Despite Onkyo’s decision to take the plunge into the untested waters, by manufacturing Blu-ray players, the company still continues to deliver one quality upscaling DVD player after another. The DV-SP406 DVD Player is a true reflection of that and encompasses almost all the important criteria that you desire from a quality player. Moreover, the price tag of the product is kept at a reasonable level, making it all the more alluring.

The one feature that has made a difference is the1080p upscaling feature, which will especially come in handy for those movie buffs that are not yet ready to make the transformation to Blu-ray, but otherwise have hi-def TVs and projectors. Apart from the upscaling feature, the Onkyo DV-SP406 DVD player has many other contemporary features that will keep you interested. You will especially take heart at the multimedia playback capability of the unit as it supports almost all the popular formats including (DVD+RW/+R, DVD-RW/-R, CD, CD-R/-RW and Video CDs). The icing on the cake appears to be the ability of the player to spin DVD-RW discs recorded in the Video Recording (VR) format. It is not all though as you can enjoy various formats like MP3, WMA, DivX and JPEG files.

The aesthetically build unit, displays a USB port on the front panel making it easy on you part to play the above mentioned media formats. The operation of the device is also ridiculously simple. Important connectivity of the player includes an HDMI, component and composite outputs, plus a SCART socket that offers RGB output.

Panasonic has recently come with the SCHT840 home cinema system, which happens to be a follow-up of the company’s remarkably successful model the SCHT880. The one thing that will immediately strike you is its outrageous beauty that looks both modern and unconventional at the same time. The unit is actually quite minimalist as far as the range of features is concerned and it is all about performance.

The system supported by an 800W RMS amplifier delivers quite a dramatic audio performance, and delightfully enough supports a wide array of media formats that include DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3/WMA, SVCD, VCD, JPEG, HDCD, and High Mat. Moreover, customary formats such as Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby ProLogic II are also taken care of. However, an aspect that should impress you the most is that it includes a full PAL-compatible progressive scan feature that plays a crucial role in ensuring that picture quality is top rate, with a great deal of detail and vivacity.

Adding to the list of achievements is the presence of numerous input and output options adorning the deck, which can easily rival high-end models like the Panasonic SC-PT460EB. The SCHT840 starts with an S-Video and RGB Scart video output, which comprehensively augments the image quality; it also has a phono audio out and digital optical audio out for recording sound or routing it to another device. The icing on the cake is that it is one of those rare models that support not only S-Video in but also RGB Scart in which entrusts an unprecedented amount of flexibility at your disposal.

The Philips HTS6100 Soundbar Home Cinema System, the latest offering from the company’s HT series, is significant in the sense that it is specially designed to be compatible with 37inch TVs; unlike its cousin the HTS8140, which was intended for 42 inch TVs. To start with, the unit lacks some of the features that were available in the HTS8140, the most notable being the Faroudja DCDi video processing, in addition to an integrated iPod dock. The reason for this is simply because it is a budget player and has therefore done away with some of the less critical and essential features.

Despite missing on these two important features, as the title indicates, the best part of the system is the inclusion of soundbars, the company’s indigenous production, which are by far the best looking on the market. Aesthetics is another synonym of the Philips HTS6100 as it is jealously stylish, with the translucent panel on the front being the most riveting. You will, however, miss the touch screen controls functions which were an integral part of the earlier model, as they are replaced by a row of small silver buttons on top.

Connectivity of the Philips unit is another solid aspect as you are provided with comprehensive input and output options. Sockets are there on both the soundbar unit and subwoofer. The soundbar, in addition, plays host to an HDMI output that is capable of providing a continuous series of upscaled images, usually 1080p, 1080i, 720p and 576p or 480p, to a competent TV set. Moreover, it’s ably supported by an RGB-capable SCART output and component video output, in addition to a stereo audio input that usually comes into play when playing external sources through the system.

Playback compatibility is also a colorful one as it competently dishes out a wide range of formats including DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, Video CD, Super Video CD and CD-R/-RW. More importantly, the unit also supports DivX Ultra), MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP3, WMA and JPEG files making it a true live wire. There is however no support for AAC, just like its big brother.

A player that has been creating a lot of buzz and has captivated the imagination of movie enthusiasts is the Aiwa XD-DV370KN. The unit starts to impress you from the word go with its impressive design and easily fits into TV/VCR or Hi-fi set-ups, with colour being the only real consideration.

