text, Shuffle (Random), etc. It is cumbersome to have to traverse the menus with the TV on to get to these features. While your at it, put these buttons on the remote, too. All-in-all - its not a BAD machine, but I am not really impressed! And this machine seems a little flimsy in construction, at least outwardly, since this machine is touted for the solid and shielded internal construction. I am viewing on a Sony KP-57XBR10W HDTV (ready) Widescreen TV. (Okay - so call me a Sony Fanatic!) So far, the Progressive Scan picture is not noticably sharper on the XV-FA90BK via component connection to the TV than it was on my 4-year old Sony DVP-C600D via an S-Video connection (I am using Monster High-grade cables for both). Maybe there is something to be said for the 12-bit video D/A Converter on the Sony DVP-S9000ES (albeit at 3X the price!). ------------------------
After 1 week of ownership: I felt I needed to change my initial rating of 4-stars to 1-star for this product. The intended purpose of purchasing this machine was to take advantage of the its Progressive Scan and DVD-Audio capabilities. (1) DVD-Audio - I was able to play them in my previous Sony DVPC600D via 5.1 channels via the digital Optical Output. This JVC model appears to only output DVD-Audio via the Analog 5.1 channel output (as I had stated above). But in comparison, there are supposed to be some sort of extras on DVD-Audios that I was missing before. I cant tell what those features are. The 2 DVD-Audio samples shipped with the product, nor my Separately purchased DVD-Audio of Vivaldis Four Seasons, seemed not to have any extra features - I was able to see the Track displays on my TV on the Sony - the same happens with the JVC with the DVD-Audio capability (the XDVPC600D is not DVD-Audio capable - but it plays them). So this is no big deal to me, either. (2) But, the main reason of downgrading my rating of this product is that I have found that during Component Video playback to my aforementioned Sony TV, there are certain scenes that black out during play. This XV-FA90BK player manual states to change the Progressive mode options if experiencing bad reception. I tried all 5 modes and get the same blackouts. In fact, this even happens in Interlaced (non-porogressive) mode coming through the Component Outputs. I also have the unit hooked up to another Input on my TV via S-Video - this problem does not occur when I view via the S-Video connection (in interlaced mode). And as such, I have detemrined that the blacked out scenes involve flashes such as lightning-type effects on the screen. I admit this may be a problem with my connection (cable or ports), compatibility with my particular TV or there may simply be something wrong with the XV-FA90BK player. I had considered the Harman-Kardon DVD-50 (5-disk, HDCD but no DVD-Audio) and several Sony models (some with SACD). Unfortunately, Sony doesnt offer any progressive scan multi-disc models. I chose the JVC over HK, becuase I figured on the DVD-Audio feature over the HDCD feature on the HK. I shouldve gone with the HK or any of the Sonys. I am probably going to return this JVC DVD player to whence it came.
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