suburbanator

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $99.00 from Future Shop

Summary:
Cheap and Nasty looking and feeling but it met all my needs as an initial DVD Player. It was the ONLY dvd player available in Canada at the time that played MP3's, VCD's and Multi Region Dvds. It has worked without trouble since new, I will be replacing shortly to increase the digital performance of my system.

Strengths:
Mp3, MultiRegion, CHEAP, Extended Warranty available from seller for 5 years for only $40...

Weaknesses:
Crappy remote and cheap craftsmanship.

Similar Products Used:
None.

Price Paid:  $80.00 from Fry's Electronics

Summary:
I first purchased this unit based on the recommendations of a friend and the reviews that I had read about it. The first unit I took home would pause momentarily at the beginning of a chapter. I called Apex Digital's customer service department, which was of no help, and returned it to Fry's for another one. I can understand getting a bad unit. But the second one I got would "hiccup" often, a brief interruption for a fraction of a second on every DVD I tried in it. If the disc had any imperfection like a minute scratch, it would freeze up and I would have a hard time even getting the disc out. I put a flawless copy of "American Beauty" in and it wouldn't even load. I have since exchanged it for a Toshiba model that has superior sound and menu navigation, as well as flawless operation.

Strengths:
Price

Weaknesses:
Unreliable operation, disc has to be perfect, not-too-user-friendly menus, inferior sound from the coaxial output.

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba SD2800

Price Paid:  $90.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
Overall a very good product for its capabilities at a very good price.

Strengths:
DVD player plays multiple formats, and also plays DVD's from different regions.

Weaknesses:
The remote control does not have a power button.

Price Paid:  $139.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
This is *not* a player for anyone who doesn't like to tinker. The first thing one must do is get inside and remove the crappy factory heat sinks. Then, you can get some gasket shellac and attach your own heat sinks. Secondly, you must then update the firmware to N6. Nerd-out.com has lots of info. After doing these things you will be amazed at what a great unit this is. Gone will be the heat and lip sync issues, as well as other issues with newer dvd's. And when it's all said and done, you'll still have region 0 and macrovision 0 settings. Enjoy.

Strengths:
Inexpensive, plays everything.

Weaknesses:
Awful heat sinks, crappy original A8 firmware.

Similar Products Used:
All sorts of DVD players

Price Paid:  $160.00 from Futureshop

Summary:
I compared these dvds one by one with the same dvd, vcd and cd on my 52" RCA TV and on my Sony sterio system with Bose 301 speakers. There were little differences among these machines in sound and picture. They are all very good. Pioneer DV-440 and Toshiba SD-2710 got a little bit better in sound and picture. Apex-600A seems to be a little bit incompetent. Sony DVP-NS400D were between. Hard to tell the differece between S-video and Component-video out. They all play dvd, vcd, cd and mp3. Their major differences are as follows:

Toshiba SD-2710 ($195, made in China): Best zoom quality in DVD but not functioning in VCD. With 24-bit/192kHz audio DAC

Pioneer DV-440 ($195, made in Malasia): Nice slim desigh, With 24-bit/192kHz audio DAC, No zoom function.

Sony DVP-NS400D ($195, made in Japan): Have built in Dolby Digital decoder, With 24-bit/96kHz audio DAC, No zoom function. !!Disk stucked when machine flipped over!!.

Apex-600A ($160, made in China): Poor zoom quality, Poor outlook, but can zoom VCD. Have karaoky function but not sensitive enough, With 24-bit/96kHz audio DAC.

Due to these factors, I have not finally decide which one I am going to keep.

Strengths:
Karaoke function, VCD zoom, low price

Weaknesses:
Poor zoom quality, poor outlook.

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba SD-2710, Pioneer DV 440, Sony DVP-NS400D,