Customer Reviews

Philips DVP5960 - Multi-Region Capable DVD Player With HDMI And Upscaling To 1080i - Black

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is a great unit but you must be prepared to do a little work if you want it to opperate to its full potential. As a previous reviewer pointed out, you must visit Philips web site to download a driver to assist you in previewing Jpegs at a quicker rate etc. When the driver is downloaded it must be un-zipped, so you may have to download an additional piece of software. This does not make the player multi-regional, to do that you must: 1. Turn on the unit
2. Open the loading tray
3. Press the "Setup" button on the remote
4. Navigate to the "Preferences" page using the right arrow key
5. Enter 138931
6. You will now see the current region code displayed
7. Use the Up/Down arrow keys to select the region required or "0" for all regions
8. Press the "Setup" button on the remote
9. Press "OK" on the remote
This may seem like alot of hassle, but it is well worth it. We have the player linked to a flat screen 32 inch Sony and you could see the difference straight away. Don't know what it will be like rigged up to a LCD, but I imagine spectacular. Viewing Jpegs is easy, the player will display all the folders on the disc you load and you just select the one you want to view (it then plays them as a slide show). For £40 this is a steal and as usual great service from Amazon.

Works straight out of the box, no need for updated firmware. Compatible with standard USB pen drive, plays .avi and jpeg no problem. As noted in a previous review you have to follow these steps to switch to multi-region:

1. Switch unit on
2. Open the loading tray
3. Press the "Setup" button on the remote
4. Navigate to the "Preferences" page using the right arrow key
5. Enter 138931
6. You will now see the current region code displayed
7. Use the Up/Down arrow keys to select the region required or "0" for all regions
8. Press the "Setup" button on the remote
9. Press "OK" on the remote

Tried it this morning and it works. I can't believe this unit is so inexpensive. So far having played Region 1, Region 2, and .avi/DivX/jpeg from USB and DVD the unit performs well. Sound is crystal, picture quality faultless. Unit itself is sturdy enough, some people complained about the remote but it's fine - comfortable and intuitively styled.

Excellent service from Amazon too I'd have to add (next day delivery was by 9am on a Saturday)

A note too on the review from 17th Nov by Maca - although not indicated there IS a FastForward/ReWind facility with speeds up to x32, you just use the left/right selection buttons on the remote.

Order Process:
I purchased this from Amazon on the 28th December at 1pm with guaranteed next delivery. The DVD player and HDMI lead (LINX HDMI Cable) arrived before 9am on the 29th December. Totally impressed with Amazon's service.

Why the Philips DVP5960:
* wanted a cheap upscaling DVD player so I could use one of my spare HDMI sockets I've got on my LCD
* matched and synced with my Philips TV (one remote and all that)
* supports DivX

So I thought the Philips DVP5960 was the answer until HD DVD players come down in price. And for £42.99 you can't really go wrong until then.

Hooked up to TV and Amplifier:
Picture Quality
After playing around with the settings you can see the difference here and there. I noticed it much more on people's faces.

Sound Quality
Connected the DVD player up to my amp through the coaxial plug. Have watched Transformers and Bourne Ultimatum so far and the sound is awesome!

Not sure If I'm going to miss out on DTS but then most, if not all, my DVD's are Dolby Digital. Either way the sound is amazing and much improved compared to my old Sony DVD player.

Multi Region
Changing the settings on the DVD player couldn't be easier. Just follow the instructions that people have supplied.

DivX
Plugged in my iPod, selected a film. Nothing more to it. Simple!

Overall, very impressed. Only snag is the remote. It isn't as responsive as my old DVD player.

Like most people, until the HD scene settles down and more content becomes available in/on HD, I was looking for a DVD player that upscales standard format to 'near-ish' HD quality...and this does the trick perfectly!

An essential additional purchase would be an HDMI cable, but chances are that if you already own an HD TV you'll have bought one anyway. If not - well the difference between SCART and HDMI output is like VHS and DVD...Nuff said eh!

Region hack works perfectly too - see other review below.

Sounds obvious but a point worth looking at before you go to the trouble of a firmware update; check the existing firmware. The player I've just taken delivery of was running the latest anyhow...

Sure - there's maybe technically better machines out there...

Yes - It doesn't come with a HDMI lead... (SHOCK HORROR !!!!)

Damm - It doesn't make me coffee when I wake...

...But if you're after spending only £40 and haven't clicked on the Add To Shopping Basket by now...

I wanted a DVD player that could do all the usual stuff plus -
Play DIVX movies
Has an alternative method of playing files using a USB port.

* DIVX means that I can play the avi video files from my video camera. In the past I had to convert them to MPG1 or 2 and that takes ages.

* The USB port will save having to burn countless discs so that I can view files on the TV.

Also, I am not forking out a lot for a machine that will record as well as play - I just want a player.

My choices came down to three DVD players (in Aberdeen) -
1. Onn SW2411A costing just 39 pounds (ASDA stores only)
2. Phillips DVP5960 costing 49 pounds
3. A Pioneer - but we will stop there cos the damn thing cost 99 pounds.

I bought the Onn model cos it was just so cheap. But boy did that word have a double meaning. The thing had a cheap feel about it. Then I tried reading the instruction manual and just gave up as it was poorly written; in a really strange format; and told lies!

Then I fired it up and discovered a new term - ghosting. The player was taken back and swapped for another. Same problem. Got a refund and bought another Onn from a different ASDA store. Guess what. Same problem.

So now I decide to pay the extra for the Philips. After all it looked a lot better and it was widely available. Well, no, that is not true. The damn thing is so popular that supply can not keep up. In one store they told me that they had ordered 6 but were told they could only have 4..... for that month!
I took the plunge and ordered one. (Should not have to pay over 50 pounds for it).

