My parents are looking for a basic "cheap-o" DVD player

[nonameo]

What's the best "value" I can get? (we're talking under 75$ here)

What's good as far as brand name goes?

What features should I look for? I see some approaching 60 are upconverting DVD players. We have a 32" olevia 720p set. Is upconversion worth it?

any other info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Shawn]

Upconversion is definitely worth it. But if you don't want to spend the extra money walmart has a DVD player for $30.

 

[sdifox]

Upconverting is only worth it if the scaler in the dvd player is better than the scaler in the tv.

 

[Modelworks]

http://www.walmart.com/catalog....do?product_id=4810681
Its 38.00 and also plays divx, which is why I bought one.
Seems to work well.

They also have the philips model with more features but my local store didn't have that one.
The philips one is 48.00 I think.

 

[pennylane]

I bought this Philips for my aunt. It upscales pretty well, and it's cheap.

My only complaint is that it takes an unusually long time to start up (10-15s). Other than that it works very well.

My aunt has it hooked up to a 26" Olevia LCD. I didn't bother looking up how well the Olevia upscales, but considering the price, I figured the upscaling wouldn't be that great. The image from the DVD player upscaled looks good, so I just left it at that.

 

[Slammy1]

Spend a few more dollars, get something to match the tech of their television. At 768p (720p, whatever) you expect the quality of the source to have a big impact. Check out the Oppo 971H or 970HD, comparatively cheap but decent. I don't recommend that anyone play the disposable lighter game with electronics, get something you plan on lasting them a few years.

Honestly, if you have an old 2200+ or better PC, it's easy enough to make a better DVD player.