The access time of the unit is dependent on the disc type, and plays CDR, CDRW, MP3, VCD, along with the trademark DVD discs. An aspect that may bother you is that it takes a considerably long time to load an MP3 disc, depending upon the disc structure and track content. Moreover, you might even encounter noise while the player skips to and fro reading the TOC.

Noise levels are however, nonexistent when the disc is played, irrespective of formats, and scene selection and access track is also pleasantly quiet. The on-screen GUI menus, which to an extent are identical to those offered by LG units, such as the LG DVX-392H, are easy and quick to navigate and comprises of all the contemporary options. The unit’s audio output feature unit is a colourful one and possesses all the modern requirements ranging from PCM to Bitstream. The video output features, on the other hand, include 4:3, 4:3 Pan and Scan, and 16:9 wide.

Connectivity wise you will have very little to complain as it consists of 1x SCART, which is RGB, Composite and S-video. Then, Coaxial and optical connectors are there as well that will especially help those with DTS and Digital amps. The remote of the unit however lacks in imagination, especially its insipid design. It is however, quite functional and well laid out.

The JVC XV-N 652 DVD Player as the name suggests comes from JVC, the world renowned company in the electronic market sector for the last few decades. The company has an immaculate record when it comes to customer satisfaction and its latest product has all the traits of maintaining that impressive quality.

The unit in essence is a DivX DVD Player, and its main strength lies in its ability to play a number of formats ranging from CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, VCD and SVCD. You will however, rue the absence of a CD cum DVD changer and as a result will feel handicapped as you won’t have the option to surf between movies. Another one of the JVC XV-XN 656’s notable features is its progressive scan technique, a technology that is in great demand among movie buffs. Further, the unit also has an excellent surround system which is supported by the versatile Dolby digital DTS technology. While delivering audio effects, it uses MP3 playback format and WMA playback without MP3 recording facility. You can even enjoy super video CD and video CD playback capabilities via the unit.

The picture quality is another fascinating aspect of the unit, especially with JPEG. There are however a few other notable omissions like having a built in hard drive, TV tuner or a VCR, apart from a SD card and Multimedia card.

Denon in the form of the DVD-557 has unearthed a real gem that is giving the big wigs a run for their money. Making light of the fact that it is all but an entry-level player, it delivers an outstanding performance that leaves you spell bound. What is even more impressive is that it is available at an excellent price making it great value for money.

To start with, the HDMI feature is capable of up-converting standard 480i images apart from 480p DVD images to an impressive 720p and 1,080i resolutions. Moreover, there is also a progressive scan feature supporting the HDMI, with the result being image quality that is rich in texture, clarity and accurate colours. You should however, guard yourself against living under the illusion that the up-conversion would add extra details that are not found in the original DVD. The connotation being that it is not your typical HD DVD or Blu-ray players, such as the Sony BDP-S550, which are capable of high-definition playback. The DVD-557 also comes equipped with a 2MB buffer which ensures you a distraction free video and audio during transitions and layer shifts.

Apart from the DVD-Video compatibility, the unit supports DVD-R/RW and VCD, in addition to audio CD, CD-R/RW and discs holding MP3 and WMA digital audio files and JPEG images. Another lovely aspect of the unit is that, you can take advantage of the easy-to-use onscreen menu system which displays both artist and track titles for quick navigation. You can even enjoy slideshows in it by loading it with a disc containing JPEG images. Furthermore, the unit offers a solid network of playback functions, including random play, disc resume play, apart from an intuitive zoom facility that can enlarge a selected area of the picture by 2X or 4X.

This latest offer from Hitachi in the field of home cinema system has turned out to be quite an eventful one. The reason behind the unit, the Hitachi AX-M140, generating such a level of drama and excitement is that the unit for one resembles a regular hi-fi system. Then, the fearsome array of features adorning it, most of them high-end, acts as a magnet pulling you towards it all the time. The icing on the cake however turns out to be the ability of the system to play DVD movies and pump out MP3 tracks from a built-in hard drive. These features come in addition with the ability of the unit to play CDs and has a built in digital FM tuner.

These features are not only for decorative purpose or to just rake up the number of features as the Hitachi AX-M140 delivers quite a devilish performance on the DVD side. The playback is simply superb with no undue disturbances. Party goers would also love the surround sound feature of the unit which creates quite a party atmosphere once it is switched on.

