Suggestions for good, RELIABLE player with

[timmus]

I need a good cheap ($70 or less) DVD player that I also intend to use as a musicbox to play my MP3s I've collected over the years.

Key things I need:

- GOOD worksmanship
- GOOD handling of various MP3 codings (i.e. no stuttering on a 96 KB MP3, for example)
- GOOD handling of nested directories on an MP3 disc -- i.e. no popping in a disc with my MP3's in /mymusic and the player errors out

Handling of extra codecs (DivX, etc) is nice but not that important.

I bought into the hype a few years ago and bought the Philips DVP-642 a couple of years ago but was disappointed. I got two of them and they crapped out the same way (dead with flashing red light). They also wouldn't play half of my MP3 collection correctly (would stutter gradually through ones it didn't like) and that was really annoying. I also had an Apex player that died after 10 months. I am sick of poor worksmanship!

Any ideas? Any models to avoid? Thanks!

[anirban]

I think for low price u must again go for PHILIPS ones...
They also plays MP3-DVDs ...
Price is also low as u said...

[redwudz]

Yep, the Philips 5990 is still a good choice. It's cheap and easily available in the US. If you want quality, look to the Oppo players with similar specs, but better quality and a higher price.

Depends how important Divx/Xvid playback is. Without that, there are a lot of cheap players that may suit you.

But if quality and workmanship is a primary concern: http://www.oppodigital.com/

Most newer DVD players are 'Disposable', so there's not so many options available.

[jman98]

I'd also advise for Philips on the cheap side, but do note that if you have "weird" MP3s that any player may have problems. I would definite "weird" as low bit rate (96 Kbps is really pushing it and 64 and below may not work at all), VBR (sorry, but sometimes it's a problem), weird sampling rates (anything other than 44.1 KHz may be a problem - 48 KHz might work, but anything in the 30s or 20s might not work).

DVP-642 was rather infamous. Quality control was slipshod and many people had big problems with the unit. Mine is about 4 years old now I think (it's at least 3, but I think it's 4 years) and it still works. I have a couple of old Apex players that still work, but I boxed up. Apex had quality control issues on some players. Some models were excellent, but their one attempt at a DVD/SACD/DVD-Audio player was an unmitigated disaster and their multi-disc players were mostly very bad. Note that modern DVD players absolutely must have a lot of open space to air cool and if you have a player jammed into a tiny space with poor air flow, eventually it will suffer heat damage unless you limit its use. I am convinced that this is why my DVP-642 is still alive - I have it in a TV stand that made of glass and steel and it's open to the air.

Finally note that bad media may also lead to problems and you're more likely to have playback issues on low quality DVD discs than low quality CDs.

[Krispy Kritter]

I agree about the heat issues and the 642, I have two myself that have been around several years now. Any small form factor player requires adequate ventilation. And as jman noted, most players will likely choke on your mp3 collection. They are first and foremost video players. If your main concern is presently mp3 support, there are several options available which will serve you much better.

[timmus]

Can I bump this thread and ask for recommendations for players up to $100 instead of $70. I prefer to avoid Philips due to my poor DVP-642 experiences, plus the problems mentioned above about Philips units being picky with MP3s.

I will say that I bought a Sony DVP-NS55P off Amazon for $42. It's fantastic but it doesn't shuffle MP3s, and that's a feature I need in that part of the house.

Tim