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Entered CNET Catalog: 03/20/2003
SKU: 0046838259890
Manufacturer: JVC America
Manufacturer description
This new JVC XV-N50BK introduces slim (45mm) and stylish design for a "all-in-one" player that people are looking for. Instantly you will notice the stylish blue illuminated front panel. The illumination is also dimmable when wanted. Not only does it play DVD & CD; it also plays the new CD-R/RW recordable CD formats, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW SVCD, VCD, JPEG, WMA and MP3 formats. Don't let the slim design fool you, the XV-N50BK is packed with many exciting features such as Express Play Start, New high-resolution GUI (Graphical User Interface), 3-D Phonic sound, variable and slow search, 6-Step zoom play, digest and strobe play, angle list and resume function. Optical and Coaxial digital audio outputs with Dolby Digital & DTS pass-through are provided for easy connection to any system.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 09/25/2003
The XV-N50BK is a progressive-scan DVD player that sits at the middle of JVC's line of single-disc models. Despite some promising features, this $170 (list price) player has some issues that should give potential buyers pause.
DVD players have been slimming down for the past few years, and at less than two inches high, the N50 is one of the flattest we've seen. The unit comes in both black (the XV-N50BK) and silver (the XV-N55SL). Its angular face has a bright-blue neon bar directly under the centered disc tray and an informational LCD to the left. Fortunately, the distracting lights can be dimmed or turned off by a couple of clicks on the medium-size remote, which is well proportioned but overly crowded with buttons. Also, its disc-transport keys glow in the dark, and it can control many brands of televisions.
The XV-N50BK includes the standard DVD audio and video connections along with both optical and coaxial digital audio outputs. The component-video outputs toggle between interlaced and progressive-scan modes via the remote or a switch on the player's back end, and a handy green LED on the player's face indicates whether it's in progressive mode.
Disc compatibility is a strong suit, and our test DVD-R/RWs, DVD+R/RWs, and VCDs booted up with ease. The player's well-designed folder and file navigation makes playing CD-based MP3 and WMA files a snap, though like most DVD players, the N50 lacks a shuffle function for digital music. Playback of photo discs is also painless, with JPEGs loading in a quick one to two seconds. The player must be manually set to music or picture disc modes, so viewing data on mixed-media CDs involves a trip to the setup menu.
The XV-N50BK packs a few nice extras. It can automatically resume from the last location on 30 discs, and it features a powerful 64X zoom function. Of greater use are the picture presets and adjustments, so you can customize an array of video-output settings on the player rather than the TV.
Video performance on the XV-N50BK was a disappointment. The player exhibited problems on the opening sequence of Star Trek: Insurrection, where the horizontal panning motion introduced a noticeable stuttering effect. The scene also revealed the N50's poor implementation of 3:2 pull-down, later confirmed by the nasty stair-stepping artifacts evident on several test patterns of the Video 2000 disc. Toggling to any of the player's three manual video-processing modes only aggravated the problems. Curiously, unlike its predecessor, the JVC XV-S502SL, the N50 doesn't have aspect-ratio control, so owners of HDTVs who can't resize nonanamorphic source material are out of luck. The N50's worst offense: It locked up twice during our testing and had to be restarted.
Sadly, the XV-N50BK's good looks are only skin-deep. DVD fans seeking superior performance in a bargain-priced player should instead consider either the Panasonic DVD-S55S.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 User Rating: 
10/10
Works well great picture
Pros: Contrary to the editors and others opinions I see nothing to fault in this player it works well and I have over 400 dvds and it has never locked up on me. Colors are excellent and picture is great. I have a friend who has one as well and he loves it. I al
Cons:
User Rating: 
5/10
Arg! The horizontal stutter drives me crazy!
Pros: When I first popped in Pirates of the Carib I was stunned by the beautiful picture...
Cons: ...then I noticed the horizontal stutter. I thought it might be only certain DVDs but the problem comes and goes on any DVD. Back to the store for you, JVC!
User Rating: 
3/10
nice looks but has video stuttering problem!!
Pros: looks good,nice remote
Cons: video playback has the "stutters"intermittantly. I tried the player's different video outputs on various DVD's and on 2 different TV's before giving up on JVC.
User Rating: 5/10
s-cable disaster
Pros: nice price, excellent playback options and bonus features
Cons: maddening video stutter when s-cable used
User Rating: 
9/10
Works GREAT!!! Mine doesn't have the flutter that people talk about.
Pros: Good, clear picture.
Cons: Bright blue light can get annoying.
User Rating: 3/10
poor JPEG reading
Pros: Looks great, nice remote, easy instructions and connections
Cons: Tried looking at jpegs on cd. It stalled on a variety of jpegs, going back to the menu when it hit problem files. Looked further, it was crashing on portrait shots, would only see landscape. Took it back and got a low end Panasonic at same price that w
User Rating: 
8/10
great compatibility, quick access, good sound and picture quality
Pros: Flawless playback. I have not noted the stuttering reported by others. Both picture and sound quality are good. I think it is an inexpensive and good value DVD player.
Cons: The blue light streak looks really good after a long night at your favorite bar.
User Rating: 10/10
Plays good to me
Pros: I have not seen this stutter and spotty video I have not seen or experience It is an all good machine to me I guess others are getting the lemons that are out there but I give it a thumb up! The pros are good the system load dvds fast and is quiet and can
Cons: Have not experience any
User Rating: 3/10
Looks sharp, but stutters
Pros: Fast loading and good usability, reads all discs even all the ones that my old player chaoked on
Cons: Some DVDs played in exhibit a stuttering phenomena that is intolerable- almost as though the frame-rate gets cut by a one-fourth 8-(. I can stop and then restart at the very frame where I left off and the stuttering will stop, but only for 30-90 seconds t
User Rating: 
7/10
Overall nice unit
Pros: Plays Photo CD's very well, very thin and fits well in tight places
Cons: remote control not as user friendly as some others
User Rating: 
4/10
has trouble plaing DVD audio
Pros: Nice feature set. Plays a wide variety of discs and formats.
Cons: Doesn't play the discs all that well. When playing DTS audio DVDs the sound playback pauses for a few seconds every couple of minutes. It makes it nearly impossible to listen to an album that has been reproduced in DTS.
