Alba DVD103

Alba DVD103

User reviews
4.6

Value For Money

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Alba DVD103

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Alba DVD103
3.8 17 user reviews
529%
412%
36%
26%
10%
06%
4.6

Value For Money

User Reviews

Steve.
5

Value For Money

Had The Player Since It First Came Out ,got As A S

Had The Player since it first came out ,got as a second player to my pc setup, always been happy with it, mp3s work great, vcds, svcds, all region dvds and r.c.e discs, only thing i want is a macrovision hack so i can unhook my pc dvd from the video, all in all a great player, even good dts sound to.

sparkie.
5

Value For Money

I Will Have Owned My 103 2 Years Come Xmas And It'

I will have owned my 103 2 years come xmas and it's the bomb. It plays everything you throw in it- vcd etc. Cheap discs are no broblem it plays em all. You could use your disc as a coaster and it would still play it. I would buy a couple more if I could get hold of any. Tell me if you know where.

Sutmae.
5

Value For Money

My Girlfriend Bought This Alba Dvd103 Dvd Player F

My girlfriend bought this Alba DVD103 DVD player for me for Christmas about 18 months ago (from Argos I think). With her knowing little about DVD and the difference in quality between players she just got the cheapest on out there for me.

I must say, I am very impressed with it. I`ve got it linked into a Videologic Digitheater DTS sound system and it sounds like the dogs knackers!! Never had any problems playing anything I have put in there, R1 and R3 disks work without a problem, VCD and SVCD of CDR and CDRW disks. It plays MP3 without problem. It`s packed with many features that more expensive players don`t have. It`s the ideal player for someone whos on a tight budget.

Of course there has to be a few corners cut to keep the price down. To start with it doesn`t actually come with it`s own 5.1 decoder built in so you will need to get your own and connect through a variety of methods either optical, composite or just standard phono jacks. Connection to TV is through standard SCART of S Video connctions. The player dosn`t handle well with scenes with high areas of black or dark colours, it generates a kind of pixelated appearance with a slight colour deviation. This is the only down point I have seen on this player. I`m sure that if the picture is compared to a top end Sony, JVC or Marantz player there will be noticeable differences but for the price of this little gem with everything that it does, it`s a quality little player. I`ll be sticking with mine for a few more years yet.

Beware.... there is a Daewoo model that looks exactly the same as the Alba... on the outside they are the same, on the inside they are very much different and I wouldn`t advise going for it, there is a major difference in quality and features.

mlsw1.
5

Value For Money

I've Had My Alba Dvd 103 For Some Time Now. It's

I've had my Alba DVD 103 for some time now. It's my first stand-alone player. I got it from ASDA and it's been really good. I've tried CDs, and some (really) cheap CD-Rs, (output through my hi-fi), no problems. (I've read that CD's don't sound as good on DVD players as CD players, but it sounds ok to me.) I've also tried Region 1 NTSC DVDs, which it plays alright, although it has some problems with the display format to my TV. (I have a 4:3 ration PAL50/PAL60 TV. If I set the player to PAL then the picture is stretched vertically, if AUTO or NTSC then the aspect ration is ok, but it's only in black & white, despite setting the output to RGB! I suspect if I had a TV which supported native NTSC things would be ok.) Overall I've been very pleased with it.

Mark Druce.
4

Value For Money

My Alba Dvd103 Was The First Dvd Player I Got. Aft

My ALBA DVD103 was the first DVD player i got. After reading the excellent reviews about it, it was down to Argos and grab one for me..generally VERY pleased, good pictures and sound and my reg 1 copy of "Tin Men" (Brilliant film!) plays fine. Some mechanism noise while playing...but turn up thevolume and blast it out. My optics need cleaning too.

Axel.
5

Value For Money

I Was Looking Forward To Going To France To Buy Me

I was looking forward to going to france to buy me a dvd. then i saw this Alba DVD103 dvd player for only 100. i thought it was a poor dvd player only able to play dvds from region 2 but it didn't-it could play all the discs. The only bad thing about it is that it makes noise while playing.

andy.
3

Value For Money

I Have Found The Alba Dvd103 Dvd Player Good Overa

I have found the Alba DVD103 DVD player good overall, although the laser seems to need cleaning regularly to play dvd's well.

