Cheap yet functional (Logix DVD 3300)

Member Name: competition.man

Product:	Logix DVD 3300
Date:	24/04/03 (1032 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Low cost, multi-regional

Disadvantages: poor quality remote control

For years VCR's have lived in harmony with your TV and self , allowing us to stray from the daily monotony of TV programming , to escape within the plot of a good film or two . Not only that , video's make many a good bribe where kid's are concerned .

In latter years , the advent of DVD has occured , and is set to eventually take over as the prime accompaniment to the humble TV - that is when DVD-R is available at a reasonable price.

Initially prices for DVD's were to say the least astronomical , however as more units are sold , films are produced on the DVD format , so prices become lower , so low infact that it is quite easy for you to now pick up a budget DVD for as little as £50.00 .

With prices now reasonable just a few months ago , I decided the time was right to purchase a DVD as an accompaniment to the video and TV . I eventually plumped for the Logix 3300d model , which was included in a bundle package including 10 free DVD titles , at an unbelievable cost of £99 from Tesco's Extra. Now just five months on , Safeway are selling this very model , complete with 10 free films on three DVD's , for the givaway price of £49.99 ( less than the cost of a cheap VCR ).

~0~ The pro's of DVD : ~0~

1) Superb quality sound and vision
2) Can also double as a CD player
3) Movies more than often include extra footage / features
4) Depending on model purchased , DVD's offer choices of things such as viewing angle , scene selection etc.

~0~ The con's of DVD ~0~

1) Standard models do not offer recording facilities
2) Often region specific thus unable to play any old DVD
3) Will not allow for video backup ( copying ) due to a thing called macrovision.
4) DVD titles are on average £3-5 dearer than their video counterpart ( yet are cheaper / quicker to reproduce ) .
5) Older video titles are not available on DVD format.

~0~ The Logix 3300d DVD
~0~

1) Appearance :

Slender silver lean machine , with centrally located loading tray , underneath which you find the display window , and above which you find a large red LED which is illuminated when in use and gives the machine that UFO appearance.
Front panel manual buttons allow for : on/off ; tray open/close ; stop button ; playback/ pause ; chapter/track skip button.
On the rear you find the output connectors , which on this model are : S-video out ; analogue audio/video out ; digital audion out ; Scart audio/video out .

In use , unless your TV has s-video input , or your VCR has twin scart sockets , then this DVD ( as many do ) , requires direct connection to your TV via a scart socket .

2) The remote control :

A comprehensive colour matching unit than sadly is found to be very flimsy with poor fitting battery cover ( a thing common to almost every remote out there - just think , how many remotes in your household have no battery cover ! ) .
It however feels tacky and at certain angles is not recognised by the DVD unit .
Sadly you need the remote to access the main features of the DVD , such as zoom , mute , setup etc.

3) Advanced controls / features (DVD ) :

Fast forward/reverse speeds of 2* , 4* , 8* , 16* , 32* , 64*

Slow motion replay for/rev of , 0.5* , 0.25* , 0.125* , single frame

Chapter / track/ frame start postion .

Chapter repeat / title repeat / repeat off / specified selection repeat function

Language selection ( where present ) / subtitles on/off

Zoom : 1.5* , 2* , 4*, off

Angle : ( available where DVD disks have allowed this ) .

Book marking ( go back to a DVD from where it was last left )

3D surround sound effects ( requires stereo tv or audio )

Mute at source

CD / MPEG 3 / VDV / DVD compliant / acceptable.

~0~ Setting up etc. ~0~

Very simple 10 minute thing
, made easier by the easy to read and comprehend manual .

The DVD comes with the standard 1 year guarantee , and is made by LG . For those who do encounter problems ( my daughter did with her LG model DVD ) , the helpline number supplied , connects you with the LG service centre ( national call rates ) , and their service / advice was found to be second to none ( solved her problem in a few minutes ) .

This DVD is set to region 2 ( Europe ) . It can however be set to any of the other regions or even multi-regional by following the following instructions :

1) Turn on DVD and open tray.
2) Press <setup> on your remote and goto the Setup menu
3) Highlight Custom ( last option )
4) Type 3333 which brings up a secret menu
5) Press <enter> then use arrow keys on remote to highlight your regional code choice ( 0 = multi region )
6) Press <enter> ( to confirm )
7) Press SETUP

~0~ In Use ~0~

While not all functions have been used or are required , the DVD has played impecably for the last five months , and the unit is very quiet in operation , and is an ideal first purchase .
Okay , it hasn't all the facilities of the top of the range models , but lets be honest would most of us use them anyway ?

Well recommended .

Summary: