Cambridge Audio DV99

[PRpaulorossi]

Hi there,
I´m considering buying this dvd player to par with my Panasonic 42PV70, because some people told me it was terrific considering the price - 250€ in Portugal.
I´ve been trying to read more about people who have one but unfortunally i didn´t find many.
So, could you tell me more about this player? Is it good ? Worth every Euro? How´s the upscalling? How,s the picture quality? Can it read from a 500GBHardDrive connect with USB? If so how should i put the files ( dvds and divx )? How´s the Divx quality?Do you advise another? If so what player (must be multiregion)?I believe it´s multiregion, is it true or i must do something do make it multiregion?
Sorry for all the questions but i would like to know more about this player.

 

[Adam Shaw]

1. Yes, it can read from a 500 Gb hard drive, we have tried this here with Western Digital, Freecom, and Lacie drives so far with no problems.

2. Yes, it plays Divx, and can do so from a connected hard drive

3. It is multiregion straight out of the box

Adam
Cambridge Audio

 

[PRpaulorossi]

Thanks Adam.

Are you from Cambridge Audio support ?
Regarding your answers i have some small questions: When connect a HardDrive via USB how does the files appear? Like explorer ? Does the DVD files should be under the name of the film ( for example ) and we just have to click OK in the folder for the movie begin as it was a regular dvd (with menus, options) insert?
So, in general, you recommend it ?

I appreciate very much your answers.
Thanks again.

 

[Adam Shaw]

Are you from Cambridge Audio support ?

Yes, you can get online support at www.cambridgeaudio.com/sts

Regarding your answers i have some small questions: When connect a HardDrive via USB how does the files appear? Like explorer ?

Yes, the folder and sub-folder structure is very similar to a Windows screen

Does the DVD files should be under the name of the film ( for example ) and we just have to click OK in the folder for the movie begin as it was a regular dvd (with menus, options) insert?

We have not ripped DVD's to a hard drive to play back, for legal reasons, so I cannot comment on this.

 

[MonkeySting]

What about if you create your own DVD content and play it from a USB-attached hard drive? I often create DVDs from my trips abroad with menus, etc.

Also, are you able to say which scaling solution is used by the '99? Is it the same as the '89, or better?

 

[Adam Shaw]

When playing content, you simple select whether you want the player to look at the USB port,. or at the disc drive, so there's no reason for it not to play back content you have created unless there is something wrong with the content itself.

The scaling is a step above the DVD89, as it scales to 1080p, rather than 1080i on the DVD89.

This is done by a Mediatek chipset, which if I recall is the 1389, but I will have to double check as my brain is not fully on line yet today.

Adam

 

[MonkeySting]

Thanks, Adam.

I've already got a DVD89 but am tempted to upgrade to the '99.

I output to my plasma at 1080i (since that's the highest it accepts) - in your opinion, do you believe the '99 produces a higher quality image when scaling SD-DVDs?

 

[Adam Shaw]

To be honest, we have not done much comparism on 1080i between the 2 machines, purely becasue if you get a 99, you are almost certainly doing so to obtain 1080p.

Is there anything between the 2 when outppung 1080i from a 576 line DVD? No, not really. The 99 does give a better image than the 89 when running 1080p to a screen that can accept it.

Other advantages on the 99 are the ability to access content from a USB drive, and the ability to output SACD, DVDA and DD/DTS over HDMI (the 89 is stereo only over HDMI)

 

[lkhalan]

Hi may I know is DV99 able to connect usb hard disk and play .vob format video file?
Thanks.


Alan

 

[garyheiss]

Initially I was wowed by this player. Fantastic music reproduction after my Arcam Cd72 bit the dust.. and I wanted a one box player for music and films.
But I am experiencing problems with HDMI playback.. this is causing a lot of poor reproduction in smooth tones and shadows, blocking and pixellation. It may NOT be the player.. it may be the cable or the TV (all new toys!). But I am now running component out instead...
Anyone from Cambridge know what can cause this?

Gary

 

[garyheiss]

Adam.. my DVD99 is almost new and I have issues with the HDMI out (through a Cambridge silver HDMI cable).. blocky shadows.. gritty and generally bad colour and tone reproduction in shadows..
Don't know if this is cable or player or TV HDMI input??
Any thoughts

Gary

 

[armengol]

Adam,

Does the DV99 send DSD "pure" digital signal over hdmi to an AV able to receive this signal? For stereo AND multichannel SACD's (2.0 and 5.1 respectively DSD signals)? And the menu lets you choose layer? (I ask this because on the DV600, at least mine, the only way to change SACD layer from mch to st is changing the video resolution!)

How does it send DVD-A singals over HDMI?

Thanks!

Josep

 

[garyheiss]

I have had the Unit replaced at Richer Sounds.. Not convinced that it HDMI circuitry is really that good. the new one also has artifacts and watching through analogue connections is actually a more fluid presentation.. oh well..
anyone else encountered similar problems??

 

[armengol]

A bit strange Gary... what TV? what resolution setup on the dv99?

