DVD/CD/MP3 player $69.99 Circuit City B&M

[allisolm]

In today's circular. Says models may vary by store. Valid 3/10-3/16

 

[ohhenry1]

Dang. I just bought this yesterday for $79.99. Thanks, Allisolm.

BTW, FYI, at least in the Boston area, the DVD player being sold is the Apex AD-1500, which apparently can easily be hacked to make it region free and also VCR friendly (i.e., it disables copy protection, making it possible to record DVDs onto videotape).

 

[celestar]

Be careful - with the Apex 1500 - you have to have a model with the serial number that begins with an "A, B, C, or D" in order to hack it. The serial is on the outside of the box on a little label.

I was going to buy one at CC - but the serial number began with SV - which means you can't hack it. Found a bunch at Fry's for $79 that began with "D". Bought it - took it home. Downloaded the new firmware - burned it to a CD, put it in the player and in 30 seconds had a macrovision free, region free DVD.

Here's the link on how to hack an APEX 1500.

http://www.dvd-wizards.com/darrenk/1500/1500_firmware.htm

 

[Tung]

why would you want to record dvd into videotape? isn't that illegal?

 

[wakeboarder]

<< why would you want to record dvd into videotape? isn't that illegal? >>



NO. You are allowed to make "backups" of stuff you own and since most people don't have DVD burners since they still cost to much and there are several formats, an easier way to make a backup is on videotape. This way if your DVD gets messed up you still have the content of the DVD. Macrovision is in place to keep people from copying DVD's they borrow or rent which is illegal, but prevents legitimate backups.

 

[dman]

Looks like this thread has a little more discussion on this deal: Here (Although, I believe this thread was the first one).

Regards.

 

[MrRichfield]

Is Macrovision the thing that makes DVD's kind of fade brighter to darker and brigher again when trying to watch a DVD played through a VCR to an older TV? If so, then I would LOVE to be able to disable it. I hate that I am expected to buy a new TV that has more connectors just so I can watch DVD's. I should be able to hook up a DVD player to a TV to watch it, but only my VCR's have the composite video connectors.


Also, I believe that it now IS illegal to make "backup copies" of digital media, due to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Yes, this goes against what I believe is called "fair use" rights, but that's how I interpretted it.:|

 

[ohhenry1]

MrRichfield, yes, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it illegal to circumvent copyright protection schemes such as Macrovision. It also makes it illegal to distribute materials that allow other people to engage in such circumvention. Also, I hate to say it, but linking to a web page that has on it a hack or directions on how to hack is also considered distribution of hacking materials.

Anyway, so that's the law.

Everyone else can use that information to act according to their own informed opinions.

 

[saphyrestar]

does anyone have the link to the flash update that allows you to play all regions?

 

[Scarpozzi]

My father hit CC last week about this and they ended up selling him another model cause they claimed many of these were returned around Xmas with defects. I don't know if it was a pitch or truth, but just a heads up. It's a steal if it's fairly good quality.(which most likely it is)

 

[ohhenry1]

These Apex's ARE of fairly low quality and probably more than the usual amount of them are defective, but that shouldn't necessarily stop you from buying one.

I can't attest to how durable these things are in the long run, but part of what makes them low quality is that their quality control is not as consistent as other company's. This means you're not as sure that your going to get a good one or bad one when you buy one new.

For example, I bought one of these the other day, took it home, and the darned tray wouldn't open! I finally got it to open, but then it wouldn't close!

But, again, that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy one. I took back the defective one and got a new one and it works just fine. I even applied the firmware upgrade. Bravo! So anyway, you might have to return one if it's defective, but if you get one that works okay, you might be golden.

My advice is, if you buy one, open it in the store to make sure that the tray opens and that the remote works. That way, if either are broken, you can return it immediately without making a second trip.

Then, take it home and give it a thorough test to make sure all the functions work.

Repeat if necessary (though probably for most people you'll get a good one on the first try).

- Henry

 

[Justify73]

Here's a link to the region-free firmware.

http://www.dvd-wizards.com/darrenk/1500/GK1000.zip

The instructions for "updating your firmware" are here: http://www.dvd-wizards.com/darrenk/1500/1500_firmware.htm

I bought this item last night, applied the firmware patch in mere minutes, and it works great! The only complaint I have about this particular DVD player is that the drawer is LOUD. Much louder than the GE it's replacing. But, such is the price of freedom of backup.

 

[Pogs]

Some CC stores (at least around here in Chicago) are already aware of the serial number thing. Some reps at the store will immediately ask you if you're looking for a particular serial number and will tell you straightaway if they have any more. But there are also lazy reps who refuses to check the serial# and will tell you either they don't have any or will tell you that you only get what they give you. A couple of my friends had to go to 4 different CC stores just to get a flashable unit.

This is great all around player. I got one just so I can play SVCDs since my Sony doesn't support that format. I bought 3 of these in the last 2 weeks for friends and family - none has to be returned yet.

Sure it's butt ugly but for a secondary player you can't beat the price. Video quality is not that bad either.

 

[saphyrestar]

thanks, Justify73

 

[GagHalfrunt]

My local CC had about 50 of these out on display, all were "D" models, so easily hackable.

Something to be aware of with Apex, especially the low-end models like the 1500, is that the quality control sucks. A large number of them will get returned for being "dead on arrival", but if you get one that works right out of the box they seem to last pretty well. The #1 complaint is that the tray won't open, but that's fixable. So if you buy one of these and get it home and the tray won't eject, here's what's to do.

1) Open the tray door by pulling it down from the top towards you as it hinges from the bottom.
2) You'll see the tray inside the door. Firmly push the tray INWARD until it clicks. Usually it'll happen in two stages. At first the tray will go a bit and then stop without clicking. Keep pushing, harder than you think is necessary until you're 100% sure that you hear and feel the tray click. That'll reseat it properly and the unit should function fine. Test it with the open/close button to be sure.

If it works after that, hold on to it. You sure won't find another decent DVD player for 70 bucks and the Apex 1500 is great on burned CD-Rs, cheapo blanks, scratched discs and other crappy media. It'll play a lot of discs that will choke players costing 4 times more.

 

[ohhenry1]

GagHalfrunt, thanks for the great tip on how to remedy a tray that won't open.

I just wish you'd posted it a couple of days ago so that I didn't have to waste a couple hours lugging my Apex all the way back to CircuitCity!

As for checking the serial number, remember that it's on the outside of the box. It shouldn't be that hard for employees to check on them.