Introduction
The DVX-6600 is the latest multi-format DVD player from Yamada. Unlike most conventional DVD players, this player is capable of playing DVDs, VCDs, DivX, XviD, MPG, MP3, WMA and JPG, which is quite an impressive list.
Yamada DVX-6600
Specifications
Items included
Features
The DVX-6600 is actually a multi-region DVD player, and had no trouble playing Region 1 DVDs. The wide ranging media formats supported (especially DivX and MP3) will also be of great interest to users, but will no doubt very much annoy frustrated movie distribution chains and recording companies.
The rear of the unit features plenty of audio and video connections, allowing the DVD player to be connected to almost any setup. Even an optical output is included for audiophiles, which isn't a common feature on DVD players in this price range.
Rear Connections
Upon turning the DVD player on, the user is presented with a Yamada background, and is then able to play a media disc or navigate the setup menu. The overall GUI of the software could easily be improved, as there are several tweaks that could greatly enhance the usability and appearance.
Main Background
The setup menus include detailed configuration options for the DVD player and it's associated media formats. Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness, TV display ratio and plenty of other options can be tweaked.
Setup Menu
The Yamada's GUI was quite impressive; all the setup menus were easy to navigate when trying to find specific options. One problem I did find with the player was the character limit in the "file manager" when playing a non DVD-Disk (the file manager allows you to browse directories and play media files located on a CD/DVD which has been created from a PC).
The remote control included with the DVD player is bulky and generic, which is a shame as the main unit looks far better. All of the normal buttons you would expect are on the handset, but the product would have benefited from a better design.
Normal DVD playback is faultless, and quality is on a par with any DVD player within a similar price range. Jogging between chapters and tracks is very responsive. All of the usual features such as "zoom", "pan" etc... are accessible from the remote control, and work as expected. The only interesting thing about normal DVD playback is that this DVD player is actually Multi-Region. Although this is a bit of a "grey area", it means disks from the US and other non European countries can be played on the UK player without any region hacks. Most DVD players are capable of this, but require a few key presses to "unlock" the capability.
After burning a selection of XviD and DivX files to various CDR media, the Yamada DVX-6000 managed to play them all, handling the varying bit-rates from each piece of encoded media. Although low-bit rate files did not approach DVD quality on the unit, this is to be expected and they look exactly the same as on a PC. Once the bit rate approached 1500kbps, the quality certainly rivaled DVD media in most circumstances. The quality will, of course, not be as quite as crisp as a DVD, and would not normally have sound quality that could rival that of the DVD (with the appropriate speaker setup).
The main reason that playing DivX files is so appealing is that you can store the same length of video (at a comparable quality) on a normal CDR. This means you could directly encode files from a digital camera, and record over an hours worth of film onto a single CDR. If you happen to have a DVD player, you could record around 4-10 hours of video on a single disk using this method. Plenty of free encoders are available to let you convert from any video format into DivX/XviD. A new firmware update for older players even allows subtitles on non-DVD video formats via the usage of a ".srt" file.
The player does not play the Microsoft high compression video system, called WMV, but it does play MP3/WMA/JPG/Kodak CD files, which quite a lot of DVD players now offer. If you happen to have a good speaker system attached to your TV, this will be a nice little addition. However, if you have standard "built-in" speakers, it would be worth sticking to a Hi-Fi.
Conclusion
The overall compatibility of the player was excellent. This was one of the most important factors considering the huge bitrate, resolution and encoding types available. Every media type attempted played back without a problem, but VCD Rookie have a very comprehensive list of all the media formats they attempted.
If you need to play DivX/XviD files on your TV, then this DVD player is certainly a good option. There are plenty of features, and the unit doesn't cost any more than a standard DVD player; the only concern would be reliability in the long run. With a faulty unit as the first review sample, things didn't look good, but the second unit worked flawlessly.
The unit looks good, performs well but reliability might be an issue. Although, at a retail price of around £50 it is about half the cost of a similar specification Pioneer/Philips player.
The DVX-6600 is the latest multi-format DVD player from Yamada. Unlike most conventional DVD players, this player is capable of playing DVDs, VCDs, DivX, XviD, MPG, MP3, WMA and JPG, which is quite an impressive list.
Yamada DVX-6600
The Yamada looks very sleek, and features a mirrored front panel with a slimline disk tray in the centre. All of the supported media formats are labelled on the front of the DVD player, with an array of control buttons on the top of the unit.
