Thankyou wharfedale (Wharfedale 750 DVD)

Member Name: Viscount

Product:	Wharfedale 750 DVD
Date:	18/05/01 (314 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superior sound, Crystal clear picture, Value for money

Disadvantages: Bulkier than some playersayers, Badly designed remote

I've had a wharfedale 750s for 5 months now and it is exceptional. Everything about it is practical and efficient, and any negative points are really quite insignificant.

The company itself is reknown for producing high quality audio equipment, and very few manufacturers have made such an impact with their first effort.

Picture-The picture quality is superb, watching in either PAL or NTSC formats. The colours are vivid, and it handles realistic fleshtones and detail with ease, as it does explosions and complex pyrotechnics. I watched Blade when I first got the player, and I was truly impressed at the crimson of the blood and the definition and detail in low light scenes.
The only drawback would be the quality when playing some region 1 DVDs. On certain titles the picture can be awkward, giving the impression it is missing out the occasional frame.

Sound-I have mine linked up to a Videologic Digitheatre, and it provides clear sound with good base definition. Having DTS and 5.1 is impressive, and watching films like Gladiator and Braveheart I felt as though there were scots and barbarians dying all around me. If you are considering getting a DVD player with 5.1 or DTS I would seriously recommend this player. The sound is split up precisly and accurately between the 6 channels, and although you need a seperate 5.1 decoder this is still excellent value.
Design-This would have to be the field where the player lets itself down. Whilst all of the relevant functions are clear and easily defined on the player itself, it is boxy, and the LCD display is basic and uninteresting. Worse still is the remote. Even though it is reasonably appealing to the eye, the buttons are badly spaced out. The menu buttons are situated right next to the film controls, meaning that it is all to easy to flick to the main menu when trying to pause in the dark. Very Irritating.

Functions-Amongst the different sound modes this player offers 3 levels o
f zoom, different camera angles (where available), 3D sound, a full audio options menu, 5 scanning speeds and a simple yet detailed running time menu.

Connections-The back of the machine is simply to use, with stereo output jacks, as well as the optical output for digital sound. The TV is connected predictably enough through a SCART socket.

Aftersales care-Not having experienced any problems with this player, nor knowing any one who owns one experiencing any either it is hard to say, although Tescos usually have a reasonably good after sales care service for their electronic products.

Compatibility-This player must have the easiest code for multi-region playability. Once changed it plays all foreign DVDs, despite BBC Watchdog claims that some will not. Even the newer American disks with RCE encoding such as Hollow Man played with no problems.

Value-For the facilties it has this is excellent value. Althought there are some cheaper products on the market, if you take into account the fact that the components that make up the player are taken from some much more expensive players, this is superb quality. Another satisfying advantage to this player was the distributer, Tescos. Knowing that only one retailer sells a product is reassuring as you know that there will be no problems with competitors undercutting the price a week after you have bought it.

Overall-Put aside the small design issues and sit back and enjoy the best DVD experience for under £200. Well done Wharfedale.

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