Btw maybe you can help me on my question: did the thing let you choose SACD layer (multichannel/stereo/cd) without touching nothing else?

Thanks

 

[garyheiss]

Hi.. yes you can set those options independently. My TV is a new LG 32"
HDMI set to progressive in DVD menu and output at 720P . Guys in shop said its because many DVD's (older one's) are poorly encoded.. ) Musically its a great machine.. very good even compared to my Arcam CD72.. analogue DVD is nice.. but I was always a fan of CRT anyway.. not sure if I like the grit and noise of Digital output.

 

[armengol]

Ok, nice to know, thanks... it lets choose layer even with the disc playing?

As for your trouble: you must make some trial and error: my experiencie with different Tv and projectors and hdmi players is that... there is no a "fixed rule".

Some times for example the deinterlacer inside the tv/proj is better than the one in the player (or better adapted to the screen), and "i" settings" are better than "p" ones. Try 1080i.

Also, be careful with tv settings, many came real "hot" (contrast, colour), and the "soft" signal of analogue signals does no harm, but when you input a clear digital signal... it does not look nice at all (at by you are saying, looks like this, very "digital" to so say).

I am convinced after some experimentation you'll find a nice setup and would really enjoy the hdmi advantages!

Regards

Josep

 

[d4v1dl33r0th]

To be honest, we have not done much comparism on 1080i between the 2 machines, purely becasue if you get a 99, you are almost certainly doing so to obtain 1080p.

Is there anything between the 2 when outppung 1080i from a 576 line DVD? No, not really. The 99 does give a better image than the 89 when running 1080p to a screen that can accept it.

Other advantages on the 99 are the ability to access content from a USB drive, and the ability to output SACD, DVDA and DD/DTS over HDMI (the 89 is stereo only over HDMI)

Does the Cambridge Audio DV99 send DSD signals over HDMI?

What version of HDMI is supported by the DVD99? 1.1 or 1.2?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[jkeny]

I too am interested in a CA DVD99 mostly for audio. some questions to add to above:
- is the audio as good as the Oppo 980H?
- is the USB restricted as it is in Oppo to FAT or FAT32 & just the first 700 files on the disk?
- is the hdmi in the DVD99 a problem area?

 

[Nena1982]

1. Yes, it can read from a 500 Gb hard drive, we have tried this here with Western Digital, Freecom, and Lacie drives so far with no problems.

Adam
Cambridge Audio

question (on CA DVD99): how must you format the disk? I've read in the manual that it has to be USB 2.0 standard (alrighty) but also FAT32? When I format the 160 GB external disk with FAT32, it is limited to 37 GB. How should the 500 GB disk be formatted so that CA can read all of it's data?

And if the power supply of the external disk is only via USB on CA, does it work steadily or it has to be power supply with a classic cable and his adapter?

thanks a zillion!

 

[garyheiss]

Musically, its a stunner. Audio playback is excellent. I still get blocky artefacts on some discs on my 32 LG lcd. I am going to borrow a samsung from work that has HDMI and upscaling. I output to my TV at 720P as I don't think it has the ability to display any higher res without then downsampling, but no matter what setting I have tried (and this is now the second player as Richer Sounds kindly swapped first) I still get smoother picture via analogue. It tends to suggest either the cable or the TV..Cable is a Cambridge £70 silver. TV.. maybe the weak link?? I'll let the forum know after the weekend.

 

[davetshave]

Have a look at the description of FAT32 on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Allocation_Table#FAT32


It states:

"Windows 2000 and Windows XP can read and write to FAT32 file systems of any size, but the format program included in Windows 2000 and higher can only create FAT32 file systems of 32 GiB or less. This limitation is by design and according to Microsoft was imposed because many tasks on a very large FAT32 file system become slow and inefficient. This limitation can be bypassed by using third-party formatting utilities."

The maximum size you can achieve with FAT32 is 2 terabytes, but you'll need to format it using something other than windows. I guess someone will know of a decent (free) app which would fit the bill.

 

[Nena1982]

The maximum size you can achieve with FAT32 is 2 terabytes, but you'll need to format it using something other than windows. I guess someone will now of a decent (free) app which would fit the bill.

thanks on the explanation

People from news group have already recommended me some freeware applications that I'll try out...

 

[leman24]

Hello, I have just bought the DVD99 and must say how pleased i am with it.

I have a question... I have connected an external drive to the unit by USB and it can read .AVI files and also .JPG. Can it read audio files of any description? I have tried .MP3 but it doesnt recognise them.

Thanks

 

[alan29]

How does it handle big (8 megapixel) Jpegs?
I have the DV89 which hardly tries, but my old £50 Philips did a really good job.
Alan

 

[leman24]

How does it handle big (8 megapixel) Jpegs?
I have the DV89 which hardly tries, but my old £50 Philips did a really good job.
Alan

I tried 10 megapixel JPG's and they worked fine. Took a few seconds to load initially but that wasnt from a fast drive.

Since found out it is capable of playing .MP3's - there is a thread

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=320685&highlight=Cambridge+Audio

Which i am told also works for the DVD99.