Customer Reviews

JVC XV-F85GD 7-Disc Progressive-Scan DVD Player, Gold

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I picked up my F-80bk, I had some concerns. I had ordered the unit as a replacement for my JVC XV-501bk, which was an absolute disaster of a unit. However, I was soon to discover that my fears were all for naught; this model is one of the most sound investments I've made in electronics.

DISC MECHANISM: Thanks to the independent tray loading system JVC has developed, this player fits seven discs into the space of five...and allows you to open the drawer and change every disc except the one currently being played without interrupting playback. Tray opening/closing and disc selection are both a little slow, but the high capacity more than makes up for it.

LASER ASSEMBLY: Part of the reason I bought a JVC is because they just seem to have better laser setups. Playback--whether it be audio CD, DVD, MP3 disc, or a homemade VideoCD/Super VideoCD--is consistently flawless, with no stutters or glitches even when the disc has small smudge marks or blemishes.

AUDIO PLAYBACK: The audio is crisp and clean, which is very important to me as a musician/music teacher. Since my amp is older, I use the analog outputs. I have also tested the digital audio functions with a friend's equipment; the quality is perfect, with no static or signs of audio compression. True, you cannot hear MP3 playback over the digital stream, but that is due to copyright issues regarding the MP3 file format, and JVC had no control over that. Also, some complain that the randomized/"shuffle" playback only works on one disc at a time...but, given the way CD changers work, the pause between songs is excruciatingly long when the player has to switch discs after every track, so the exclusion of this feature is understandable.

VIDEO PLAYBACK: This player has the best image quality I have seen thus far on a DVD player. For those who have the proper equipment, this player is one of the few models that has a true, "digital-direct" progressive scan mode (which means that it reads the high frame rate straight from the disc, rather than trying to reinterpret the extra frames back into a standard-quality scan). Even with the composite out, the picture is crisp and clean. This player also has a better-than-usual video filter, which results in a smoother image on large screens or with low-quality source material. (This is easily seen when you zoom in on the screen image, or when playing back a VideoCD).

REMOTE: The remote is lightweight and easy to use, and it doubles as a universal remote for whatever television you may have. The fact that the "key" playback controls glow in the dark is a nice feature; my only complaint is that it does not have any VCR functionality (I'm not a fan of juggling remotes).

EXTRA FEATURES: This player provides easy and high-quality playback of all major formats you might expect to use: DVDs, audio CDs, Video CDs, Super Video CDs, and MP3 discs. It will also read CD-R and even CD-RW discs without any problems. Also, the user-adjustable video filter is great for those who like to tinker with things in quest of the "ultimate" quality setting, and the ability to zoom in and out on the image is quite fun...and useful, if you're trying to find something specific in a scene. You can zoom in up to 1024x, and the image stays remarkably clean, and you can zoom out to 1/8x (although I have yet to find any reason for doing this).

PRICE: This is not an inexpensive unit. But there are several out there that are more expensive, and--in my opinion--no player currently on the market offers you a better movie experience. If you are looking for a high-end DVD player, or especially if you're looking for a device to serve as the heart of a home audio/video system, look no further.

Okay, so I am really bothered by some of these reviews. Obviously your ignorance should not make a product inferior. Many people do not understand what multi-channel out is. This player is special because it plays DVD audio discs, and not many players do. DVD audio is a 6-channel audio format similar to DTS but it is NOT compressed and it is higher quality. The quality of DVD audio will blow you away. In order to accomplish this, any DVD audio capable player will have an internal decoder. So yes, this player DOES have OPTICAL and DIGITAL COAX, which you would use for a home theater type setting. The multi-channel output is used when you are using the players internal decoder. And yes, you could use this for DTS decoding if you so desired, but if you use optical/digital coax you are using your reciever's internal decoder instead. The picture quality and sound on this unit are superb. The gold-plated outputs on the back are a nice touch too. The multi-channel outputs should be hooked up with analog RCA cables, yes, standard audio cables. But you only need to do that if you plan on using this for DVD-audio. Its sad when people berate something they don't understand.

I have always been a big fan of JVC products. My first CD changer was the old 5-disc, top-load carousel purchased back in 1989. It provided nearly thirteen years of service before it finally conked out, and that was from nearly constant use. After I buried my old reliable disc changer, I was on the hunt for a new one. What better place to look than a hybrid CD/DVD changer. Seven discs this time. Hours of listening or viewing enjoyment.

