Philips DVP5990

Pros: Price, connectivity, HDMI and upconversion, features, PAL/NTSC, computer video playback, USB

Cons: LCD and remote could be better

The Bottom Line: If you need to play PAL discs on an NTSC TV, play computer files (including MP3, WMA, MPEG and AVI) and DivX, or play media files from a USB drive...

Review: When I ordered a TV for my mother's bedroom, I also ordered a receiver and a DVD player. The TV is a 42-inch Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80U, the receiver is Panasonic XR57K and the DVD player is Philips DVP5990.Although I was tempted to go with the ...

Pros: USB support for flash drives, easy to set up and use, web updates available

Cons: No frame-by-frame support, no optical audio out.

The Bottom Line: This player has a great bundle of features for less than $60.

Review: Several years ago we purchased a home theatre system made by Yamaha. It had a separate CD/DVD player that recently started malfunctioning after it started to heat up. So, we decided to purchase a new DVD player for the system especially since the old ...

Pros: DVP5990 plays absolutely everything except native HD material: PAL, memory stick files; upcoversion to 1080p.

Cons: Important features unlisted in manual; dishonestly seductive picture, overly quiet audio, quality-control issues.

The Bottom Line: Despite amazing flexibility in reading media and files, even foreign standards like PAL, engineering glitches and quality-control issues make it too complicated to recommend the Philips DVP5990 wholeheartedly.

Review: Introduction Philips DVD players often generate a great deal of internet dialog. The reasons are clear: [1] Philips is a name that has been known in audio and video for many decades; [2] The company played an enormous role in the creation ...