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What Do You Think Of The Delux DVD?
A suspicious (yet anxious) Anonymous Coward asks: "I've been researching a DVD player to buy myself for Christmas and am having a very hard time satisfying all of my requirements. Most of my requirements are to do with not wanting to support the MPAA and not throwing any money their way. I'm looking for the most anti-industry DVD player out there. I have no problem spending the money, but I sure as hell want my money to go to the good people. I have read the reviews of APEX 600A, and the Infinity and while these players have my requirements (Play MP3 CDR, region-free, toggle for Macrovision) their reviews seem to have a negative side to them that is offset by the geek factor. What I have found is what appears to be the godsend of home entertainment...it's called the Delux DVD." Update: 12/01 04:11 PM: Well, as it turns out, if something is too good to be true, it probably is. It looks like several of you have done further investigation (muchas gracias!) and it appears that this player may be a bit dubious and if the SPAM concerns were not enough, it appears that the games are not licensed from Sony. It looks like this one has turned out to be something to avoid.
"The Delux DVD plays about every media possible, and boasts a handful of features only found in high-end players. What makes this unit special is that it ships with over 720 classic arcade games that are playable through the unit. That's right, I will be able to play all my old favorites such as California Games, and Spy vs Spy. All of this at a cost of under $US300.
What am I missing? Is this possibly too good to be true? After spending well over an hour searching for reviews/FAQ's from 3rd parties on the system I have come up empty. Has anyone bought one of these blessed systems? Does anyone have additional info on the actual quality that I can expect?"
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I don't know for sure if you need an HDTV(-ready) for this, or if there are 'normal' TV's with Component Video in.
Most higher-end TV's that are 32" or larger support component inputs.-
The Dulux website does not mention DTS audio, which is (correct me if I'm wrong) DVD disks with audio on it. The audio is much higher quality and I think it's also possible to have true surround effects. Although the player has analog audio outputs, the real way to play DTS is through the digital output and a DTS amplifier. There's not much content out there yet, but it does sound awesome!
Um... there are 3 sound formats supported by DVD players in the US: Dolby Digital AC3 (mono, stereo, or 5.1 surround, lossy compression), DTS (5.1 surround, lossy compression), or linear PCM (mono or stereo, uncompressed). DTS generally has a higher bitrate than Dolby Digital, but that does NOT mean it sounds better. Dolby Digital is a much more efficient compression algortithm than DTS, and can sound better. While Dolby simply runs the 6-channel analog master through an encoder to generate the DD bitstream, DTS makes the studio send the sound off to thier studio, and generally tweaks the audio, usually artificially boosting the rear channels and the bass. Since the average moron thinks more bass==better sound, it is preferred by consumers. The same effect could easilly be done by setting up one's DD reciever to boost the rear channels and the bass. This is not accurate reproduction of sound, so it is incorrect, and stupid to do so. It is equally moronic for DTS to do so.I suggest you read up on home theater if you are truly interested, or email me if you want more info.
"Evil beware: I'm armed to the teeth and packing a hampster!"
Lex orandi, lex credendi.
A quick cut and paste:
Dubious DVD player? - I just received a rather urgent mail from Michael, over at GAG, regarding http://www.gamedvdplayer.com, a site that sells the DULUX DVD player that comes with a built-in Sega Master System and 2 cds with about 700 SMS games:
"According to Sega's legal people, they didn't license the titles out. Since this is only available mail order, purchasers could potentially be charged for buying stolen merchandise (if they live in the U.S.)"
Someone has also been spamming the URL on various console-related newsgroups on USENET. SPAM=BAD! Stay away from companies who don't know how to do business.
I have received at least two spams advertising this unit. Which is one more good reason not to have anything to do with it.
1) Spammers should not be encouraged; the more people buy these units from spammers, the more spam you'll get in the future.
2) The whole Sega MegaDrive thing seems blatantly illegal; buying such a device may be "receiving stolen goods".
3) If someone is sufficiently dishonest to spam and to use unlicensed game ROMs, what's to say they're sufficiently honest not to steal your credit card number and defraud you? For all you know, there may not even be a Dulux DVD player, and the whole thing could be a scam to collect credit card numbers.
Check out Tokai/Raite
It has the usual DVD/MP3/ZoneFree/ToggleMacrovision capabilities plus a few others, and is the only one on the market with a upgratable ROM (you download the rom from the Net, burn it on a CD, start your Tokai with the CD in the drive, and BOOM, you have the latest manufacturer ROM)
If you go for the Tokai, try to find the 715S model.
--
Why pay for drugs when you can get Linux for free ?
echo '[q]sa[ln0=aln80~Psnlbx]16isb572CCB9AE9DB03273snlbxq' |dc
"I am an employee of the marketing department of Foo Inc, posting anonymously to ask a question that has no relations whatsoever to attempts to plug my company's product.
