V-Inc: Bravo D1 DVD Player with DVI output, Scaling to 720p & 1080i for $199 plus Ship

[Apex]

I just got one in today and it works great. It's the first DVI out DVD player in this price range, and the only one that can scale to 720p & 1080i.

Mpeg-4 compatible. Plays DivX 3.11 and above AVI's. NTSC & PAL. Kodak Picture CD (JPEG). MP3 compatible. SVCD, VCD 1.0 & 2.0.

Coax & Optical digital output. Two stereo outputs.

Composite & S-Video output.

Component can scale too, but I believe only non-CSS DVD disks. I haven't tried it yet. DVI seems to be able to scale everything, even to non-HDCP capable DVI inputs.

Chipset used is the Sigma Designs EM8500.

http://www.vinc.us/product_bravo_d1.htm

Here's a few picts of mine. The 35' fiber optic DVD cable in the first picture, not included.


http://www.gotapex.com/images/apex/theater/bravod1_front.jpg

http://www.gotapex.com/images/apex/theater/bravod1_rear.jpg

Comes with an absolutely horrid remote. 2 day FedEx shipping for me was a few cents cheaper than 3 day ($10.35 vs $10.80).

There was a review in this month's Sound & Vision magazine. How credible they are, you can decide for yourself.

http://www.vinc.us/compinfo_s&v.htm

I tried it outputting from the DVI to my Dell 2000fp (20.1" LCD monitor). The quality was excellent. I'm trying it on my projector later (Proxima DP8000 with HDCP capable DVI input).

I'm not sure if it's a pure digital path like the $21,000 Goldmund Eidos 38D at this point, or if it goes through a D-A-D like the $6500 Tag Mclaren DVD32FLR (or DVD32R) + PSM192. Quality for a <$200 piece though, is very very good.

 

[smartt]

In case anybody missed this post back in April. It's a US DVD player that plays Divx and comes with DVI, component, s-video out. I got one ordered just for the Divx compatibility. The first in the US that I know of. When it comes in I'll let you know if I had any problems playing Divx movies, but the AVSforum has had people review it in that capacity and it seems to do it's job very well.

If you own a HDTV with a DVI port or want to play Divx on your TV instead of PC, it's a must have. Well, unless you have a PC attached to your TV. Which I do to my WEGA in my family room, but not my main HDTV in the living room. I've been waiting for one of these for a while!.

 

[Wag]

They say component output is pretty poor.