MP3 decoding, Karaoke, 2 mic outputs, ease of installation

pauses during play

This is the first DVD player that I purchased. I figured for the price, what the hell. It would be worth a try. I am truly impressed for the features that I got for the price. I wouldn't buy this model for a true home theatre experience. DVD features are not that great. It does play movies great, I've watched about 20 movies on this and have had no problems at all. It is a perfect model for the bedroom and great to play your MP3's on. I would definitely recommend buying this model if you can find a price as good as I did.

Similar Products Used:

none

MP3 playback

DVD playback out of sync, dark, blotchy , lousy remote layout, long disc load times, gets hot

I sold my unit, although it was a great Mp3 player, it was a crappy DVD player.

I got a TEAC DV3000 which also plays Mp3 with better menu system, and seems to do DVD much better so far.

Similar Products Used:

TEAC DV 3000

Ok, the 'hidden' menus are there at the top of the list. But now I also have MP3 playback on my system, which really is a great bonus.

I agree with comments about cheap 'look & feel' but @ $179 what do we want? *heh* better than Oritron ;)

I did not buy this player as my primary DVD device, I bought it for it's ability to play all the CDR based VCDs that i have been accumulating in the past 8mths that my JVC just wont touch (well unless moving to CDRW first...).

I had no preconceptions about quality, but I have to admit having played the Matrix three times, along with Stigmata and some other DVDs I was pretty pleased with the output. that said...

...unit does get warm, and the discs are pretty warm to the touch after use - but I'd say only as warm as CD from an in-dash cd player after a good play! I have yet to experience any lock-ups however I did notice some lip sync problems (due to warmth?) during some points of a couple of movies.

As far as being able to record stuff to video tape - well to be honest, not really interested in that, after all we aren't going to be recording in EP mode are we? and if I were to do such illicit things then i think that I would prefer to convert to VCD or SVCD rather than record to tape.

If you manage to get this player for the sum of $179 or less, go for it. But I would not pay the higher prices being asked for on eBay and such - it is not worth that kind of money!

Similar Products Used:

JVC 501, JVC 511

secret menu to disable the region codes and allows you to port dvd movies to video (disables encryption) you can play mp3 music cds

some lip sync problems...interface is a little awkward

I love it, it was cheap, it can play dvds from any region, I can record dvd to tape, it plays MP3 files. all for less than 200.00. It is not an audiophile device but it is a hackers device and I love that part of it.

Yes, the oh so much talked about "Secret Menu" (see exhaustive descriptions below); mp3 Playback; CDR/RW Reading Ability

Aritfacts, LIP SYNC

This is a *Great* second DVD Player, with some extremely nice features for its "Budget" price. Unfortunately, I found the Picture Quality and Lip Sync Issues to make this only a good 2nd DVD Player. The secret menu features are nice, but since I only need one DVD player, this one will not be "the one."

Also, I tried to watch "The Sixth Sense" on this unit and was extremely annoyed within 3 minutes of the movie! The picture kept switching to "Enhanced for Widescreen" mode. It happened several times again.

I would keep the unit and pray for an "Apex Upgrade," but I doubt the small Ontario, CA could handle such an undertaking.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Samsung (GE), Konka, Panasonic, Pioneer, RCA, Philips

1. Macrovision/Region coding disabler
2. Dolby Digital/DTS output
3. MP3 audio capability
4. VideoCD with CD-R/CDRW compatibility
5. S-Video and Component Video Interconnects
6. Low Cost

Incompatible with some movies

Great machine to have at this price range. It works flawlessly for most of the movices and VCD/MP3 CDs
on all media (CDR/CDRW). The quality of sound and
picture is comparible to the JVC-511 which has far less
features and much more expensive.

Similar Products Used:

JVC-511

+ Macrovision/REgion coding disabler
+ Dolby Digital / DTS output
+ MP3 audio capability
+ VideoCD with CD-R compatibility
+ S-Video and Component Video Interconnects
+ Low Cost

- Video output produces consistent mpeg compression artifacts
- Inconsistent playback performance

I got this unit for $139 (+tax) at a local Circuit City here in Mountain View, CA. Everyone had talked about its neat features and the low price tag. I own the early Sony DVP-S3000 DVD player from Dec 1997, and I must say that the Apex doesn't beat it. My main concern is the video output and it's apparent that the Apex produces more mpeg artifacts than the Sony. I've done A/B comparisons on both, using S-Video cables to my 27" Panasonic TV.

The Sony is 99% compatible with the DVDs that I own and rented. The Apex has performed well also with my collection, so far only minor glitches with menus or special features crashing. It plays the movies without any interruption. By the way, RSDL layer change on the Apex is still detectable.

The MP3 playback is well done but I wish they support the Joliet filesystem long file names. The MP3 menu navigation is something that I need to get used to.

DTS playback sounds great, even with coax interconnects. I played Saving Private Ryan and it sounds great. My receiver is a Denon 2800 with DTS decoder.

Overall, this Apex unit is an awesome addition to my electronics. For the price, I'm not going to complain. For those who doesn't have a DVD player yet, be warned that this unit is a good start to the DVD scene, but later on you will demand a better quality player, like a Panasonic, Sony, or Toshiba. Apex will do just fine as a 2nd unit.

R.A.

Similar Products Used:

Sampo
Panasonic A110

Cheap, lots of features. Disable Macrovision, bypass region settings.

Cheap. Problems with video playback, glitches, etc. Poor remote.

I needed a CD player with digital output so for $159 it wasn't much of a sacrifice.

The Apex does decent job everything except what it's supposed to, playing DVDs. Herein lies the problem, the Apex is a better buy as a VCD/MP3 player than as a DVD player.

If you intend to use this as your primary DVD player be forewarned: at times you will become so frustrated with certain anomolies and bugs that you will just turn it off.

Not such a great deal when you actually start using it.

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Sharp 600

Looks good, plays MP3's, 2x or 4x zoom, disable macrovision

early units (9/99) were flakey

My first unit had a manufacture date of 9/99. It had a good picture quality, and excellent sound. But it ran very hot and soon turned out to be very flakey, it had all sorts of strange behavior. It would power off, or the drawer would open up, or it would go into a pause mode. I returned it and purchased a new unit. This one has a 1/00 manufacture date. It plays great, with no problems of any kind. I think this is outstanding value for the money. It will play MP3's and you can turn off Macrovision, and the 4x zoom is a hoot. If you purchase one look for the manufacture date on the left rear, just above the serial number.

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Sanyo

Mp3 playback is the ONLY, and I repeat ONLY strength of this player!

Everything but MP3 playback!

This product was a big P.O.S.! I was TOTALLY unsatisified with its performance! The video quality was not even close to similarly priced playes and it would not play some dvds. The color would fade in and out during all movies i watched on this player. I took it back and exchanged it 3 times thinking that I had a defective unit but every single one I had did the same thing. Bottom line... spend your money on a name brand dvd player.

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Toshiba sd-3109, sd-3107, sd-2109, sd-1200 (All put the apex to shame!)