The JVC XV-N50BK is a great player at an incredible price. It is a name brand player and it's packed with features that let the user get the most out of their DVD viewing. It's a steal at under $400.

The JVC XV-N50BK is a code free player and so therefore it plays discs from regions 1-6. The player also has a built in NTSC/PAL converter, so you can play PAL discs from abroad and play them on a standard NTSC TV. This is an important feature because 99% of the TV's manufactured in the US use the NTSC format. To find out what kind of TV you have, just look in the instruction manual of your TV. The JVC XV-N50BK played all of my discs from other regions with no problems. As I partake in a lot of international travel I pick up a lot of discs from other countries. The player played a region 2 copy of the UK comedy Fawlty Towers as if it were a normal region 1 discs. It is important to note a couple of things about this player if you plan on spending an extended amount of time overseas. The player is not dual voltage so a power converter will be required in parts of the world where the voltage requirements differ. Also as the player can play PAL discs on an NTSC TV, it can't play NTSC discs on a PAL TV's.

The JVC XV-N50BK had no problems playing any of the different formats that I tried to play. The player did a tremendous job when playing my standard DVD's. The picture was quality was excellent. The player has the progressive scan feature, and when used on my plasma TV it makes the picture even better. When it comes to audio discs this player is very versatile indeed. The player plays CD-R's and CD-RW's burned from my computer. The player also plays MP3 encoded CD-R's and CD-RW's with no problems at all. The JVC XV-N50BK also plays Video CD's and Super Video CD's. The player is also capable of playing some of the discs that are REA or RCE encoded discs. This is important because many studios are now encoding DVD's with the to discourage viewers from playing discs from regions 2-6 on a region 1 DVD player. This is done because movies are released in different regions at different times.

The internal components of this player really make for excellent image quality. It comes with a 54MHz/10 bit video D/A converter. This will reduce digital artifacts and provide a better picture. When it comes to audio the player has a 96 KHz/24 bit audio Digital to Analog converter which leave a little to be desired but at the same time still provided pretty good sound.

The player has a wide range of basic features that really add to it's value. The zoom feature on this player worked really well. You can double the size of the picture and then move it around to focus on a particular part of it. The JVC XV-N50BK also has the ability to view multiple angles if the disc was recorded as such. Moving between chapters was particularly smooth as was scrolling through chapters at an increased speed.

When it comes to outputs, this player has everything you need. There is a component video output, which is the optimal connection for the DVD player. If that is taken there are plenty of other ways in which to hook up the DVD player. There is also an S Video output, a composite video output and an optical and coaxial digital output.

Ratings follow between 1 and 5 with 5 being the highest:

On a level of 1 - 5:

• Value- 5
• Functionality- 4.5
• Performance- 4.8
• Quality- 4.9
• Overall- 4.8

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