When I get a new piece of equipment, I usually like to use it for a while before I consult the manual. Jumping in blindly gives me a good idea about how intuitive the controls are and allows me to get a feel of the device before I tackle any required reading. Unfortunately, as soon as I connected the X5000 to my TV using the included HDMI cable, I needed to pull out the manual because all I got was a black screen.

With the instructions firmly in hand, I found that the initial setup must be performed using a standard composite video connection. The X5000 only outputs to one type of video connection at a time. Since the composite connection is the most common type of video port, the unit ships with it set as the default. HDMI, or component video connections, will not function until the output is switched in the setup menu.

Another reason to check the manual is that the R core power supply in the X5000 is capable of handling 110 and 220 volt power input. The voltage on my review unit was not set correctly when I received it. Fortunately, I checked before plugging it in, but if I had not bothered to check, I could have damaged the X5000 permanently.

The setup menu was well organized and easy to navigate and understand. The available options were all self-explanatory and I found that I was able to complete the setup process quickly and easily. The process took about 5-10 minutes.

Simple and easy to understand setup

Once I finished setting the X5000 up, I put a DVD into the drive. Nothing happened for a few minutes and then the system froze. After a lot of button pushing and a few choice words, I found that I had to cut power completely by removing the power cord from the device before the X5000 would eject my disk. I tried a handful of commercial DVDs and even some un-protected home movies and none of them would play for more than a few minutes before the player would freeze. Fortunately, a quick firmware update resolved the problem and all of my DVDs have been working without problems ever since.

I was quite pleased with the X5000 as a DVD player. My test videos looked crisp and the colours were bright. Navigation through the DVD menus was easy and sub titles, zoom and angles could be controlled with the remote. I was pleased to find that there was also an option to change how the front LCD functions during video playback. It can be changed to display elapsed time, time remaining, file name or chapter number, but it can also be shut off completely (my personal favourite).