Just like any other geeks with large amounts of expendable income, I'm currently baffled as to what I should spend the money on. Then I heard about FooL-Slashdot, an excellent product by Foo Inc that has the following features:
* Plays MP3/DVD/DIVX/RM/MPG/AVI/Christmas songs on DVD/CD/CDR/CDRW/Zip/Floppy/CompactFlash media!
* Emulates PS2/PS1/Dreamcast/Saturn/N64/SNES/Genesis/Pentium VI, all at full speed!
* Wireless 100Mbps connection to FooNapster, where you can find ANYTHING - computer software, music, movies, console games, porn, and even dimpled ballots!!
* Comes in a different variety of colors of red, blue, green, cyan, magenta, yellow, orange, red, black, grey, pink, white, silver, and gold!
* Available for only $149.95, including shipping!
* available NOW at http://www.fooinc.com/buynow/order.asp!!!
So, um, anyways, is this product too good to be true? Please ask the other geeks with expendable income for me!!"
Hey, I'm not saying that REALLY is the case, but it seems very likely..
Maybe this is not an issue to you, but to get superior video quality on a digital (HDTV or HDTV ready) TV, you would want Component Video out, with Progressive Scan output. For superior audio output, you may want to get DTS.
;))
The Component Video seperates the Luminance and Chrominance into three components (hence three cables required) as opposed to two in S-Video and one in Composite Video. Seperation of components is a Good Thing(tm).
I don't know for sure if you need an HDTV(-ready) for this, or if there are 'normal' TV's with Component Video in.
Progressive Scan is what they call 'line doubling', which in effect doubles the horizontal lines (duh!) and gives a more steady, sharper picture. I'm sure you need a digital TV to handle this. Go to an electronics store to have it demonstrated to you.
The Dulux website does not mention DTS audio, which is (correct me if I'm wrong) DVD disks with audio on it. The audio is much higher quality and I think it's also possible to have true surround effects. Although the player has analog audio outputs, the real way to play DTS is through the digital output and a DTS amplifier. There's not much content out there yet, but it does sound awesome!
I just bought an APEX AD-800A yesterday which does all of the above (and MP3's etc, reply if you want a full list) at Circuit City for 299$ (actually they gave it to me for 199$ because I also bought a digital 55" projector
This player does NOT have the Sega capabilities though, and I don't know about the Karaoke (not my cup-a-thee).
So the question is, do you need/want the superior quality outputs, or do you prefer the all-in-one approach. If you don't have matching equipment, or are not going to get that in the near future, the additional outputs are not gonna do you any good.
Hope this helps, Breace
Hey Slashdot -- Where's the integrity?
gamedvdplayer.com was only registered on 08-Nov-2000 to roberts, scott (carolbowman25@hotmail.com) so this isn't exactly an established site to buy from. Yes, that was a hotmail address on the company contact info for the domain. This question smells a bit like PR hype to me.
:)
Everything about this player looks to be 100% standard for a cheap OEM far east unit. I've seen lots in the UK. The ONLY new idea (or new to me) is the Sega Master System built in. I reckon you could intergrate a SMS onto a chip and make it for next to no cost.. but what about those 700+ games. I looked and couldn't find any details of the licencing arrangements. I couldn't find a press release from SEGA either, and they tend to announce everything.
Maybe I'm too cynical (can on be?) but I wouldn't buy one. Those games come from lots of different publishers and I bet some of them aren't even still trading, let alone doing deals with old IP.
When they claim you can play the games in digital surround sound I raise an eyebrow. When they give special thanks to Omar Cornut (Zoop) of http://www.smspower.org/ (A ROMs site) I raise the other
0daymeme.com: Great stuff.
I did searches for 'Dulux DVD' on Dogpile, Google, Lycos, and AltaVista. I came up with *no* relevant links at all.
I did a Deja USENET search and came up with the following results.
Looks like Scotty6004 crossposted a query to a bunch of groups (might be our AC), and ONE PERSON came back with a vague "Yeah, it's great," but of course, that sounds like a corporate shill to me.
I called their 800# just now and spoke to the help desk. They gave me an email address for questions that isn't listed on the website: info@dvd8050.com
I asked if there was any magazine or website reviews of the product that I could reference aside from the gamedvdplayer.com website, and she didn't have any of that information, she was just basically a message-taker.
I'm going to send some mail to the dvd8050 and gamedvdplayer address and request 3rd party info and I'll post my results.
It appears that this company takes payment via Paypal. I read an article a few weeks ago about paypal's dispute policy. Paypal stated that they do NOT get involved in disputes, and it is buyer beware. When you use paypal it is the same as using cash, not the same as a credit card. If you have a problem with the seller, you can't get your money back through paypal. I am thinking that some company out there invented this system that does not really exist, made it almost too good to be true, and then sent an email to slashdot to get the hits. Anyone who purchases this through Paypal is probably never going to see this system. Anyone remember that Seti@Home PCI card? I bet this is the same thing, but these guys are actually taking the money and running.