Dansai 852 (Tesco) Reviews

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Dansai 852 (Tesco)
★★★★☆
4.4
88.0% of users recommend this
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Latest Reviews

“Although the Dansai 852 is a great machine (it does...”

★★★★★

written by sarrebmat on 14/11/2003

Although the Dansai 852 is a great machine (it does help to have the remote control), i have lost mine and need to get a replacement, any help out there to locate one, i live in manchester if that helps.

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“Price wise the Dansai 852 is the best buy i've ever...”

★★★★★

written by femartin on 23/09/2003

Price wise the Dansai 852 is the best buy i've ever made, believe me! I paid £79.99 and i am enjoying every penny of if. This DVD player can only be matched by more expensive models of DVD players.

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“When I first got the Dansai 852 (Tesco) I was ”

★★☆☆☆

written by Gr@y. on 21/07/2003

When I first got the Dansai 852 (Tesco) I was
overjoyed for the budget price of £89.99 it plays anything I put in it :)
you can make it region free, and turn off the macrovision. This was to good to be true !
Now a year down the line I am not so sure :( its stop recognizing certain disks at random also when watching a movie the sound sometimes breaks up and the picture becomes pixalated making it impossible to watch a movie, very frustrating when you have been sat there for over an hour enjoying the movie :(
I suppose it my own fault for buying budget :(

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Fizzwizz's Response to Gr@y.'s Review

Written on: 01/09/2003

This is not uncommon even on expensive units.
<br>
<br>Do you smoke? You would be surprised how nicotine can inhibit the laser. Either way I'd recommend cleaning the lens on the laser to see if that cures your ill.
<br>
<br>At this price you can afford to throw your unit away every year, so drop it in the bin and buy yourself a spanking new one.... makes more sense than paying mega money for "branded" boxes.

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“This is a very cheap player. Paid less than 100 Euro....”

★★★★★

written by Gum ^Alter. on 23/12/2002

This is a very cheap player. Paid less than 100 Euro. It plays EVERYTHING on ANYTHING. I have tried all kinds of CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW on all kinds of colors. Black, Silver, Green, Blue whatever. I takes it all. Plugged the player to my Sony widescreen tv with a SCART-connection and the picture quality rocks. (Okey it is not THE VERY BEST thing in the world but for less than 100 Euro it is damn good!) I brought a DVD-genie friend over and he took all of his "problem"-DVDs with him, like Lord of the rings, Terminator 2 etc. DVDs that freezed and other funny behaviours on his "expensive" player. All movies but Lord of the rings passed. LOTR freezed at one point. Just pressed play again and it resumed. I am very pleased with this player and now I am looking for a cheap but good 5:1 sound equitment.

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“Firstly, for the money, this is a great entry level...”

★★★★☆

written by chichichu. on 19/11/2002

Firstly, for the money, this is a great entry level unit. It is more that capable of handling the average collection of media including DVD, CDA, VCD, mp3. The ability to set the output to PAL, NTSC or AUTO is for me an invaluable feature. Add to this an option to bypass region coding and even to set a specific region (for RCE encoded discs) and you are well on your way. I especially like the ability to select regions 7 and 8, which have not yet been assigned. A little forward thinking and future-proofing here. There is also the option to switch off macrovision support. Now for the overheating problem. This model uses a rather large and Shinawa SHD-2502V drive unit, this takes up all of the vertical space inside the case so not allowing enough air flow laterally. If you look under the drive unit you will see that two of the chips mounted on the underside are covered by a heat-spreader. I found that replacing the thermal paste between the chips and the heat-spreader with a thermal transfer compound having a higher thermal conductivity has helped. I have not done so but you may find that attaching a heat-synch to the decoder chipset with a thermal-epoxy could improve performance. Air flow is the key factor to the heat problem here and placing this unit into any kind of enclosed space or stacking system is the worst thing you could do. I needs free flow of air around the case. Well. Overall this is a very capable unit and gets my thumbs-up (apart from the overheating).

