- Plays DVD-Video, video CD, audio CD, JPEG image CD, and CDs loaded with MP3, MPEG-4, or DivX 3.11/4.x/5.x files
- Progressive-scan output for seamless, flicker-free images on HD-ready TVs; SmartPicture and 4x video upsampling enhance all outputs
- Optical and coaxial digital-audio terminals pass Dolby Digital and DTS surround signals
- PAL-to-NTSC format conversion--great for viewing non-region-encoded European discs
- Measures 17.1 x 1.7 x 9.3 inches (W x H x D)
Product Features |
Product Information
Technical Details
| Brand Name | Philips |
| Item Weight | 7 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 17.1 x 9.8 x 1.7 inches |
| Item model number | DVP642 |
| Color Name | Silver |
| Built In Decoders | PAL to NTSC NTSC to PAL, Region Conversion, Divx |
Technical Specification
- Supplementary Guide [198kb PDF]
- Data Sheet [133kb PDF]
- Product Manual [920kb PDF]
Additional Information
| ASIN | B000204SWE |
| Best Sellers Rank | #51,777 in Electronics (See top 100) |
| Shipping Weight | 7 pounds |
| Shipping | This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S. |
| Shipping Advisory: | This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply. |
| Date First Available | October 2, 2001 |
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Technical Details
- Brand Name: Philips
- Model: DVP642
- Audio Output Mode: Stereo
- Surround Sound Effects: Dolby Digital 5.1-channel passthrough
- Built In Decoder: PAL to NTSC NTSC to PAL, Region Conversion, Divx
Product Description
Amazon.com
Amazon.com Product Description Tap into multimedia fun with Philips' broad-format, high-style, and ultra-slim DVP642 DVD player. The DVP642 is not only a high-end progressive-scan DVD player equipped to offer scintillating images on high-definition and HD-ready TVs, it's a tech-savvy player that spins your MP3- and JPEG-encoded recordable CDs (as well as Kodak's and Fuji's variants of the same) and CDs loaded with MPEG-4 and DivX video (3.11, 4.x, and 5.x files), perfect for viewing Internet-sourced content in your home theater. Want more? The player also converts Region 1/All Region PAL-formatted discs (the video standard in Europe) for viewing on standard NTSC televisions (and vice-versa, if only for video CDs).
The player will play JPEG images one by one automatically, letting you zoom in, rotate, or flip the picture vertically or horizontally. For MP3 playback, the player offers track time display, album and track selection, and repeat (disc/album/track). The DivX media format is MPEG-4 based video compression that lets you save large files like films, movie trailers, and music videos on recordable media.
 The DVP642's progressive-scan functionality allows compatible TVs to display the even and odd numbered lines of an image in a single pass. This minimizes screen flicker, which is easier on your eyes. | Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the DVP642 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. Playback options include five-disc resume, which lets you pick up where you left off on your five most recently viewed DVDs (not applicable for MP3 or JPEG CDs), disc-lock parental controls, and picture zoom for magnification of select images. |
Philips' 4x video upsampling offers smoother images even when viewing interlaced (nonprogressive) signals through the player's component-video, S-video, or standard composite-video outputs. SmartPicture provides optimum picture settings for color, brightness, saturation, contrast, sharpness, etc., to enhance your overall viewing experience at all times.
The player will play JPEG images one by one automatically, letting you zoom in, rotate, or flip the picture vertically or horizontally. For MP3 playback, the player offers track time display, album and track selection, and repeat (disc/album/track). The DivX media format is MPEG-4 based video compression that lets you save large files like films, movie trailers, and music videos on recordable media.
A set of left/right analog-audio outputs channel audio to Dolby Pro Logic receivers and stereo televisions. Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround-sound signals can be routed through the player's digital-audio outputs (one each of RCA coaxial and Toslink optical) for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver.
What's in the Box
DVD-Video player, remote control with batteries, a user's manual, and an analog audio/composite-video interconnect.
Product Description
Philips DVP642 DVD Player - Dreaming of a player that plays practically any disc format while enjoying flawless, true-to-life picture quality? Now you can! With Philips DVD players, indulge in great movie and music entertainment experience delivered right to your home. Smart Picture for personalized image settings Component Video Input Dolby Digital outputs.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1,078 of 1,114 people found the following review helpful
First of all, let me say that this unit is very well worth the money. As "just a dvd player" I give it FIVE over FIVE points (or ten/ten if you wish).
