Nice picture, region disabling, macrovision disabling, plays MP3's.

Just about everything else - many DVD incompatiablities, overheating

I had one of these for a month. The two reasons I got it were the MP3 ability and the macrovision disabling.

The Mummy LOOKED great on it (with very slight lip sync problems). However, it seems that any title that uses seamless branching has issues (The Abyss, Stargage SE, Bats, Kalifornia). The unit has a tendency to overheat due to half-ass placed heat sinks.

The naming for the MP3's is terrible (8.3 filenames) and sometimes makes it hard to find a certain song. Also, the "shuffle" play is the same for a disc everytime - not completly random.

Over all, when these players work, they work good, however there seems to be a HIGH failure rate on them, and many DVD's with incompatabilities. Don't make this your primary DVD player.

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Pioneer DV-525

MP3 play, affordable price, overall versatility

userbility

Well, I am not so happy with other whiners. This player costs only under $200. I would be happy to get any player as long as it plays the movie properly!

The point might be this player is playng all DVD properly for some people.

My guess is that this machine's quality is not stable. Luckily, my player plays everything beautifully: MP3 burned CD-rom, VCD, Audio CD, and most of all, DVDs.

My Mitsubishi TV delivers awsome pictures and my audio system cranks up the sound strong enough to rattle the windows.

My thumbs are way up!!

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Sony, Toshiba

wide complement of features

remote control has poor range, AUDIO SYNC

HERE IS A QUICK FIX FOR THE LIP (AUDIO) SYNC ISSUE:

1) press fast forward,
2) press center cursor ENTER key.

the sync fixes itself after doing this just once or occasionally twice.

Plays many formatts(dvd,cd,cd-r,mp3,vcd)

Video quality,has problems with playback on some dvd's. No optical input.

Aside from the fact that it can play all those formatts, this unit sucks. I am a big fan of DTS and recently purchased Terminator 2 Ultimate edition for the DTS soundtrack. I popped it in the apex and right away the dvd menu was kinda messed up. I selected the special edition version of the film and selected the DTS soundtrack. Problems started popping up right away. Certain scenes would repeat themselves. Then about 90 minutes into the movie it skips to the end credits every time(it does not do this in the theatrical version). I returned the movie 3 times thinking it was a manufacturing defect in the DVD. But it did the same thing in the apex every time. I finally decided to try it in another DVD player and low and behold it played perfectely. I immediately went to sony outlet and bought the DVP S-330 which is much better. I paid $169 for the sony (factory refurbished)and am happy I did. Don't waste your time on the apex,shop around and you will find far better units for around the same price.

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Sony DVP S-330

First DVD player, nice looking, sounds good, picture looks good, MP3

Remote could be better laid out

Just got it today for christmas, not a bad present at all. Sounds great on my HT and havent had any problems with it yet, watched about 3 movies today, matrix, MI-2, and The green mile, and picture blows a vcr away. Very convenent. Only problem is the damn remote, you need 2 BEEPING hands to operiate the BEEPING controls. Anyways, thats the only flaw i have seen yet. Hell, im only 16 so it is great for me

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friends sony dvd player

Dont have it yet

Dont have it yet

I know this isn't a forum, but I need an answer:

Is this a good product for a first-time DVD consumer? How is the image quality?

Also, is the Apex AD500 any good? does it have the "copy from DVD to VHS" feature?

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This'll be my first

MP3, CD-R, CD-RW, loophole feature

Poor shielding from noise, weak manual, Seamless Branching problems, poor remote layout

This DVD player is a geek's dream. That said, it should be noted that it's not for everyone. If you're the type of person who is looking for a Plug and Play DVD player, I suggest you keep looking. However, if you don't mind doing some dirty work, then this DVD player has a lot of features to offer as well as good performance. If you set the contrast and sharpness levels lower and replace the OEM cables with some better ones, then you have a pretty decent player on your hands. If you're willing to open your box and do some electronics work, you can replace the ROM and open up some vents to get rid of the Seamless Branching and overheating problems. Though the manual is poor and there is no formal website, this player has developed a nice following on the Internet where you can find solutions to a lot of problems. The MP3 player is nice as well since you can also play CD-R and CD-RW disks. The infamous loophope feature can be found on the internet. Basically, this player requires you to play with it before it will play for you. However, it rewards you if you stick with it.

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JVC 521

it does all the jobs

no brand name, no power off button on remote

THis is for apex 703.
THe 1st one I got made before 9/99. There is region ocde setting, no other secreat manue. 2nd one no region setting.
I think Apex improve their quality a lot. If you get a good one, it will last for years. I am sure i will get another one when new stuff comes out. WE trash they not because they are dead, because they are obselete
Please tell me what else brand name players paly mp3, cd-r, karaoke for $200 around?

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no

Plays everthing I throw at it. DVD,VCD,CD,CDR,CDRW,Karaoke and all works great

Audio to Video Sinc

SH*T at 99.99 at circuit city, how can you go wrong. I have bought 2 now. The first one was the one with the Loophole menu and the second one doesnt have it, but then again the second one was only 99.99. the first was 149.99. I dont have any problems with it and i am very pleased so far.

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Toshiba DVD Player

copies all DVDs to VHS

wont play Stuart Little - may not be able to play the latest DVDs

What can you expect from a DVD player for less than $200.00? For the price, the picture quality and sound are fine. I had a problem with about 3 movies which caused it to skip entire chapters and I was never able to get it to play the missed segments, but this is out of nearly 50 movies I've played on it so far. Those may have been abused by the previous renters. I am currently experiencing a problem with the Stuart Little movie. This player will display the disc's menu's, but when you try to select an option from the menu, it tries to find it for a few seconds and then comes back to the menu. I've rented out the movie twice and it happens both times. I played the same disc on a freind's dvd and it worked fine. I was told by netflix that my player needs a software upgrade.