JVC XV-S300BK DVD Player, Black

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.

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.

I only have this problem with MP3 disks, but they whole point of being able to play MP3 files (to me, anyway) is to be able to put a disk with 100 songs on it and hit "shuffle."

BTW -- to play songs randomly, you have to put them in separate folders ("groups"). It selects a group at random, plays the songs within that group in alphabetical order, and then selects another group at random, etc. On some disks, it tended to pick to pick the groups in the same order each time -- i.e. its random number generator isn't so random. It also takes a fairly long time to select a new group -- 5 or 6 seconds (that's a long pause between songs.)

Sometimes I could hear the disk whirling, especially when first inserted.

Everything else seemed fine. If you don't care about the MP3 features, it's a good buy for the money. Especially if you already have a universal remote, or don't mind using a seperate remote for the TV.

Mine's going back to the store tonight, though.


Nice unit but will not play DVD-R reliably   March 17, 2003
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

great with commercial DVD, just don't try to routinely use it to read your own recordings. apparently there are no available firmware fixes of any kind. very attractive unit cosmetic-wise