Black Boxes: Vialta ViDVD vi220 Multimedia DVD Player

by Melinda Adams
Summer/Fall 2002

With its ViDVD vi220, Vialta joins a growing trend towards inexpensive, multi-functional net-tops, packing DVD, VCD and SVCD playback, Internet access, MP3 playback, karaoke and photo-CD viewing into a single unit. Unfortunately, the ViDVD also suffers from a common problem among such feature-rich machines. While it performed admirably as a media player and extremely well as an MP3 music player, Vialta's lack of attention to the unit's Internet functions leaves them nearly unusable.

Out of the Box
We set up the unit in minutes by simply plugging in the stereo audio outputs, (you have a choice of composite or S-video) and a phone line. We first put the unit's basic DVD functions through their paces and found the performance excellent. The ViDVD played all of our DVDs and home-burned VCDs flawlessly, responding quickly to the included remote. Image quality was sharp, and there were no discernable synchronization problems between audio and video a problem that plagues several other players in the ViDVD's price range. The unit also supported the karaoke disc format and included a microphone and a sample disc. While the demo songs weren't our cup of tea ("She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain," etc.), we found that it worked well on karaoke.

The unit comes with a standard remote and large wireless keyboard or a smaller combination remote/keyboard for $20 less.

Pushing the Buttons
We next tested the Vialta with a home-burned CD-R of MP3 tracks and found its disc-browsing interface far superior to the solutions found on many other all-in-one units. The ViDVD allowed us to build playlists by selecting tracks from the various folders on our CD-R and placing them in any order we'd like. Whether we used the directional buttons on the unit's remote or the cursor keys on the included wireless keyboard, the interface was a snap to use. Audio playback quality was also excellent, and the Vialta handled MP3 tracks created at a variety of bitrates. The ViDVD's photo viewer was another nice feature. Using the same playlist interface as the MP3 function, we were able to build custom slideshows of images stored on either Kodak Photo CDs or home-burned CD-Rs.

At this point, we were extremely impressed and thought we'd found a rarity in multifunction net-tops one that really did everything well. However, our opinion changed when we logged onto the Internet and encountered some shortcomings. The Vialta allowed us to use our existing dial-up ISP or to sign up for its service at $9.95 a month. The unit's browser had trouble displaying many sites, however, particularly those that used HTML tables in their layouts. Neither did it offer any support for common media formats such as RealMedia. Though the unit shipped with a standard 56KB modem, most sites took an extremely long time to load.

It's unfortunate that Vialta didn't put as much thought into its box's 'Net functions as its playback features. However, the unit is still attractive as a truly multifunctional DVD/CD/VCD/SVCD/MP3 player.

SMART SPECS
Video: 10-bit/27 MHz
Outputs: composite, S-video and component
Digital image-type support: JPEG, Kodak Picture CD
Playback format support: DVD, SVCD, VCD, CD-R, CD-RW, CDDA (music)
Digital audio format support: DTS, Dolby Digital, MP3
Outputs: analog stereo, digital optical, digital coaxial
Modem: 56Kbps V.90
Dimensions: 3.75 (h) x 17 (w) x 11.25 (d) inches
Weight: 8.6 lbs.

COMPANY: Vialta
CONTACT: (877) 963-8383
WEB SITE: www.vialta.com
PRICE: $279/$299 (with wireless keyboard)