The unit comes locked for Region 1 DVDs, but can be easily unlocked (just google for the asnwer) to make it region-free. I have tested my unit purchased on amazon.com and unlocked with Region 1, region 2 dvds purchased from Britain, and region 4 DVDs purchased in South America. It just works.
The unit's COMPONENT-VIDEO output is superb, even if you use an CRT TV. I recommend you get a quality component video cable and use that instead of the "composite video" output.
When playing MPG and AVI files, the component video output shows pixelation and artifacts on low-quality or low-resolution avi/divx/mpg files, but when playing back the same files and switching the tv to component video, these problems go away!.
Component video, it should be noted, is superior to "s-video" (which just separates color information from luminance), as each basic color (Red-Green-Blue) travels on a separate shielded cable.
Now, the "extras" besides basic DVD playback
1. DIVX and XVID are supported. But some .avi files will play back with NO SOUND if the original file was encoded with a "codec" (compression algorithm) that is not supported by this unit. Just because a file plays back ok on your PC with "Windows Media Player" it doesn't mean it will playback in this unit.
2. DVD-R media *IS* supported. You might need, however, to update the firmware (it's available for download from the philips.com web site. You have to download a .iso image, burn the data to a cd-r, press a key combination on the remote and then insert the cd-r disc).
Now the problems:
1. Even while DivX is supported, mpeg4/divx files compressed with the Divx Pro software using the "QPEL" (advanced motion optimization and prediction) will NOT PLAY on the unit. The unit will display an ugly "QPEL CODEC NOT SUPPORTED" message and stop there. There's no way to play back QPEL encoded files on this unit (it would require a much faster processor inside).
2. ZOOM LEVELS ARE INCONSISTENT. On DVD movies, zoom levels featured are 1.5x, 2x, 3x, 4x. However when you are playing back ".avi" (mpeg4/divx) files, you will find that often the only zoom levels available are "normal" (no zoom) and "2x", and that's it!. There is no 1.5x zoom level when paying back mpg and divx files! So forget about watching that wide-screen (4:3 format) movie in full screen by switching to 1.5x zoom mode. If it's a DVD movie you can. But if it's a DivX/MPEG4 movie you can't!.
3. A-B loop doesn't work most of the time on DivX/AVI files. Sometimes, when it does work, after you selct an a-b loop, you turn the feature off by pressing the a-b key once again, and when you want to create another a-b loop, the feature no longer works! (unless you press STOP and PLAY the file once again). VERY annoying.
4. PHILIPS doesn't seem very interested in updating the firmware. The last update is dated May 2004, and there has been no update since then, even while the number of bugs is high (see above).
However, even after all this, I think that for ~$70 dollars or less including Amazon.com's free ground shipping, you can't go wrong with this unit, as DVD playback is superb, and the ability to play most (but not all!) .mpg / .avi (DivX/MPEG4/Xvid) video files is just a nice extra to have in there as a "bonus".
Burning .avi and mpg files to DVD recordable media also works.
The unit comes locked for Region 1 DVDs, but can be easily unlocked (just google for the asnwer) to make it region-free. I have tested my unit purchased on amazon.com and unlocked with Region 1, region 2 dvds purchased from Britain, and region 4 DVDs purchased in South America. It just works.
The unit's COMPONENT-VIDEO output is superb, even if you use an CRT TV. I recommend you get a quality component video cable and use that instead of the "composite video" output.
When playing MPG and AVI files, the component video output shows pixelation and artifacts on low-quality or low-resolution avi/divx/mpg files, but when playing back the same files and switching the tv to component video, these problems go away!.
Component video, it should be noted, is superior to "s-video" (which just separates color information from luminance), as each basic color (Red-Green-Blue) travels on a separate shielded cable.
Now, the "extras" besides basic DVD playback
1. DIVX and XVID are supported. But some .avi files will play back with NO SOUND if the original file was encoded with a "codec" (compression algorithm) that is not supported by this unit. Just because a file plays back ok on your PC with "Windows Media Player" it doesn't mean it will playback in this unit.
2. DVD-R media *IS* supported. You might need, however, to update the firmware (it's available for download from the philips.com web site. You have to download a .iso image, burn the data to a cd-r, press a key combination on the remote and then insert the cd-r disc).
Now the problems:
1. Even while DivX is supported, mpeg4/divx files compressed with the Divx Pro software using the "QPEL" (advanced motion optimization and prediction) will NOT PLAY on the unit. The unit will display an ugly "QPEL CODEC NOT SUPPORTED" message and stop there. There's no way to play back QPEL encoded files on this unit (it would require a much faster processor inside).
