Yamaha Reviews

[Big C]

I would like to take this opertunity to review some underrated multi-format DVD players which all feature the MediaTek MT1389EE chipset.

[Big C]

DVD-S657 Single-Disc Stand-Alone DVD Player

Ever since I discovered this player in the summer of 2005, I have been highly impressed with how much it met both my normal and oddball demands. As a student of Musical Theatre, Opera, Classical vocal and choral literature, and Jazz and Classical piano, DVD-AUDIO and SACD capabilities are of great importance to me because there are a lot of titles especially in the Classical genre available in these formats. One thing that sets this player apart from the other manufacturers' players is Yamaha's CD UpSampling feature. For those titles which are currently only available on CD and possibly will never be released on DVD-AUDIO and/or SACD, this option converts standard CDs to the quality of DVD-AUDIO. On the Musical Theatre, Opera, and choral side of things, this player is capable of playing both NTSC (North American) and PAL (European) DVDs on corresponding as well as opposite TVs. For certain titles in these genres, the North American editions are either four percent slower in tempo and picture movement and flatter in pitch than the European editions due to the method of PAL-to-NTSC conversion used by the distributors of such DVDs, or do not include as many bonus features as their original European counterparts. Sometimes, it can be the other way around, except the European editions might be four percent faster and sharper and have less bonus material than their original North American counterparts. On both ends of the spectrum, if the audio pitch is corrected without changing the audio speed to keep the picture and sound in synch, a subaudible breaking-up effect may be noticed as the result of slight artifacts from slightly bending or stretching the pitch in the conversion process. However, because of this player's bicompatibility with both color systems, I have the freedom to choose and purchase whatever editions are the best. Although it is not in the manual, this player can be made multi-region compatible including RCE DVDs. Turn on the DVD player. Make sure there are no discs loaded. With the tray open, using its supplied remote control, slowly press 99990. Wait for the 'Region 0' message to disappear. Close the tray. Now you can play any kind of optical disc without thinking about it. In conclusion, if you are looking for a DVD player with one hundred percent compatibility all across the board, you have come to the right place!* *Others have reported problems playing 'Dual Discs'--a type of disc which includes DVD-VIDEO on one side or layer, and CD DIGITAL AUDIO on another, also known as 'Hybrids.' However, big names, such as Panasonic, Sony, and Pioneer, do not recommend using these discs in their players. This is not to be confused with 'Hybrid' type SACDs, which many, including the Yamaha DVDS657 will support.

[Big C]

DV-C6760 Five-Disc Stand-Alone DVD Changer

Ever since I discovered this player in the summer of 2005, I have been highly impressed with how much it met both my normal and oddball demands. As a student of Musical Theatre, Opera, Classical vocal and choral literature, and Jazz and Classical piano, SACD capability is of great importance to me because there are a lot of titles especially in the Classical genre available in this format. One thing that sets this player apart from the other manufacturers' players is Yamaha's CD UpSampling feature. For those titles which are currently only available on CD and possibly will never be released on DVD-AUDIO and/or SACD, this option converts standard CDs to the quality of DVD-AUDIO. On the Musical Theatre, Opera, and choral side of things, this player is capable of playing both NTSC (North American) and PAL (European) DVDs on corresponding as well as opposite TVs. For certain titles in these genres, the North American editions are either four percent slower in tempo and picture movement and flatter in pitch than the European editions due to the method of PAL-to-NTSC conversion used by the distributors of such DVDs, or do not include as many bonus features as their original European counterparts. Sometimes, it can be the other way around, except the European editions might be four percent faster and sharper and have less bonus material than their original North American counterparts. On both ends of the spectrum, if the audio pitch is corrected without changing the audio speed to keep the picture and sound in synch, a subaudible breaking-up effect may be noticed as the result of slight artifacts from slightly bending or stretching the pitch in the conversion process. However, because of this player's bicompatibility with both color systems, I have the freedom to choose and purchase whatever editions are the best. Although it is not in the manual, this player can be made multi-region compatible including RCE DVDs. Turn on the DVD player. Make sure there are no discs loaded. With the tray open, using its supplied remote control, slowly press 99990. Wait for the 'Region 0' message to disappear. Close the tray. Now you can play any kind of optical disc without thinking about it. In conclusion, if you are looking for a DVD player with wide compatibility, you have come to the right place!

