Total power with Alba 103 (Alba DVD 103)

Member Name: sshaikh

Product:	Alba DVD 103
Date:	05/06/01 (720 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: RCE, multi regional

Disadvantages: Not all movies, Power Button

I think the Alba 103 is a brilliant player. You might have some problems playing some movies like Dinosaurs. The reason for this is that the actual lens is not reading a certain track on the DVD rom. This player is one of the cheapest on the market and does come as standard a Multi-region player. (WICKED :-)

The actual remote control has several functions that you would see on higher priced player. These include, Zoom, Scan, Digest, chapter selection, and slow motion to name just a few. The fast forward and rewind search of a film is very smooth with a Multi-speed option allowing up to 8x the speed of the standard search facilities.

You can also play standard VCD’s and audio CD’s as well, which is a great, as it becomes a standalone entertainment system. The Alba 103 does come with a choice of digital out, these are provided through two options, Coaxial and fibre optic cables. I have connected my system up to a digital amp and the sound is great, with audio playback, which matches the quality of the new 5.1 DTS surround digital sound system that has replaced Dolby surround sound.

There is an option on the player which allows you to play RCE films, this stands for Region Coding Enhanced. This is the new coding protection that has been implemented on DVD movies, and it means that you will need a little hack to play it. The only bad thing about the unit is the power button. You have to get up to switch the unit off, which is a pain, as Alba have not supplied a standby facility.

Overall a great player which I would recommend. There is a newer version coming out, the Alba 104, which I can't wait to see. Hopefully it will match and surpass its predecessor.

Summary: