Video Asylum

Posted by Tim L (i) on July 10, 2000 at 14:08:52:

This product has been around for a long time.
I just installed it recently and love it so much
that I though some of you might want to learn more
about it.

I thought of putting up a review, but the category
doesn't quite work for me.

First off, summary:

Pros: Cheap yet high quality, best bang for the bucks
if the following "features" are useful for you -

*PAL-NTSC conversion
*DTS/AC3 digital out
*Possibilty to defeat region coding/macrovision
with no hardware modification
*High quality stereo output
*Progressive Scan support - manufacturer claim
*Great price performance ratio as long as you have
a MS Window-based computer or thinking of buying one
***Great picture quality, IMO, comparable to any
sub-$1000 (Canadian) DVD machine.

Cons:
*You need at least a half decent PC
*know how to install peripherals to a PC

Hollywood+ from Sigma Designs is a DVD decoder for
your PC. It use very little of your computing power so
a low end machine should be fine.

I shelled out $150 for a pioneer DVD rom drive and $90
for the Hollywood+. Within in 20 minutes I finished the
installation for both items plus the software.

I am no videophile but I have been watching DVD performance
closely for the last 12 months. And with frequent visit to the local
Hi-end shops I can tell you it is nothing less than a decent
set-top DVD machine, if not more.

Stereo output sounds great thru my VTL-85/Celestion system.

I can post more info if anyone interested, got to run!