ZOOM BACK DVD PLAYERS - the only way to watch welles films

[jaime marzol]

we've been talking about the zoom back feature on dvd players a lot lately. i'm ready to replace every player in my house with players that zoom back. i have a malata 520, but they are not around so much any more. can some of you that have decks that zoom back on the image post brand and model number that you have? i would be most appreciative. i don't want to drop 200 bucks per unit since i need to buy 4 players. region free is not so important to me as the zoom back feature is.

[R Kadin]

Jaime, you might [url=http://cgi.ebay.com/JVC-XV-NP1SL-Multi-Region-Code-Zone-Free-DVD-Player_W0QQitemZ5815554162QQcategoryZ50599QQs
sPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem]check this auction out[/url], in that the player in question appears to offer both region-free and zoom-out capabilities. With up to 4 units to buy, you could probably work out an even better price and a cheaper shipping rate, as well.

I can't speak for the seller or the hardware, though; I just happened to be rooting around on eBay and thought I'd try a search for you.

[jaime marzol]

rkadin, thanks for the link. that is a sleek looking deck.

[DexyMan]

I couldn't find the zoom back feature on it. Where does it mention that?

[R Kadin]

Dexy, you'll see it mentioned indirectly on the zoom functions specs, which list them as going from 1/8th (the frame size) to a mangification of 1024. At least, that's how I interpreted it.

For good measure, I also checked it out against a couple of other online references that cited owners of the deck referring to its zoom-out capabilities. But that was the extent of my pre-posting due diligence. It might, therefore, make eminent sense to use eBay's "Ask the Seller a Question" facility on the auction page to get absolute certainty on this critical point before proceeding.

[TheMcGuffin]

Jaimie,

I just checked HKFLIX.com and they just got in a bunch of factory reconditioned Malata 520s at http://www.hkflix.com/hardware/xq/asp/pid.104/qx/details.htm

If you want to get more of these players this may be your best opportunuty.

[mteal]

Toshiba's SD-3960 DVD player has a very nice windowbox feature, and the player can be bought at Best Buy for about $60. I got one, and I'm real happy with the way it's spiced up my DVD collection. Highly recommended.

[jaime marzol]

McGuffin:
thank you very much for the link. those 520 decks are excellent. they are so good they have appreciated in price. i bought mine new about 2 years ago for $180. these refurbished decks are $250! incredible.

MTEAL:
you stated that perfectly, "spiced up your dvd collection." zooming out on an image certainly does spice things up. does the jvc zoom out in small increments, of is it one set size that it zooms back to?

[R Kadin]

jaime, I can't say much about the jvc auction item except to speculate that, with a 13-step zoom function starting at a tiny 1/8 frame-size, there's likely to be a few steps available for at least a couple of other zoomed-out displays. With 100 of those items in stock, the seller is likely to know and I've found most vendors on ebay to be pretty responsive.

[jaime marzol]

rkadin, i wasn't exactly sure what the zoom range meant. your explanation cleared that, and caused me to go back and look at this deck again. i just noticed something that either i didn't notice before, or that was just changed. atop the unit it says jvc, below the unit where it says brand, it says MALATA. you are right about the dealers on ebay being negotiable. after i hear from mteal, if the toshiba has restricted increments i'm going to give it a shot and make the ebay dealer an offer on 4 units. thanks.

the $60 a unit things sounds great. my present deck has lots of features but i never use any of them. all in really need is the zoom out.

[Store Hadji]

I found a 40 dollar unit that zooms out - some odd Oriental brand, I don't remember which. I gave it to my brother. They're not hard to find. Just look at the features listed on the box.

This TV Overlay problem intrigues me. It's the equivalent a film being projected onto a screen and the image spilling over the top, bottom and sides of the screen. Doesn't a picture tube have some gizmo which projects the image onto the face of the TV screen? It seems an act of absolute incompetence that all TVs are formatted to lose a significant part of the picture they receive. Is this just a flaw of the old pre-digital 1948-standard TVs we use in the US, or do HDTVs have the same problem?

EVERY DVD in my library loses some of the picture if I view it full screen. Zoom back lets me see the whole image, though my player shows it in a window a little smaller than I'd like it to be. Well, I can sit closer to the TV. Even widescreen films lose part of the picture off both sides if I don't zoom back and view them Window Boxed. How has this problem gone unnoticed and unresolved for nearly 60 years? I can only zoom back on DVDs. It annoys me that part of the image is missing on all my VHS tapes and everything I watch on cable.

[mteal]

If you're in the market for a DVD recorder, Toshiba's RD-XS32 will zoom out not only DVDs but VHS tapes and TV programs as well. That's why I've been swearing by Toshiba lately.

[jaime marzol]

mteal:
that is fabulous, that is what i've been looking for, a unit that zooms out on vhs, and tv too. didn't know such a thing existed. i agree about toshiba. i purchased a toshiba 35-in tv in 1993 i think, and it worked until last year. for the last 3 years i had it i kept hoping it would blow so i could get a wide screen tv. i would turn it on and say, "dammit, it's still working."

hadji:
i didn't know zoom out was such a popular feature these days. so there is no reason for me to purchase another malata. what does the box exactly say to describe this zoom out feature?

on tvs:
a well trained tv tech can re-aim your tv to get past tv oversacan, but then it's always at that setting. i prefer to have the control of zooming and aiming. they did for years make TVs with a button on the top of the unit to get past overscan, but they charged a bundle, and demanded your first born male child for them. they were only considered for professionals, never taking into account that regular people also want to get past tv overscan.

overscan:
the reason it's gone on this long is that your avarage, arthur treacher's fish and chips eater still hates the black bars and thinks the image is being ripped off no matter how many times you explain it. many times sales men, and discriptions for dvd players have bragged about a feature that zaps out those pesky black bars from letter boxing! yaaaah! and yes, all tvs rip off the image. you can guage how much your tv rips off by popping a dvd in your comp and seeing how much image you get on your monitor as opposed to your tv.

the RDX-S32 DVD Recorder i just found from $289 to $500.

this overcan thing is another time i was labeled a crackpot here for putting so much importance in it. He watches everyting zoomed back, and jesus, he zooms back on letter boxed films! now, a few years down the line, seems like it does make a heck of a difference.

[Store Hadji]

Without rummaging for the box I think it should say zoom X2, X3, X4, X1/2, X1/3, X1/4.

Maybe I should rummage.

[Clive Dale]

Sorry for a basic question, but What is ZoomBach ?