The video performance is extraordinary; the stability and sharpness of the picture is immediately impressive. The player uses parts and techniques more commonly seen in sophisticated/specialist broadcast equipment to great effect.
The audio engineering, as you would expect coming from Arcam, is also state of the art. A great deal of care went into this part of the design. Separate clocks and power supplies are used for video and audio, in addition to the latest generation Digital to Analogue converters.
The DV88 plays back regular DVD-Video discs and CDs. It will also, unlike many well known machines, handle CD-R and CD-RW discs plus HDCD and most MP3 encoded CDs. The custom-designed remote control gives access to a whole host of DVD commands as well as the ability to operate the volume controls on Arcam home cinema amplifiers and Arcam AV Receivers.
DV88 DVD Player - Design Details
Arcam's approach to DVD sets out to achieve a level of performance that sets new standards for the playback of both movies and music. This performance was achieved by a dedicated team of Arcam engineers, who have a deep understanding of the issues that can transform a player's sound quality from merely competent to class leading.
Drawing on more than two decades of class leading audio engineering expertise, they designed high performance analogue output stages, preceding these with the latest 24 bit multi-level delta sigma digital to analogue converters, using four DACs in dual differential mode for exceptional conversion accuracy. Unusually, these DACs are capable of working at sample frequencies of up to 192 kHz and are thus DVD-Audio ready. Unlike conventional DVD players, our designers also specified two separate low jitter master clock circuits for the video and audio paths for maximum precision in music and movie playback. And the precision pulse transformer they fitted in the SPDIF digital output circuitry makes the DV88 an excellent CD/DVD transport, ensuring exceptional sound quality on multichannel Dolby Digital and DTS encoded movies. Add all of these advanced design features to separately regulated, low noise linear power supplies for the audio sections and in the DV88, Arcam has a player which sets a musical reference point for all home cinema enthusiasts who refuse to accept the second-rate sound delivered by conventional DVD players.
The DV88 supports all the major video connection standards, with component (YUV), RGB, S-VHS and composite video outputs. It uses broadcast quality parts in its video output circuitry and uses design techniques and component quality usually only seen in the professional video industry, resulting in state-of-the-art video as well as audio performance.
The modular multi board construction and flash programmable memory employed in the DV88 gives us a flexible platform from which to upgrade a DVD Video player. For example, it was possible to rebuild the player to provide DVD-Audio playback capability and access the best this exciting new format can offer discerning music lovers.
DV88 Prog Scan - Additional
The modular design of the DV88 was always designed to allow upgrades. The first cam in the shape of a Progressive Scan output board which added superb progressive scan video using a high performance Silicon Image video processor.
DV88plus DVD Player
Following on from the huge success afforded to the DV88, the DV88+ built on the DV88 platform with an all new master decoder. The new "Vaddis 5" chipset allowed native progressive scan video decoding making the DV88+ a big step forward in picture quality. Both players set new standards for DVD players with an enticing combination of superb DVD play back with audiophile performance when playing audio from CD discs. Many awards followed, each underlining Arcams position as a leading light in DVD player design and manufacture.
DV89 DVD Player - Design Details
The new DV89 DVD Audio Player incorporates all the features of the DV88 Plus and adds decoding for high resolution stereo and multi-channel DVD-Audio discs. High performance Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround decoders for DVD-Video discs are also included.
The video performance is extraordinary; the stability and sharpness of the picture is immediately impressive. The player uses parts and techniques more commonly seen in sophisticated / specialist broadcast equipment to great effect.
The care and attention devoted to all aspects of the audio performance is, as you would expect coming from Arcam, state of the art, and also ensures outstanding CD sound quality. The CD replay performance is phenomenal - the DV89 achieves a sound quality equivalent to that obtained from a good specialist stand alone CD.
The DV88, DV88+ and DV89 were designed and manufactured in the UK and available in black or silver finish.