JVC Home JVC XVBP1 Blu-ray Disc Player
The new JVC XV-BP1 is a truly versatile high definition player, offering playback of high definition Blu-ray discs, plus playback of the AVCHD format, the high definition format widely used for HD camcorders, including the JVC HD Everio line. Among the many features of the new JVC XV-BP1 Blu-ray player, to be available in March, is BD Live (Profile ver. 2.0) compatibility when used with USB memory. With BD Live compatibility the player can be connected to the Internet to access BD Live 2.0 features, including easy firmware updates, new movie trailers, updated subtitles, online shopping, chat and gaming. Connections include HDMI ver.1.3 with Deep Color and x.v.Color, USB Host, LAN for BD Live, component and composite video outputs, and analog, optical and coaxial audio outputs. In addition to AVCHD, other playable formats are JPEG, MP3, WMA, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS and DTS HD. Playable discs are BD-ROM, BD-R/RE, BD/DVD Hybrid, DVD-Video, DVD-R
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After hearing some promising reviews of the new JVC player, I bought one for a great price online ($230 shipped). It has been lauded for its fast load times and strong overall performance. While it appears to share some bones with the $1500 NAD player, it uses the same GUI my LG BH200, leading me to believe there might be some LG influence as well (or common providers).
Operation and load times are very comparable to the Oppo. In terms of the synthetic tests the S&M disc offers, its performance is nearly identical to the Oppo, only faltering on one or two sections (my results are posted below). In terms of realworld content, BD playback is very good and SD upscaling is excellent. I still think the Oppo is the best upscaler, closely followed by the Pioneer 320/23FD (i have a 50″ pioneer kuro). The Oppo and Pioneer bring a little more color and detail to the table. Then again, I have yet to manipulate the features of the JVC. Unlike the pioneer (but like the oppo and panny 60/80), the JVC can output 24fps on sd dvds. I have not tested it enough to compare smoothness and audio synchronization yet. In synthetic tests, it seems to do better with film cadences and less so with video deinterlacing.
I will post multiple load times this evening to quantify its speed and try out a few more real world upscaling tests.
It does have a few cons in limited tweaking and the brightest damn blue lights on the front that make you think you’re seeing a squad car in your rearview mirror. They are not dimmable (how do you not think this would be an issue JVC?)
All in all, if you’re looking for a player that is about as fast as the Oppo and offers SD upscaling as good if not better than a Panny 80 and at a very great street price, the JVC is worth a look. If you’re more of a videophile, the Pioneer 320 is the next option a step up, then the Oppo for about $200 more. Just my two cents. I own them all.
5.0 out of 5 stars
JVC DVD player
It works great and covers all the media I currently use, and has more
media sources if I get into making some videos myself.