Manufacturer : Yukai
Model : DVD-V 520IV
Warranty : 1 Year

First Impressions - Out of the box.
Sleek, stylish and petite all words that come to mind when you first look at the Yukai DVD-V520IV. I am sure someone should have mentioned the name Yukia does not sound too nice in English but that aside first impressions are very favourable.

Fits nicely under the Television and goes well with any of todays micro Hi-Fi systems.

Setting Up - Wheres the manual?
Okay this is one of these DVD players for us blokes, in other words there is no manual to speak of. There is a card that tells you what all the buttons do on the remote control - which by the way is black and looks cheap and plasticky(a minor grumble because of the sleek looks of the player) and a warranty card. The unit though is clearly marked on the back where all the plugs go so the manual would just be extra paper wastage.

Now I ran into my only problem. I have a DTS amplifier and use a fibre optic connection. There is NO fibre optic connection its a coaxial only connector but more about that later.

At the Movies - Watching a DVD
Got the popcorn, the juice and my favourite DVD - Gladiator with Russell Crowe so lets take a look. The first thing that surprised me was the picture quality(aside from there being only 4 zoom settings but has anyone used zoom while watching a movie?) it is really sharp and crisp which for an entry level player really surprised me. Yukai have really done a great job on this unit considering the cost.

Listening to what can only be described as a great soundtrack while watching Gladiator was good considering it was being split over a co-ax connection into my five speakers but I felt the quality could have been better with fibre optic (maybe thats just me).

Overall a great little machine with only one or two minor niggles which at the entry level can really be ignored.

Summary:
As Yukai’s entry-level DVD player , the V 520 proves to be a solid performer with a good set of basic features at an unbeatable low price. If you’re looking for a high quality basic DVD player that won’t set you back financially, this model is definitely worth considering. In fact, we recommend this DVD player as an “excellent value”

High Points:
Excellent Value
Very smooth slow motion and fast scan modes
Stylish lightweight small footprint design
DVD/VCD/CD/MP3/CD-R/CD-RW/SVCD/DVCD Playback

Low Points:
Remote Control looks a bit cheap.

MEDIA compatibility:
In our tests the Yukai V520was tested with the following brands of DVD-R playback was perfect with all brands tested.

Bulkpaq Generation 1
Bulkpaq Generation 2
Bulkpaq Generation 3 (White Topped)
Bulkpaq Generation 3 (Purple Topped)
Datasafe Generation 3 White Top
Datasafe Classic White Top
E-Performance
Fws
Traxdata
White Label 2x
White Label 1x
Choice 1x
Choice 2x

In our tests the Yukai V520was tested with the following brands of CD-R playback was perfect with all brands tested.

Bulkpaq
Datasafe
Traxdata
White Label
E-Performance
Memorex
Unbranded
Prescision
Superior
Arita
Prodisc

Technical Specifications
Supported Formats: ........DVD,DVD-R VCD, CD, MP3, DTS, CD-R, CD-RW, SVCD, DVCD
TV System: ....................NTSC, PAL
Video Norms: .................MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (ISO/IEC-3818)
Picture Formats: .............16:9; 4:3
Video Signal: ..................1.0V pp/75 Ohm Sync, minus
Audio System: ................2-channel analogue.......5.1-channel Dolby Surround Digital output
DVD Frequency Range: ....48 KHz Sampling: 4Hz~22KHz....96 KHz Sampling: 4Hz~44 KHz
Dynamic Range: ..............> 95dB
Harmonic Distortion: ........< 0,004%
Analogue Audio Output: ....2.9V/330 Ohm (1 KHz)
Digital Audio Output: ........0,5 V pp/75 Ohm
Headphone Output: ..........32 Ohm (32 mW), > 8 Ohm
Video Interface: ...............1 x SCART, 1 x Composite Video
Audio Interface: ...............2 x Analogue Stereo (L/R)......... 1 x Digital PCM/AC3 (coaxial)
Power: ............................100-240 Volt, 50/60 Hz
Power Consumption: .........20 Watt
Dimensions (W x H x D): ...260mm x 63mm x 280mm
Weight: ............................3 kg

Package Contents:
3Phono – 3Phono Connector
Power Lead
Remote Control Guide
Remote Control
Warranty Card
(No Scart Cable Supplied)

Multi Region Hack
Press SETUP
Press NEXT, PREV, NEXT, PREV
Then you will find the menu.
It says 'ver x'. x is you Region code.
Press PREV until x=255 for Region free mode
Press SETUP

This dvd player is very similar to the mustek dvd520 the few differences are listed below:

The YUKAi has no headphone socket
and no Front Display Panel
and Only 1 Composite Video Output
and no S-Video output

all in all this is a good value for money dvd player and is one of the best on the market at coping with BACKUPS

rating 9.5/10