Intex Entry level R-220 DVD player / stereo speaker review

First look
The R-220 looks more like the control panel of a spaceship with its super-sleek body and a volume knob at the dead centre of the front panel that has been given a neat crater to sit In. The silver streaked front panel combined with the rest of the black player keeps the entire look edgier than most of the other plain looking DVD players out there in this range. However, you might have a hard time convincing the wife about putting this in the living room, as it does cater more to your teenage kid's bedroom. As for the speakers, they come looking a lot like mini-system speakers with a depth that's more than the height and the width put together to improve on bass response. The same silver cutting through black theme perpetuates with these speakers.


Technological aspects
The R-220 plays pretty much everything you'd wish to spin inside of It excluding Blu-ray. With the help of the USB port on the front panel, you can slip a pen drive into it to view your DivX movies or even JPEG and MP3s. The disc tray is sturdy enough for this price range and you cannot expect more than that. The rear panel, however, lacks a very important port: HDMI.


In this ripened hi-definition age, it makes it very hard for a salesman to pitch a DVD player or even a television for that matter, that doesn't come equipped with HDMI. Because everyone, from the upper-class businessman to the lower-middle class government employee, has become educated on what HDMI brings to home-entertainment. So it could've been a major plus point on the R-220.

The knob on the front is for volume as mentioned earlier, and even though the remote control comes bearing volume buttons, It doesn't control this external knob but rather control the internal volume of the DVD player. The best thing to do is keep the knob on maximum and control everything via the remote, which is of course if you intend on using the two 15-watt speakers the player comes boxed with.

Remote control convenience
Besides a surprising florescent green splashed on the navigation keys on this plastic remote, there's nothing special here. The remote does its job If you're positioned in line with the player, pointing it at the IR sensor on the front panel. If not, you'll have to move the remote around to get the player's attention, like it's permanently in a state of low batteries.

Viewing experience of R-220 DVD player
It will take a while longer to set up this player due to the HDMI deficiency, as you have to hook up the video using component cables.
You will have two speakers set up on both sides of the player, and when you power up the player you will be hit by the brightest blue light emanating from the front panel of the R-220! As if a flood light had been fitted in there to highlight the disc tray and the volume knob.
While viewing movies, the skin tones and color management is satisfactory, although there will be a good amount of Jitter during the rapid scenes. As for the sound, you may have to stop the speakers as they will shrill even at low volumes; furthermore, there is absolutely no amount of bass or low-mid response, only mids and highs. Better use any other siund system you may be having.

For CD playback on the other hand, if you were to run the player through an amplifier and into other speakers besides the less than competitive duo that Intex sends, you wouldn't mind the player at all. It works well as a CD player, delivering a well balanced frequency response and soundstage; be it uncompressed stereo mixes or MP3s.

Bottom Line:
Overall, for its under-Rs 4000 price-tag, the R-220 may not be the stuff you seek. You may opt for a dedicated DVD player in the market. That being said, if you're an Intex fan and have a slim wallet, and are looking to please some relatives/acquaintances for gift purpose, the R-220 may Just be the solution for you.

Review of mid-end DVD player from Onkyo DV-SP406

First Look
The player is very easy to look at with its simple black exterior, no Contrasting streaks running down the edges or buttons that seem to jump out of the front panel to grab your attention. Everything has been kept to a bare minimum. You will like the simplicity. That includes the perfect 'matchbox' height of the player as well. The loading tray has been positioned on the left of the front panel next to which is the eject button. The display is kept at the centre and the transport functions to the right, in between is the very convenient USB port. The SP406 is available in silver as well.


Technological aspect
DVD players now-a-days play all forms of discs that are out there, besides Blu-ray as that's a little too expensive to implement with as much ease as say DivX playback. HDMI, regardless of Blu-ray playability, is present on all DVD players coming out into the market. Including the DV-SP406. This Is capable of upscaling your standard DVDs to 1080p for your digital television sets, keeping the quality to its optimal at all times.


