Insight into MVP891 Buying Experience

Set up only took a few minutes once the wired Ethernet network connection was established. Powering up (and down) takes about 20 ticks but this feature will protect the Mac’s circuits for many years.  On-screen menus are clear and clean, easy to navigate and virtually idiot-proof.  Firmware upgrades will be available in the future (not needed for my review unit, born in March 2012) and should load easily from the internet. But the fun really begins with the adjustment of the video parameters. This is one of the most flexible units that I have seen to date. You can fine tune the MVP891 for noise, contrast, brightness, gamma correction, hue, chroma, black, white, and near-black levels as well as picture detail and position. And there are 5(!) customizable memory settings. Custom speaker settings  and amplifiers are also present, although most of us will do set up our speakers via our surround processors.  I would caution newcomers that getting the most of the MVP891 should be done with a set up disc like the Spears and Munsil and, even better, with some assistance from your dealer/installer. Compatible with car stereo systems also.

For this review, I assumed that potential buyers of the MVP891 are looking for a no-compromise disc player. Not having 3-D capability (still limited in broadcast and consumer software), I fed this player numerous 2-D Blu-ray discs (still the way most of us watch). Going to Sunshine, the MVP 891 had no issues dealing with the incessant yellow in this film’s color palette. In The Fifth Element, not the last word in high-def but still in the game, I witnessed the best recreation of detail that I have yet seen. Bruce Willis’ stubble, the Blue Diva’s latex crinkles and the sweat beads on Gary Oldham’s brow were simply stunning. There was a near holographic quality to my 2-D Avatar, better than what I have been used to, considering the artificiality of all of the CGI proceedings.