DV88+ to have DVI anytime soon?

[GrannySmith]

I've been seriously contemplating a DV88+ for months now to fulfil a dual dvd/cd player role, wondering if anyone at Arcam could confirm whether the addition of a DVI video port is in the pipeline?

[John Dawson]

It is not Arcam's position generally to comment on what we may or may not do in the future; however I will say this:

We are unlikely ever to have DVI outputs on any of our products - it is already obsolescent. We are very aware of the benefits of HDMI, effectively a superset of DVI, for both digital video and, in due course, audio. However the integration of any new technology into products whose design was frozen before the new technology was fully specified, is frought with difficulty.

If you choose a product now then please buy it for what it can do for you now, not what it might or might not be able to do in the future. In the case of the DV88 Plus it produces arguably better analogue video and CD audio than any comparably priced competitor. This is no accident and just because a product has a whizzy new digital video output does not mean this will be superior to a well implemented analogue video output, especially in a complete system.

In such a video chain there are of course fewer D/A and A/D conversions (probably) when feeding a suitable digital display but the quality of everything else, especially the MPEG decoder and deinterlacer used in the player, is also vital in determining final image quality. These components are not created equal. If you are sceptical about this there is an excellent article in the new quarterly magazine AV Tech (sold with November's Hi-Fi News) which reviews a number of DVD players for video quality - it is very thorough and well worth a read!

John Dawson (Arcam)

PS - And in case you were wondering, the DV88Plus came out better for overall video quality than any of the other 5 players in the AV Tech test. The test was done "blind" by a panel that included experienced professional viewers. The video was 625p (i.e. "PAL progressive").

[Gliese 581c]

So whats the better video quality between the 88+ and the 88P ? Or are they both the same ?

[John Dawson]

They are not the same - the 88P is based on the Zoran Vaddis 3 MPEG processor and the 88 Plus uses the (two generations later) Vaddis 5. The 88P uses a Silicon Image SiI503 for deinterlacing; the Vaddis 5 has its own very good built-in deinterlacer.

Actually IMO there isn't much to choose between them overall in terms of picture quality - however the test I referred to was done with the current 88 Plus for obvious reasons.

HTH.

John Dawson (Arcam)

[Paul Reading]

How can I tell which one I have?

[John Dawson]

Any DV88 or DV88 Plus with the added Silicon Image PS board has a row of extra video sockets at the top of the back panel to support the PS output. A standard DV88 Plus supports PS but does not have this board; it also has the newer screen savers, menus etc.

The exact nature of the serial number tells you - so does the title of the front page of the instruction manual or the writing on the top right of the front panel! If it says PLUS underneath the "DV88 DVD PLAYER" line then it is the Plus version :-)

HTH.

John Dawson (Arcam)