Home > Consumer Reviews > Philips DVD793CH 5-Disc Progressive-Scan DVD/CD Changer

Changer has all of the features you want and then some. Plays DVDs, CDs and MP3. DVD and CD quality are good. It does not have an antenna output, so you might need an RF modulator if you have an older TV. You might be able to connect it through your VCR as I did. The zoom and pan function works great for viewing the details of an image. The multidisc functions work well if you are viewing one of the new multidisc movies. Some functions are poorly documented in the manual. For example, disc skip allows you to go from one disc to the next as in the manual, but it also allows you to go directly to another disc by pressing disc skip and then the disc number. All in all a good purchase.

The review previous to mine, as well as the product description above, hits the key points as far as types of discs played and A/V outs, so I will not repeat them. I have nothing bad to say about this changer. It does what it's supposed to do, and very well, indeed. It looks a bit different, which is nice - not your average "black box". Hook-up and operation are simple, and it has performed flawlessly for me for over 4 months now. One exceptional thing not mentioned about this player is its CD capabilities. Used as a CD changer, the sound is phenomenal!! The 192K/24bit D/A converters wring every last ounce of clarity and detail from your CD collection. Go thru and listen to some of your favorites again...you will hear them like never before (especially the newer 20-bit re-masters)!!
One caveat: the changer mechanism is just a bit noisy, BUT, I exchanged a Sony 615 because it was even noisier - so I guess some noise is par for the course with DVD/CD changers. The Philips 793CH is highly recommended - tremendous value for $.
(For what it's worth - I still have a Philips/Magnavox single disc CD player from 1986!! And it looks and operates just like it did the first day out of the box!! Even the remote is still operating on the same 1986 batteries!! I use it in my bedroom sound system.)

Terrific features--used it to watch DVDs, VCDs, listen to MP3's and Audio CDs. Has all the inputs (component, optical, S-vid).

The cons are that there is no direct-disc feature on the remote (ie, you have to keep hitting "change disc" to cycle through the discs--and every time it cycles, it spends time reading the disc). (Edit--just read one of the comments below and it *does* have a direct disc feature, it's just undocumented!).

In any case, the read time is average, about 4-5 seconds per disc, longer for MP3 discs. One limitation is that the MP3 titles are limited to eight characters. That seems like a short-sighted limitation as it effectively makes it difficult to pick out a particular track. It does play them flawlessly though.

Overall, it's just a fantastic performer for its price. It's in the same price range as non-progressive disc changers.

I bought this player for two reasons; first, I was an employee of Philips, and second, the Philips machines seem to play the most formats for DVDs and CDs.

I bought it in December 2002, and in November 2003, all of a sudden, it started saying "no disc" whenever I put in either a DVD or an audio CD. This was after only 10-15 hours of total use!!

So at this point the machine is a boat anchor. They offered me a refurbished one for $60, but I don't feel that I can trust the Philips brand anymore, especially as DVD players keep getting cheaper.

I used this player three times since Feb, 2003. Now I get a no disc error and Philips won't stand behind it. All they will do for me is exchange it for a $60.00 fee.