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.
