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Lite-On LVD 2001 Review
Author: Daniel Topler
Date Posted: July 14th, 2003
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Bottom Line:
A little while back we reviewed two new Lite-On DVD players, by popular demand we have carried out some more testing of the LVD-2001 with a focus on the MPEG-4 playback capability, were we impressed, find out in our official review...
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Pages: 1 2 3
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Introduction
We recently reviewed a set of Lite-On
CD-RW drives on SLCentral. We were happy with the drives, and we were glad to
hear from Lite-On to review their new set-top DVD players. Lite-On has just
entered the consumer entertainment market, and the LVD 2001 and the LVR 1001
are the first players in the new Lite-On division.
Both drives have advanced features, such as
photo viewing from memory cards, duplication (1001), progressive-scan support,
as well as TV recording (1001).
Please
keep in mind that we were testing Asia-Pacific Pre-Production
Units. They are extremely like the final American versions, but do have minor
differences. Once we get our hands on the American versions, we will note any
changes between the two drives.
Following our review of the Lite-On LVD 2001 and LVR 1001 we received requests for more information on the MPEG-4 playback capability of the LVD-2001. If you missed the first review it can be found Here.
Features
The LVD-2001 is packed full of features, mainly the memory card reader and the MPEG-4 playback, which is complete revolution for the home entertainment market. XVid, which is similar to MPEG-4, is also supported. The player also has MP3, WMA, MPEG-2, and MPEG-1 playback, really making it much different then your average DVD player.
MPEG-4 allows users to download video files that are DVD quality, but are compressed a lot, making it fairly easy to get entire movies (I should add this is illegal) off the internet. The LVD-2001 is one of the very few DVD players that allows anyone to burn this MPEG-4 file onto a CD and put it in the player to watch it right on the TV. Without MPEG-4 playback on a DVD player, it takes users hours of converting the MPEG-4 video into a suitable format. This makes the process quick, easy, and very effective. The LVD-2001 supports DiVx 3.11 to DiVx 5, quite a wide compatibility range.
The LVD-2001 also allows you to insert a memory card reader to view pictures from your digital camera right on your TV. While I was provided with a CompactFlash reader, Lite-On offers a 4-type memory reader, which supports all of the main memory types. It’s very easy to do, just put the memory card in, and you’re ready to go.
The player has its fair share of connections. The LVD-2001 has composite, S-Video, as well as composite video. You’ll also find digital audio out and optical out audio.
The LVD-2001 also features Progressive Scan playback for TV’s that support the high resolution, but I was unable to test that because I didn’t have a high resolution TV for testing. Progressive Scan DVD players do improve playback of movies, but if you do have a TV that supports Progressive Scan and you pick up the LVD-2001, or any other PS DVD Player, then don’t expect a huge difference in quality from the regular interlaced picture. While the difference is there, it is not very noticeable.
The drive also had features such as 4X Zoom, and bookmarks. I thought that the Dimmer feature was cool. When that button was pressed on the remote, the LED on the player would dim down, so it doesn’t stand out while you watch movies.
There was one thing that drove me crazy about the player. Whenever the player was turned off, the power light turned on, and when the player was on, the light turned off. Does that make any sense? While it is nice that the bright LED turns off during the movie, and many people don’t mind the light while it’s off, it’s still awkward for me.
Features on the LVD-2001 are out of the roof. For just $139, you get MPEG-4, VCD/SVCD, MP3, WMA, making it the perfect home entertainment device.
Drive Menus
There aren’t too many settings within the menus on the LVD-2001 DVD player, but I’ll go through the ones that are there. When you turn on the DVD player without a DVD in the tray, you'll see the Lite-On logo taking up the entire screen. Clicking the Setup button on the remote will bring you to the Setup menu. It consists of three different menus that have various settings in each. I will go through each of them.
First up is the Initial Setup Menu. Here, you'll be able to set the system language (English, German, French, Spanish, or Chinese), choose whether an ISO disk will autoplay, and you'll be able to see what version LVD-2001 you have (in my case, it was V0.02.10).
Next is the Video menu. Here, you'll find the settings for aspect ratio (4:3 Pan Scan, 4:3 Letter Box, and 16:9), DVD Parental Control settings (as well as the ability to change the password to Parental Control), and finally, the option to turn on or off VCD PBC.
The last menu is the Audio settings. Here, you'll be able to change the Audio output settings (2CH/PCM or Off/Bistream).
As you can tell, and like I said, there are not too many settings to change for the LVD-2001. Keep in mind that this is a preproduction unit, so there may be more or less settings in the final shipping version.
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