Buying a new standalone. Want a good one.....

[toad0225]

I'm trying to determine what the best player is out there that will fit my needs or desires. I'd like a progressive scan player that can read VCD and SVCD CDR and CDRW's first and foremost. Menu functionality and fast-forwarding are also a must in SVCD. Is there anything out there that will fit my needs and does not have macrovision or can disable regional setting somehow?
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[vitualis]

Suggestion:

Download the demo discs available for VCD (http://www.vcdhelp.com/vcd) and SVCD (http://www.vcdhelp.com/svcd) and burn them to both CD-R and CD-RW media that you regularly use.

Now take them to your local home electronics store (or where you want to buy your DVD player) and test them out.

Be warned that some of these cheapo "play anything" players may not do as well with interpreting some of the less "popular" commands used in the PBC. That is, although they can play many forms of non-standard MPEG files, their menu interpretation often is buggy.

Regards.