2. ZOOM LEVELS ARE INCONSISTENT. On DVD movies, zoom levels featured are 1.5x, 2x, 3x, 4x. However when you are playing back ".avi" (mpeg4/divx) files, you will find that often the only zoom levels available are "normal" (no zoom) and "2x", and that's it!. There is no 1.5x zoom level when paying back mpg and divx files! So forget about watching that wide-screen (4:3 format) movie in full screen by switching to 1.5x zoom mode. If it's a DVD movie you can. But if it's a DivX/MPEG4 movie you can't!.
3. A-B loop doesn't work most of the time on DivX/AVI files. Sometimes, when it does work, after you selct an a-b loop, you turn the feature off by pressing the a-b key once again, and when you want to create another a-b loop, the feature no longer works! (unless you press STOP and PLAY the file once again). VERY annoying.
4. PHILIPS doesn't seem very interested in updating the firmware. The last update is dated May 2004, and there has been no update since then, even while the number of bugs is high (see above).
However, even after all this, I think that for ~$70 dollars or less including Amazon.com's free ground shipping, you can't go wrong with this unit, as DVD playback is superb, and the ability to play most (but not all!) .mpg / .avi (DivX/MPEG4/Xvid) video files is just a nice extra to have in there as a "bonus".
Burning .avi and mpg files to DVD recordable media also works.
220 of 228 people found the following review helpful
This review is for Philips DVP642 DVD Player. It is the same as DVP642/37 DVD Player. It is also the same as DVP642/37 Code Free DVD Player, or Region Free, or whatever else you want to call it. Philips has ONLY ONE DVP642 model, but it may come with different firmware versions, depending on when and where the player was purchased. It doesn't matter though. I repeat, it is the SAME player. So there is absolutely no need to pay extra dollars for something you can easily do yourself. This review highlights some of the features of this DVD player, as well as provides instructions on how to make it Region Free (pay special attention to Format Support section). So, read on...
Let me just start by saying that if this DVD player was anything over $100, even $80, then I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. But it's definitely worth $50 that I spent on it. I bought it on sale at CompUSA. I believe Walmart is the cheapest place now, where you can buy it for just under $60. But back to this player. After using it for over 2 months, and having it compare to my other three DVD players (Sampo, Cyberhome, and Oppo), I have come up with a short list of Pros and Cons. So, without further ado, I give you Philips DVP642:
PROS:
Format Support - This alone probably worth all the "stars". It supports virtually all formats, including Divx. And it DOES support DVD-R's as well, although it's not documented anywhere. MP3's, Picture JPEG's, original DVD's, burned DVD's with AVI's, MPEG's, etc. - I have tried it all, and it handled everything without any problems. Add the NTSC/PAL conversion capabilities to that (simple "7 8 9 OK 0" remote control hack with an open tray will make it "region free"), and you've got yourself one hell of a DVD player. "You have it, we play it" is the slogan of this player, and it is, indeed, true.
Design - I like the nice and sleek design of this DVD player. It's thin, and the nice matte silver color nicely compliments my Sony Wega TV that I connected it to.
Price - Just as I mentioned before, I bought this player for $50. I think it's well worth it, especially if you have a lot of "homemade" DVD's.
CONS:
Picture Quality - One word to describe it - Average... at best. My 5 year old Sampo produces a better picture using S-Video, and without Progressive Scan. Cyberhome is better too, when using component connection. I'm not even going to mention Oppo.
Support - One of the worst I have ever had to deal with. First of all, Philips website has very minimum information about this player, and not a word about firmware updates. I've tried to contact them by phone, but only wasted my time pressing buttons and holding for "available representative". I finally decided to send them an e-mail, but have yet to get a response back after two weeks of waiting period.
Summary:
If picture quality is what you are mostly looking for in your DVD player then this one is not for you (if you own or planning on buying an HDTV with DVI or HDMI inputs, then I strongly suggest you check out OPPO). On the other side, if you are not too picky about picture output, but do care about various format support, and don't want to spend too much money, then this player certainly makes a good choice.
