*TWO APEXs DOA!* What's a good DVD player for $60-100? *PURCHASED*

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rudeguy

Lifer
Dec 27, 2001
47,351
14
61
Originally posted by: werk
Originally posted by: GoodDad
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Definitely now the apex would cut it. That toshiba for $48 after peebates would be pretty good though...

the apex will play avi files and play +/- discs. Toshiba is known to be very picky. Apex's are also knows to be very easy to hack if you want to play dvd's from different regions :)

I upsell people off the apex everyday, but their dvd players do a heck of a lot for the money.
No way, the Toshiba SD4900 will play everything you throw at it, including MP3s and WMAs on DVD+R.

are you sure? The specs dont say so and AFAIK they wont. But then again we sell about 20 different DVD players, cant keep up with each model
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
My $100 Sony has great tracking of netflix rental DVDs, much better than the 4-year-old Pioneer it replaced. The $50 players might not handle beat-up rental discs as well.

It plays DVD +/- R/RW, VCD, SVCD and MP3 audio but not AVI or divx. This year's around-$100 models have progressive scan and component video out (as well as S-Video and composite).
 

loup garou

Lifer
Feb 17, 2000
35,132
1
81
Originally posted by: GoodDad
Originally posted by: werk
Originally posted by: GoodDad
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Definitely now the apex would cut it. That toshiba for $48 after peebates would be pretty good though...

the apex will play avi files and play +/- discs. Toshiba is known to be very picky. Apex's are also knows to be very easy to hack if you want to play dvd's from different regions :)

I upsell people off the apex everyday, but their dvd players do a heck of a lot for the money.
No way, the Toshiba SD4900 will play everything you throw at it, including MP3s and WMAs on DVD+R.

are you sure? The specs dont say so and AFAIK they wont. But then again we sell about 20 different DVD players, cant keep up with each model
http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDname=sd4900&Submit=Search&Search=Search&country=&orderby=Name

Oh, and it plays DVD-Audio as well. Not bad for a player often priced at ~$85.
 

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,928
8
81
Best one I've found is the Samsung DVD-P241. They have it at Best Buy, Sears, and probably a other places. It's only been out for a few months but I like it. It has played all my DVD-Rs with no problems. I got this player when I took a different cheap one back because it woudln't read anything. It has lots of good features, progressive scan, etc.

Definitely take a look at it at least before you buy something else.

Here's a link to it at Best Buy's site:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1072287050739&skuId=6263571&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03013

 

DaWhim

Lifer
Feb 3, 2003
12,985
1
81
Apex? EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
I ordered one in the summer from amazon.com. it broke down about 26 days later. luckily, I can get the full refund back from amazon.com

got a pioneer 353 instead, still working like a charm.
 

Storm

Diamond Member
Nov 5, 1999
3,952
0
76
Man what is your luck with electronics? God forbid you get a big screen tv and something goes wrong. I think the someone upstairs or downstairs is trying to tell you something :evil:
 

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
Originally posted by: Rufio
i love howthe skorbs have blackp eople avatars!
AHAAHA

I imagine Alabama is a bit more culturally diverse than Canada:D

Back on topic, my DVD players seem to last about a year, they get pretty heavy use with my 11 year old busy memorizing every movie she owns.

Just bought a Panasonic (XV-N50BK )for ~$100, seems pretty good.

Apex is definitely the value leader, but I've stayed away from them because of the problems you've had with yours, Skoorb.

 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Well there is a Koss for $32, but it does digital via coaxial, and though my receiver supports that I have no coaxial cable, so I am looking for another very cheap replacement. If they have another apex I'll try it I suppose.
 

BornStar

Diamond Member
Oct 30, 2001
4,052
1
0
You're a glutton for punishment, eh? Why don't you just try a slightly better brand? I noticed that there's no longer a rebate on that Toshiba, but it's still under $60.

edit: The Toshiba has the same problem as the Koss, only coax. Coaxial cables are pretty cheap and as was already said, you can use any standard RCA cable.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Just returned it and got a $33 KOSS instead. The koss is much better. Firstly, it works. Secondly, it's got progressive scan. Thirdly, and of great importance, it allows me to skip through certain sequences I couldn't on the apex, such as the blue fbi warning screen on the LOTR disc 1. That last point is huge.
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
Dude, sorry to hear about all the problems with the APEX's you got. When they first came out, I remember everyone saying they where the shiz-nit, but I guess their quality has up and left the country now!

How's the KOSS treating you after a weekend worth of movie watchin?

techfuzz
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Originally posted by: techfuzz
Dude, sorry to hear about all the problems with the APEX's you got. When they first came out, I remember everyone saying they where the shiz-nit, but I guess their quality has up and left the country now!

How's the KOSS treating you after a weekend worth of movie watchin?

techfuzz
Well I only tested it yesterday and haven't used it yet, but initiatally it works at least :D
 

dman

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
9,110
0
76
I bought a Cyberhome unit (the cheap one) and it sucked. Apparently you get what you pay for (usually).

That said, My apex 660 is still working like a champ and it's getting lots of abuse playing kids videos all day for my daughter. So, the early Apex weren't bad (but they did have some problems as well).

Anyway, for our second player I went through a few different brands, KLH 122x worked ok but had trouble playing DVD+RW's. Ended up getting a name brand, Phillips I think. Plays DVD+RW fine, but, firmware is rather basic and no chance of hacking.

Ah well.
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
I ended up spending a couple hundred on a Toshiba multi-disc player a couple years ago that still works quite well. It doesn't have progressive scan, but it does have component outputs which do make a difference even on older TV's. Someday I'll have to upgrade it, but the TV's going to get upgraded first :) Wish we could "overclock" a TV as easily as one can do with a computer!

techfuzz