The Body

Everything

I bought the APEX ADA-600A on 6-26-00 as a secondary DVD player. As soon as I started to use it I started to notice all of the problems that were to follow.

I placed the apex in my room connected to a 27" mitsubiti tv with S-video. As i started to watch the matrix I first noticed that the video quality was very dark and the worst i have ever seen.
As I placed the apex in my mini theater room with my Sony DVP-S300 I watched the matrix again on both dvd players connected to a Sony-STR-DA777ES reciever, and a 52" plasma flat screen and all JBL speakers plus A JBL 15" 250watt SUB
i noticed that the sony dvd player flat out left the apex in the dust.
After an hour of use of the apex, it started to over heat, and freez up. Then there is the problem with the lip-sync. Then i put the unit to the test, the unit claimed to play MP3 encoded cd's to my surprise it did not play,as well as the vcd encoded cd's.
Then there is the issue with the operating system it is harder to use than any dvd player i have seen. And then the remote they could have done better.
I strongley encourge you to research more on the APEX player. From my 1 day with the $179 player DO NOT BUY IT!!!

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP-s300

MP3/VCD play great!

MP3 display cumbersome

Ok, here is what is up. This DVD player rocks the competition.

Some complain about it not playing MP3s, well obviously those people cannot burn a simple CD-R. I would recommend you play the MP3 CD's with out the use of the TV, much like your average CD player just with 120+ songs! Just print out a list of the songs and put it on suffle or skip between them.

This piece of equipment is the ulimate god-send for college students like myself. I was able to burn VCD's full of all those stupid (but funny) videos you get off the internet. I also burned five CD's full of music videos, which this player plays without fault.

Nothing beats the value, you give up a little in quality, but not too much.....

It does occasionally hangs when you try to back up and fast forward back and forth quickly.

Looks, acts, and behaves more like an old dos computer than a DVD. Complete with an occasional hang! It has a coax digital output (so you don't have to spend $80 on an optical cable for dolby digital theater). It has a component video output (important for my 60" TV). Unlike a previous reviewer stated, the video quality in both S-video and component video is outstanding. I only use the component out to make "backups" of DVD's.. For archival purposes only, of course. That's right, mine had the loophole tweak which allows for turning on and off "features" like Macrovision. PLays MP3's like an ole 286 DOS machine (short filenames only)but at least it plays 'em. It does an outstanding job on video CD's. A friend let me borrow a Starwars video CD before it came out on video (it was a CD-R) and it was recorded in PAL format. No problem, once you tell you're APEX you have a NTSC TV. A friend of mine spent $500 on a Sony and IT WON't even acknowledge a CD-R video CD, although Sony claims otherwise in the literature. (Sony tech support said "we only guarantee original manufactured items." For $500! No thanks) For $179 at Circuit city, purchasing this is a no brainer..

Similar Products Used:

RCA DVD player

Price, hidden menus, MP3 player, VCD capability.

Cheesy deck and cheesier remote.

First of, this is a $160 player, and it played like a $160 player. The deck is cheap, that's why it costs $160. Having said that, it is just about the most versatile deck out there, capable of handling practically any format thrown at it, including: non-region 1 disk (for those lucky enough to get one with the hidden menu), VCDs, CD, CDR/RW audio and MP3. For $160, that's not bad. I mostly use it as my MP3 player and so far, it can read all the CDs I've made, including those recorded on Office Depot specials. The remote even has volume control. Unfortunately, the deck does not support ID tags and the on-screen 8-letter file name it assigned is cryptic to say the least. Moreover, it cannot fast-foward through a song and does seemed to have some trouble with VBR-encoded MP3s. As for DVD, just don't expect more than a $160 picture and you won't be disappointed. I'm lucky enough to own the hidden menu unit, and the thought of sticking it to the man (read: Jack Valenti) every time I watch an import disc is well worth the money I paid ^_^

