JVC XV-S502SL Progressive-Scan DVD Player, Silver

Other products by JVC

Product Details

• Item Weight: 5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 9 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000065SP5
• Item model number: XV-S502SL
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,071 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 7, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Review
In the old days, only bottom-of-the-barrel DVD players came this cheap. DVD players have come a long way in a short time, though, and so have features. The slim, silvery XV-S502SL doesn't use much shelf space, but its benefits are huge: premium progressive-scan video outputs (for use with HD and HD-ready TVs), MP3 and JPEG disc compatibility, and a range of audio hookup and playback options. We found the XV-S502SL's slide-show feature one of its coolest. Be warned, though, that higher-resolution images take longer to load--up to 10 seconds on shots from a one-megapixel camera. But then, higher-resolution pics offer greater rewards when zooming: the unit takes you beyond 4x and 16x all the way to a blurry but amazing 1,024x. It also lets you reduce the image size to .125x.

A handy top-menu button zips you past the FBI warnings, previews, and other pre-menu annoyances written into many commercial DVDs. We were happy to be able to switch the audio format while playing (as from Dolby Digital to uncompressed PCM on a music video), an option some affordable players don't offer. The sound is great from the unit's 1-bit P.E.M. D.D. converter, which boasts 192 kHz/24-bit audio resolution. When playing an MP3 disc, the player displays the artists and song titles onscreen, simplifying navigation.

You get two digital-audio inputs (optical and coaxial), a stereo RCA analog output, and one each composite-video and S-video output. A set of component-video outputs feeds a DVD signal to a compatible TV. The unit comes with a remote control, two AA batteries, a user's manual, a component-video cable, a composite-video cable, and a stereo analog interconnect. --Michael Mikesell

Pros:

• Easy setup
• Fast disc operations (start-up, chapter advance, etc.)
• Pristine, progressive-scan video output
• Top Menu function a real time saver
• JPEG slide shows a nice option
• Remote control sits nicely in hand

Cons:

• Will not scan within MP3 tracks
• Cannot switch to/from progressive-scan from the remote

Product Description
The new JVC XV-S502SL introduces a new slim design for an "all-in-one" player that people are looking for. Not only does it play DVD and CD; it also plays the CD-R/RW recordable CD formats, SVCD, VCD, MP3 formats and Digital Stills (JPEG on CD-R/RW). Don't let the slim design fool you, the XV-S502SL is packed with many exciting features such as Digital Direct Progressive Scan, Multi-Brand remote, three theater positions, 3-D Phonic sound, variable and slow search, zoom, digest and strobe play, angle list and resume function. Optical and Coaxial digital audio outputs with Dolby Digital and DTS pass-through are provided for easy connection to any system. Plus JVC's exclusive AV Compulink.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For VCD/SVCD/MP3 enthusiasta, August 27, 2002

By A Customer

I purchased this specifically for its capability to play VCDs and SVCDs. It wasn't the cheapest player on the store shelf but it was the only one that specifically stated support for the above formats. The case is slim and elegant, almost delicate looking with its streamlined buttons and low key styling. It weighs almost nothing and while in operation doesn't even get slightly warm...a good sign that quality components are inside. The drive is quiet and spools up quickly and the remote is a joy to operate. As i also have a JVC television the small TV/DVD switch allows me to operate both devices. Video quality is outstanding and the onscreen menus are slick, attractive and intuitive. If you have never seen progressive scan output this will be an eye-opener, wow. This is one well-thought out DVD player. MP3 support is excellent with long filenames. It does not have shuffle or playlist features though, and JPEG picture view speed could be better. Picture loading is very slow but the output is excellent. One possible firmware bug I discovered is that the screen saver kicks in while watching a movie. I simply turned off that annoying feature and all was well. Other features include a stereo enhancer and Theatre Mode.
Support for VCD, SVCD, MP3, DVD is excellent. This sucker will play just about anything you put in the tray. It is not picky about CDR/CDRW media at all and even 200-pack generics work great. No need to waste your cash on expensive brand name media. The outputs include component video, S-Video and digital fiber optic audio option. Considering how wonderful the video is out of the plain RCA single port, The S-video or component out should be all that much better.