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“Worthless piece of equip!! Well, concidered the low...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Lars T.. on 30/10/2002

Worthless piece of equip!! Well, concidered the low price,one couldn't expect better maybe, but there are a lot of other budget players that are much better. This one has so bad picture quality that most menues on DVD's are unreadable and you have to guess what you're selecting. When playing audio discs or MP3's...the whole player starts to vibrate and generates a loud hum when the disc is spinning. The hum is so loud that it can be heard even though the audio level is at normal level. The player won't play Lord of the rings, which my dealer told me was a wellknown problem.. I was given instructions on how to come by this problems but IF it works you'll have to wait several minutes (4-5) until the DVD starts plaing..as I said in the beginning, I would rate this player as worthless piece of junk !!! --Lars T.

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49958_Achmed.'s Response to 47143_Lars T..'s Review

Written on: 10/11/2002

Well, it actually CAN play Lord of the Rings and it actually doesn't take 4-5 minutes, more like 1-2 minutes. I guess it has something to do with some functionality of the DVD that came out after the player did.

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59314_Zzzzzz.'s Response to 47143_Lars T..'s Review

Written on: 20/12/2002

This is an excellent player, plays everything you throw at it. Handset Multiregion/Macrovision hack, optical out, good picture quality. I dont personally like the 'ping' noise when it ejects but thats hardly an issue. I had the same problem with LOTR extended disc 2, but apparently theres a workaround: http://www.reviewcentre.com/post32389.html
I recommend it.

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“When I wrote my first review of the dansai 852 DVD...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Gote Johansson. on 22/07/2002

When I wrote my first review of the dansai 852 DVD player here, I was so impressed by this player; all the formats, the price, the hack for making it region free but most of all macrovision free and so on. My player broke down four months ago and the Swedish reseller (SIBA) say they can't find any spare parts... (Probably a lot of b-s!)
I'm still waiting for it.

I don't have any good advice for anyone on whether to buy one or not. The quality of this player obviously varies a lot. If you are lucky you get a very compatible, Macrovision-free player for a competitive price. On the other hand, if you are unlucky you will get all sorts of problems and a player that corresponds to what you payed.



My rating for "Value for money" is of course based on an assumption that the player works. The "Overall" rating assumes nothing.

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“I bought my Dansai 852 DVD player as I'd been off sick...”

★★★★★

written by myredvan. on 21/07/2002

I bought my Dansai 852 DVD player as I'd been off sick for a while and deserved a treat so I entered the dvd market totally blind and I can't believe I landed such a good player. It still plays everything I throw at it and I've watched so many films on it. If it messes up I don't know what to do as all Tesco's current dvd players don't read s-vcd or vcd's, so I just hope it carries on working perfectly.

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31936_Cloudkicker.'s Response to myredvan.'s Review

Written on: 05/08/2002

where in the world can i get one online or close by to my home town? Hartford, CT.

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58700_Myredvan.'s Response to myredvan.'s Review

Written on: 17/12/2002

I found a good link - follow the link but miss out any gaps that may appear. http: //www.dansai. freehosting.net/ custom.html P.S. count to 3? Don't think I've done anything wrong here as I've gone and done a web search!!!!

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58611_Myredvan.'s Response to myredvan.'s Review

Written on: 17/12/2002

I can't find my piece of paper with it on. Just do a search on the web for it and I'm sure that you'll find it. I've not checked with my player if it works but have been told that it does!

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Danjel.'s Response to myredvan.'s Review

Written on: 16/12/2002

Hi. I read the comment about how to watch lord of the rings on dansai 852s. But I can't remember the code to bypass my player. I bought the film three mounths ago and I haven't been able to watch it yet. Can someone please e-mail me the code. tanx.

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46417_Myredvan.'s Response to myredvan.'s Review

Written on: 27/10/2002

the Technika dvd212 is available from www.empire-direct.co.uk don't know if they deliver to Germany though? worth a try though?

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46037_Phantom2424.'s Response to myredvan.'s Review

Written on: 24/10/2002

... and where can I buy such good DVD-Player like the Technika DVD 212 in Germany ?

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41681_Myredvan.'s Response to myredvan.'s Review

Written on: 04/10/2002

Apparently it does support RCE discs I haven't got any but apparently all you have to do is set the player to the same region as the disc. e.g. region 2 lord of the rings so you set the player to region 2 not on bypass region.