[Big C]

DVD-C750 Five-Disc Stand-Alone DVD Changer

Ever since I discovered this player in the summer of 2005, I have been highly impressed with how much it met both my normal and oddball demands. As a student of Musical Theatre, Opera, Classical vocal and choral literature, and Jazz and Classical piano, DVD-AUDIO and SACD capabilities are of great importance to me because there are a lot of titles especially in the Classical genre available in these formats. One thing that sets this player apart from the other manufacturers' players is Yamaha's CD UpSampling feature. For those titles which are currently only available on CD and possibly will never be released on DVD-AUDIO and/or SACD, this option converts standard CDs to the quality of DVD-AUDIO. On the Musical Theatre, Opera, and choral side of things, this player is capable of playing both NTSC (North American) and PAL (European) DVDs on corresponding as well as opposite TVs. For certain titles in these genres, the North American editions are either four percent slower in tempo and picture movement and flatter in pitch than the European editions due to the method of PAL-to-NTSC conversion used by the distributors of such DVDs, or do not include as many bonus features as their original European counterparts. Sometimes, it can be the other way around, except the European editions might be four percent faster and sharper and have less bonus material than their original North American counterparts. On both ends of the spectrum, if the audio pitch is corrected without changing the audio speed to keep the picture and sound in synch, a subaudible breaking-up effect may be noticed as the result of slight artifacts from slightly bending or stretching the pitch in the conversion process. However, because of this player's bicompatibility with both color systems, I have the freedom to choose and purchase whatever editions are the best. Although it is not in the manual, this player can be made multi-region compatible including RCE DVDs. Turn on the DVD player. Make sure there are no discs loaded. With the tray open, using its supplied remote control, slowly press 99990. Wait for the 'Region 0' message to disappear. Close the tray. Now you can play any kind of optical disc without thinking about it. The only little flaw with this player's firmware is that when the 'All Discs' repeat mode is selected, when playing DVDs, after playing through all the titles, instead of moving on to the next disc, it returns to the home menu. If Yamaha could do a minor revision to the firmware which engages that same menu bipass as when repeating a single DVD, the machine would change DVDs automatically. I discovered this by reauthoring DVDs without any of their menus using DVD Shrink Version 3.2. In conclusion, if you are looking for a DVD player with one hundred percent compatibility all across the board, you have come to the right place!* In fact, I currently use one of these in my bedroom, and by the spring or summer of 2006, I plan on either going the separate component route and getting another one for my livingroom, or more than likely, getting its integrated home cinema counterpart, the Yamaha DVX-C700 because of how great Yamaha's DVD technology is. *Others have reported problems playing 'Dual Discs'--a type of disc which includes DVD-VIDEO on one side or layer, and CD DIGITAL AUDIO on another, also known as 'Hybrids.' However, big names, such as Panasonic, Sony, and Pioneer, do not recommend using these discs in their players. This is not to be confused with 'Hybrid' type SACDs, which many, including the Yamaha DVDC750 will support.

[Big C]