Is cheap, Is flexible

Looks cheap

At my local electronics superstore, this is the cheapest DVD player you can buy. I wanted to buy a cheap one since dvd formats are changing and players coming out in the next few years will have new and attractive features (DVD-audio, recordable DVD, etc). But beyond my cheap motives I also like the idea of being able to transfer a DVD to videotape... for personal use of course. My apex had the vaunted secret menu and although I don't really use the macrovision defeating function very often, it does make me happy just to know its there. I also don't use the Mp3 playing function at all since I'm not really all that impressed with the quality of mp3's vs. cd format audio. Nevertheless if the question is posed.."Would you like the cheapest DVD player in the store? and we'll give you additional features such as the ability to play mp3's, and turn off region codes and macrovision".. my answer is clearly "yes, please". The only "problem" with this player is that it also looks cheap...probably a function of the fact that it is cheap. The unit has played every DVD i've put into it without problem. I thought the black levels on the Random Hearts DVD looked a bit off but this could be my TV or the DVD itself, I'm not sure. Knowing that this unit is cheaply made, I decided to purchase the local electronics store's "extended warranty" enabling me to bring it back at any time for pretty much any reason and have it replaced with the same or a "like" product on the spot....gives me a little bit more piece of mind even though I usually view extended warranties as unnecessary money-grubbing shams. Is this the "best in its class", deserving of a five star rating... depends on your definition of "class". In the ultra-low-end class I think this is the best.

Similar Products Used:

none

Excellent VCD playback and Pal to NTSC conversion. MP3 playback. LH menu for multi region and no Macrovision.

Poor video quality. Lockups. Overheats.

If this is not the worst DVD player ever made its in the top 5. Horrible picture quality with pixelation during dark scenes. Unit overheats and locks ups if used for more than a few hours. MP3 playback is sometimes good sometimes bad. The strength of the player was the loopholes menu, but now that it is gone there is no reason to buy this piece of junk. It is an excellent VCD player, but there's not much use for that feature. Other problems are the player has trouble with many of the new releases like Stuart Little, The Abyss, Independance Day, Sixth Sense, and more. Do not buy this player.

Similar Products Used:

Sony S300, Sony S360.

SVCD VCD MP3 Price

No more LH menu.

I had to take it back 2 times before I got a working model. The audio would be out of sync with the movie with the first one and the second just wouldn't play anything. But it was all worth it. I love watching VCD's. The MP3 and price are also a plus. If all you plan on doing is watching DVD's get somthing else. However, if you like MP3s or VCD its a must. (to bad they took out the LH)

Price, Size, Simplicity

fast-forward, rewind

I loved the APEX. I mean, how else can you get a cd player, mp3 player, and dvd player for under $200. Impossible!!! I use it for MP3s and dvd mainly. Although it is a nice cd player. And since I got a 5 yr. guarentee on it, I don't have to worry about it breaking!! Great for College students!

Similar Products Used:

none

price,mp3 playback

picture,mp3 playback

I bought this player because of the dvd along with the mp3 decode. While it did indeed play the mp3's, I was not happy with the job it did. When any song was played back the first 1-2 seconds would be cut off. This was very annoying. As far as the picture I was not very impressed. The picture was sharp but the color was terrible. I compared it to a sony s360 and the sony was far superior. I ended up returning the apex and keeping the sony. Since I still wanted an mp3 player I ended up buying a portable philips expandium mp3 player. So far it has done a fantastic job of mp3 playback. I hope to review it in the future.

Similar Products Used:

sony s360

Plays everything... VCD, DVD, MP3, CD Audio. S-video &
composite outs. Inexpensive. Audio is excellent

Picture Quality is good but not phenomenal.

I debated about getting this DVD/VCD/MP3 player. Then I just decided to go and get it for $179 - $30 rebate. Wow, what a deal. The first MP3 disk I tossed in was recognized fine and sounded wonderful. The first VCD disk I played was excellent. DVDs I've played: Saving Pr. Ryan, Sixth Sense, The Green Mile, James Taylor:Live. All had no problems and played well. My only beef is that if you look closely, you can notice some video artifacts (very minor). This DVD player is worth every penny.

Similar Products Used:

None