Straight out of the box the thing was a nice. It looks and feels good.
The instruction manual is easy to scan through for info to get started. It also goes into enough detail to cover everything the DVP9560 can do.
The remote is a bit cheap looking but the controls are so very simple to use.
Was a bit disapointed to find out there were no cables for scart or HDMI.

So then I plugged it in and boy was I pleased. It had taken me four days to track this machine down but it was worth it. What a beautiful clear picture. Any DIVX or avi or MPG file I tried in it played with very little delay. DVDs fire up in an instant. Plugging in a USB pen drive I could play or view any of the files the machine recognises.

Only criticisms I have found so far are -
1) No power-off mode - only power-on standby (not very eco-friendly then)
2) USB port is 1.1. That is maybe the reason the machine can not read my external hard drives.
3) Reading folder and file names on the screen can be a bit confusing as only the first 8 characters are displayed.

On the plus-side
It does everything it says on the box.

So if you want satisfaction straight out of the box, stick with a known brand. And a good budget DVD player does not come much better than this one. However that might not be true for long. I think Philips are about to phase this model out in favour of the full HD compatible models that are now starting to appear in electrical/computer stores.

This player does exactly what it says on the tin. Plays just about everything you can throw at it (except HD Divx files). It can be made multi region easily, plays via the USB port, and upscales. Add to that the fact that it's a good brand as well as being only £40, and you can't go wrong.

A couple of comments in answer to some criticisms I've seen about this player:
1. People say there's no eject button on the remote, but if you hold down the stop button it ejects the disk, and if you do it again it closes.
2. People think there is no FWD or RWD on the remote, but the left and right arrows handle this function. The up and down arrows operate slow FWD and RWD.

In conclusion, this is well worth buying if you have a decent number of titles that aren't region 2, want USB connectivity, or want to play Divx stuff. If all your collection is R2, and you don't want the features I've mentioned, then I'd suggest waiting for a few months until the Toshiba EP30 comes down to about this price, as that plays HD DVD, as well as upscaling better than this.

When I purchased this the same day I got my 42" HD plasma as it upscales a normal DVD via the HDMI connection to close to HD quality.
I set it up and the picture looked no better, there was no DTS sound with this model only 5.1, the Jpegs via the USB are very slow, I disliked it so I unplugged it and was going to sell it on.
I decided to see what the reviews were like on the internet, then I realised the problem.
You have to go to the philips website and download some firmware, put that on a disk then put it in the player to upgrade the machine.
The machine now has DTS sound and is so much improved.
I cant understand why they put out machines without going through a thorough testing and expect every customer to know this and how to correct it.
I now really like it, the Jpegs are still slow though.
If you buy it get the firware from Philips or suffer. (oh and its now multiregion)

I was going to take advantage of my Phillips Hd TV by buying a Blue Ray DVD player or a HD player.
I read up on all the spec, heard who was in the lead i.e. Warner Brothers or others, found out all the costs, advantages v disadvantages.
When all of a sudden I landed on a forum, of tech people and others talking about my choice problem.
It was here, I learnt about DVD upscalers !!!!
Bought the Phillips DVP5960 and was amazed, could play all my DVD's saw things I had never seen before, and kids films like Magic roundabout, Dinosaur and Ant Bully, Planet Earth WOW.
The HMDI lead seems to be a large cost with leads from High street stores going from £30 to £100+, tried one from John Lewis for £30 and one from ebay for £15 kept the one for £15.

I purchased this player last year to take advantage of the HDMI connection on a new HD TV that I had bought. (HDMI cable needs to be purchased separately). With the format war of HD and Blue-ray still going on, I think this was a justified purchase. Granted, you won't get a true HD picture, but an upscaled one at 1080i is a good start. The upscaled picture is crisp with good clarity and has a decent enough sound through Dolby Digital.

There is a USB port that supports HD Jpeg, audio and video playback. Menus are pretty straight forward to navigate through, and there are some decent features to tweak with to achieve an optimum viewing experience. There is an update available via the Philips website if you don't have the latest firmware and the player can be made region free as explained by another reviewer on here.

There are a couple of negative points. Firstly, when playing downloaded movies from a flash drive (fat32) via the USB port, it exposed a problem. The player can't seem to handle a lot of movement on screen at once. An example is snow or long grass blowing about. This resulted in the picture stuttering. However, most movies played fine and this feature on the whole is an asset to the player. My main point of concern is with the clumsy remote control. It is pretty flimsy and non - responsive at times, which left me frustrated when I'm pressing the play button and nothing is happening! What I found was that if you aim the control more directly at the unit and push the buttons a lot harder than you normally would, it reacts better.

Overall, I highly recommend this player, particularly because of its affordability, many features and its ability to give a new lease of life to your standard DVD collection.

I received the Philips DVP5960 dvd player from Amazon to accompany the Hp w2207h monitor I had recently purchased. Comes with remote control and batteries and can be connected to a T.V. or monitor by scart or HDMI cable. I've connected mine with an HDMI cable as the monitor has an HDMI socket and the results (believe it or not) are very good. Picture quality sharpens once the HD button upscale button is pressed at the front of the player and the resolution is set from the menu. A usb socket is also present, which I havn't used.
There are different sound modes in the menu which are worth a look. It certainly enhances the sound and adds punch from the built in speakers in my monitor. Made mine multi region after reading a previous review. Comes with a quick start guide on a sheet and user manual.
I have to recommend the model as the reason I bought it was to watch films in near hi-def quality and it doesn't disapoint.