DV-C6770 Five-Disc Stand-Alone DVD Changer

Ever since I discovered this player in the summer of 2005, I have been highly impressed with how much it met both my normal and oddball demands. As a student of Musical Theatre, Opera, Classical vocal and choral literature, and Jazz and Classical piano, DVD-AUDIO and SACD capabilities are of great importance to me because there are a lot of titles especially in the Classical genre available in these formats. One thing that sets this player apart from the other manufacturers' players is Yamaha's CD UpSampling feature. For those titles which are currently only available on CD and possibly will never be released on DVD-AUDIO and/or SACD, this option converts standard CDs to the quality of DVD-AUDIO. On the Musical Theatre, Opera, and choral side of things, this player is capable of playing both NTSC (North American) and PAL (European) DVDs on corresponding as well as opposite TVs. For certain titles in these genres, the North American editions are either four percent slower in tempo and picture movement and flatter in pitch than the European editions due to the method of PAL-to-NTSC conversion used by the distributors of such DVDs, or do not include as many bonus features as their original European counterparts. Sometimes, it can be the other way around, except the European editions might be four percent faster and sharper and have less bonus material than their original North American counterparts. On both ends of the spectrum, if the audio pitch is corrected without changing the audio speed to keep the picture and sound in synch, a subaudible breaking-up effect may be noticed as the result of slight artifacts from slightly bending or stretching the pitch in the conversion process. However, because of this player's bicompatibility with both color systems, I have the freedom to choose and purchase whatever editions are the best. Although it is not in the manual, this player can be made multi-region compatible including RCE DVDs. Turn on the DVD player. Make sure there are no discs loaded. With the tray open, using its supplied remote control, slowly press 99990. Wait for the 'Region 0' message to disappear. Close the tray. Now you can play any kind of optical disc without thinking about it. The only little flaw with this player's firmware is that when the 'All Discs' repeat mode is selected, when playing DVDs, after playing through all the titles, instead of moving on to the next disc, it returns to the home menu. If Yamaha could do a minor revision to the firmware which engages that same menu bipass as when repeating a single DVD, the machine would change DVDs automatically. I discovered this by reauthoring DVDs without any of their menus using DVD Shrink Version 3.2. In conclusion, if you are looking for a DVD player with one hundred percent compatibility all across the board, you have come to the right place!* In fact, I currently use one of these in my bedroom, and by the spring or summer of 2006, I plan on either going the separate component route and getting another one for my livingroom, or more than likely, getting its integrated home cinema counterpart, the Yamaha DVX-C700 because of how great Yamaha's DVD technology is. *Others have reported problems playing 'Dual Discs'--a type of disc which includes DVD-VIDEO on one side or layer, and CD DIGITAL AUDIO on another, also known as 'Hybrids.' However, big names, such as Panasonic, Sony, and Pioneer, do not recommend using these discs in their players. This is not to be confused with 'Hybrid' type SACDs, which many, including the Yamaha DVC6770 will support.

[Big C]

DVX-C300 Five-Disc Home Cinema System

Ever since I discovered this system, I have been highly impressed with how much it met both my normal and oddball demands. As a student of Musical Theatre, Opera, Classical vocal and choral literature, and Jazz and Classical piano, DVD-AUDIO and SACD capabilities are of great importance to me because there are a lot of titles especially in the Classical genre available in these formats. One thing that sets this system apart from the other manufacturers' systems is Yamaha's CD UpSampling feature. For those titles which are currently only available on CD and possibly will never be released on DVD-AUDIO and/or SACD, this option converts standard CDs to the quality of DVD-AUDIO. On the Musical Theatre, Opera, and choral side of things, this system is capable of playing both NTSC (North American) and PAL (European) DVDs on corresponding as well as opposite TVs. For certain titles in these genres, the North American editions are either four percent slower in tempo and picture movement and flatter in pitch than the European editions due to the method of PAL-to-NTSC conversion used by the distributors of such DVDs, or do not include as many bonus features as their original European counterparts. Sometimes, it can be the other way around, except the European editions might be four percent faster and sharper and have less bonus material than their original North American counterparts. On both ends of the spectrum, if the audio pitch is corrected without changing the audio speed to keep the picture and sound in synch, a subaudible breaking-up effect may be noticed as the result of slight artifacts from slightly bending or stretching the pitch in the conversion process. However, because of this system's bicompatibility with both color systems, I have the freedom to choose and purchase whatever editions are the best. Although it is not in the manual, this player can be made multi-region compatible including RCE DVDs. Turn on the DVD player. Make sure there are no discs loaded. With the tray open, using its supplied remote control, slowly press 99990. Wait for the 'Region 0' message to disappear. Close the tray. Now you can play any kind of optical disc without thinking about it. Normally, I would recommend the DVX-C700 home cinema system over this one because its speakers are a sonic improvement over the ones included with this package. However, if your space is limited and you need to place the front channel speakers directly along side your TV, then this system is the perfect solution. Also, if you are looking for a home cinema system with one hundred percent compatibility all across the board, you have come to the right place!* *Others have reported problems playing 'Dual Discs'--a type of disc which includes DVD-VIDEO on one side or layer, and CD DIGITAL AUDIO on another, also known as 'Hybrids.' However, big names, such as Panasonic, Sony, and Pioneer, do not recommend using these discs in their players. This is not to be confused with 'Hybrid' type SACDs, which many, including the Yamaha DVX-C300 will support.

