Creative's/Sigma's Dxr3. A few complaints, but the video is good. Full review, follow the link................
etown.com
It should be conceded that the Dxr3 card lacks built-in Dolby Digital decoding. You will need an A/V receiver with DD capability to enjoy a 5.1-channel surround soundtrack in its full glory. What's more, the card isn't DTS compatible -- when I tried playing our DTS version of "Dances with Wolves," the system simply defaulted to two-channel stereo. Finally, the card doesn't provide the component video output favored by videophiles.
That being said, no standalone player anywhere near the Encore's price point would have these features, either.
Connectivity Rating: 70
Look & Feel: I'm including "convenience" under this heading, and it's here that the Encore kit (and the PC-based DVD category in general) is dramatically inferior to a standalone player.
First the good news. The graphic user interface (GUI) is easy to use and largely self-explanatory. It's designed to look like an actual remote control, except that you "push" buttons with a mouse rather than with your thumb. The buttons are generally well labeled, and the pop-up labels that appear on the mouse rollover make the associated functions crystal clear.
Now the bad news. You can't display computer graphics -- like the GUI "remote control" -- on the TV. Once again, you're forced to go through the computer to access even a basic function like "pause."
It gets worse, though. I have the previous generation Creative Labs product, the Dxr2 card, on my home computer. That card allows simultaneous video output to the TV and computer monitor, but, incredibly, the new version forces you to toggle between one of the display devices! (This isn't a big issue during my usual passive, slack-jawed viewing mode, but it becomes very tiresome if you're trying to access interactive features.) |
