Yamaha DVD-S520

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.0 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  David Katzmaier
• Reviewed on: 01/14/2002
• Updated on: 01/11/2010

With a few extras, nice cosmetics, and a comparably high price tag, Yamaha's DVP-S520 does its best to masquerade as a higher-end DVD player. But at its core, it's still an entry-level player, which brings its true value into question.With a few extras, nice cosmetics, and a comparably high price tag, Yamaha's DVP-S520 does its best to masquerade as a higher-end DVD player. But at its core, it's still an entry-level player, which brings its true value into question.

Understated design
At first glance, the $299 (list price) DVD-S520 could pass for an upper-echelon player. The front is understated and free of brightly colored logos. The display window has nicely dimmed, orange lighting, although it doesn't provide nearly as much information as the displays on other players. The drawer opens softly, and playback noise is minimal. However, the unit feels no heavier than most inexpensive players, and after you've spent a little time with the remote, the high-end illusion disappears.

Tiny and ill designed, the clicker lacks an open/close button (for the disc drawer), and you'll have to dig into the manual to figure out which buttons control forward and reverse because they're not labeled. Another gripe: when you press a button on the remote, don't expect the player to respond immediately; there's some lag.

On a more positive note, the back panel has an above-average complement of jacks. It includes a pair of analog-audio outputs and composite-video outputs, along with single-component and S-Video outputs, a subwoofer output, and both types of digital-audio output (coaxial and optical).

Disc dilemmas
Compared to other players in its price range, the DVD-S520 stacks up pretty well in the features department. It can play Super VideoCDs, VideoCDs, CD-R/RWs, and MP3 CDs. Yamaha says it even has an NTSC/PAL converter, but be forewarned: the DVD-S520 can play only Region 1 (North American) DVDs. So, even if you do get your hands on a PAL disc (Europe's main video format), it's likely to be region-encoded, so it won't work on North American players. Most DVDs are region-protected and play only in the same part of the world where they're sold. If you can find the one PAL disc that isn't region-protected, great. But the remaining 99.95 percent of programs that foreign-film-loving Americans want to see are still being held at the border. Thank the MPAA for that nonsense.

We do like the menu system, though. The functions are clear, and little messages appear at the bottom of the screen to explain the icons. Unfortunately, the player hiccupped during a complex test disc, Joe Kane's Video Essentials; it wouldn't allow us to manipulate the picture settings (in addition, the display window showed the wrong chapter!). On other discs, those settings allow you to customize the saturation, the brightness, and the contrast. Continue reading

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  "PIECE OF POOP!"

  on September 27, 2004

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  on April 16, 2002

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