The audio goes through a top-of-the-line 192kHz/24-blt DAC along with a 108MHz/14-bit video DAC, which is the primary reason why this player has been priced as high as it is. The OSD is very easy to navigate through with its Disc Navigator system that ready simplifies your controllability of the DVD.

Remote control convenience
The remote is slightly less sophisticated than the new Onkyo receiver remotes, however, it does seem to look a tad overcrowded. The buttons could have been spaced a little further apart by removing the 'one-remote-for-all' aspect of it, and getting rid of some of the buttons such as the volume control for an Onkyo receiver if you have one. It makes more sense for a receiver remote to have controls for a DVD player rather than the other way around.

Viewing experience of DV – SP406
When connected with usual HDMI cable from the DV-SP406 and performed some color calibration, like most DVD players in this range, the lowest black did make it through the video DAC. You will get a decent brightness-contrast balance and will be pleasantly surprised to see the high frequencies being handled well.

While watching DVD-video, the quality will remain as crisp as one could have asked for even though the edges may blur at times.

Upscaling capacity of the SP406 is fine to boost the resolution to fit LG LCD. However, there were some potholes along the way, especially in the darker sequences, that took a beating in pixflation. DivX quality is satisfactory.

The real good part was the short time the player takes to read the film off the USB drive — Indexing the entire 700MB file took not more than the time the player takes to spin and read a standard DVD.


Bottom line
To take into account that the PlayStations is also available for around the same price, the DV-SP406'S Rs 17.500 price-tag is sensible. Yet, if you were to go in for the DV-SP406, we would imagine the companionship between you two would be a long lasting one. Well, there might be a rough patch between you and the sharpness of the video at times or the remote controller for that matter, but that isn't a strong enough reason to not to go for it.

Review of wireless MP3 player — Sony NWZ-W202.

The NWZ-W202 is a wrap-around headset that combines a digital music player with its ear buds so that the entire assembly rests comfortably inside your ears. Just as cool as its design, the wearable device is also packed with a couple of equally cool and user friendly features.
First, when you pull the headset off, the two pieces come together via a magnetic assembly, leaving you with an interesting heart shaped unit. You can place this unit on the docking stand that comes along, which connects to your computer through the USB for charging and synchronizing.

As there is no display involved, most of you would think that surfing through this device can possibly be a difficult process. But just as always, Sony has helped you overcome this with a new Zappin function. With the function, when you click and hold the dial, the player enters a special mode where it will play a snippet from each of your songs. Bearing the fact that the opening bars of most tracks can sound the same, the Zappin function is smart enough to play 45 seconds straight into the song's playback to make them more identifiable to you. This way, when you hear the song you want, you have to simply hold down the dial button to end the mode and resume regular playback. You can also hold the dial down to change the length of clips from 15 seconds to as short as 4 seconds in case you want to sort through your songs at a faster pace.

The player supports MP3, WMA, WAV. ATRAC and AAC files, so you can sync them through the Windows Media Player and transfer them by simply dragging-and-dropping them onto the player from your computer. Moreover, Sony has included a special content transfer application that can be added to your Vista sidebar. Once installed, you can drag songs from ITunes or Windows Explorer onto the Walkman application on your sidebar to transfer them to the player
When you browse through the tracks one by one, using Zappin, the player, you will have a unique listening experience. Unique, because most players generally have a peculiar sound that emphasize a lot on the mids and highs but unfortunately lack on the lower end, which make them sound Incomplete. But the Sony Walkman sounded full with equal emphasis on all the essential parts of the audio spectrum. While the lows possessed a rounded bass, the highs had a nice effervescent tail. Most importantly, the mids were strong and dominant, which made the vocals sound very crisp and clear. The adjustable ear- cups are convenient to wear and after some easy adjustments will sit comfortably in your ears.

