Price, MP3s, CD-RW, Accurate Color Saturation. Good CD Audio. 4x Zoom

Crappy navigation on remote. Dark picture. Lower than usual sound level.

I must have got one of the units with the good firmware. I have had only two problems with unit. Lock up when CD-RW are put into it with just data (non-mp3). and a loud annoying hum when an audio cd finishes the last track.

Aside from the brightness being a little below average (and the audio), this unit has been a very good value. I like the picture detail as good as on the Panason RV-30. I like the audio rendition from dvd soundtracks much better. I love the mp3 ability.
The color compared to the rv-30 is way more accurate.
I took back the s550 because of its softness, but I miss it (it was great player). I am going to take back the rv-30 because of its lame color accuracy and inability to play mp3s. Playing audio, the cheapo apex is on par with the other two and superior to the panasonic on movie soundtracks.
Maybe I got lucky. But I say, hey don't believe the hype, give this thing a spin before you spend $50 more on others that can't play mp3s.

Similar Products Used:

Sony S-550D, Sony 330, Panasonic RV-30.

Plays mp3's
Great Picture
Great Sound

The Picture and the sound are off by a split second
and it makes it very hard to watch movies without staring
at their lips.

To start off, this player sucks.
DO NOT buy it.

It is very ugly and the display is also hard to read.
There is no optical digital out.
I bought two and they both had the same problem with
the Audio/Visual synchronization that a few other reviews
had. It really sucked. I spent the extra money and bought
the sony S-360. It was worth it 100%.

I did like the sound though.
The picture is also nice and sharp.
So , if you can get a good one, go for it.
It would be worth the money.

Similar Products Used:

Sony S-360

suppose to be able to play mp3 etc

piece of junk- period!!!!!

this piece of junk should be allowed to be sold anywhere in the usa,i bought this unit at hastings in maryville,tennessee,it was new in the box when i opened the unit i noticed fingersprints on the front,did this mean a lack of quality control?well fingerprints may send you to prison for a crime but it never took away from the quality of a good dvd player,or so i thought,after wasting nearly a hour of removing my audio system i finally had this unit ready to listen to,wrong again this p.o.s. was d.o.a. out of the box perhaps this unit shoulkd have beem buried in the box.
back to hastings books i went they gladly changed the unit,again i arrived home hooked up a brand new unit in factory sealed box ,this time i actually got lights the front of the unit read loading ,again after about 10 seconds i got a message ,check disc,it was another non working unit,again i returned to hastings,3rd time charm huh?
this time i got a unit that actually played ,somewhat.it skipped more than most 3rd grade girls,video was un watchable,any poor fool who actually says this is a good buy is either working for apex or has lost their mind,this is junk,i returned the unit for a refund and i must say that any retailer who sells these is not very reliable,hastings is questionable as is circuit city, i think the idea is to get your money then have you swap out for another unit of higher price.
again i can not say enough about such poor quality workmanship,it must have been made in a sweat shop with 3 year olds,i hope someday the real companies decide to make a mp3 player-cd-dvd player for home use.
if you are thinking about buying any apex products don't,this is poor inferior merchandise,yes i am sure that a few will claim they are great but beware.i wish i could give a more real score -5 stars this is just junk.

Similar Products Used:

pioneer dvd 626,jvc dvd,computer dvd

I guess the easy setup

It overheated and stopped working... need I say more?

I bought the Apex AD500A DVD player from some guy at circuit city and he was just about as lost as I was. This was my first attempt at getting a DVD player and I think that i really missed the mark with the APEX player. the first night that I had it I also had three movies and the first noticable problem was the picture...it was really dim. I adjusted the brightness/contrast settings on my tv, but when I went to play my video games, it was like I was trying to play them through the sun. Second problem, the sound. For a minute it was ok and then as the night wore on the peoples' lips started moving out of synch with the audio. Some of hte sounds came through the receiver muffled and , at most, a mere buzz. THe third and major reason that this DVD player is going back after only a day of usage is because it overheated!!! I have not seen any home entertainment equip overheat in over 10 years! The picture began to hesitate, almost like i was presing the pause button. I absolutely cannot deal with that, I mean I had to take a 30 minute intermission between the second and third movies. My honest to God suggestion...Save you money and get a name brand DVD player, it will be well worth it.

Plays MP3, VCD,reads CDRW media

None so far

Pick this unit up last week.
No problem playing 6 VCD movies, 2 DVD movies, 1 MP3 CDRW so far.
Great price, good performance.
Loophole menu still there, but don't see any reason to use it.
Don't see the need to copy DVD movies to VHS.
The unit does get warm after a long movie,but did not notice anything bad.

