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Yamaha's DVD salvation

Under a grand makes for a great DVD player
by Michael Jones

August 2001

Yamaha DVD-S510 DVD player. $999

Imagine this: you're a major player in the home theatre electronics market; your receivers and amplifiers are regarded by many as the industry standard, yet there's a big problem: your DVD players cost above average.

That was the situation that faced Yamaha. Their cheapest DVD player cost almost double the "entry-level" prices from some other brands. So Yamaha engineered a more affordable DVD player.

It's called the DVD-S510. It costs under a grand and it's good.

Features
As with many DVD players these days, the Yamaha 510 goes with the minimalist approach on the front panel, with only the barest of transport controls and a power button to be found.

The remote control (pictured right) includes a great many more functions and will probably be your main point of contact with driving the player.

On the back are the audio and video outputs. The 510 includes composite, S-Video and component video outputs, offering flexibility to go with your TV.

There are two sets of audio outputs, which may be of some use with multi-room applications. Both coax and optical digital outputs are provided to output movie soundtracks to your receiver.

Picture quality
The success of good, affordable DVD players (such as Pioneer's 535) has made life harder for the next rung up in DVD player pricing. Players such as the Yamaha need to show a better picture quality to be taken seriously.

Fortunately for the S510 the Yamaha's picture beats that of the cheaper player. There's a sharper, more precise look to images. Plus colours look a little more saturated and realistic.

Sound quality
Playing CDs via its analog output, the 510 sounds pretty much like most DVD players. It has a smooth sound lacking any sense of harshness. Yet the sound is bereft of any passion or soul, just like most other DVD players. My standard recommendation still applies: if music is important to you, then a separate CD player is a worthwhile investment.

Compatibility
With the sheer numbers of Zone 1 (USA) DVD discs available in New Zealand, this writer regards it as essential that a DVD player be able to cope with multiple zones. The Yamaha 510 can play all zones and can also cope with the RCE (Regional Code "Enhanced") Zone 1 discs that have been released to date.

The 510 can also play both CDR and CD-RW discs recorded on a CD Recorder. Given the numbers of CD Recorders and the number of discs used, this is fast becoming a necessity for DVD players. However the 510 cannot cope with mp3 material on CDRs.

Conclusion
This is an important DVD player for Yamaha. Fortunately for them, the quality of the 510 matches up. Great picture, typical CD sound for a DVD player and the ability to play all zone DVDs and audio CDRs.

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