Philips DVP720SA DVD Player - page 5

Reading Tests

When it comes to a DVD player, the main focus lies in the reading performance of the device. Technical performance tests could include detailed testing of the performance of the player with various video and audio input signals (MPEG-1 /2 Video/Audio, VBR High/Low switch, CBR, AC-3 implementation, LPCM multichannel audio, A/V synchronization navigation commands, transitions etc). However, such detailed testing is out of the scope of this review in an attempt to offer testing procedures which directly resemble and correspond to the average user's needs, performing common everyday tasks. Hence, the performance of the DVD player can be described in terms related to reading speed, reading accuracy, compatibility with various CD/DVD recordable/rewritable formats as well as data/audio playback support, stored on any common, everyday media.

DVD support

• DVD-Video

Our Philips DVP720SA was a region-2 drive, which means that the player is able to decode (play) only the pressed DVD-Video discs coming from the European region.

We connected the DVP720SA through the Scart interface with the corresponding cable, included in the player's package. The player supports the DVD-Video format, so we recorded a 4.35GB DVD-Video file on various DVD+R/-R, DVD-RW/+RW media. The recorders we used are some of the latest dual-format available on the PC market, as well as some 1st generation recorders. Pressed single / dual layer DVD-Video discs were also included in the test. Here, we remind you that the Philips DVP720SA supports DVD±R/RW and DVD-Video playback. All the test discs were created with the same PC /software in the DVD-Video mode.

We checked the player's disc recognition as well as smooth navigation and playback. The results were very impressive, since all the discs were read completely. See the drives and media we used in the table below:

The results were nevertheless to be expected from a newly released player like the Philips DVP720SA. A DVD player offers limited features by its own nature, meaning that it lacks the DVD recording capabilities and advanced video authoring/editing features found on DVD recorders. Thus, reading reliability as well as compatibility are the key factors which will encourage most users to run out and buy a player. What is really interesting in our case is that the Philips DVP720SA did not face any problems reading even the latest 8x DVD±R and 4x DVD±RW discs.

• DVD-ROM

The Philips DVP720SA does not support reading of DVD-ROM discs, even if they contain MPEG-1/2 video files or MP3/WMA files. This is normal for most DVD players since native DVD-ROM format is not supported.

• CD support

The Philips DVP720SA supports AudioCD, CD-R/-RW, VideoCD and Super-VideoCD playback. The cda files of any audioCD are recognized flawlessly, regardless of whether the disc is factory pressed or is a CD-R/RW. In addition, CD-Text is also supported.

In our case, when talking about data CD (CD-R/-RW), we refer to either audio compressed files (MP3, WMA, Ogg Vorbis..) or pure wav files, or to VideoCD and Super VideoCD.

• AudioCD

In the case of pressed AudioCDs, the player recognizes and plays all the tracks, offering additional features such as CD-Text reading and navigation between tracks, as already mentioned in the previous page. This also applies to CD-R and CD-RW discs. The device played audio files on CD-R, 10x HS-RW, 24x US-RW and 32x US-RW discs we inserted in the disc tray.

In addition, no problems were noticed when we played 8cm CD-R/-RW (185MB), 90/99min CD-R as well as CD business cards, as long as they are round shaped. The player's tray is not designed to accept any other media shapes, as is sometimes the case with smart cards or business cards.

For anyone that has purchased any protected audio discs from a music store, the Philips DVP720SA will not let you down. The discs we tested were "Natalie Impruglia - White Lilies island" protected with Macrovision' Key2Audio system, and "Celine Dion - A New Day Has Come" protected with Cactus Data Shield 200. Both titles were recognized and played flawlessly. After all, those protection schemes are designed to discourage PC users from copying them and as such are not playable on PCs only.

• Super AudioCD

The Philips DVP720SA supports Super AudioCD, a very big advantage for any player. You don't need to be an expert to feel the difference beetween the playback of a normal CD and a SACD.

• Compressed Audio (data CD)

Let's see now how the player performs with various compressed audio files stored on data CD-R/RW media. Although the specifications of the DVP720SA clearly indicate MP3 support, it is not sure whether the drive can handle all MP3 compression modes. CBR or VBR encoding mode and variations in the sampling rate could be hard for any reader to decode. Below is available the performance of the player with the various MP3 and WMA files.

The player supports decoding of the most popular CBR and VBR MP3 modes.

Note that the DVP720SA is equipped with a 192 kHz 24 Bit Digital to Analog Converter for audio.

• VCD/SVCD

As presented in the player's specifications, both VCD and Super Video CD formats are supported by the player. No problems occured during playback.

• JPEG

The DVP720SA is capable of image playback, not only for Jpeg format.