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40768_Myredvan.'s Response to myredvan.'s Review

Written on: 01/10/2002

The player was only availible in the uk through Tesco - it's now discontinued. just look for the one that everyone goes on about and get that one.

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Trapperz.'s Response to myredvan.'s Review

Written on: 24/08/2002

Well it maybe a good player but it doesn't support RCE. and some companies use that today.. like on the region 2 Lord of the rings.. it wont play in the dansai 825s ! suck on that!

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32690_Thegoob.'s Response to myredvan.'s Review

Written on: 11/08/2002

Apparently the Technika DVD212 is practically the same machine - available at empiredirect.co.uk, about £77 + £10 p&p

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“I had the Dansai 852 DVD player for six months and I...”

★★★☆☆

written by Bossy. on 19/07/2002

I had the Dansai 852 DVD player for six months and I was very happy with it until suddenly it stopped reading CD_RW. It comes up with (NO-DISC) message when a CD_RW is inserted with any type of data (CD audio, mp3 or vcd). A week later it stopped recognising DVDs. Now it only plays audio CDs. I was hoping for the fun to last a bit longer!

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60652_Ph/\t.'s Response to 30418_Bossy.'s Review

Written on: 27/12/2002

Looks like mine has just gone the same way now it just comes up with "no-disc" no matter what I put in it :(

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“The Dansai 852 is a versatile and excellent DVD...”

★★★★★

written by Mike. on 08/06/2002

The Dansai 852 is a versatile and excellent DVD player. Why mess with expensive units that are difficult to get region free when this baby (only from tesco's) is in town. I can't fault the playback quality myself. It's only the casing that feels inexpensive. Unless you touch it you wouldn't know that it isn't 'brushed aluminium' would you?
Even has two headphone jacks (never seen that before)!

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56864_Julia.'s Response to 26963_Mike.'s Review

Written on: 09/12/2002

Sorry, not into the technical side. Are you saying that you cannot add 5.1 speaker surround sound system to this dvd player? help please

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56942_Mike.'s Response to 26963_Mike.'s Review

Written on: 10/12/2002

You can still add 5.1 by outputting the sound through a seperate dolby digital amplifier (as one normally would anyway). It's just that the decoder isn't within the player itself.

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“Brilliant!! had a few players and i must admit for a...”

★★★★★

written by tp. on 15/05/2002

Brilliant!! had a few players and i must admit for a cheap player the Dansai 852 DVD player out does most of the expensive ones. Would recommend this to anyone, so easy to use and brilliant will play all it says. The fact that you can turn off microvision and make it region free is a plus also.

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“Thanks very much Tesco for this great bit of kit-the...”

★★★★★

written by Johnny Knoxville. on 14/05/2002

Thanks very much Tesco for this great bit of kit-the Dansai 852 DVD player. No more 'dodgy rip off/don't work' worries when forking out £99 for a DVD, unlike some other supermarkets.
The kids have got a Dansai 1010 in the bedroom and we've got an 852 downstairs so welcome to the Dansai family household!
However I've heard through the grapevine that a newer sexier model is due out shortly for the same sort of cash as the 852 but is far slimer and better looking along with a 5.1 de-coder built in.......looks like the dog's going to get the 852 when this baby comes out.

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“The Dansai 852 DVD player plays anything and is easy...”

★★★★☆

written by pip. on 05/05/2002

The Dansai 852 DVD player plays anything and is easy to hack-not bad for a dvd player. cd play is so-so.

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“The Dansai 852 is a very impressive DVD player - has...”

★★★★★

written by gidon. on 02/05/2002

The Dansai 852 is a very impressive DVD player - has most of the features you could want. Its compatability is excellent - nothing has not played in the machine so far - including CD-R(W)'s - with (S)VCD's, MP3s, MPEG and VOB files. MPEG, MP3 and VOB files can be burnt to an unclosed multi session disc and still be played - ie they don't even need to be burnt as a (S)VCD!
Fast forward is jerky on VCDs and only goes up to 4x (as opposed to 32x for DVDs) - but not a major problem. The player is not silent in operation - although I have nothing to compare it to.
Output via RGB is *far* superior to composite - brighter, better contrast etc.
Easy hack to turn off macrovision and region. Makes ping noise on eject - see my site for an example movie with sound(!) Please see my review on my recommended site for more details (including the user manual scanned in).

