SnaZio* Net Cinema (HD) SZ1350 DVD
Player
Mini-Review (Part II)
Here's some Hi-Def pictures I took...Some HD materials are from DivX-HD and some from WMV-HD.
Some DivX-HD Clips
This MPAA Notice is produced from a DivX-HD
Kicking And Screaming from DivX-HD
Cinderella Man from DivX-HD
Some WMV-HD Clips
'Flight' from IMAX - WMV-HD
Terminator 2 in WMV-HD - (DRM)
A commercial clip on Windows Media Player 10 featured in WMV-HD
Taxi-3 in WMV-HD
'True Crimes' X-Box game title featured in WMV-HD
n.b. These pictures are taken and down-sized to JPEG format...so what you see here are not 'true' or even near to what Hi-Def materials can produce...Seeing is believing!
Some of the Cons inherited within this DVD Player...
This Player has certainly opened our eyes to the colorful world of Hi-Def materials...but its not all that 'rosy' in picture perfect. There are some improvvements that need to be addressed by the manufacturer...Here's a list which I believed that firmware updates in future can be resolved.
1) No Audio Stream produced from WMV-HD materials...After some search in the Internet and other AV forums based in Canada, UK and US...All has this particular problem of WMV-HD has no 'audio' from the clips...even though there is sound encoded together with the video content. The format used in particular is WMA-Pro 5.1. I've also made a search to the Microsoft Knowledge Base and found out that only Windows Media Player 10 has the function to decode the WMA-5.1 sound track...even Media Player 9.0 will not be able to decode the WMA-Pro 5.1 sound track...so I guess its just a matter of firmware upgrade in the future to get it to work...This 'audio' problem however does not appear in DivX-HD materials.
2) So far, its not able to play DRM-based Hi-Def clips...unlike Media Player 9.0 and above...it's not able to log on to the DRM Micrsoft path to retrieve the Digital Rights Management Key...hence WMV-HD trailers like Batman Begins and many others cannot be played on this Player at this moment.
3) The Remote Controller's buttons are rather "small" and often not "responsive" when you hold it at a certain angle. So kind of unfriendly in a way. Definitely not wise to subsitute it as a keyboard when trying to key in URL for surfing of Net.
4) It can take some time to 'read' and play 'friendly DVDs'... : (
If there are Cons...surely there are Pros...
1) Easy user interface with a wide variety of basic and nifty options not found in conventional DVD Player...In short, its easy to navigate from point to point
2) The setting up of a wireless network via your very own Router (take note, as long as you have a conventional Router/Access Point) is extremely easy. The Player can detect it with ease
3) Its able to recognize Auto-Aspect Ratio thus there's really no need for me to press the 'Aspect Ratio' button on my remote controller from time to time to cycle between anamorphic materials from full-screen materials...Incidentally my DENON 3910 Universal DVD Player has problem doing it! Can you imagine that?! DENON...DENON!
4) Very good wireless reception - (using 802.11g mode)...surprisingly good that even streaming a file direct from my Main Server PC (in which I have installed my SnaZio* Net Cineme Software Manager) in it...Thumbs Up for the great connection!
5) Connecting to an external USB 2.0 HDD via the port is a breeze and the Player recognize it instantaneously w/o much delay...streaming of video clips have no problem either.
Conclusion
Well...will I recommend this Player to everyone?
My answer
will be 'Yes and No'
- Yes! if you're looking for some reference hi-def materials and like me to have glimpse of what the Blu-Ray disc holds for us in the near future.
- No! if you are only interested in watching DVDs on Plasma or Projector...then forget it. Your present DVD Player should suffice your needs at present moment. We have to face the fact that Hi-Def DVDs currently in the market are only a handful of titles like T2 etc...as Hi-Def materials requires large capacity and even a D9 (dual-layered DVD+R) of 8.5GB just won't fit in the 'bill'...Sadly! That is why we have to wait for Blu-Ray disc with at least 25GB or so to make mass production profitable...You may like to hold on your horses for the moment till consumers begin to embrace on this new and exciting technology...
<--End of Part 2-->