Cheap. Sturdy cabinet. Decent remote.

Glitches on many DVDs.

I purchased this unit at ubid.com for $250US as a way to enter the DVD world. I already had a Kenwood AV receiver with a 5 speaker set. The Zenith is well constructed, has a decent remote and the optical output works fine with my receiver. Sound is very nice, especially in 5.1 digital dolby mode. It does glitch (skip forward a few seconds/minutes) on some DVDs including The Matrix, ID4 (on every new scene in the extended version), and the out-takes on Armagedeon. It just plain hangs about three-quarters of the way through the Mummy. Zenith service has offered to replace the unit, but what it really needs is a firmware update which I don't think is available, so I'm not going to take a chance by sending it in. It's really too bad - this could be a great unit. As it is, it's only OK.

This unit has a lot of features for the money

Locks ups and skips on sevral DVD's

Talked to customer support and they are sending mailing lables to send the unit in for an "upgrade" to fix the skipping and locking up. The unit is approx 6 months old and this a no cost to me fix by Zenith. I will call factory service upon receipt of the mailing labels to get an estimated time of repair and post on the progress.

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This was my first purchase

This is a follow up review.

I purchased a Sherwood6095R receiver. I did not try the built in D.D. decoder of the player into that receiver. I indicated on my first report about the optical sound quality on a Yamaha 2095. I did not like that sound quality on the Sherwood as well mainly due to a lack of dynamics. I did try an assortment of 75 ohm coax cables I had lying around from various vcrs etc. etc. I placed adapters on those coax cables. Out of a dozen tries, 3 gave excellent sound. One I know I purchased for less than $2 and is currently the one I am using. I even tried another optical cable from AR and the unit still could not deliver any dynamics. The sound was cleaner and had better imaging on the coax. I am more than satisfied with what I heard although the Pioneer 525 is somewhat better in imaging and dynamics with a optical cable, but not necessarily cleaner in sound quality. Both are respectable machines in this category although they have their differences.

The downconversion of the video IMO was superior on the Zenith than the Pioneer. I found the Zenith more pleasant to look at in this mode. Its color quality and image briteness beat the pants off the Pioneer which surprised me.

Very good picture and sound. One of the few that plays CD-R's. Very in-expensive.

** SERVICE **, CD sound quality is not as good.

I researched a lot of DVD players and a number of reviews gave this unit top marks for value and quality. I was quite hesitant to purchase because of Zenith's history, but for $400 Canadian, I thought I would give it a try.

I was surprised at the quality. It was very similar to my Toshiba. It is a quiet running unit and has many nice features. I have noticed that on some disks, the picture will jump instead of flowing smoothly, but this is very infrequent. It has an annoying power off feature that activates if you stop a disk and don't press a button within a couple of minutes (don't go to the bathroom!). You then have to power on the unit and go through the menu's to get back to where you left off as the resume will not work.

My only concern in buying this unit was service, and boy was I right to be concerned. I purchased the unit in early May. In late July the video died. I called LG electronics who referred me to an authorized dealer. It is coming up on five weeks and I still have not got a resolution. I have to continually call to find out what is happening. It was determined that a video chip was burned out and that the parts are on back order. If this was Sony, I would have received a replacement immediately. LG has been passing this around internally trying to get approvals for who knows what. I've spoken to the Canadian Manager and have finally sent an email to a manager in the States (as of today) - no resolution.

I seriously doubt I would ever buy a Zenith or LG Electronics product again.

This product is a very good deal, if it does not break.

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Toshiba SD-3107C
Toshiba SD-3107C
Toshiba SD-3107C
Toshiba SD-3107C

Price, attractive, sleek cabinetry

Does not play dual layer discs!!!!!

I got this DVD player several weeks ago. I immediately purchased two Star Trek DVD's: Insurrection and First Contact...no problem. But what I discovered--and what you will discover too once you start watching ALL your movies on DVD--is that newer DVDs are recorded on what are called dual layer discs. This is how they cram all those features and 2 hour plus movies onto one little disc. At some point on a dual layer disc--usually 3/4 of the way through the movie--the layer changes, causing the player to adjust itself. On the player, this should be seamless or should at worst be a slight "hiccup." But with this Zenith player, the discs freeze and become unplayable. I could not even stop and access the "extras" or later scenes in the movies at all! And I tried it with The Green Mile, The Beach, and Erin Brockovich, all with the same result! I have e-mailed Zenith and they have promised to repair/replace it. However, it has been almost a month and they have not yet sent me the return materials.
My advice is DO NOT BUY THIS PLAYER. If you see a Zenith player with a newer model #, contact Zenith and get assurances that it WILL PLAY DUAL LAYERED DISCS!

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None

Got one and it froze on about half of the discs I tried. Have traded it in for a Sony 560.

Picture quality, sturdiness in construction, long list of features, built in DD decoding, and quietness

None

I purchased this DVD player on January 3 of this year and it worked fine with a few glitches here and there but nothing to get excited about after seeing all the reviews posted. However, while playing The Patriot just recently, I noticed that it was completely skipping parts and had a loss of picture. Luckily, I now work at the store in which I purchased it at. I got the number for Zenith and was directed to someone that could help me. After a few mishaps, I finally found the right person to talk to. I found out that the DVD player I had in my posession had the older version of Zeniths "Software". I was told I would recieve the labels in 2-3 days and am still waiting, but Kudos for Zenith on realizing what needs to be done. Other than this problem, its a WONDERFUL DVD player and I'm happy with my purchase!

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First DVD player

Good DD5.1 decoding,Great Picture,Nice Remote

Does bass management exist in the setup, I can't find it.

I got this unit through value america for $195.00 shipped. Not a bad price price this unit as it has built in DD5.1 decoding which sounds excellent. The picture is the same or better than my neighbors Toshiba 3109 and I have had no problems playing the dredded Matrix DVD. I really like the remote and special effects features of this unit also. I think this is a great deal if you can find it for under $250.00.

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Toshiba 2108

Great value and loaded with features. The picture and sound are first rate and the unit is very user friendly.

Zenith reliability? kind of bland styling but strictly a matter of taste.Also there are very few reviews on this product

I think the Zenith IQDVD2300 is a great unit and a great value. It seems to be often overlooked by more recognizable brands and I discovered it by accident. i read an excellent review on E. Town and have used the player for a month and am very impressed. I wanted to spend under $400.00 and I feel i got every feature available at a great price. I would reccommend the Zenith to anyone who needs a built in decoder and isn't afraid of Zenith's past image and quality problems, recent reviews of their products are very good. I've only had this player a month so if it proves me wrong, I'll let you k now. Skip

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My other two choices were the Toshiba 3109 and Sony 5300

Plays DTS

skips every now and then on some cd's, but very rarely

I just wanted to say that I think some of the people who put up these posts are full of crap. Nobody, I'mean Nobody!! writes that lenghty of a review on a product they bought as a casual consumer. If you are that knowledgabe about DVD players, then why in the hell are you buying the Zenith 2300? To save money? BULL! I'm a computer tech, and i don't run out and buy a Compaq becuse it is cheaper. I know it is crap, so I buy top of the line stuff. You should be buying a Toshiba 9000 or something instead of complaing about the Zenith. You know what I think? Some of you work for Zenith, and are writing good reviews for it, and the one's who write the bad reviews that are extreamly lenghty work for some other company.

Anyway, I have the Zenith 2300, and I am satisfied with it, it does everything I need it to do and I would recommend it to somoene if they could buy it for about 150 to 200 dollars. If your Zenith didn't work stop your whining, take it back show them the receipt and get another one.