Apart from the DVD feature on the AX-M140, it also has a built-in hard drive MP3 player that can store around 10,000 tracks. Moreover, it has a USB port that can be used to transfer tunes from a PC or portable hard drive. You can even connect an iPod to the unit and play songs directly from its music collection.

You will however, feel the heat when it comes to controlling the whole set up. Hitachi’s unimaginative menu navigation and frighteningly small two-line display option for the MP3 player leaves you begging for a magnifying glass!

One thing that has been a hallmark of LG is its persistent use of progressive technology in the various models coming out of its ranks. LG has also managed to stay in front as far as technological expertise and innovation are concerned. Its latest offering, the LST-3510A HDTV receiver, recreates all the magic associated with LG and delivers a stunning performance. It’s also impressive how the unit has kept up with changing times and accordingly incorporated a number of modern technologies that customers will find irresistible.

One of the unit’s vital differences from other similar high-end models is that, despite having the ability to upgrade the video quality to high-definition levels, it is remarkably easy to operate. Moreover, it efficiently merges your DTV reception and your DVD viewing with one compact box that plays an important role in improving the image quality of your DVDs.

The ability of the unit to literally accept all ATSC signals, irrespective of their format, is another of its versatile aspects and it allows you to enjoy over-the-air HD viewing. There is a QAM tuner for unscrambled HDTV cable reception, and a built-in DVD player with an enhanced scaler as well; apart from a 1080i DVD output which optimises the image quality received from the DVD and DTV on an HD-ready TV like the Sony KDL-52W4500. That is not all though, as it is endowed with the ability to handle other digital media, too, particularly homemade MP3 and WMA music CDs to discs full of digital JPEG photos.

A gracious connectivity option means that you have little difficulty in indulging with this amazing gadget. All the popular connections including one output each for RF, composite-video, component-video (HD, SD), S-video, RGB (HD), and DVI that are a craze of the moment are delightfully present.

Cambridge Audio has come up with its latest innovative product, called Fusion, that has been designed to meet the demands of the next generation digital entertainment addicts. It not only offers hi-fi audio equipment but also has iPod dock.

The Fusion has been loaded with lots of features and options. It hosts variety of interfaces and thus you can use it with most other types of electrical equipment. The Fusion also features a 2.1 amplifier delivering 30W per channel, a sophisticated CD player and a DAB/FM tuner. Its front-mounted USB, line-in and SD card connections offer you the flexibility of storing and using digital media in different formats via different sources. For instance, its integrated CD player supports LPCM CDs as well as MP3 and WMA encoded discs. The additional iPod dock adds to the versatility of the Fusion. However, it has not been optimised for use with the Apple iPhone yet. Apart from this, the Fusion has got DAB/FM with 20 presets, RDS support and a two line LCD display.

Cambridge Audio Fusion attractions:

• CD player supporting LPCM CDs, MP3 and WMA encoded discs
• iPod dock
• Powered by X-bass technology
• USB/SD card connections
• DAB (band III and L band)/FM tuner with RDS
• 2.1 subwoofer
• Two line LCD display

As the latest addition to Sony’s ES range, the DVP-NS 9100 DVD player is an elegant looking model that offers competitive performance and innovative extras. Along with its attractive appearance, the Sony DVP-NS9100ES DVD Player also includes some very advanced features.

As an HDMI enabled device, the DVP-NS 9100 offers a great platform for connecting the video of your choice. This ability is further enhanced with the progressive scan options that allow you to deal with various resources. Compatible with MP3s, CDs and JPEGs, the player also produces high-quality images with vibrant colours. Unfortunately, you cannot play your DIVXs and WMAs with the high-quality device as it does not support them; even though low-end players like the Sony DVP-NS 38 do. But the 9100ES does permit you to scale the images up to 1080i/720p, in order to achieve a rich and vibrant picture quality.

The other specifications of the admirable DVD player comprise a 5.1 photo output, two 1RGB scarts, a composite video output, as well as the digital audio and electrical optical options. The S-video output and two link ports round up the player’s connection portfolio. As a result, the system assures adequate connectivity while transferring the SACD’s DSD signals.

All in all, the DVP-NS 9100 DVD player is a pretty good system for fulfilling your audio/video requirements at all times.