Sumvision Phoenix Premium Upscaling HDMI DVD Player 1080i, 1080p
Product Description
Ever wished your DVD movies would look cleaner and crisper whilst watching them through your HDMI Ready LCD/Plasma Television? Sumvision have the answer. Using the latest up-scaling technology Sumvision’s Phoenix HDMI DVD player can breath new life into the picture quality of your DVD movies. The Phoenix enhances both the colour and definition of the images from your DVDs and pictures on a High Definition (HD) display. Added features of the Phoenix player include a built-in SD/MS/MMC memory card slot meaning you can display pictures (although not video) stored on your card straight onto your TV via the Phoenix. The unit also houses a USB2.0 slot so you can transfer and display image files from stored on a USB pen drive onto your TV. Playback media supported;DVD DVD+R DVD+RW DVD-R DVD-RW CD-R CD-RW CD Audio CD Video MPEG4 SVCD MP3 JPEG XviD DivX Connectivity; HDMI component video S-Video SCART 5.1channel audio stereo audio coaxial digital audio optical digital audio USB2.0 SD/MMC Memory Stick HDMI Video output support; 480i 480p 576i 576p 720p 1080i 1080p Function keys; 3 level zoom multi-angle repeat 16x fast forward
- Playback media supported;DVD DVD+R DVD+RW DVD-R DVD-RW CD-R CD-RW CD Audio CD Video MPEG4 SVCD MP3 JPEG XviD DivX
- Connectivity; HDMI component video S-Video SCART 5.1channel audio stereo audio coaxial digital audio optical digital audio USB2.0 SD/MMC Memory Stick
- HDMI Video output support; 480i 480p 576i 576p 720p 1080i 1080p
- Function keys; 3 level zoom multi-angle repeat 16x fast forward
Sumvision Phoenix Premium Upscaling HDMI DVD Player 1080i, 1080p
I wasn’t sure what to expect for 35 quid but having just invested in a 37 inch 1080p Toshiba I thought this was a cheap way to find out whether 1080p makes any difference before blowing £300 on a Blu-ray. I’m pleased to say that after some head-scratching on the set up process the Phoenix has turned out to be a cracking little machine.
The set up does take a bit of care. My HDMI lead appeared not to working intially and I could only get the player to work through SCART but a closer reading of the instructions showed that you have to get the machine to show ‘STOP’ on the front panel before you can select HDMI. You get to ‘STOP’ by pressing and holding the DVD stop button. With the HDMI lead connected, and pressing the HDMI selector on the remote I suddenly had a signal.
I wonder if this kind of detail might be behind one or two of the other reviews where people have been unable to get the player to communicate with the TV..?
Once the TV and the Phoenix were synced to 1080p after a bit more fiddling, both the picture quality and the sound detail were superb. For £35, this machine digs a terrific amount of detail out the disc and handles it extremely well.
The machine is compact and has a tidy appearance. Build quality is good but not great and I have had to warn my kids not to lean on the DVD drawer when it’s exetended. The remote is cheap and cheerful but it does what a remote needs to do.
Altogether a decent little package in my view.
Rating: 5 / 5
Was after a 1080P upscaling DVD player with DIVX and also USB support.. Seems to be quite a hard thing to find all 3 functions on 1 unit. Stumbled across this player and thought I would give it a try. What I can say? Amazing value for money. Does everything I need and it is also region free!
One thing I will say is that the instructions are poor. You have to connect the unit to your TV using the SCART cable to then change the output to HDMI, this was not obvious. Also there are a few settings to tweak to ensure max quality.. you have to manually change the HD setting to 1080P and I would also recommend turning off the Auto option for picture size.. set it to original otherwise it doesn’t size things to my liking. Also to enable USB mode and read DIVX movies from a USB device you have to press the GOTO button, then select USB. Not too clear in the manual! DIVX movies playback very well.
Saves burning movies to a CD or DVD also!
So in all this unit upscales nicely to 1080p, plays any type of DIVX movie from any media, including USB hard disks.. is region free and a great price! I would totally recommend this to anyone.
Rating: 5 / 5
I was looking for a low cost upscaling DVD player, this does 720p and up, the upscaling works well, but I’ve only got a 720p LCD TV, I bought one for a friend who reports that 1080i is very good too.
It’s best trick is playing avi’s from a USB stick or external Hard Drive, the unit is small, black and quite tidy. Even remembers where you were on a DVD when you remove it and put the same one back in.
my only criticism ?, make the play button on the remote a different colour so I can see it in low light.
A paltry sum for a lot of functionality.
Rating: 5 / 5
This machines has an impressive list of features. Unfortunately it is let down by very unreliable performance that kicks in after a couple of months. It will refuse to play any DVD’s, displaying bad disk error, although it will continue to play DIVX files from the USB memory stick.
I thought that it would play from a hard disk, but it does not work with hard disk’s, even 2.5″ discs which are powered by the USB port.
I sent the first one back and the second has suffered from the same symptoms. It is a shame as I like the size, and the features, and I gave it a second chance, but it let me down. Now I am left with a dilemma: is there a device with the same features that actually works?
Rating: 1 / 5
The first thing that I noticed when I opened the box was how small the player is, it’s about half the size that it looks in the photo. The only thing I don’t like is the remote, I find it hard to read the text above the buttons. But apart from that I am very happy with this little player, you certainly get a lot for your money. The usb drive connection and the card reader is very handy, I dabble in photography and it is a lot better for me to view my photos on my 32 inch tft television instead of on my 12 inch laptop monitor, so that is an added bonus. I can’t find fault with this dvd player other than the remote, in fact I’m thinking of buying another one for the bedroom.
Rating: 5 / 5