Philips DVD590MT Progressive-Scan Vertical DVD Player

by Philips

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000BUZ8U
• Item model number: DVD590MT
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,941 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 29, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Ideal for space-constrained desktops or living rooms and styled to match today's sleek PCs and flat-panel televisions, the Philips DVD590MT vertical DVD player is as potent as it is small. The player is designed for either vertical or horizontal positioning and offers a stylish stand and slot-based disc loading so you won't have to maintain clearance for a motorized disc tray.

The versatile player handles DVD-Video (NTSC or PAL), VCD, SVCD, DVD+RW, DVD+R, JPEG image CDs, MP3 CD, and even mixed-mode JPEG/MP3 CD. Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the DVD590MT stands ready to deliver the full potential of your DVDs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.

The DVD590MT also performs 3:2 pulldown detection. DVD mastering introduces a common distortion when adjusting 24 frames-per-second movies to 30 fps video; reverse 3:2 pulldown digitally corrects this distortion, removing the redundant information to display a film-frame-accurate picture. Composite- and S-video outputs bring compatibility with nearly any television and many computer monitors.

A set of left/right analog-audio outputs channels audio to Dolby Pro Logic receivers and stereo televisions, and a 96 kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog converter ensures optimum audio decoding of all disc formats. Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround-sound signals can be routed through the player's coaxial digital-audio output for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver.

Other features include repeat play, picture zoom, parental controls, still-photo rotate and flip, MP3 album and track selection, and multi-angle viewing (with compatible discs).

What's in the Box
DVD player, a remote control, a lithium battery, an AC power cord, a composite-video cable, a stereo analog audio cable, a user's manual, and an aluminum stand.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Small Footprint -- Large Issues, December 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Philips DVD590MT Progressive-Scan Vertical DVD Player (Electronics)

This DVD player is nicely designed and has excellent features. Slot loading, removable base ((two screws on the underside) allows to place horizontal), and the small size (half the size of others) are all pluses.

My reason for purchasing: my 4 year old Sony (still an excellent DVD player) was looking tired and didn't play MP3s. It was time I got a new player -- and seeing that the price (along with other amenities) for the Phillips is less than half of what I paid for the Sony -- it was a done deal.

I've had the player for a few days now and must say I like it overall, but there are issues that can't be ignored:

1. A lot of DVDs skip areas when playing and I'm not sure what causes it. This results in lots of rewind ->play to see what you've missed. Serious bug and horrible experience with rented DVDs (they tend to be in horrible condition due to mishandling). If I can't isolate this issue to the few discs I've tried to play, the unit is going back to Target.

2. Constant bright lights. There is a red standby light reminiscent of HAL from 2001 glowing when the unit is turned off. Just as annoying are the two orange lights that glow when playing. While they are a nice aesthetic touch, they distract the hell out of me while watching a movie -- I keep seeing these bright glowing ambers to the corner of my TV. The Sony receiver I use has a dimmer for the display -- Even the Sony DVD player has only a small red pin light.

I can recommend if you're short on space, but be warned as it is listed last on the product list on Philips site and they no longer display the price -- only the 'where to buy link'.

BTW: The remote shown on Target.com isn't correct -- it comes with an ultra slim touch button remote that is just slightly larger than a stack of credit cards -- a bit on the cheap side, but still refreshing to not get another oversized chunk of black plastic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good design, good player!, July 15, 2004

By 

"lilredheadedboy" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philips DVD590MT Progressive-Scan Vertical DVD Player (Electronics)

This is actually my very first DVD player, so I can't compare it to anything, merely share my experience!

As advertised, it's handled pretty much everything I've thrown at it - DVDs, VCDs, Picture Discs, MP3 CDs, etc. My TV doesn't really have hookups for a DVD player, only a cable input, so I had to run it through my VCR, which is also not so high tech, but at least had some Audio/Video jacks to use. This is not recommended by Philips due to possible Macrovision protection "features" in the VCR, but I haven't run into anything like that. Good picture and sound quality all the time.

The remote it comes with is pretty small and light, some might say flimsy. I'm happy that I don't have some 100 button monster to wield every time I need to use it. i have it standing up next tot he TV, but it could also lay on it's belly. It's pretty damn cute, and everyone's who's come over comments on it. Design? A+.

The reason I gave it 4 stars is that I think it might be a little sensitive to scratches on discs. With a good number of netflix rentals I get small skips, but on store-bought DVDs in my own care, it works great. I'm wondering if the orientation might have something to do with it, but I haven't done much testing.

All in all, a nicely designed, well functioning player that I am happy to have as my first. Now all I need to do is get one of those flat-panel TVs to go with it . . .

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Are all vertical DVD players bad or just this one?, October 7, 2004

By 

T. Sanford "Natural Born Critic" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Philips DVD590MT Progressive-Scan Vertical DVD Player (Electronics)

I had a vertical DVD player purchased about a year ago to fit beside the TV due to space limitations. I loved the convenience. When it stopped working.....just stopped....I wanted to replace it with another vertical DVD Player. I did an Amazon search and found this one. It took a little more than a month before it started freezing/skipping. Big price to pay for something that just stops working. It appears, after reading the other reviews, that this could most likely be a common problem with this model.