88 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This baby's got the goods - for an incredibly low price!, May 28, 2002

By	"allansko" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I'd heard a great deal of buzz about JVC's new XV-S60BK DVD player - much of it revolving around the low list price and the anticipation that it would deliver artifact-free progressive-scan images. Buzz aside, the player looked unassuming enough when I removed it from its box. The sleek front panel has only the most essential control buttons, plus an indicator that lights when the player is set to its progressive-scan mode.

The back panel is equally streamlined but has all the usual outputs. The component-video jack is switched to progressive mode by pressing the Progressive Scan button on the remote and holding it for a few seconds. In a new and very welcome trend that saves you quite a few bucks, JVC packages a set of component-video cables with the player.

The JVC's remote control felt substantial, with large buttons I could easily locate by touch in the dark. The controls you'll use most often are on the lower half. Directly above them are buttons for less used functions like picture zoom and shrink, Digest (displays a grid of images from each chapter on a DVD), and picture-quality presets. The remote can also be configured to control your TV.

Pressing the On Screen button near the bottom of the remote during playback shrinks the movie to a quarter-screen window and fills the rest of the screen with a control panel. Several functions can be accessed from this panel, including repeat modes, time and chapter search, and selection of soundtrack and subtitle language or camera angle. It also includes bar graphs indicating elapsed time and the disc's data-transfer rate. When you're playing a CD, a similar onscreen control window is available to set up repeat modes or program track order - if you don't mind turning on the TV.

The JVC's 2x fast-scan mode delivered smooth, fluid playback. Another neat feature is aspect ratio control, activated by selecting the 16:9 Normal setting in the setup menu. This will prove useful if you have a widescreen HDTV that locks into a 16:9 or "full" display mode when it receives a progressive-scan signal (a number of them do). Set to its 16:9 Normal mode, the JVC player formats standard 4:3 images so they'll appear on widescreen displays with correct geometry instead of being stretched out to fill the screen.

Like the Marantz changer, the JVC effortlessly sailed through my progressive-scan torture tests. Scenes with fine horizontal lines combined with moving cam erawork all came through without any artifacts. Colors, too, looked solid, with no combing visible in either the bright reds of Yellow Submarine or the catcher's orange chest protector in For the Love of the Game.

When I switched to another reference DVD, the Hitchcock classic North by Northwest, I thought at first that the JVC came up somewhat shy on picture detail. Checking the sharpness control in the player's Normal preset, however, I noted that it was a notch below maximum. Bumping it back up let me clearly see both the texture in Cary Grant's impeccably cut gray suit and the details in the intricate furnishings of James Mason's library. Setting sharpness to maximum added slight ringing artifacts to the lines in the resolution pattern of Ovation Software's Avia test DVD, but I didn't notice any with movies.

The JVC XV-S60BK is an all-around excellent progressive-scan player that's also very reasonably priced. Having finally gotten my hands on it, I can attest that it more than justifies the buzz.

Order yours now!

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best DVD-MP3 player to date (June 6, 2002), June 6, 2002

By	Thy Yem (Madison, AL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The previous review discusses about the picture quality. Here I adds on the MP3 part.

It is very hard to find (I can't find one) an MP3 player that is designed specifically for a home entertainment system. As a result, I look for a DVD player that can play the MP3 the best. I brought a CD-R MP3 disk to Best Buy and test every compatible DVD player there. I found that this JVC XVS500 is the best, mainly it allows you to play the whole disk or just a directory. You can navigate from directory to directory and also from song to song. However, the display on the DVD shows only the numerical order-no text. All text info are displayed on the TV monitor. The sound is very good.

Two things that make it 4 stars rather than 5:
1) To change from directory to directory, one must use the remote. It would be nice if the player also has bottons for this purpose.

2) The Display on the DVD is too bright and the font is not "pleasant" to the eyes.

Furthermore, if the directory name and song name are also shown on the DVD displayed, it would give it 6 stars.