I was woken up this morning with the strangest request for a test review request ever. A delivery man brandishing a great big box and a note saying " Hi can you possibly help us out we will be stocking this product from tomorrow and we cannot find an independent review to link to "

The first thing I did was to open the brown box and inside was a Mustek v300 DVD player. So here is my rather basic review.


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MUSTEK V300 DVD PLAYER
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Having fully evaluated the Mustek DVD-V300 player - it is my opinion that the Mustek DVD-V300 DVD player is the best model/brand on the market.(According to the note I got with the DVD player it will have a street price of £99.99)

Mustek, a company well know for their computer components and peripherals, have used their expertise to bring us an entry level home DVD player with virtually every desirable feature at a very reasonable price. It plays every DVD title we have tried including those tricky backed up films on DVD-R which can prove unplayable on many well-known brands of DVD player.

Not only that but it is equipped with sort-after technical features such as AC3 out and component video out. And, what is more, you can play your MP3 music tracks on the Mustek DVD-V300 .

Plays all region DVDs . . . no problem. (please see the hack at the bottom of there page)

It has component video output (for connection to projector or compatible TV) as well as the usual composite and S-video outputs. It can be set to output to either a NTSC or PAL television.
MP3 Function

That is what this Budget DVD player offers. The Mustek DVD-V300 plays MP3 music from both CDRs and CDRW MP3 disks. It also plays 700MB CDRs with MP3s tracks - it plays every track on my 699.8MB filled 700MB test MP3 CDR. MP3 sound reproduction rates with the best MP3 players I have heard. When the DVD-V300 is connected to a TV, the MP3 files names are displayed. Tracks are grouped in directories/folders.
Imagine playing all your favorite music all day long without having to change a C D. Video CDs can also be played.

Why buy an expensive DVD player that requires conversion to play more than one region DVD? And, most don't play 10 hours of music from a single C D.

Summary
It does EVERYTHING a DVD player ought to and with a street price of £99.99 This is clearly my choice of DVD player - I rate it ahead of brands better known in the audio-visual world.
Features
- DVD/DVD-R/DVD+RW /VCD/C D/CD-R & CD-RW MP3 Player
- Dual laser diode & optical pickup for enhanced disk compatibility & reliability
- 5.1 Dolby Digital surround AC3 Digital Output
- DTS Surround Playback
- Composite, S-Video and component video output
- NTSC/PAL dual system (TV & DVD)
- IR remote control with volume control
- Plays normal audio CDs, MP3 CDs (both CDR/C DRWs)
- Plays oversized 700MB MP3 C DRs
- MP3 CDs allow over 200 C D quality songs on one disc
- Supports 32 - 320kbps MP3 encoding bit rates and VBR (Variable Bit Rate)
- MP3 file name display on TV

What do you find in the Package?
1. Mustek DVD-V300 player
2. RCA cable - for audio and video
3. Infrared remote
4. User manual

In our tests the Mustek v300 was tested with the following brands of DVD-R playback was perfect with all brands tested.
BULKPAQ GENERATION 1 :
DATASAFE GENERATION 3 WHITE TOP
DATASAFE CLASSIC WHITE TOP.
FWS
WHITELABEL 2X DVD-R
WHITELABEL 1X DVD-R

In our tests the Mustek v300 was tested with the following brands of C D-R playback was perfect with all brands tested.
BULKPAQ 40x 80 min CD-R
DATASAFE SILVER PREMIUM 80 MIN CD-R
TRAXDATA 40X CD-R

Here is the hack to make this DVD player Multi region.

For accessing this menu you have to do the following:
1) make sure you don't have any DVD inserted and Door Closed
2) IN remote control :
3) press SETUP
4) IN the Front Panel :
5) press NEXT
6) press STOP
7) press PAUSE/STEP
8) press PREV
9) press NEXT
You should now see a new MENU. Go to Select Region and make your choice:
- region 1
- region 2
- region 3
- region 4
- region 5
- region 6
- By Pass
I tried the last option "BY PASS" and now I can see any DVD from any region without having to go to this menu every time the DVD is from a different region.

Added:  Thursday, October 03, 2002
Reviewer:  Ed

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