Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the XBV442 stands ready to deliver the full potential of your DVDs through its progressive-scan component-video outputs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.

Composite- and S-video outputs (select between S-video or component-video outputs) bring compatibility with nearly any television. Other features include 4x and 6x moveable zoom, variable high-speed scan (2x, 4x, 16x, and 100x), parental locks, bookmarking, 20-track CD programming, and repeat and resume play.

The VCR section offers 4 heads (for clear slow-motion and stop-action features) and stereo sound. The deck's 19-micron video heads maintain clarity during recording or playback in EP (extended play) mode, auto digital tracking adjusts for optimal picture settings for every tape you load, and auto clock set maintains the correct time and even adjusts for daylight savings. You can't program the unit to record at specific times, but it does come with a handy Instant Recording button.

For the simplest hookup with your TV, you can use a single RCA composite-video connection to handle both DVD and VCR outputs. If you want a higher-quality connection from the DVD player, you can use a component- or S-video cable to an additional input on your TV (the VCR image requires a composite-video or RF connection with your TV). You can choose between an optical and a coaxial digital-audio output to feed a surround-sound signal to your Dolby Digital- or DTS-decoding audio/video receiver.

If you don't have a surround receiver or 6-channel speaker setup, you can still make every movie night the ultimate experience: the unit simulates surround sound through two speakers (even the stereo speakers on your TV).

What's in the Box
DVD player/VCR, remote control, 2 AAA batteries, a user's manual, a stereo analog audio interconnect/composite-video cable, a registration card, and warranty info.