[Big C]

DVX-C700 Five-Disc Home Cinema System

Ever since I discovered this system, I have been highly impressed with how much it met both my normal and oddball demands. As a student of Musical Theatre, Opera, Classical vocal and choral literature, and Jazz and Classical piano, DVD-AUDIO and SACD capabilities are of great importance to me because there are a lot of titles especially in the Classical genre available in these formats. One thing that sets this system apart from the other manufacturers' systems is Yamaha's CD UpSampling feature. For those titles which are currently only available on CD and possibly will never be released on DVD-AUDIO and/or SACD, this option converts standard CDs to the quality of DVD-AUDIO. On the Musical Theatre, Opera, and choral side of things, this system is capable of playing both NTSC (North American) and PAL (European) DVDs on corresponding as well as opposite TVs. For certain titles in these genres, the North American editions are either four percent slower in tempo and picture movement and flatter in pitch than the European editions due to the method of PAL-to-NTSC conversion used by the distributors of such DVDs, or do not include as many bonus features as their original European counterparts. Sometimes, it can be the other way around, except the European editions might be four percent faster and sharper and have less bonus material than their original North American counterparts. On both ends of the spectrum, if the audio pitch is corrected without changing the audio speed to keep the picture and sound in synch, a subaudible breaking-up effect may be noticed as the result of slight artifacts from slightly bending or stretching the pitch in the conversion process. However, because of this system's bicompatibility with both color systems, I have the freedom to choose and purchase whatever editions are the best. Although it is not in the manual, this player can be made multi-region compatible including RCE DVDs. Turn on the DVD player. Make sure there are no discs loaded. With the tray open, using its supplied remote control, slowly press 99990. Wait for the 'Region 0' message to disappear. Close the tray. Now you can play any kind of optical disc without thinking about it. If you are looking for a home cinema system with one hundred percent compatibility all across the board, you have come to the right place!* *Others have reported problems playing 'Dual Discs'--a type of disc which includes DVD-VIDEO on one side or layer, and CD DIGITAL AUDIO on another, also known as 'Hybrids.' However, big names, such as Panasonic, Sony, and Pioneer, do not recommend using these discs in their players. This is not to be confused with 'Hybrid' type SACDs, which many, including the Yamaha DVX-C700 will support.

[Big C]