Similar Products Used:

None, my first DVD player

Fast, inexpensive, region-free/macro-free, Mp3, underdog

Heat sinks (read), branching DVD's, scarceness

Ok me begin by stressing one important thing: The flimsy heat sinks on this unit need immediate attention when you buy one of these units. If you purchace an AD-600A and it cuts out after an hour of playing, then it's overheating. The heatsinks on my second (yes I have two) unit were 1/4 inch above the chips! After ripping them off and putting in my own heat sinks and some thermal grease the unit plays very cool. Quality control is bad on these units.



But, the unit is fast. It plays nearly everthing (more than the Pioneer 525 I had) I've thrown at it for months now. One title, Night of the Living Dead SE, had audio sync problems. Sometimes this unit is prone to sync troubles sometimes, and are usually cured by pausing and restarting or cycling through the audio tracks. Anyhow, dual-layered disks play fine. Seemless branching disks are a problem however. There are workarounds at Nerd-out.com"The unit walks all over the Raites I've used, as well as the Toshibas, as far as not choking on titles such as The Matrix.



Everyone knows about the MP3 and macrovision/region-free abilities of this machine, so I won't go there. It's nice to not have to spend $450 for a modified player just to watch a region 2 Eyes Wide Shut. Oh how I hate the MPAA. Anyway, like I said, this unit is a real value.



The remote is fair, but I've grown accustomed to it. You can use one of the All For One remotes instead if you hate the Apex remote. The codes are at the aforementioned site.



A lot of people complain about artifacts in the picture quality. This unit apparently doesn't have a lot of video output filtering in it (which may explain the speed of the unit). I like the picture. It's better than my digital cable as far as artifacts go. Furthermore, one can turn down their televsion's sharpness to reduce digital artifacts.



If you can find one at a non-Epay-inflated price go for it. I would recommend buying two just in case. If the heat sync thing scares you and you have no amount of tech in you, then this unit is not for you. This is a machine for geeks who most likely have CD burners and know a better than average amount about electronics. Such as myself. In closing, this is the best piece of electronic I've purchased in years, given the price, features, rebelliousness, and reliablity. Remember the heat advice however.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 525, Raite, Toshiba, Creative Labs (PC) DVD

Plays CD-R, VCD, MP3(have not tried this yet)
Great picture quality. Excellent layer change. Excellent value. CD's play well.

Unit gets quite warm.

My wife bought me this DVD for father's day. We have watched about 5 movies so far including The Matrix, which played flawlessly. This unit has a 01/2000 code and does not have the loophole menu. I am very pleased with this unit so far. This unit is a great bargain!!!

Similar Products Used:

None - First DVD player

Plays variety of video formats, DVD, VCD, CD-R and CD-RW.

Lack of optical output

I've been had this DVD player for about a month. It works great. I haven't had any problems mentioned by other reviewers. I think the one I got from Circuit City is the newer version since it disabled "LOOPHOLES" menu. The sound and picture qualities are as good as Pioneer 525 as far as I can tell. I acturally returned Pioneer 525 since it can not play some of my VCDs from Asia. APEX AD-600A plays all kinds of media. It hasn't failed me once. For guys who have a lot of VCDs from Asia, this is the DVD for you. It plays CD-Rs and CD-RWs very well and it also plays MP3. The only thing missing is optical output. This may prevent you from recording your CDs to MDs. Maybe it is not quite as good as brand name DVD players (I don't have time and money to test them all). But I'm not gonna pay another $100 or even $50 for a "better" player. I give it 4 stars because of the lack of optical output (though it does have digital coaxial output).

By the way, Philips 825 doesn't play some of my VCDs either.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 525, Philips 825

great player for the price

could use dts decoder

biult just as well as any $400 or less machine (aforementioned models for example)

very good video/excellent audio

also does mp3; although I don't have any mp3-burned discs

cannot be beat for under $400

Similar Products Used:

jvc
philips/maganavox

MP3 Playback, KALAOK, Low price, Read Most CD/DVD Media

No secret menu any more

I bought both Apex 600A and GE DVD player at the same time. GE just can't read most of my VCDs from Asia!! While there are no reading problem for Apex. The audio quality for MP3 and DVD are amazing!! The KALAOK feature and key adjustment make it a entertainment center. The video quality looks find for me. For only US$179, you can own a MP3 player for 12+ hours non-stop music, a KALAOK and a DVD player at the same time. I highly recommand this DVD player.

Similar Products Used:

GE DVD