A multi-region player at under £100? (Proline 1000 DVD)

Member Name: craigy_baby_2000

Product:	Proline 1000 DVD
Date:	14/01/02 (131 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Excellent quality, Easy to use

Disadvantages: Unknown brand name, Bulky

About a year ago, after earning my first ever wage packet from work and wanting to spend it as soon as possible, I was looking around on the ‘net at various things I could buy. I thought about acquiring a Mini-Disc player, although they seemed a bit too expensive, and I also dabbled with the idea of a new VCR (my current one makes a noise not unlike that of an exploding hedgehog every time you try and insert a tape) but in the end I decided on a DVD player.

DVD (Digital Versatile Disc, like a CD, but only with more data on it and used for watching films, and for playing games, not listening to music (yet!)) has grown massively over the past 2 years – so much so that it has changed from a relatively unknown area of entertainment to a hugely well-developed and extremely popular area of entertainment, so much so that it now makes up 40% of the films that are bought on the market (a number which is on the increase all the time). Part of the attraction to DVD is the new and fascinating technology, although the picture quality and the surprisingly low price also contribute to consumers embracing the new form of home entertainment.

So was my need to have one of these machines of my very own. Whilst searching around on the net on various price comparison sites, to discover the best possible price and machine my money could get me, I came across the Proline 1000 DVD Player. It was at, what I considered to be an unbelievable price (around £80), which led me to be slightly dubious about the quality of the machine, although I now know I needn’t have worried. One of the things about DVD players, I have since discovered, is that generally you are only paying for either the brand name (such as Sony, Sharp etc.) or the design, functions and ease-of-use of the player. The actual quality of picture doesn’t vary that much at all.

The thing that made this particular model stand out to me was not only the price, but also the number o
f functions it had. I honestly couldn’t believe it when I saw that the DVD player not only played Region 2 DVDs, but Region 1 as well, meaning that not only DVDs that had been bought in this country could be played on the machine, but also any from America and Japan. Unbelievable. As well as this, it not only had the option of changing angles mid-way through scenes, instant menu access and a subtitles button, which means that you can turn subtitles on/off mid-way through a movie, but it also came with a very fetching palm-size remote, complete with batteries.

The machine itself is not altogether that attractive – though unique in the sense that it is the only player that I have seen on the market to be gold in colour, as opposed to silver, grey or black. It has quite sharp edges, and the size of the thing is massive, at least twice as big as some other models I have seen on the market. The front has a number of pretty standard buttons on it, such as play, pause, open/close and power, and it also has a display telling you what scene you are on, as well as how far into that scene you are in minutes and seconds, although annoyingly, not how far into the movie you are as with some other players.

The installation takes seconds, literally – once it has been loaded out of its dull but well-packaged box, it can simply be plugged into the nearest available socket, the SCART lead put into the TV, and you’re away. Simple, quick and excellent, especially if you’re someone like me who the second they get anything, they’re desperate to try it out. It’s also very durable, providing you don’t drop it as I nearly did, and as long as you treat it correctly, it should last you, well, perhaps not a lifetime, but certainly long enough to see you build up your collection sufficiently.

The picture quality is faultless, and the machine is incredibly easy to use, even if you are a first time DVD user. The instruct
ions are full of detail and very easy to follow, but unfortunately don't tell you how to switch from one region to another. To find that, you have to look on the internet or at the manufacturer's site. It’s the design of the player and the unknown brand which reduce the cost – great for the consumer, although it does add a definite ‘oo-er’ factor as to whether it will be reliable and be of a high quality.

For value for money and features alone, this DVD player deserves 5-stars in my opinion. It’s easy to use, isn’t overpriced and would make a great Christmas or birthday present, if not buying one for yourself. The only problem with it is the size of the thing - you need quite a space to fit it in, it is after all, the size of your average VHS machine, whereas most DVD players are smaller than this. I would thoroughly recommend this machine, though – don’t be put off by the price or the name, trust me – it’s reliable and will deliver. Well worth a look.

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