good deal? (from woot.com)

[andylawcc]

$39.99

http://www.woot.com/


I am not needing one, but does this make a good Xmas gift for a guy friend who doesn't have a standalone DVD player?

 

[PurdueRy]

That unit is extremely cheap and very flimsy. It's basically an all plastic construction and the tray is very loose. Plus the tray glows a bright blue and I don't think there is a way to turn it off. :thumbsdown:

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/...icles=130#ToshibaSD-K860%20(Component)

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers?DVD...=&dvdtv=&chipset=&orderby=Name&hits=50

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
That unit is extremely cheap and very flimsy. It's basically an all plastic construction and the tray is very loose. Plus the tray glows a bright blue and I don't think there is a way to turn it off. :thumbsdown:

Not being able to turn the light off would suck

My Panasonic has a blue light too, but you can set it to only be on when you have the tray ejected
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/spmclaughlin/web/6%20Component%20Stand/Dark.JPG

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
That unit is extremely cheap and very flimsy. It's basically an all plastic construction and the tray is very loose. Plus the tray glows a bright blue and I don't think there is a way to turn it off. :thumbsdown:

whoa. you own one yourself?


and thanks Agaboogaboo

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
That unit is extremely cheap and very flimsy. It's basically an all plastic construction and the tray is very loose. Plus the tray glows a bright blue and I don't think there is a way to turn it off. :thumbsdown:

whoa. you own one yourself?


and thanks Agaboogaboo

no I don't own it...It was just for sale in the store I have been working at off and on for the past 5 years. It is last years model and I was unimpressed by it(we often tested some of the open box merchandise on the TV displays.)

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
no I don't own it...It was just for sale in the store I have been working at off and on for the past 5 years. It is last years model and I was unimpressed by it(we often tested some of the open box merchandise on the TV displays.)

any one brand/model impressed you?

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
That unit is extremely cheap and very flimsy. It's basically an all plastic construction and the tray is very loose. Plus the tray glows a bright blue and I don't think there is a way to turn it off. :thumbsdown:

Not being able to turn the light off would suck

My Panasonic has a blue light too, but you can set it to only be on when you have the tray ejected
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/spmclaughlin/web/6%20Component%20Stand/Dark.JPG">https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/spmclaughlin/web/6%20Component%20Stand/Dark.JPG</a>

I have the Samsung 850 and I like it with one minor annoyance. The FF is either 2x, 4x or 64x...its either too fast or too slow. It's not a deal breaker as its performed admirably but it is a bit annoying. Mine also has a blue light around the power button but it is only on when the unit is off.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
no I don't own it...It was just for sale in the store I have been working at off and on for the past 5 years. It is last years model and I was unimpressed by it(we often tested some of the open box merchandise on the TV displays.)

any one brand/model impressed you?

How much are you looking to spend?

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
no I don't own it...It was just for sale in the store I have been working at off and on for the past 5 years. It is last years model and I was unimpressed by it(we often tested some of the open box merchandise on the TV displays.)

any one brand/model impressed you?

How much are you looking to spend?

under $100; what's the sweet spot for a DVD player anyways? I never got into the home theater market so I have absolutely no clue.

with my heavily flawed logic, however, if a $40 DVD-ROM for a PC with all the codec upgrades can play anything on earth, why can a standalone DVD player be any more expensive?

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
no I don't own it...It was just for sale in the store I have been working at off and on for the past 5 years. It is last years model and I was unimpressed by it(we often tested some of the open box merchandise on the TV displays.)

any one brand/model impressed you?

How much are you looking to spend?

under $100; what's the sweet spot for a DVD player anyways? I never got into the home theater market so I have absolutely no clue.

with my heavily flawed logic, however, if a $40 DVD-ROM for a PC with all the codec upgrades can play anything on earth, why can a standalone DVD player be any more expensive?

It's gotta have a power section to regulate voltage for itself and it has all the decoders and such needed to play...a DVD-rom drive sends those duties out to be processed by the CPU/Sound card/video card.

Anyway, I would look at a Panasonic S77S on ebay. From the looks of it they are going pretty cheap. Even a used unit would be very nice.