Overall, I'm impressed with this JVC product. It has all the bells and whistles that you would expect from a high-end DVD player, including Progressive Scan. There are dozen of functions to choose from, and on-screen direct programming of most settings. The remote is laid out well, and is easy to use. The seven-disc capacity allows you can listen to one CD right after another or watch one DVD after another, which means you don't have to stop what you're doing to change CD/DVD's. Another nice function is the ability to change discs out while one is currently playing. All six of the non-playing discs are available to swap out.

Shockingly, this unit does not have a "true" random mode of selecting any song from any disc. It pretends to have a random mode, and will play all the tracks on one CD in a random order before moving onto the next CD in line and repeating the process. My 5-disc changer had a true random mode, and I know their 200-disc changers have a true random mode, but this one doesn't. I'm sure that this was done because of all the moving parts for changing discs. It appears to be a mix of the carousel and cartridge type CD loaders. The only thing that worries me about this device is that the more moving parts there are, the more chance for something to break.

If you're a movie buff, and are buying this to stack up the movies, I say you can't find a better deal. Even if you're looking for a device that can play CD/DVD's equally, check this one out. If you're going to use this as a CD player and occasionally watch movies on it, save yourself some money and buy a single tray DVD player.

One word of caution for anyone wanting to randomize audio cds with this player. I bought this model and loaded it with six cds. After hearing multiple songs (in random order) from the same cd I started with, I checked the manual. The manual states in a small note at the bottom of the page that explains the random function that random only works on the currently selected cd. What good does a seven disc changer do you if you can't randomize the whole set? It seems like a really strange choice for JVC to make.

I love this dvd player, 7 disc changer! let me repeat, SEVEN disc changer. That means you can stick in 7 dvds, surround yourself with popcorn, snacks, etc. and watch until your eyeballs literally melt out from their sockets days later!!! The JVC player rocks, it features progressive scan to allow full range real time picture adjustment, and allows you to play mp3s, homemade vcds, and regular cds. The progressive scan allows effortless changing of disc without skipping. There are inputs, both in the front and rear of the unit for all the standard wires like rca in/out, digital in/out, and surround sound digital cable. the carosel slides out of the unit effortlessly, and without any noise.

DVD: Great video quality. I am using the coaxial digital output for audio and component outputs for video to a Sony 57" HDTV. Progressive scan 480p output quality high. Audio is terrific.

CD: I have owned other multiple disk cd changers and other reviewers are correct about the random capabilities. This is not important for me. I mostly use it for DVD watching. Even on other muli units owned, I didn't much use the random feature due to time involved in changing disks every song.

Strong player with great features.

I have been looking around for DVD players for about 2 months, and I have found that this player is the best bang for the buck. I originally purchased a Pioneer DV-C503 and the thing broke while I was playing the first DVD. This unit is awesome! The design is slim and the remote is easy to use. The features, including the progressive scan and DTS, are great. The CD playback (including CD-R and CD-RW's) is excellent! I would highly recommend this unit to anyone looking for an affordable DVD player.

I tried DVD changers from Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer & Toshiba, they all had various degrees of CD-R/RW disc compatibility problems, Sony and Panasonic are the worst! I just got the JVC XV-F85GD, a 7 disc DVD changer for [not a lot and that] including shipping! Upon unpacking, I played all the CD-R/RW discs I had problems with the other DVD players mentioned above, they played all without a glitch! So if you are looking for a DVD changer and have the need for playing CD-R/RW type discs, this is the player to get. Period! Forget about any other brands at any price.

The lack of true "random play" across all discs, while hardly an issue for DVD users, is a major deficiency for those used to loading up a bunch of your favorite CDs and getting several hours of randomly selected and therefore varied tunes. JVC should call what it offers "single disc random play" to better apprise internet buyers who can't test the machine in person.

The main reson i bought this player is because I have always wanted a carousel cd player, and i figured i might as well get a good DVD player along with it. I had a [bad] samsung dvd player before, and this one is way better. It has progressive scan, so when i take the plunge into the world of HDTV, i'll be ready. The 3D-Phonic sound really works well to make movies sound great, and the mp3 player works good, even though the random play would have been nice. I love that it plays VCD's, which my old player didn't. Some people can't live without true random CD play, so if you need a carousel with total random cd play across all cd's, don't buy this one. If random play on only one cd at a time is fine for you (it is for me), then this player is a bargain.