Technika DVD 512

I paid 120 GBP for this Technika dvd512 DVD player having read the reviews on this site. I wanted a budget player which could play just about anything I through at it, particalarly VCD's/MPG's. I have a few minor concerns which were not mentioned earler which I will address.

As an aside, apart from packaging I think this player is basically the same as a Cyberhome AM-512. I have removed the cover and the DVD player uses a standard IDE DVD-ROM, which is made by Cyberdrive. Personally I think the use of standard components is a good thing as, if the drive unit fails, it can be cheaply replaced (I do not know how common this failure is with new players but believe the laser failing was a problem when computer CD-ROM's first came out).

I am very happy with the player in general. I'm not an AV buff but cannot fault the picture quality with DVD playback. I've played MP3/CD's and MPG's recorded on my computer on the DVD player generally without problem. The player has a directory navigation facility and can play CD's with MP3/MPG on them. For some reason I do not think it liked one of the files I put on the CD (which seemed to confuse the navigation and cause it to play another MPG). The MPG's I had on there were not standard (SVCD) size and the player seemed to only scale some of the small ones in the horizontal direction.

I have done the multi-region hack found on the web (I cannot remember how I did it) and played R1 DVD's generally without problem. On one occasion the picture froze but the counter on the DVD player continued. I rewound the previous chapter and advanced it and it did not hang again.

I have the DVD player connected to my TV by SCART and have leads from my TV to my amplifier for the sound i.e. I'm not using surround sound. Even with the DVD volume at maximum I have to increase the amplifier volume to get normal sound output. This is annoying especially when turning back to TV as it is very loud.

The first thing I really noticed about the player was how hard it was to use the remote control. I bought a univeral remote control, all-in-one-6 (30 GBP @ Argos), this DVD model is not listed but their customer services updated the remote control by phone. This remote control works much better than the original.

i purchased the technika512 dvd player and was taken back by the picture and sound quality for a machine that cost only £120.never did it struggle to playback vcd/svcd formatts even on cheap media[whites/mirrors].no blocking or pixelating throughout playback and exellent 5.1 dolby sound that left me a bit surprised for a virtually unknown high street brand.i had a certain movie on vcd that wouldnt play on my new jvc-300 so i decided to try it in the technika 512,and not surprising away she played without a hitch.the technika also has the added bonus of the karaoke with mic, input and echo facillity.a truly versitle dvd player that will let you make it region free and macrovision off as well with a little button pressing[most new well known brands are making the macrovison on/off not possible without paying for a chip to be installed].i have owned in the past dansai 1010,,decca 5110,,jvc 300,,manhatten 3000 ,,dvd players that claim to be good quality,but to be honest, give me the technika 512 anyday,just a pity there rarer than dodo **** at the mo,till the UK get their next batch in on the 19th august 2002.go ahead and buy one ,and you will be quite surprised.

RRP around £250. Can be picked up for about £130 on the high street. Got mine from Miller Bro for £119. All the features are great. Superb picture and sound when used with extra speakers. Loads of outputs (Dolby 5.1, optical, s-video and scart). Features include DVD,SVCD,VCD,CD,MP3 and Karaoke. Cant ask for much more at £250. Get it cheaper and its more of a bargain. Also easy to make multi region.

great machine can be bought at Miller Bros electrics, bought mine bought July 2002 for £120

You can disable macrovision on the Technika dvd512 DVD player and it can be made region free.

It plays dvd/mp3/svcd/vcd/cd/cd-r/cd-rw/cvd/dvcd/oko -

also plays .mpg movies from my pc -

If you need the code to disablemacrovision and enable multi region email me [email protected]

This dvd512 dvd player from Technika is one of the better ones for your money and plays dvd/svcd/vcd/cd/cd-r/cd-rw/mp3. It is a karaoke player as well and is 5.1 surround sound the only thing that is needed is your region free code.