Hdtv Dvd Player

We reviewed the original Bravo D1 DVD player back in August of last year. At that time, we appreciated the image quality when connected to an HDTV with DVI input, but found it lacking ergonomically and thought it offered poor analog output quality.

Bravo recently sent us their latest DVD player with DVI, the D2. We've spent quite a few hours with it now. It's much improved, though still not without warts. We put the updated Bravo through its paces, and found more to like this time around.

The D2 uses the same Sigma Designs EM8500 decoder chip used in the original D1. However, it's apparent from our viewing with component video that the D2's analog quality has been beefed up substantially. It's still not quite as good as the Pioneer DV-563A.

The real reason to get the D2 is for its DVI output. Driven by a Silicon Image DVI decoder, the D2's output over DVI is simply gorgeous. We ran a variety of movies through the unit, and found the image quality impressive. The D2 can upscale 480i DVD content to 480p, 720p or 1080i. We watched movies and TV series DVDs in several extended viewing sessions on our Samsung 50-inch DLP rear projection TV.

One thing we immediately checked for was the presence of the notorious chroma upsampling bug. This bug results in a smeared image in certain instances (the opening menu to the Toy Story collection being one). The output from DVI was clean. We thought we saw a bit of smearing when viewing through analog component video, but it didn't jump out at you. This is the one area where the Bravo actually outperforms the Pioneer DV-563A we used for comparison.

But you shouldn't buy this for the analog video. You want it for DVI output, and we have no complaints. The D1 performed spectacularly well at 720p and 1080i.

Bravo dubs the D2 a "Digital Media Player." The array of supported formats is displayed on the front bezel.

The presence of "Superbit DVD" seems odd, since Superbit DVDs adhere to the normal DVD standard, and simply offer lower compression rates. Curiously missing are the Dolby Digital and DTS logos, though we did eventually locate the Dolby logo on the back panel. Of course, if you're passing digital through the coax output on the back, then your receiver will take care of the decoding chores anyway.

The back panel I/O is pretty typical, except for the addition of the DVI port.

The unit offers both coax and TOSLINK digital audio outputs, as well as stereo audio. However, the unit lacks support for SACD or DVD-A multichannel.

We popped in CDs with various formats, and even a DVD+R disc. MP3 files played back as expected, and you can use the Bravo to view picture files in JPEG format. Unfortunately, no support currently exists for Windows Media files (audio or video). However, the Bravo D3 is slated to ship late summer, and will support WMA (both compressed and lossless), WMV, and WMV-HD.

The remote control supplied with the D2 is vastly improved over the D1 remote. It's not actively backlit, but does faintly glow in the dark. It's also large (but light), and logically laid out. The only significant downside is that the most often used transport controls are arrayed at the bottom, and are quite tiny.

A button labeled "TV Mode" at the top lets you switch between different display modes, including component and DVI. Standby and tray open buttons are also present, which makes life a little easier.

Onscreen setup is straightforward, and somewhat minimalist. Curiously, you can choose between 480p, 720p and 1080i when using component video – but you can only actually watch DVD content at 480p. In DVI mode, all resolutions are available. Switching between menu modes is a tad slow, too.

V Inc. is pricing the D2 at $249, direct. That's cheaper than the equivalent Samsung 931. However, our Pioneer DV-563A can be found for under $200. True, it lacks DVI output, but does support DVD-A and SACD playback – and its analog output quality is quite good, aside from a touch of the chroma bug.

But the real competition for the D2 is the announced, but not-yet-shipping D3. That offers support for Windows Media 9 and HighMAT, which will allow you to play back WMV-HD movies – true high definition off standard DVD discs. The library of titles is still limited, however, so it's not a big lack. We like the idea of WMA lossless playback, though.

Finally, an array of HDMI-equipped DVD players is starting to arrive on the scene, though you'll either need a HDMI-DVI adapter or HDMI-equipped HDTV to use those. Most of those will likely not offer the scaling capability of the Bravo, however.

So like the original D1, the D2 is really a one trick pony. But this time around, it's a much more polished entertainer, although it's overshadowed by products yet to arrive. But if you have an HDTV with DVI interface, you'll get terrific image quality at a relatively low cost.

Product Bravo D2 DVD Player with DVI output Web Site: www.vinc.us Pros: Superb image quality through DVI; improved analog image quality over the original D1; excellent remote. Cons: No DVD-A or SACD multichannel audio support; analog output still not quite as good as comparable analog-only players. Summary: At $249, the Bravo D2 offers excellent image quality through its DVI port, and won't break the bank. But it may be overshadowed by other products shipping later this year. Price: $249 direct Score:

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in ExtremeTech.

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