Specifications
- Supported Formats : CD-Audio, CD-Video, S-Video, MP3-CD, MP3-DVD, JPEG-CD, JPEG-DVD, MPEG 1, MPEG 2, MPEG 4, XviD, MP3, WMA, PCM
- Global Motion Compensation
- Quarter Pixel Compensation
- Dolby Digital / DTS
- Built in Dolby Digital 5.1 Decoder
- Dimensions : 45 x 450 x 250 mm
The supported list of media formats does not extend do WMV recording, which is a small drawback, but the advantageous DivX and MP3 playback are supported. The unit provides Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding as well as extensive audio outputs, ensuring that any audio setup would be achievable.
A large bonus to DVX-6600 users is the ability to update the firmware to add extra functionality, and protect against newly discovered bugs. Recent firmware updates have added features such as subtitle support for AVI files.
Included Items
- Yamada DVX-6600 Player
- Remote Control
- 2 x AAA Batteries
- Manual
- Audio and Video Cables (RCA)
Items included
Features
The DVX-6600 is actually a multi-region DVD player, and had no trouble playing Region 1 DVDs. The wide ranging media formats supported (especially DivX and MP3) will also be of great interest to users, but will no doubt very much annoy frustrated movie distribution chains and recording companies.
The rear of the unit features plenty of audio and video connections, allowing the DVD player to be connected to almost any setup. Even an optical output is included for audiophiles, which isn't a common feature on DVD players in this price range.
Rear Connections
Upon turning the DVD player on, the user is presented with a Yamada background, and is then able to play a media disc or navigate the setup menu. The overall GUI of the software could easily be improved, as there are several tweaks that could greatly enhance the usability and appearance.
Main Background
The setup menus include detailed configuration options for the DVD player and it's associated media formats. Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness, TV display ratio and plenty of other options can be tweaked.
Setup Menu
The Yamada's GUI was quite impressive; all the setup menus were easy to navigate when trying to find specific options. One problem I did find with the player was the character limit in the "file manager" when playing a non DVD-Disk (the file manager allows you to browse directories and play media files located on a CD/DVD which has been created from a PC).
The remote control included with the DVD player is bulky and generic, which is a shame as the main unit looks far better. All of the normal buttons you would expect are on the handset, but the product would have benefited from a better design.
Performance
Unfortunately, the original review sample DVD player that Yamada sent for review was faulty: The DVD player lost sound during DivX playback and skipped tracks during DVD playback, making Gandalf’s early return in "The Two Towers" very confusing! Thankfully, the second review unit sent had none of these earlier faults.
Normal DVD playback is faultless, and quality is on a par with any DVD player within a similar price range. Jogging between chapters and tracks is very responsive. All of the usual features such as "zoom", "pan" etc... are accessible from the remote control, and work as expected. The only interesting thing about normal DVD playback is that this DVD player is actually Multi-Region. Although this is a bit of a "grey area", it means disks from the US and other non European countries can be played on the UK player without any region hacks. Most DVD players are capable of this, but require a few key presses to "unlock" the capability.
After burning a selection of XviD and DivX files to various CDR media, the Yamada DVX-6000 managed to play them all, handling the varying bit-rates from each piece of encoded media. Although low-bit rate files did not approach DVD quality on the unit, this is to be expected and they look exactly the same as on a PC. Once the bit rate approached 1500kbps, the quality certainly rivaled DVD media in most circumstances. The quality will, of course, not be as quite as crisp as a DVD, and would not normally have sound quality that could rival that of the DVD (with the appropriate speaker setup).
The main reason that playing DivX files is so appealing is that you can store the same length of video (at a comparable quality) on a normal CDR. This means you could directly encode files from a digital camera, and record over an hours worth of film onto a single CDR. If you happen to have a DVD player, you could record around 4-10 hours of video on a single disk using this method. Plenty of free encoders are available to let you convert from any video format into DivX/XviD. A new firmware update for older players even allows subtitles on non-DVD video formats via the usage of a ".srt" file.
The player does not play the Microsoft high compression video system, called WMV, but it does play MP3/WMA/JPG/Kodak CD files, which quite a lot of DVD players now offer. If you happen to have a good speaker system attached to your TV, this will be a nice little addition. However, if you have standard "built-in" speakers, it would be worth sticking to a Hi-Fi.
Conclusion
The overall compatibility of the player was excellent. This was one of the most important factors considering the huge bitrate, resolution and encoding types available. Every media type attempted played back without a problem, but VCD Rookie have a very comprehensive list of all the media formats they attempted.
If you need to play DivX/XviD files on your TV, then this DVD player is certainly a good option. There are plenty of features, and the unit doesn't cost any more than a standard DVD player; the only concern would be reliability in the long run. With a faulty unit as the first review sample, things didn't look good, but the second unit worked flawlessly.
The unit looks good, performs well but reliability might be an issue. Although, at a retail price of around £50 it is about half the cost of a similar specification Pioneer/Philips player.
