In House Review - Lite-On PhoMaster LVD-2001 DVD & Plus

[cfitz]

well hackers, get to work. The "firmware flash" .nrg (nero image file) that you can download is just a linux boot disc that can flash the LVD-2001.

Ah! Indeed it is... Excellent. No doubt it is just a matter of time before the right person figures out the right bits to twiddle. Thanks Boone.

cfitz

[eliminator]

woot - no DVI output !??

No sir. Component Video Out only. DVI's only for something that would need HDCP anyway.

Well, DVI is the ultimate hookup ( kinda like LCD monitors ) and Samsung's got one DVI DVD player out already in the US.

[NeilPeart]

Eliminator,
This is a $200 item that is intended for geeks who want a "do-it-all-device," not audio/videophiles. A quality connector such as that would be wasted on an item like this, since its internal components would be the quality bottleneck, rather than the interface itself. Besides, a true movie/audio buff would buy a quality DVD player, a quality CD player and possibly this device if only for the purpose of watching divx files. Most mid-fi DVD players hover around $600, while mid-fi CD players reside around $400. Again, a quality interface on the LVD-2001 would be limited by its low-quality internal components so the high-end DVI interface would be wasted. However, this interface will fit quite nicely on the next-gen Denon/Yamaha hi-fi DVD players ($1,500 - $3,000). Even with a high-end TV ($5000+) and high-end interconnects ($500 for 2meters), seasoned audio/videophiles would be hard-pressed to find a distinction between DVI and Component video (some purists may even claim that the digital interface of DVI will hinder the performance as opposed to the component interface...). Audiophiles are nuts.

[eliminator]

maybe you're right

[NeilPeart]

Got it.

[aybesea]

A quick question about this unit, please. I notice in the specs that it says it is NTSC/PAL compatible. I live in the US and have an NTSC television. Does this mean that:

1) If I play a region free PAL DVD in this unit, will it display properly on my NTSC TV?

2) If I play a PAL SVCD in this unit, will it display properly on my NTSC TV?

Thank you.

[hk_traveller]

According to Lite-On, the LVD-2001 will have a suggested retail price of about $199.

The LVR-1001 will be about $399.

PC Club price is $140.

http://www.pcclub.com/product_detail.cf ... o=A1546967

[EatMoreChicken]

Has anyone tried a DivX or VCD movie burned with HD burn w/ this player?

[Ian]

PC Club has the LVD-2001 for preorder for $139.99

http://www.pcclub.com/product_detail.cf ... o=A1546967

[Dartman]

I have odered one from PC Club and MAYBE I'll get it friday. They said they have 2 coming to my local store and 4 people have pre ordered including me. I ordered it over the phone about 2 weeks ago so I'm hoping I'm in the early line that gets the 1 of first 2 otherwise it's mid August. I kinda figured this would happen But maybe friday will be
They sold the first one they got 5 minutes after it arrived to a fellow in New York who I think is also reviewing it on other sites for us.

[Pastuch]

I enjoyed the LVD 2001 review. I really liked how the reviewer took the time to test the different DivX standards...

I still have a few questions:

1. I know that the Xvid codec is an evolutionary piece of software similar to DivX. Did the author of this article only test one revision of the Xvid codec?

2. I have roughly 300 Divx movies in my collection thus far and I am having difficulty identifying exactly which ones are DivX version 3.11. Could someone please suggest a program that identifies exactly which codec a movie is ripped in?

EDIT: Download Ace MEGA Codec Pack: It contains a large library of Codecs, ASPI drivers, and Divx apps in one installation file. It contains an app called "AVIcodec" which can identify the different codec revisions. It allows you to load entire directories which is a huge time-saver.

3. I noticed in the article that the reviewer mentioned a possibility for firmware upgrades. How would one update the firmware of a player that is not connected to a computer? Do you burn the firmware update to CD or memory card in order to update the LVD 2001?

[Pastuch]

I just looked through about 80 gigabytes of movies and HALF of the files I viewed were encoded with DivX 3.11 Low Motion. I have to say that this is very discouraging.

How long would it take to re-incode 1.4 Gigabytes of Divx 3.11 to Divx 5?
(Athlon XP 2000, 768 DDR)

It still seems like a massive waste of CDs... To re-burn half my collection would take weeks of work!

[raven70]

I just got the LVD-2001 tonight. I am having a problem with S-Video output only playing in black and white.

My setup is:

I use a Sony STR-DE945 Audio/Video Receiver
My Sony TV has inputs for both S-Video and CVBS (RCA) Video

My current Sony DVD player is going to the Sony receiver with both S-Video and RCA, and I have NO problem switching the TV between RCA and S-Video.