DVD-S550 Single-Disc Stand-Alone DVD Player

Ever since I discovered this player in the summer of 2005, I have been highly impressed with how much it met both my normal and oddball demands. As a student of Musical Theatre, Opera, Classical vocal and choral literature, and Jazz and Classical piano, 192 KHZ, 24-bit digital-to-analog conversion is of great importance to me. One thing that sets this player apart from the other manufacturers' players is Yamaha's CD UpSampling feature. For those titles which are currently only available on CD and possibly will never be released on DVD-AUDIO and/or SACD, this option converts standard CDs to the quality of DVD-AUDIO. On the Musical Theatre, Opera, and choral side of things, this player is capable of playing both NTSC (North American) and PAL (European) DVDs on corresponding as well as opposite TVs. For certain titles in these genres, the North American editions are either four percent slower in tempo and picture movement and flatter in pitch than the European editions due to the method of PAL-to-NTSC conversion used by the distributors of such DVDs, or do not include as many bonus features as their original European counterparts. Sometimes, it can be the other way around, except the European editions might be four percent faster and sharper and have less bonus material than their original North American counterparts. On both ends of the spectrum, if the audio pitch is corrected without changing the audio speed to keep the picture and sound in synch, a subaudible breaking-up effect may be noticed as the result of slight artifacts from slightly bending or stretching the pitch in the conversion process. However, because of this player's bicompatibility with both color systems, I have the freedom to choose and purchase whatever editions are the best. Although it is not in the manual, this player can be made multi-region compatible including RCE DVDs. Turn on the DVD player. Make sure there are no discs loaded. With the tray open, using its supplied remote control, slowly press 99990. Wait for the 'Region 0' message to disappear. Close the tray. In conclusion, if you are looking for a DVD player with wide video compatibility, you have come to the right place!

[Big C]

DVD-C950 5-Disc Stand-Alone DVD Changer with HDMI Output

Ever since I discovered this player in the summer of 2005, I have been highly impressed with how much it met both my normal and oddball demands. As a student of Musical Theatre, Opera, Classical vocal and choral literature, and Jazz and Classical piano, DVD-AUDIO and SACD capabilities are of great importance to me because there are a lot of titles especially in the Classical genre available in these formats. One thing that sets this player apart from the other manufacturers' players is Yamaha's CD UpSampling feature. For those titles which are currently only available on CD and possibly will never be released on DVD-AUDIO and/or SACD, this option converts standard CDs to the quality of DVD-AUDIO. On the Musical Theatre, Opera, and choral side of things, this player is capable of playing both NTSC (North American) and PAL (European) DVDs on corresponding as well as opposite TVs. For certain titles in these genres, the North American editions are either four percent slower in tempo and picture movement and flatter in pitch than the European editions due to the method of PAL-to-NTSC conversion used by the distributors of such DVDs, or do not include as many bonus features as their original European counterparts. Sometimes, it can be the other way around, except the European editions might be four percent faster and sharper and have less bonus material than their original North American counterparts. On both ends of the spectrum, if the audio pitch is corrected without changing the audio speed to keep the picture and sound in synch, a subaudible breaking-up effect may be noticed as the result of slight artifacts from slightly bending or stretching the pitch in the conversion process. However, because of this player's bicompatibility with both color systems, I have the freedom to choose and purchase whatever editions are the best. Although it is not in the manual, this player can be made multi-region compatible including RCE DVDs. Turn on the DVD player. Make sure there are no discs loaded. With the tray open, using its supplied remote control, slowly press 99990. Wait for the 'Region 0' message to disappear. Close the tray. Now you can play any kind of optical disc without thinking about it. The only little flaw with this player's firmware is that when the 'All Discs' repeat mode is selected, when playing DVDs, after playing through all the titles, instead of moving on to the next disc, it returns to the home menu. If Yamaha could do a minor revision to the firmware which engages that same menu bipass as when repeating a single DVD, the machine would change DVDs automatically. I discovered this by reauthoring DVDs without any of their menus using DVD Shrink Version 3.2. In conclusion, if you are looking for a DVD player with one hundred percent compatibility all across the board, you have come to the right place!* In fact, I currently use one of these in my bedroom, and by the spring or summer of 2006, I plan on either going the separate component route and getting another one for my livingroom, or more than likely, getting its integrated home cinema counterpart, the Yamaha DVX-C700 because of how great Yamaha's DVD technology is. *Others have reported problems playing 'Dual Discs'--a type of disc which includes DVD-VIDEO on one side or layer, and CD DIGITAL AUDIO on another, also known as 'Hybrids.' However, big names, such as Panasonic, Sony, and Pioneer, do not recommend using these discs in their players. This is not to be confused with 'Hybrid' type SACDs, which many, including the Yamaha DVDC950 will support.