Review: The Mizuda 2023X DVD Player Copyright © 2002 to Bruce Simpson Republication rights available on request

DVD players have gotten an awful lot cheaper in recent times. Just a year or so ago you could pay nearly NZ$1,000 for an average player from one of the big-name companies like Sony or Pioneer. Things have changed a lot in the past 12 months however, and a wave of low-cost DVD players has now flooded the local market. Most of these players are priced between $199 and $299 and, even if you've never heard of the brands before, many of them are backed up by large retail chains. This review focuses on the Mizuda 2023X, a machine that Woolworths now sell for the give-away price of just $189. Features and Functions So what do you get for your money? Surprisingly, this machine (like many of the other low-cost units) is actually quite functional. In fact you'll find these machines to be significantly more flexible than those $1,000 units you would have bought a year ago. As well as playing regular commercial DVDs, the Mizuda will also play your favourite audio CDs, CDs filled with MP3 audio files, VCDs, SVCDs and CVDs -- whether they're commercially sourced or on CDR or CDRW disks created using the CD writer on your PC. This is really cool. If you're having a party you can load the entire evening's music onto a single CDR in MP3 format then set it going and forget it. No need to leave out your valuable original CDs and spend all night changing disks. The ability to handle VCD, SVCD and CVD disks is also very handy if your PC has a TV tuner/capture card. Using one of these cards and some freely available software, you can record movies, music vids or every episode of your favourite TV programme and burn them onto CDR in a format that allows you to watch them on your DVD. By doing this, I've been able to clear a huge amount of shelf-space that was previously taken up by my growing collection of VHS tapes. They're now replaced by a much smaller array of CDR disks. Performance But how does the Mizuda cope with regular commercial DVDs? Pretty well. I've watched maybe 30 different movies -- some of which I've bought and some of which I've rented. The player seems to handle the typically scratched disks you find when renting without blinking an eye. Perhaps the top-line "brand name" players provide a better quality picture, I don't know. I do know however that the output of the Mizuda is pretty impressive for a $189 player. Of course it also has all the usual home-theatre stuff with 6-channel 5.1 surround sound outputs and a DTS digital connector as well, if that's your passion. They're also region-free which means that you should be able to play DVDs that are only supposed to be used in the UK, USA or some other region. Here in NZ we're region 4 but if you're going to be buying DVD titles off the Net from the likes of Amazon.com, chances are they'll be Region 1. It's worth noting however that I haven't tested this player with the more recent RCE-protected disks. These disks are predominantly made for the US market and can refuse to play on some of the cheap entry level players. Styling and Construction The unit is very thin and looks quite contemporary in its styling. You won't have any problems finding a place to put it. The remote is pretty much like any other remote -- just a curvy box with buttons and it works perfectly well. You even get a set of batteries for it -- although the ones supplied only lasted about two weeks. Unfortunately, the first unit I received was faulty. It refused to display anything other than a black and white picture so I returned it to Woolworths who, to their credit, immediately replaced it with profuse apologies. You can't ask for better customer service than that! There have been many rumours that the cheaper DVD players don't last more than a year or so -- but even if it only lasts 18 months, I'll be quite happy with this one since that works out at just $2.50 per week. The only other complaint I have is that when playing MP3 files the screen only shows a truncated version of the filename and this can make it rather difficult to identify song titles at times. Summary I guess I've got to say that if you've got a spare $189 then you probably won't regret buying one of these players. They're great value, are backed up by one of NZ's largest retail organisations, and seem to be loaded with features and functionality. If you can't afford $189 then why not cancel your Sky TV subscription and watch some new movies for a change -- instead of that tired old diet of reruns and oldies. That's what I did and I've never regretted it for a moment. Do you agree, disagree or have something extra to add to this review? If so, please have your say. Be sure and select "For Publication" if you'd like those comments published here.     If you've got a product you'd like reviewed by Aardvark, please contact me.

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