Bottom Line
The Sony Walkman Is indeed an effective player for its audio quality as it gives you a complete listening experience which most players In this category cannot pull off so well. Also, the Zappin function makes the W202 quite a user friendly player. Besides that, its advantage lies In the fact that it is wireless and easily adapts to the ear, meeting all your travel requirements. With such interesting features, the only thing you could have possibly wished for is some more storage space. But that apart, there is nothing else that could stop the Sony NWZ-W202 from carrying your entertainment while on-the-go

Review of Sonata DV30 – A classy DVD player from Cambridge Audio

Cambridge Audio has been at the 'audio' game for quite some time now, and their main field of focus has definitely been in the sonic seas. However, that doesn't stop Cambridge Audio from swimming into the tides of video every once In a while with DVD players like this one here, the Sonata Sonata DV30, whose dimensions are best suited for the mini-system department.


First Look
This was not like the Azur series we've been getting off-late by Cambridge Audio, especially when size and color are concerned. For a 2.7" thick metal-chassis DVD player, this Sonata DV30 doesn't weigh at all, just like its cousins in this mini-system Sonata series that also share the 'black-as-the-darkest-night' finish (you can go in for the silver as well). But what has made its way onto the Sonata DV30 front panel from the Azur are the round, metallic buttons that pop out ever so slightly from the front-panel. As for the back, the Sonata DV30 Is not needlessly decorated, keeping the organization of the player in check.


Technical aspects
The Sonata DV30 is a complete DVD player that is doing it’s very best to make it into the hi-fi bracket, or 'mini hi-fi' as Cambridge Audio prefers to call it. The player up scales the entire standard DVD signals to 1080p, including DIvX, so that the single HDMI port on the back panel can be used to its optimal even without a Blu-ray signal.

Let's take a closer look Inside: Besides being able to upscale all the way from 720p to 1080p, the player comes sporting a Wolf son Microelectronics WM8746 24-blt/192kHz DAC, a 6-channel DAC that's ideal for DTS, AC-3 and MPEG streams. Although this DAC is capable of 106 signal-to-noise ratio, the Sonata DV30 comes with <-90dB, primarily because of the rest of the electronics in the bucket that still do not make an audible difference despite the degrading. The front display illustrating the track number and time sparkles in the same blue as the Sonata sign above and to the right of it. Getting to that chassis, looking macho isn't all it is doing. Its low resonance acoustically dampened quality helps the audio chipset by keeping out any sort of audio distortion that may be pounding on the player. The chassis is incredibly sturdy, even though it may not feel so when you lift the player up. The same goes for that remote control. Remote control convenience:
Built with the same metal and organization the player so rightfully boasts of, this controller is one for the palms. Just controlling the player wasn't enough, this remote can take charge of Cambridge amplifiers and receivers too, which is why you may feel there are too many buttons on the panel to manage. The Sonata DV30 should have come with its own little remote, sort of like a mini-version of this, and it should've been made available in black if that's the finish you've chosen for the player.

User’s experience of Sonata DV30:
With this player's versatility in video playback, While playingThe Godfather II', the sound was exquisite, the video didn't shake at all, even during the party scene in Havanna. As for the sharpness, it could've done with a little more, especially when watching the footage on big-screen televisions. Since the Sonata DV30 has a big 'CD Player' tag written across its box, let us see how it fares with the CD namely Claude Debussy's 'Sonate For Flute, Viola & Harp — performed by Linda Chesis and Sara Cutler'. This CD brags of rapid harp arpeggios played with extreme care and extreme power (when needed), along with a flute and viola that do their rounds in going In and out of the mix. We must say that the Sonata DV30 is quite an authority in the 2-channel department. You will be stunned at the imaging and soundstage the player could create. The SNR felt like a solid 110dB as the music swooped from a soft pianissimo melody to a mercilessly plucked fortissimo, all the while never losing its texture and richness.

Bottom line:
There are small points that can be looked at for the DVD playback section of the Sonata DV30, but considering this is a mini-system, all can be forgiven. It gives you everything you can ask for, except Blu-ray, which is sufficient enough in this price-range. The player's extra advantage is its stereo playback, be it when playing back meticulously played solo instruments of the orchestra or a distortion sandwich of hard rock guitars. And if the exceptional sound is not enough, the DC30's hypnotizing visuals and near natural skin tones are sure to seal the deal.