curtis dvd5038 review

Picture courtesy of Julien Boulay.

Average Ratings

Image Quality	6.2/10
Sound Quality	4/10
Ease of Set Up	6.8/10
Ease of Use	7.6/10
Value for Money	7.1/10
Overall rating	4.6/10

22% Recommended2 out of 9 Reviews

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By maxlistener on 24th Nov 2003

maxlistener's Ratings

Value for money	8/10
Overall value	3/10
maxlistener's recommendation

Good Points

inexpensive, good for action DVDs on newer TVs

Bad Points

problems with amplifier noise and compatibility with older TV

General Comments

DVD picture quality from the Curtis DVD5038 was good when the video signal was sent through a friends' Philips Magnavox VCR to their Magnavox TV using the included composite video cable with RCA connectors. However, connecting to our older GE television through our Sharp VCR resulted in a picture that kept swinging between perfect and terrible. The shop clerk explained this was caused by a copy protection scheme designed to prevent copying DVDs to videotape. She said we could solve the problem by buying one of two products the shop sells to defeat the scheme, but that would have increased the total cost by a third. The other solution would be to connect the DVD directly to the TV, but we could not do so because our TV has only a coax RF input socket and the Curtis 5038 lacks the corresponding output.

The sound quality was alright for moderately loud sounds. Unfortunately, the equipment produced a loud hiss - a continuous static-like hum from the 5 small speakers which I found objectionable during quiet or silent moments, especially quiet music. All efforts to reduce the hissing failed, the shop display model had the same problem, and the clerk said the other Curtis International model, the DVD 5045 also had this problem.

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Total Respect: +2