The sweet spot I would say for the average consumer is around $70...the sweet spot for someone with a lil higher tasted would be $200 new. Do you have an HDTV? what size and what inputs does it have?

But do take a look at that panasonic

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

You can get one that's quite good for ~$200, but honestly I would have a hard time justifying that knowing that HD-DVD players are coming down in price so fast.

 

[Raduque]

Does your friend need anything special or extra, like upscaling or divx playback, or they planning on going to HD-DVD/BRD in the future?? If not, then a basic DVD player with component out (if using a TV with component) for around $50 will do fine till they decide they need more features or can afford a HD player.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
no I don't own it...It was just for sale in the store I have been working at off and on for the past 5 years. It is last years model and I was unimpressed by it(we often tested some of the open box merchandise on the TV displays.)

any one brand/model impressed you?

How much are you looking to spend?

under $100; what's the sweet spot for a DVD player anyways? I never got into the home theater market so I have absolutely no clue.

with my heavily flawed logic, however, if a $40 DVD-ROM for a PC with all the codec upgrades can play anything on earth, why can a standalone DVD player be any more expensive?

It's gotta have a power section to regulate voltage for itself and it has all the decoders and such needed to play...a DVD-rom drive sends those duties out to be processed by the CPU/Sound card/video card.

Anyway, I would look at a Panasonic S77S on ebay. From the looks of it they are going pretty cheap. Even a used unit would be very nice.

The sweet spot I would say for the average consumer is around $70...the sweet spot for someone with a lil higher tasted would be $200 new. Do you have an HDTV? what size and what inputs does it have?

But do take a look at that panasonic

S77 is the Panasonic I'm using. Looks like it's discontinued though? It was supposed to be close in quality to the S97 though which still looks like it's easy to find (but significantly more expensive)

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
no I don't own it...It was just for sale in the store I have been working at off and on for the past 5 years. It is last years model and I was unimpressed by it(we often tested some of the open box merchandise on the TV displays.)

any one brand/model impressed you?

How much are you looking to spend?

under $100; what's the sweet spot for a DVD player anyways? I never got into the home theater market so I have absolutely no clue.

with my heavily flawed logic, however, if a $40 DVD-ROM for a PC with all the codec upgrades can play anything on earth, why can a standalone DVD player be any more expensive?

It's gotta have a power section to regulate voltage for itself and it has all the decoders and such needed to play...a DVD-rom drive sends those duties out to be processed by the CPU/Sound card/video card.

Anyway, I would look at a Panasonic S77S on ebay. From the looks of it they are going pretty cheap. Even a used unit would be very nice.

The sweet spot I would say for the average consumer is around $70...the sweet spot for someone with a lil higher tasted would be $200 new. Do you have an HDTV? what size and what inputs does it have?

But do take a look at that panasonic

S77 is the Panasonic I'm using. Looks like it's discontinued though? It was supposed to be close in quality to the S97 though which still looks like it's easy to find (but significantly more expensive)

That's why I said get one on ebay...they go for cheap

 

[doze]

Yes it is a good price and a decent DVD player but it is very cheaply constructed and the light is BRIGHT blue. It was bright enough for me to return the unit.

 

[andylawcc]

to all:

no, my friend just has a basic TV, so nothing too fancy,

oh well, it's 11:06pm and one hour away until the woot is gone. I guess I will look in Costco or Walmart for some other brand (or some other gift entirely)

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: andylawcc
to all:

no, my friend just has a basic TV, so nothing too fancy,

oh well, it's 11:06pm and one hour away until the woot is gone. I guess I will look in Costco or Walmart for some other brand (or some other gift entirely)

Standard TV then just get a standard unit. I wouldn't recommend that one due to its bright light but just go get one that seems to be constructed decently. Get the S77 if you can nab one on ebay for less that 60

 

[AkumaX]

i <3 my Philips DVP5960 (divx player, hdmi, usb-in (flash drive, usb hdd))

bought it for $25 off eBay!!

was an as-is unit, the guy said he got fuzzy lines when he played it.
it reminded me of my older unit's problem (DVP642, RIP),
when you turn on progressive scan and use composite output instead of component.
lo and behold, he turned on hdmi cable and use composite,
so i turned hdmi off and now im