Argos Value Range DVD Player CDVD2251

This AV Range DVD Player is model CDVD2251 measuring 225 mm × 190 mm × 50 mm, manufactured for the Argos brand and part of their value range. This player can read DVDs and audio CDs. It has one SCART connector at the back, and a simple set of control buttons at the front.

This player is for region 2 discs, and therefore you will need the multi region unlocking code, or a hack to play other discs.

According to the manual, the specification of this unit indicates that it will decode Dolby Digital. However, the output will be from the SCART socket for stereo sound.

It can play the following type of discs: DVD-Video, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, CD-DA, CD-R, CD-RW.

As well as being able to play audio CDs, it can also show JPEG pictures!

There is also another value range player model DS-306a, which is the same size and almost the same from the inside. If I can get one of those then I might write about it as well.

Review

I had a good experience getting this item. I played a couple of DVDs and CDs and it works fine. It seems to work far better than my expensive machine, which takes a long time to recognise CDs.

The audio sound quality was quite good when I hooked it up to my amplifier. Unfortunately, this player does not have RCA audio sockets, but I already had a SCART to RCA adapter that I had bought from the pound store, which worked.

I have bought expensive machines that have died after a year, and if this one makes it past 6 months, then I am already making a profit!

These days almost all CD and DVD players use a cheap CD transport mechanism. Lasers and motors are mass-manufactured in China, and they tend to be the same on almost all machines. You could buy a cheap supermarket brand, or a high-end one and they will have the same cheap transport mechanism. Therefore the way I see it, is why not just buy a cheap player to begin with? That way, when it breaks, you can easily throw it away and get the next cheap model.

Buying on eBay

Where can you buy an almost brand new DVD player for a fiver? The answer is of course eBay. I decided to buy this player because I wanted to see what type of laser mechanism it had.

I had just recently repaired a high-end Marantz CD6000 OSE, which has a cheap CD transport mechanism inside. It occurred to me to find out, what type of CD transport mechanism very cheap CD players have.

The seller on eBay accepted offers, and since I always love bargaining -- moreover taking the advice of Sir Alan Sugar never to pay the asking price -- I made them a grand offer of four pounds, and it was accepted! :-)

I do not have a wireless television receiver set; however, I do like to listen to DVDs sometimes when I am working. I hooked mine to the amplifier using this SCART to RCA plug, which I bought from the pound store.

The sound quality is very good on this player because the audio circuit is very simple. The Zoran chip decodes the audio and feeds it straight to the SCART.

Good old Argos

I do not think I have ever shopped at Argos except for one time in the 90s when I bought a calculator when I was starting college. They provided a money back option, and people sometimes returned items simply because they felt it was not worth the money, or did not look the same as in the catalogue. Argos returns tend to be good bargains and there are some rich pickings for the clever buyer...

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