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“The Dansai 852 is a great DVD/MP3/VCD Player for the...”

★★★★★

written by Amigo. on 30/04/2002

The Dansai 852 is a great DVD/MP3/VCD Player for the money.
Too many people whinge about this and that but for under £100 it's an 11 out of 10 buy.
Stop pratting about and go and buy one NOW !

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22102_John.'s Response to Amigo.'s Review

Written on: 02/05/2002

where online is everyone buying this at? can't seem to find it anywhere.

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27441_Anaboland.'s Response to Amigo.'s Review

Written on: 12/06/2002

I don't think you will find a Dansai in the US online as they are Badged and sold in the UK by the supermarket chain TESCOS.
<br>
<br>But you could try the Technika DVD 212 which is the same internals, try www.empire-direct.co.uk ,i dont know if they ship to the US.

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“Wow. I`ve been looking for a DVD player which could do...”

★★★★★

written by Teescottage. on 28/04/2002

Wow. I`ve been looking for a DVD player which could do it all for quite a while now. I have a LG 3660P which has been a trusty beast but doesn`t have the extras which I wanted.
Then last week I noticed the Dansai 852 in Tesco. I checked the web and rushed back to the store to buy one before they sold out. And boy was I glad I did. I have thrown everything at this machine and it has accepted it all. MP3's, VCD`s, CDR, CD-RW... you name it.
The main thing I like is the zoom. I was expecting 2x and 4x but when I clicked the remote I found there was also 1.5x
... I have a widescreen in the lounge but the rest of the house has 4:3 ratio sets. The 1.5x & 2x zoom removes or reduces the black letterbox bars that are seen on these sets when watching widescreen movies so I can now watch DVDs anywhere in the house on any set without going blind staring at a tiny picture in the middle. Overall I would say that for the price this is an amazing piece of equipment and if you are looking for a DVD/MP3/VCD player then you could do a lot worse than the 852. But why oh why do these manufacturers insist on only making their machines SILVER!

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“The Dansai 852 is a nice little DVD player. Looks a...”

★★★★☆

written by Trev. on 28/04/2002

The Dansai 852 is a nice little DVD player. Looks a little cheap (that's cos it is).
Does exactly what it says on the box with what I would say is good at the price.
Don't expect to be blown away by the picture quality and sound but buy one anyway you'll love it.

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“If you are looking for a cheap versatile dvd player...”

★★★★★

written by colin. on 24/04/2002

If you are looking for a cheap versatile dvd player below £100 then the Dansai 852 is the one for you. It plays dvds, mp3, vcds and svcd, also macro disabled (sweet).
I have recommended this to many people and 3 have bought one this week alone and gave it the thumbs up. The other one to watch for is the dansai 1010 for £85.00-smaller than the 852 but works the same with the exception of there is no LCD so you have to use the OSD but still worth the money and fits nicely under your hifi just like a cd player (for all those with limited space)

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“The Dansai 852 is the 2nd DVD player I have bought. I...”

★★★★★

written by Flash. on 20/04/2002

The Dansai 852 is the 2nd DVD player I have bought. I previously had a Wharfedale 750s which was good but not as stylish as the Dansai. The Dansai has played ll cds I have tried so far. VCD, SVCD and without any lip sync problems. This is a must for bargain hunters looking for a DVD. The latest Mico doesn't have the disable Macro feature as has been removed from the firmware so if you can still get your hands on a Dansai 852, buy it fast.

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“My Dansai 852 has been an excellent little DVD player...”

★★★★☆

written by dcf. on 16/04/2002

My Dansai 852 has been an excellent little DVD player so far - only just bought it. Cds are handled excellently -a little hiss but barely audible. Dvd picture is great -skin tones are a little pale but this is easily fixed by turning up the colour on your tv. All the functions you're really going to need are here, it hasn't got the outputs for dolby 5.1 but handles it and you really need a digital receiver to benefit from 5.1 anyway.
All in all an excellent player. I'm glad I didn't fork out twice as much on a dvd player and opted for a bargain entry level player.

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