JVC XV-S300BK DVD Player (Black)

JVC XV-S300BK DVD Player (Black)
Manufacturer: JVC
Product Type: CE

Editorial Review:
Product Description
The JVC XV-S300 introduces a new slim design for an "all-in-one" player that people are looking for. Not only does it play DVD and CD; it also plays the new CD-R/RW recordable CD formats, SVCD, VCD and MP3 formats. Don't let the slim design fool you, the XV-S300 is packed with many exciting features such as three theater positions, 3-D Phonic sound, variable and slow search, zoom, digest and strobe play, angle list and resume function. Coaxial digital audio outputs with Dolby Digital and DTS pass-through are provided for easy connection to any system.
Amazon.com Product Description
JVC's XV-S300BK is a slim-design, "all-in-one" media player that not only spin commercial DVD-Videos and CDs, but homemade CD-R/CD-RW discs and MP3 CD as well. The XV-S300BK's component-video output is ideal for use with the latest high-resolution televisions (and a standard composite-video output works with most older TVs). The unit is also compatible with the SVCD (super video CD) and VCD formats, which are popular for many Asian films.

Most DVD players are great CD players, too, and the XV-S300BK is better than most in this respect. What makes this player special is JVC's proprietary 1-bit P.E.M. D.D. audio decoder, which minimizes clock jitter and other sonically degrading artifacts and offers an analog stage with an impressive 106 dB dynamic range (in stereo) so your music sounds as true to life as possible.

The decoder's 96 kHz/24-bit resolution ensures optimum decoding of all disc formats, including high-resolution music on DVD-Video discs. 3-D Phonic virtual surround simulates surround-sound effects using only 2 speakers, so you'll still be able to appreciate a sense of surround sound even if you don't have a surround receiver or 6-channel speaker set-up.

The XV-S300BK's traditional audio connections include 1 set of left/right analog-audio outputs for compatibility with stereo Dolby Pro Logic receivers and stereo televisions and 1 coaxial digital-audio output to route Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel signals to a surround-decoding audio/video receiver.

The back panel offers 1 output each for standard composite-video, S-video, and top-of-the-line component-video. A full-function remote control is supplied.

What's in the Box
DVD player, remote control, remote batteries, a stereo analog audio/composite-video cable, a user's manual, and warranty information.

Average customer rating: 1.0

Media Server Unreliable and Unsupported

Listmania:

Home Servers and Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices

Linkstation 300GB Home Server Gigabit Network Storage Center

Manufacturer: BUFFALO
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B000E57E0U

Related Categories:

Hard Drives

Hard Drives

Network Media Players & Storage

Product Description

The Buffalo LinkStation Multimedia Home Server edition offers an easy and economic solution for added network storage. It's quick and easy to install, hile providing high-speed 10/100/1000Mbps LAN connections. The built-in DLNA CERTIFIED server allows you to easily stream mutimedia files to any DLNA compatible home electronic device. Two or more LinkStations can also be used to back up each other over your home or office network. Simple setup and maintenance, versatile storage, universal DLNA compatibility and a compact and quiet design make the LinkStation the "must have" solution for storing and sharing files on your home or small office network. Protect data by restricting access with group and user level security Easy setup -- does not require drivers Scheduled backup via USB 2.0 to external storage Memeo Backup Software for Windows PCs included Auto-MDIX Ethernet Port automatically configures for cross-over or patch cable Built-in print server to print files from anywhere on your network Minimal power consumption and schedulable auto power off and on Space-saving compact and aesthetic design

Customer Reviews:

Media Server Unreliable and Unsupported.......2006-07-23

The Network Attached Storage functionality of this device is fine, but if you want a 300 GB NAS device, buy the Buffalo Linkstation without the "Home Server" feature. You'll save yourself about $100 and a whole lot of aggravation. The whole point of this particular drive is its provision of DLNA-compliant media server capability. On that critical dimension, this drive is an abject failure.

The media server firmware is extremely unreliable. Compounding the problem is the Buffalo tech support staff's inexperience with troubleshooting the media server: they are able to provide little help when things go wrong, as they most assuredly will. Moreover, even when the media server works, it is mediocre at best. (FYI, I used it with a Roku Soundbridge M1000, which is a great device for playing digital music.)

When it works, you can expect basic and minimal functionality. You can browse your music by artist, genre, album, or track. Two drawbacks: playlists simply do not work, and the interface lacks some refinements. I was unable to get m3u playlists to work after several solid days of trying. From all appearances, many other people on the internet have also failed to make this feature work. Buffalo tech support was totally unhelpful: they did not even seem to know the most basic instructions for getting the server to parse playlists, and they were certainly unable to solve my problem. In addition, the server is not as refined as iTunes or other commercial servers: The server does not supply sorted lists that can be alphabetized on your digital media player, and it is unable to handle special or accented characters. All these issues are somewhat annoying, but they would be outweighed by the convenience of being able to stream music without a PC being turned on.

The deal-breaker though is the firmware's instability, which renders the music server essentially unusable. Over 3 days, the server went down about 5-6 times, requiring a reboot each time. It probably would have crashed more, but the last crash caused an unrecoverable problem. Why did this crash occur? I plugged a USB drive into the Linkstation. I wasn't hacking into it or attaching unsupported hardware. I was merely using the Linkstation for something it was designed (and marketed) to be able to do -- backup to an external USB drive. After I plugged in the USB drive (which, by the way, works fine on my other Linkstation drive), the music server went down for good. Once the USB drive was attached, the music server kept fading in and out of operation, and became unusable. Buffalo tech support offered very little help, other than asking me to make sure that I had chosen the "enable music server" option (I had, but thanks for asking). They then had me reinstall the firmware (not upgrade, just reinstall), and reset the drive to factory default settings. If this sounds like useless support advice, you are a perceptive reader. None of that worked. My server still does not serve anything.

I could have sent the drive back to Amazon for a replacement, but quite frankly, I did not want to face another interminable stretch of days spent troubleshooting the shoddy music server firmware.

If you want a network drive, Linkstations are great. If you are looking for an embedded media server, run, don't walk, away from this device. Life is too short to buy hardware like this.

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