Zenith: DVB318 DVD Player with DVI and HD component

[TIPS List]

----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----

Stephen, Bradley,

I have to recognize that one learn things everyday, and this was new
to me, thanks for the information.

I pulled from Zenith the user manual and after reading the 32 pages it
briefly says that it does the upconversion (front and back specs) but
it does not say of what type DVD, and that is the type of disclaimer
problem Vinc had when I talked to them for the CES report, they
admitted that they should have made a disclaimer stating that it does
not upconvert protected DVDs (over component).

Further more, after reading quickly some of the AVS threads you
mentioned, many people confirmed that the player actually upconverts
to HD resolution over component analog "protected DVDs", but I came
across one particular post that was showing an interesting view of
this situation, this person was quoting part of the instructions that
came with the player, instructions that I could not obtain from Zenith
web site (unless I buy the player), as follows:

------------------------
Page 10 of the instructions, lower right hand corner box titled "Notes
for DVI and Component video output". Fourth bullet point says "The
selected resolution and output resolution may be different during
playing back a DVD which copy protection signals are recorded. e.g.,
The output resolution is changed to 480p automatically even though the
selected resolution is 1080i"

And the person also states: "The two inserts regarding upscaled output
connections contradict that, and of course actual use does."
---------------------------

I sincerely believe that Zenith blew it with this release. The
manual, the instructions, and the production line are not talking the
same language, and, as another poster said, their mistake is "flying
under the radar", and the honeymoon might be over soon with a stiff
penalty for going against the regulations. Additionally it seems that
the unit does not handle HDCP over the DVI connection, which makes the
unit more begging for a penalty.

For all of you that do not have DVI this unit seems to help you over
your component connections, for the ones with DVI the Bravo was viewed
as a much better upconversion job, after reading the comments from
people's that have both units.

In other words, some people might consider to hurry up and get it
while the radar is off. One guy got it for $156, although I imagine
what level of internals quality one could expect for that price.

Thanks again for the tip. This was out of my radar also, and now I
certainly can not write anything for a while about it, because I will
be facing the firing squad made by the same people I help every day.

Best Regards,

Rodolfo La Maestra

[Richard]

Until this unit is checked with a scope beware of the analog component out. While it may work we have no idea how well.

[hoopnoop]

I bought the DVB 318 earlier in the summer. It works wonderfully (after callibrating) on my 50 inch Sony Grand Wega. The 1080i upconvert works quite well through component. It works less well through DVI (white crush) and the 720p upconvert doesn't work as well. Some have also claimed that there is some color bleeding with 480p but I haven't noticed any problems.

There is a huge thread on this in the AVS forum as cited above. The bottomline of the thread is that some people love it and some aren't that impressed (partly because they were looking for miracles from this unit). It appears to work better on some display compared with others so you may want to go to a thread and search on your type of display.

[HD Library]

check this link

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