amw (ronin media works) p80l review

Picture courtesy of martin.w6.

Average Ratings

Value for Money	9.5/10
Overall rating	9.3/10

100% Recommended4 out of 4 Reviews

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By garchunlee on 30th Dec 2003

garchunlee's Ratings

Value for money	8/10
Overall value	8/10
garchunlee's recommendation

Good Points

Multi region machine (after firmware upgrade)
Auto plays DVD/-R/-RW/-A*/CDA/VCD1.1-2.0/SVCD/JPEG/.MOV/WMV/CD-R/RW/MP3*/WMA*
Dolby 5.1/DTS outputs
Scart/extra L & R audio out/S-Video/coaxial/Optical out
Auto resume on VCD/SVCD as well as DVD after stopping
Wide visual and audio enhancement features

*Not tested

Bad Points

Not Multi region out of the box (my version is not anyway)
Poor remote layout
Complex chapter/time search menu setup
Single scart socket

General Comments

After my Arianet 2255 gave up the ghost (see http://www.reviewcentre.com/review30295.html for full review) I returned the product and got myself a replacement (£55-70).

This is a slim line sliver machine with a mirrored front panel. At approximately 6cm in thickness and auto play's all types of different formats including DVD-Audio with all the usual connections, but as usual only one scart socket.

This AMW player (Amphion Media Works) is rather odd in the sense that it is made by the same folk at Ronin Media Works. In fact when you go to each respect websites the physical address is the same! (http://www.a-mw.co.uk/index.html and http://www.rmwx.com).

This made me a little worried, since I previously owned a Ronin P703 (see http://www.reviewcentre.com/review29869.html for full details) and had to return that as well. Anyway I had exchanged the product (and tested the unit in store before leaving) and that was that.

Inserting a number of disks (DVD, DVD-R, VCD, SVCD) all played automatically with no problems to report. There's full Dolby 5.1/DTS decoding on-board with an extra set of L & R audio outs as well as optical out for the mini-disk recorder. The unit also supports MP3 and WMA files as well (not tested).

The menu system is exactly like the Ronin units, but more pleasant on the eye with almost child-like icons along the top of the screen. Again this unit continue to play whilst I was in setup which was a little strange, but I guess you just have to get use to it.

There are some wonderful software controls including picture quality adjustments including sharpness, gamma, hue, contrast, brightness to produce a very clear and well balanced picture output (28" CRT TV via gold scart). The audio setting comprise of, Pro-Logic II, speaker size, x3 level bass, reverbe mode including living room, concert hall, bathroom which is surprisingly good for a unit in this price range. This produced an excellent audio output via a set of Medion 5.1 speakers (450 PMPO).

Below is the multi region hacks

1. Press SETUP on Remote Control
2. Enter 13798888 (or on some models it can be 13798888)
3. Select VERSION from the menu by pressing ENTER
4. On REGIONAL CODE press RIGHT (>) button
5. Use DOWN button to change REGIONAL CODE to '0'
6. Press ENTER on Remote Control to save

Or

1 Remove any Disks
2 Press Setup
3 Go to Preference Page
4 Type 1379 (this will bring up the region code)
5 change to 0 and press play to confirm the change.

Admittedly none of the these hacks worked on my unit, but there is a firmware upgrade from the following link http://roninhacks.shacknet.nu/mod.jsp you'll notice that when you open the page they have both Ronin and AMW hacks on there.

I cannot stress the importance of READING the instructions before you try and upgrade the firmware. If you fail to follow the instructions then the worst thing that would occur is that you'll have a dead unit and since it is not covered under the warranty there's no one to go moaning to. You have been warned.

In the end it was pretty simple (after 8 attempts) and now I have a machine which plays R1 "XXX" automatically. The instructions as to how to enter the new remote hack is as follows (included in the instructions to be downloaded).

1.Go to "SETUP"
2.Press the ">" button 3 times
3.Type in "1379" and a grey box with the current region number should appear
4.Press "up" or "down" keys for the desired region setting and press "SETUP" or "play" and it's ready to play the disk from the selected region.

One of the great features of this machine is the ability to stop a VCD/SVCD midway and start it again from the point you stopped at (whilst it's still switched on). I have yet to see any other player with this ability.

On the other hand there is a very annoying 4 step process before you type in the particular number of the chapter you want or to go to a specific time index as with VCD's. The remote control buttons are also poorly placed with the "0" button not under the number "8", but next to the number "9".

Oddly enough though, when playing WMV/.MOV files hitting the "search" button quickly gets you to the time index that you want, another feature not seen on any other player that I've reviewed.
There is no Karaoke function on this model and I can hear the disappointment in all of you budding Pop Idols! As well as no support for DivX/MPEG-4 and Quicktime files.

Conclusion

This is a great little unit with some wonderful visual and audio features enhancements and after the firmware upgrade, it works a treat on R1 disks with no problems so far. I believe I may have purchased an earlier model since the website seemed to suggest that the remote hack should be my first port of call.

One word of warning though, this is the 5th DVD player that I have had to review due to units failing to working within 6 months of purchase so reliability may be a future issue. Plus www.ukdvd.com have stopped selling the AMW machine and is now only available via www.virtuosops.co.uk for the exact model and at www.ebuyer.com www.avituk.co.uk www.afterhours.co.uk for other AMW players.

This player has been reviewed by comparing with Acoustics Solutions 421, Mirror MIRR-110, Ronin P703, Arianet 2255 all have reviews on this website

Total Respect: +9