Considering the utter mess which is the Region 2 launch of DVD, it's amazing that some of us still live in hope. While I would love to castrate the Hollywood execu- no, make that the slime-sucking, low-life, bottom-feeder, pond-scum lawyer who cooked up regional coding, I've gotta admit: every time I see a film via DVD, I forget all about it. Quite simply, the myriad negatives of Region 2 are outweighed by the benefits of DVD in general. And I don't mean the difference between handling a 5in disc instead of a 12in laser disc, nor the frills, nor the cinephile extras, nor even the humane elements like foreign language subtitles.

Quite clearly, DVD is more fun than any previous video format.

But DVD has already suffered the sort of polarisation which is inevitable when a new technology is the product of multinationals with absolutely no concept of quality, homogeneity, design potential or anything above the bottom line. A backlash has already appeared through laserdisc supporters* who - even if they grant the edge on visuals to second-generation-plus DVD - will argue convincingly that laserdisc offers better sound. DVD packaging sucks almost as badly as the CD jewel box. There's no consistent use of the promised facilities or options, e.g. widescreen vs 4:3 on the same disc. All in all, DVD was launched before it was perfected. Surprise, surprise.

Specifically for Zone 2, the catalogue is embarrassingly tiny and the presentation an afterthought. I mean: what complete asshole thought it was OK, let alone even releasing a major new film like in 4:3 format? Why does every Region 1 CD go straight to its correct audio mode, while nearly every Region 2 disc seems to require delving into sub-menus to get the right sound or screen layout? And why do we get swill like when the Yanks get ?

But that's beyond the hardware makers. What Theta's DaViD addresses is the need, even this early in the game, for a no-compromise device rather than the lowest-common-denominator standard which hamstrings the vast majority of players. Price dictates that they remain unconscionably low-end because DVD (the eventual high-end audio-only variant aside) has been treated by its makers as an appliance which must appeal to trailer-park trash and Essex girls. Which tells you that corporate heads don't read Ruskin. What Theta tells you is that the standards of the high-end guys, the taste-makers and trendsetters, have to be invoked from the outset. It parallels exactly the creation of 'audiophile' CD players early on, when a handful of manufacturers responded to the mouthy anti-CD brigade with actions rather than mere words.

I suspect that Theta is using the DVD transport from Pioneer, as good a base as any from which to mount a high-end assault. Its action is smooth, silky and rapid as DVD gets. (Score '1' for laser disc's faster scanning.) DaViD, therefore, can exploit every form of DVD and every function so far developed, though I wasn't able to test its 96kHz/24-bit capability; my Pro Gen Va DAC was away being updated. DaViD's remote control is as comprehensive as, if less elegant than the Pioneer's and you need never touch the player save for inserting a disc. It has enough sub-menus to make you think that you're looking at Windows '98. It can be tweaked and tuned to one's heart's delight. But, when necessary, it's still as straightforward as a toaster.

Given that, like all high-end transports, DaViD is lamb dressed as gourmet lamb, Theta engaged in normal high-end practice by making everything attached to the OEM core element a no-compromise alternative. It's how one justifies a price tag of £4650 over, say, £599. It has to mean more than a sexy front panel. And, as Theta is primarily an audio company rather than a video company, you can rest assured that sound quality - one of the most controversial DVD issues - has been shown as much attention as the video output.

A brief aside: Paul Miller has likened the inside of a DVD player to the hostile environment inside of a PC, so opting for a separate transport like DaViD might be the only way that you can enjoy DVDs and audio CDs in the same transport mechanism without suffering the compromises experienced in single-box DVD players. It would be interesting, then, to learn what a DaViD player would sound like, compared to the DaViD transport. Enough idle musing.

Theta attacked jitter problems by buffering and re-clocking digital data, in effect making the buffer, rather than 'flawed discs', the source. A custom-made low-jitter crystal oscillator enables the master clock to store the signal long enough to realign data, correcting it as it comes from the disc. High-speed CMOS logic gates are used in the re-clocking, while audiophilic levels of attention have been paid to earthing to prevent digital noise and hash from corrupting the pure clock signal in the audio section. Theta designed the low-flux transformers and high-isolation power supplies used to supply each section of the audio circuit, isolating clocks and DSP sections. The resultant signal is fed via extremely high frequency pulse transformers to a comprehensive selection of output terminals providing PCM, AC-3 and DTS output through RCA, BNC and AES/EBU connectors.

