Excellent looks, and picture.

Minor problems with remote functions.

This is a tremendous dvd player for the price. The picture detail is equal to both the Sony, and Toshiba dvd players that I tested. This Konka dvd player also has the best looks out of any dvd player that I have ever seen.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Toshiba.

great picture and sound, sexy looking, plays CD-R and VCD, no useless features found on other players

remote not backlit, slight drive noise

To evaluate a DVD player, I believe the following criteria should be used:
DVD movie audio performance
CD music peformance
DVD picture quality
Compatability-does it play all DVDs without problems?
Compatability-plays CD-R?
Enough outputs?
Remote- ease to use?
built quality- durable?
quiet enough(drive noise)?
are these useless nonsense features?

Before I write my review on KD1800U1. I have two suggestions: before you start using the player, replace the batteries in remote with a pair of quality ones like energizer; replace the RCA cables (I only recommend RadioShack goldseries audio/video cable). btw, don't connect a DVD player to a VCR due to DVD players' coy protection.

I own my Konka KD1800U1 (replacement model for KD1800U) for a month now. I've been playing DVDs (matrix, aliens, heat, T2, etc), audio CDs and CDRs on it. No problem at all. the CD sound is not a bit worse than my Dennon dcm360 CD player. Picture is very good (I am an audiophile, not videophile). It doesn't have component video outputs which is not a major problem since 99% people who buy a sub 200 bucks player don't own a high end TV with component video inputs. A s-video output is enough for me. This player has DTS digital out. Another good thing about Konka: it doesn't have those stupid useless features - that are intended to cheat newbies - like subwoofer jacks (like parasonic RV30 does), picture control circuit, stuff like "TruSurround" (that's designed to creat 'surround sound' on two speakers, lol), etc.
Major entry level players are Toshiba 1600, Panasonic RV30, Poineer 333. The Toshiba and Panasonic do not play CDRs and VCDs, while the Pioneer does play CDR, it reportedly has loud drive noise and bad remote and durability problem.
So comparatively speaking, I give 5 stars to this Konka KD1800U1.

Similar Products Used:

none

Good video quality

Nearly everything else

The video produced by this unit is top notch, but beware otherwise! I found that the coax digital output was not consistant in putting out Dolby Digital signals after disc changes, lockups were possible (though seemingly random), and the remote was SLLOOOOWWW to respond. Additionally, the unit I had came out of the box with a big ding on the front... where's the quality control? If you plan to just hook it up to a TV it's probably sufficient and it'a good value. On the other hand, if you're planning on hooking this up to an amp/rcvr with surround speakers do yourself a favor and spend a bit more -- this is not the answer to home theater DVD.

Similar Products Used:

Philips 825AT, Panasonic RV30, Creative Dxr2

Low price, OK performance, plays CD-Rs when it lasts

It quit on me

Reviewed it 1 week ago. QUIT ON ME! Managed to return it even after 30 days.
Good bye Konka. Changed my ratings to 1.

Similar Products Used:

Philips 825

1. Price: Paid $149 from Fry's Electronics
2. Can read CD-R & CD-RW (surprised!). I wonder if it can also read DVD-R/DVD-RW.
3. Support some karaoke features (VideoCD). I'm actually using it with a Pro-2 KM-36 Karaoke Mixer.
4. So far quite reliable. I have turned it on for about a week now, 24 hours a day, hoping that the fuse will finally blow. Still going strong.

1. Sparse controls on front panels. If you lose the remote control or something goes wrong with it, utility becomes quite limited. Majority of functions can only be done via the remote control.

For the money and features, quite a bargain. I wouldn't say it's top notch, but then I don't expect to get a Mercedes Benz for the price of a Volkswagen. I don't want to pay for extra features that I will never or rarely use.

As for the power supply problem, if it happens to me, I can easily replace the fuse (a really cheap component available from your friendly Radio Shack Store). It's unfortunate that it got quite a bad rap because of a simple error of specifying a marginally rated fuse.

Similar Products Used:

None. My first DVD unit. I used to play DVDs through my PC DVD drive.

Great Picture, large buffer, solid case, good remote

Power Supply problem

For the money, this model is way ahead of the other low-end units I've bought. Great picture, no skipping, large buffer, solid metal case, intuitive remote, moves quickly among menu items when playing, good resolution on zoom. Also plays audio CD-Rs (gold, green, and silver-blue) that I've burned.

On the down side, the first batch of units had a power supply problem where the player would suddenly stop working, usually with a DVD in it. Konka USA will replace those units free of charge (my choice), or you can fix it yourself by replacing and power supply fuse with correct type (see earlier review).

Similar Products Used:

Low end Zenith and RCA models

Ok Team..Check this out only with the 1800U and 1900 Konka Models!! Open the disk tray, at the konka screen hit 6,6,6,6, then select. TADA! :)
change region to 19 for region free and change macrovision to 0 for none :) This is only for testing purposes of course ;)

I am glad this thing has those nice testing features...plus this price you cant beat!! Have fun

its price, quality

size

mistake update:

changing it to "13" to make it code free

OP PROH DISABLE...
Setting it to 1 - you can skip the "FBI warning" at the beginning of the DVD disk.
Default is 0 - which you cannot skip the warning.

many thanks to usaleauction

good value good looking

bad menu,bad instruction

Mine is the model KD-1800u1. I think that is a new model.
I do have any problem so far,but I think this one has less
features than the older model. I am also interested in the
secret menu.Please tell me the code.

Similar Products Used:

none

low price, great features

large size

I am very happy with this product. It has worked with all the DVD's that I have rented. It has a very low price with a lot of features that you only see on the more expensive units (S-video, multi angle options, etc.). The only problem I had was with a dirty DVD. It froze up a couple of times at the same part of the movie. I cleaned the disk (I could see a bunch of spots) and it worked perfectly afterwards.