AMUG DVP642 Review

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Computer Video & DVD Player
A review of the Philips DVP642/37 DVD Player

By Arthur Whalem

DVD Player Plus
Philips has released the DVP642/37 DVD/CD player. This unit has the capability to play many computer video formats as well as the normal DVD, CD, MP3 and JPEG slide shows that many new DVD players can display. In fact, on the box Philips claims, "You have it, we play it". That seemed like a tall order for this Macintosh user so AMUG Labs put the Philips DVP642/37 to the test.

Connections
The Philips DVP642/37 has several video outputs including analog, component video and S video connectors. In addition, the audio output options are significant including analog, digital coaxial, digital optical and Dolby Digital.

The Macintosh Users View
When you tell a Macintosh user, "You have it, we play it" we would expect Quicktime movies to play. That is not the case with the Philips DVP642/37. In fact, there are quite a few formats that this player has problems with. I applied the latest firmware updates for this player to make sure nothing was missed as a result of old firmware. This unit can easily be upgraded by downloading new firmware and burning it to an ISSO 9660 CD. You simply place it in the player and it updates automatically.

The Good - Formats That Play
Video formats that play include DVD, AVI, DivX, VOB, MPEG1, VCD, SVCD and EyeTV movies. The EyeTV movies show up as VCD or SVCD icons on the player's menu. Philips says the unit plays MPEG-4 but I was unable get a single MPEG-4 file to play correctly during these tests. You are limited to having 24 items in any folder you wish to play and 30 characters for names. Audio formats which played include CD and MP3. Photo formats that are supported include JPEG and Photo CD. You can open iPhoto, select the pictures you want and record them to a CD or DVD. They will display on this player as a slide show. You can record mixed formats on a disk but for your own sanity I would group them in folders by type. The Philips DVP642/37 accepts DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R and DVD+RW. The fact that this player supports RW, means that you can erase and rewrite your disks (up to 1000 times) should your tastes change.

The Bad - Formats That DO NOT Play
The Philips DVP642/37 did not play every format that I have. Perhaps the slogan should be changed to "You have it, we might play it".
Video Formats - If you place any file on a disk inside this player with an extension of .mov it ignores it and will not even show the file in the player's menu. Quicktime is not supported. Sorenson Squeeze 4 MPEG-4 formats are not supported. AVC H.264 will not play at all. Standard MPEG-4 conversions play with no audio. The only Sorenson conversions I was able to play were VCD and SVCD. Apple Quicktime MPEG-4 plays with no audio. None of the Miglia AlchemyTV DVR MPEG-4 files played with audio. I called Philips about the claim that the DVD player plays MPEG-4. They stated that the only format supported was the Pinnacle MPEG-4 format. As a Macintosh user that does not help. Without Quicktime MPEG-4 capability built into the Philips DVP642/37 I do not expect to be able to play any standard Mac MPEG-4 files with it. Other video I was not able to play include DV, MPEG2 files not in .VOB format, Apple Music videos and Apple Movie Trailers. Apparently, if an MPEG2 or 4 file has a PCM or Ogg audio track no sound is played with your video.
Audio Formats - If you place AIFF files on a DVD they will not play but if you use the same files to create an audio CD they will play. Other formats that are not supported are AAC, AAC protected, Apple Lossless and Og Vorbis.

The Ugly - Not having this Player
Those that only want a DVD player will find a better value elsewhere. The Philips DVP624/37 was $63 at Amazon. You can find less expensive DVD players. However, if you like the fact that the DVP642/37 also supports rewritable disks in both formats, plays AVI, DivX, EyeTV recordings, separate .VOB files, VCD, SVCD, MP3 collections, Photo CD and your own JPEG collections then you will find standard DVD players lacking. This DVD player can easily be used as an EyeHome replacement for those rooms you might want to play computer video in without using wireless or running an ethernet cable. For all of these features $63 is a small price to pay. While there is room for improvement in the formats that the DVP624 plays, once you understand its limitations you can focus on how cool it is to play the formats that the DVP642/37 does support.

Philips DVP624/37 Requirements
A Television.
DVD, CD or user custom burned media.
DVD or CD recorder for computer disk creation.

Pros
Plays more formats than any other DVD player I have seen.
Supports DVD, AVI, VOB, VCD, SVCD and EyeTV formats.
Supports CD, MP3, JPEG slideshows and Photo CD.
Firmware can be updated.
Reads DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW.
Progressive scan, 4x video upsampling.
Can handle 192kHz/24 bit audio DAC.
Video - analog, component and S video connectors.
Audio - analog, digital coaxial and optical and Dolby Digital.
Zoom function, JPEG picture rotation and Parental control function.

Cons
Will not play Apple Quicktime movies.
Will not play AVC H.264 or DV.
All MPEG-4 files tested either did not play or had no sound.
AAC, Apple lossless and Og Vorbis not supported.
AIFF not supported unless in an audio CD format.
Miglia AlchemyTV recordings not supported.
MPEG-2 files not in VOB format not supported.
Bright red LED on when its off.

Philips DVP642/37 gets 4 AMUGs out of 5!
If you would like to play computer video on your TV at a low cost the Philips DVP642/37 is worth considering. For about $25 more than a standard DVD player you get the ability to play .VOB files without the required .IFO file structure of a standard DVD. You also get AVI, VCD, SVCD, JPEG and MP3 file playing capability. Normal DVD players that support VCD or SVCD require a special directory structure. The DVP642 does not. It sees the MPEG video file and plays it. This is a huge advantage. With rewritable firmware included we may get even more features in the future. Add to that Progressive scan, 4x video upsampling, lots of connection options and there is significant value in the Philips DVP642/37. If Philips or Apple ever upgrade this design to have ethernet and Quicktime compatibility that would be an amazing Macintosh tool.

Contact Information:
Philips Consumer Electronics
Knoxville, TN 37914-1810
USA
800-531-0039 Toll Free
www.p4c.philips.com

Copyright 2004
Arizona Macintosh Users Group, Inc. (AMUG)
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