Indeed, the back is rather cluttered for a transport, especially if you're coming from minimalist CD-only transports; forget a choice of just one or two sockets. As standard, the DaVid provides two S-Video, one component (BNC) and two composite video outputs, the latter in phono and BNC form. As I don't yet own a monitor which accepts component video, I stuck with S-Video. Digital audio outputs include PCM-only phono and PCM/AC-3/DTS via phono, BNC and AES/EBU. Optical is an option not present on the review sample, and there's also a blanked-off slot for a computer-style output for remote system control. The back also features the main on/off rocker switch and an IEC mains input.

Given that DVD is, at present, primarily an A/V medium (will those idiots ever finalise the audio-only spec?), the video sections, too, feature multiple transformers and high-isolation power supplies separately feeding the various elements of the video section, including the clocks, output circuits and main DVD decoder circuits; the motor controller and display are isolated from the rest of the circuits. All together, DaViD has six transformers and fourteen highly regulated power supplies, which explains why a unit measuring only 482x90x420mm (WHD) weighs 11.3kg.

DaViD's DVD decoder power section is filtered again at key points to further minimise noise. After the digital video signals are converted to analogue, they pass through Theta-designed video filters and extremely high-speed output buffers to the aforementioned S Video, composite video and component video socketry. All sockets, of course, are gold-plated and robust.

While the front panel of the DaViD (available in black or silver) features enough of the basic controls and enough information in its display to prevent a crisis should the dog walk off with the remote control, the only way to use - and enjoy - DaViD is with the remote and with the plethora of on-screen info. The hand-held controller sports a sobering 43 buttons, although that does include a numerical keypad for direct track entry. But don't even think of rushing into set-up without devouring the comprehensive owner's manual, especially the flow chart of sub-menus.

Once set up and matched to whatever Region 2 discs you managed to find, the DaViD treats you to visuals which it's getting harder and harder to resist. I was able to compare a dozen DVDs with their laser disc equivalents, Lexicon's DC-1 serving as my home cinema A/V hub, and it's no longer a matter of even momentary doubt. Quite categorically, DaViD's video playback exceeds the laser disc in detail, colour, clarity and nearly ever other parameter, with one allowance: many DVDs still exhibit the visual jerkiness and 'trails' which marred first-generation playback. But note: this seems to be a software rather than hardware problem, and it was possible to move from one DVD to another from the same label, with one betraying faults, the other fault-free. As I had access to both Region 1 and 2, I was able to sample enough discs to make a review worthwhile. And before you ask, there were NO performance differences between the two regions - only the size of the catalogues.

Where DaViD struck me as better than any other DVD player I've seen was in its rendition of image depth, its smooth transitions from light to dark and its closeness to 'true' black within the images - not just in the bands above and below a widescreen image. Particularly revealing were the night scenes in and , where patchy shading - what I suppose is the visual equivalent of dynamic range - renders a scene impossible to follow. It didn't tell who Keyser Soze was, but you get the drift: undeniably, DaViD did a great job preserving fine visual details under all conditions. Colours were vivid, most movement fluid and it suffered less than I expected from artificial 'halo' effects or other sorts of colour bleeding.

Sonically, well, it sounded so 'Theta' that I had to make sure I wasn't playing the trusty old Data III. Dolby Digital playback was convincingly enveloping and gap-free, but I detected an inkling of what the laser disc supporters find better about the ol' 12-inchers. LDs produce a warmer, smoother sound, in many ways more convincing. But there are trade-offs: in visual terms, the laserdisc of is an almost unwatchable shambles, while the new DVD is so good that you wonder if they found an unused print from which to master it. Conversely, the aural element of the laser disc was more convincing and natural than the DVD's. Not that 'natural' is a word I use to describe anything about that film.

But it was, unexpectedly, plain CD playback which added new optimism to my otherwise wholly defeatist view of DVD in the UK: this transport eluded all of the criticism aimed at single-box DVD players. It unashamedly played CDs with the authority of its Data III forebear, with the richness, impact and transparency that keeps me from letting go of the now-obsolete combo unit. Maybe Theta's overkill approach to jitter did it, maybe it was the extra love'n'care shown to the audio output stages. Whatever, the DaViD sounded like what it is: an extremely covetable, high-end transport, and I'd gladly use it as my reference player.

Right now, for those of you with sufficient funds and DVD leanings, Theta has produced something to tempt you. The only downside to the new format is the Region 2 imbecility. Whatever else I think about DVD, Theta's DaViD demonstrated categorically that the new format is worthy of inclusion in any high-end system. It's just painfully ironic that, for the near future, a Region 2 DaViD will be used more for playing back CDs than DVDs.

Kinda makes you want to get inside and fiddle with the coding...