6
mlsw1.

I bought a Sony DAVS880 instead, and don't regret it at all.

mlsw1.

I recently bought this model and had exactly the same problems with blocking/freezing etc.

I have now replaced my Alba with a Sony.

I would not recommend this DVD player to anyone.

Debs.

To get to 'A Knights Tale' extras, when the very first screen where it plays the Columbia Tristar logo plays, press stop twice (quite quickly) and then press digest (right after). Don't panic, it will look as though you haven't done anything and it's just gone back to the blue 'Alba Digital Versatile Disc Player' screen, but then it will begin to digest - lots of little pictures will load (each second one is blank, just an interval) and will play about two seconds of a preview of whatever that picture is. These are basically the extras divided into chapters. You can access whatever one you want by pressing the corresponding number, or scroll to the next page by using the 'Forward' button. You will eventually reach the movie divided up into chapters (with no divides), but there are more extras beyond that.

Hope this information doesn't come too late and you've not returned it.

Debs.

David McGloin.

I had the same problem with 'A Knight's Tale' (R2). If you press the Resume button (I think) while on the main menu then you can watch the film. Can't view the extras though.

Si.

I have tried both R1 and R2 Knights Tale. I think it might be RCE. Apparently there is a hack of some kind using the "DIGEST" button, but I had given the discs back when I found out.

I also find that if I don't leave an Audio CD in the player, it won't play DVDs at all (just spins wildly). Also has an intermittant glitch which causes lots of blocking on the screen, eventually clears with lots of removing of the DVD and trying again.

Wouldn't recommend this player to anyone, I'm buying a SONY next time (soon).

mlsw1.
5

Value For Money

Recently Bought A Copy Of The Burton Version Of Pl

Recently bought a copy of the Burton version of Planet of the Apes and the main disc has an option to view enhanced feature clips of the making of the film as you play it. This Alba DVD103 DVD player seems to be having the same problem as with Independence Day - Special Edition, in that it's replaying scenes from chapters which have the extra film.

sam.

The Alba Dvd103 Dvd Player Was A Good Buy To Start

The Alba DVD103 DVD player was a good buy to start with. I'm a single mother and can't afford to pay out so when i saw this one i was pleased that i would be able to get one. It worked ok to start with, so i started to replace all my videos with dvd's. Then i put a dvd on to watch and it just wouldn't play. It kept saying wrong region, even on the ones that it would play before. Now i can't afford to replace it and i am left with vcd player instead!

5
john0124.

Don’t want to be rude, but to say that you started to replace all your videos with DVDs and then that you can’t afford to buy a new player seems a bit odd. Less than £50 will get you a new player. How much did you spend on DVD disks?

mlsw1.

Dear Sam,

There seems to be two versions of this player around, one of which needs a hack to make it multi-region. Maybe yours is one of them, and has somehow been un-hacked, (or set to a specific region that you don't have dvds for). Anyway, search the web for alba dvd 103 hacks and you may find a solution to your problem. Here's one I found:

Power on player.

Press "pause" on remote.

Enter code "314159". Player display reads "COdE - -"

Enter desired region (0 = all, 1=USA, 2= Europe etc.)

Press "pause" again, Power off player

Wait 10 seconds and then power on again.

it's also listed at

http://www.dvd-technology.co.uk/aiwahack.htm:-

Hope this is of some use.

mlsw1.

A VCD player for under £100, Bargin! ;-)

mlsw1.

Just a thought, but if you look in the setup menu under preferences, you'll find there's a country setting. This might be the problem if it's been accidentally changed.

mlsw1.

Did the reviewer consider taking it back to the shop/manufacturer for repair? Even after a month, and with the original receipt the shop should have even given a refund if the product if faulty.

mlsw1.
4

Value For Money

The Alba Dvd103 Dvd Player Is Superb Vfm, Played A

The Alba DVD103 DVD player is superb vfm, played all I've ever thrown at it including svcd, even threw in a bad one to try to stop it but it ploughed on through the bad bits.....and it's multi region, well happy.

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