Yamaha, fundamentally known to be in audio business, has also ventured into the area of video and Is spinning out impressive lineage In this domain as well.
First look
People familiar to Yamaha AV receivers won't find anything fresh In the DVD-S663. While being at par with players from most of the other manufacturers available in the market, the Yamaha player packs a bit of that exclusive Yamaha aesthetic value as well. The sleek all-titan finish with the three tuning forks and Yamaha written in silver really gives It a classy look. Though made for modern-day homes (with rounded corners) it won't be a mismatch to any traditional styled interior setting as well. On the contrary, with its robust silver stands it will just as effortlessly blend into such a setting.
Technical aspects
As already mentioned, on the technological aspect, the S663 may not offer anything exceptional by any means. Nonetheless, Yamaha has made sure that they pack the player with all the prototypical features that one would expect — and more importantly, make It equally easy for the end user to use. It comes with a 1080p compatible HDMI output for both video and audio. So if you still haven't invested in a Blu-ray player and yet would want to get a feel of the HD world (up conversion), then the S663 can surely help you with that.
Next, on the connectivity front, apart from the HDMI. the S663 houses all the conventional options like the component, S-video and composite video out accompanied by a stereo video out. Yes, It does not have a 5.1 analogue audio out, which leaves you with no option but to use it with a receiver If you want to enjoy surround sound. On the other hand, It does come with a USB port, which has become a standard for all the DVD players. And it really does make your life very convenient as you don't have to bother making CDs and DVDs for you can just dump your favorites on the USB drive, plug it in and enjoy. The S663 is also compatible with DivX video and DivX Ultra* video formats along with MP3 and WMA for audio and JPEG for Image playback. As far as reading discs is concerned, the S663 can deal with: DVD-Video, Audio CD, Video CD (VCD). Super Video CD (SVCD), DVD-RW/- R/-R DL, DVD-RW/-R VR with CPRM, DVD+RW/+R/+R DL and CD-R/RW.
Another interesting feature is the two viewing modes that can be selected for optimum viewing on widescreen monitors via HDMI — the Super wide mode helps minimize distortion with a 4:3 picture by non-linear stretching wherein the centre position of screen Is stretched relatively less than the sides of a 16:9 screen. This way, the view modes help the player reproduce a more sensible picture instead of most of the other players which just end up stretching the picture abruptly.
Remote control convenience
Using the remote for the S663 won't be any different than using a mobile phone — It's almost of the size of one. The small size makes it really handy wherein all the buttons are within your reach. Although the remote does not have any backlight, you don't have many buttons to play with other than some very important ones (like in this remote) which make it perceptive and easier.
Viewing experience of S663 DVD player from Yamaha
It is an up scaling DVD player that can upgrade a standard 480p video from a DVD to HD quality 1080p signal. It performs excellently in all sections from resolution to sharpness. While playing 'Harry Potter And The Order of Phoenix'. for Its black tones throughout the movie; as when it comes to up scaling, it's the content in the blacks that are most difficult to reproduce for most of the players. Also, in due course most of the players end up adding a lot of noise during the up scaling process. But the Yamaha was really doing very well on this front. The up scaled images were adequately smoothened and had no trace of digital noise added on to the image, resulting in crisp and clean image. Although the S663 moved through the scenes like butter, it did throw up minor judder issues, especially during the long panning scenes. On the other hand, one very good feature of the player was its ability to reproduce realistic colors with no excess saturation and a very balanced temperature.
Bottom Line
Consumers may well be aware that at this price-tag. you may opt for a Blu-ray player instead. Yamaha S663 does not give you a lot of goodies at the heavy price-tag of 16k. At the same time, it performs fairly well at what It's supposed to do — it balances out with its accurate up scaling, without adding any noise by itself and improving the overall Image quality and also packs in a lot of style and persona on the aesthetics aspect.