Let me just start by saying that if this DVD player was anything over $100, even $80, then I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. But it's definitely worth $50 that I spent on it. I bought it on sale at CompUSA. I believe Walmart is the cheapest place now, where you can buy it for just under $60. But back to this player. After using it for over 2 months, and having it compare to my other three DVD players (Sampo, Cyberhome, and Oppo), I have come up with a short list of Pros and Cons. So, without further ado, I give you Philips DVP642:
PROS:
Format Support - This alone probably worth all the "stars". It supports virtually all formats, including Divx. And it DOES support DVD-R's as well, although it's not documented anywhere. MP3's, Picture JPEG's, original DVD's, burned DVD's with AVI's, MPEG's, etc. - I have tried it all, and it handled everything without any problems. Add the NTSC/PAL conversion capabilities to that (simple "7 8 9 OK 0" remote control hack with an open tray will make it "region free"), and you've got yourself one hell of a DVD player. "You have it, we play it" is the slogan of this player, and it is, indeed, true.
Design - I like the nice and sleek design of this DVD player. It's thin, and the nice matte silver color nicely compliments my Sony Wega TV that I connected it to.
Price - Just as I mentioned before, I bought this player for $50. I think it's well worth it, especially if you have a lot of "homemade" DVD's.
CONS:
Picture Quality - One word to describe it - Average... at best. My 5 year old Sampo produces a better picture using S-Video, and without Progressive Scan. Cyberhome is better too, when using component connection. I'm not even going to mention Oppo.
Support - One of the worst I have ever had to deal with. First of all, Philips website has very minimum information about this player, and not a word about firmware updates. I've tried to contact them by phone, but only wasted my time pressing buttons and holding for "available representative". I finally decided to send them an e-mail, but have yet to get a response back after two weeks of waiting period.
Summary:
If picture quality is what you are mostly looking for in your DVD player then this one is not for you (if you own or planning on buying an HDTV with DVI or HDMI inputs, then I strongly suggest you check out OPPO). On the other side, if you are not too picky about picture output, but do care about various format support, and don't want to spend too much money, then this player certainly makes a good choice.
98 of 102 people found the following review helpful
This is not the best DVD player ever for picture quality etc, but it is Region Free. It will play PAL discs to my NTSC TV. I got it as a Christmas Present and I immediately ordered Blake's 7 from Amazon.co.uk and it plays just fine. You can tell that it had been opened and adjusted, but it was put neatly back into the box and I have not had any problems with it. It also plays all my other Region 1 disks as well (including Region Code Enhanced disks) so if you aren't too particualar about the quality (which is not terrible) you could probably just use this player for all you DVD playing. For me it will do to play my non-region one discs, but I'll keep my Sony for Region 1 stuff. I am very pleased with this product.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
broke within less then a year
I only got to use this dvd player maybe 10 times total, before it mysteriously stopped working. No damage had occured, in fact it was practically brand new still when it just quit... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Auburn E. Monat
1.0 out of 5 stars
Junk
Bought it new, used it maybe five times and it failed. No play, no eject, no nothing. Apparently, this same failure mode happens to a lot of owners. Read more
Published 6 months ago by G. Cox
2.0 out of 5 stars
Loading then NO DISC
I've had mine for 6 years then it started saying Loading, then NO DISC around 5 years, it will now only play a DVD every 20-50 attempts!
Published 14 months ago by cathy
4.0 out of 5 stars
I real fix for a *great* simple cheap player
I loved this little player.
I bot it because
1) it would play mpge4 (XVID Divx) Avi files...
2) It was cheap.
It did those very well. Read more
I bot it because
1) it would play mpge4 (XVID Divx) Avi files...
2) It was cheap.
It did those very well. Read more
Published 19 months ago by eddie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Totally solid.
I've had this DVD player since 2005 and it's always worked perfectly since. I never had an issue or a problem at all and I use it all the freakin' time. Read more
Published 22 months ago by randy roswell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Verry Happy
The service the best
The player is on and working very good thank
James Wagner
The player is on and working very good thank
James Wagner
Published on March 25, 2011 by James wagner
3.0 out of 5 stars
FIX for blinking red light, plus BONUS: Region-Free code
This was a great player which, by entering a simple three-digit code* via the remote, was easily turned into a cheap Region-Free DVD player. Read more
Published on July 18, 2010 by Jason Kirkfield
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good progressive scan player
Good progressive scan DVD player. Only drawbacks I see are no HDMI output (have to use component) and no USB input.
Published on May 27, 2010 by K. Joyce
1.0 out of 5 stars
Garbage.
Same problem as many other reviews. Flashing power/standby light. I've treated this thing like gold and it craps out for no reason. Read more
Published on May 6, 2010 by Melody
2.0 out of 5 stars
Phillips DVD Player
This dvd player was very nice, played dvd, cd, mp3 and avi. Unfortunately it died after just 1 year of service, but for the price of under $50.00 it was worth buying.
Published on January 30, 2010 by William D. Schwartz