Tried the same setup with Lite-on, and get grainy S-Video color when RCA AND S-Video connected at same time (playing on S-Video channel on TV).

If I disconnect the RCA video, S-Video goes to Black and White (not grainy, but crystal clear).

Thinking there was some sort of Macrovision issue going through receiver, I connected the Lite-on directly to the TV S-Video with NO RCA input. Same Black and White picture.

Tried a different S-Video cable, thinking it might be my cable. No change.

Flashed to 0227 firmware. No change.

Very strange outcome when I turn receiver off and have S-video directly to TV, and RCA video to receiver. However, I disconnect the RCA from the receiver to the TV. There is NO RCA video connection to TV! Same grainy color. Not black and white. This is strange since receiver does not pass through signals unless turned on. Possibly a short in Lite-on?

It appears that I only get color when the RCA video from the lite-on is plugged in. Has to be plugged into the Lite on and "something" else to make color in S-video. However, it works even when the circuit (RCA) is broken. Just needs to be plugged in. I hate the thought of sending it back. Seems to work great otherwise.

Only other thing I noticed was that RCA video seems "block" with more digital artifacts than S-Video. Kind of like bad satalite reception.

Anybody have any thoughts?

BTW, after all this I tried (for kicks) disabing macrovision through the secret menu, and no luck there either. A real bummer.

[Dartman]

Hit the P SCAN button till it displays proper color for you. I had the same problem and it starts out in normal composite out ntsc and cycles through all the varios modes till it hits the s-video ntsc or whatever your standard is, including several PAL modes and 3 HD modes. It display each on the front panel display as it cycles so even if your screen goes blank you can tell what mode it's in.

[raven70]

Thanks for the help. Figured it out actually, but there is nothing (except for one picture in the manual that says P-Scan button on the remote. No description. The problem was that it was off so-little, that one would think that it was working, but that the player was messing up. Thanks again.

[flylow]

I have been waiting for Newegg to get these in stock and they finally did. I just ordered (09/03/2003) a Lite On LVD-2001 from newegg for $139 including 3 day shipping. They have the LVR-1001 in stock too.

http://www.newegg.com/app/Viewproduct.a ... chFor=2001

Newegg.com does not ship internationally.

[Inertia]

im new to the whole progressive scan, 3:4 pull down

what does that pull down thing mean?

hoxlund meant to reference 3:2 pulldown (not 3:4). This question is in reference to the LVD-2001 Video Specifications and has still not been answered. Liteon describes the feature as "480p Progressive Scan Video Output with 3-2 Pulldown Recovery".

3:2 pulldown is a term used when motion picture film frames are converted to interlaced TV (video) frames. Film plays at 24 frames/sec, and TV plays at 30 frames/sec for NTSC (USA, Japan, Mexico, etc). The conversion involves allocating two fields from alternate film frames to create an extra video frame, effectively transforming the playback from 24 frames to 30 frames/sec. The process by which this is accomplished is explained at What is the difference between interlaced and progressive video?

A non-interlaced progressive scan effectively doubles the number of lines on the screen compared to an interlaced picture and enhances viewing clarity. Computer monitors use progressive scan, and special progressive scan TV monitors can be purchased such as the Apex GB4308 43" Screen 480P Progressive Scan TV.

Most DVD movies have not been NTSC interlaced, so they should play back through a progressive scan monitor without conversion. However, a number of DVD movies that were originally on film have been converted to an interlaced format with the "3:2 Pulldown" scheme. My take on the Liteon specification is that the LVD-2001 converts the interlaced DVDs back to the progressive film format.

Telecine is a term used to explain a process by which frames are added to increase the film frame rate to a TV frame rate . Inverse telecine (IVTC) is a process which reverses this conversion and returns the original frame rate, which is 24 frames/sec.. I would take Liteon's "480p Progressive Scan Video Output with 3-2 Pulldown Recovery" as an inverse telecine type conversion to allow DVDs which were converted to 30 frames/sec. interlaced format to be reconverted and recovered at 24 frames/sec. progressive scan film frame rates.

[burticus]

has anyone played a good quality divx movie on one of these? how does it look / sound? I know divx does a lot of post encoding visual tweaking to help the output image, I just wonder what it's like without it.

anyone know if it'll support divx with ac3 audio using the digital output (5.1)?

I have a htpc with a HD transcoder going to my big screen hdtv and it looks fab... but it was a lot of work to get it set up... and it still baffles my wife sometimes when she wants to watch a divx movie. this might make things easier on her... and it sounds like this is a must have for my bedroom.

DAMN if this thing had an ethernet jack on the back to stream mp3 from the server it would be the shiz-nit.