Here's the front and rear view of the latest Yamaha DVD Player.

All the usual suspects are here, with of course, the addition of 6 channel output for DVD-Audio (which must be decoded on board for the full frequency range to be realised). This unit plays DVD, DVD-A, CD-R, CD-RW, VCD, S-VCD and MP-3. Don't come screaming to me (like has happened in the past with the Panasonic DV-R61) if your VCD , S-VCD or MP-3's don't play 'cause it's usually incorrect finalization, disc characteristics or recording conditions that are the culprit and I'm not a technical service for computer operation.

    At last Yamaha have a DVD player with a 54 MHz video chip. It doesn't make any difference on smaller (up to 80 cm) sets, but it sure does on the new 110cm and above units. Sonically, this unit is every bit as good as the Panasonic DV-R61 - as it should be since the guts are basically Panasonic. It even has a button on the front panel to disengage the video circuit whilst using the unit as a pure audio device. Picture wise, I think it may be a smidgen ahead of the Panasonic, probably because of the 8 Mb of onboard memory to allow for disc errors or movement.

    The neat thing about this unit is it's 5 disc capability, imagine loading 5 MP-3 disc and having 50 hours of music (actually, I can't). As DVD-A becomes more accessible in terms of software availability more and more people are discovering just how exciting this medium can be. Try Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" if you need convincing.

    This Yamaha is the first Multi DVD player to have just about everything. It is the ideal playback device for anyone building an up market A/V system. Sonically and visually the outputs are almost reference level - you'll have to wait for the release of the DVD-CX1 for the ultimate reference (around $2000+). In the meantime the DVD-C920 at a RRP of $1299 is one of the best. Call for current pricing which includes multizoning.