Apex AD-1100W: DVD playback: flicker - normal?

[rhalim01]

Hi, after reading the review on Apex AD-1100W, I went out to Walmart to got one. I can't find the 1MB version, so I got the "old 512K" one (can play VCD).

I got home and tested it. Everything is good, except DVD playback flickers. It's not terrible, but I can notice it and I know it will drive me crazy after a while. I don't see this flickering when I use my playstation 2 to play back the same DVD. My question is did I get a buggy player? Or is this normal behavior in this player (maybe because it's not progressive-scan? but why my ps2 plays flicker-free?). Please help me. I need to know if I should return this player to get another Apex 1100W or another different DVD player?

Thank you very much for reading!

[i-on-s]

Try and take it back and pick up another cause i also have the 1100W and it plays everything perfect and flicker free so it just might be a bum player.

I also know walmart does'nt take good care of there stock of apex players cause my friend works at a walmart and says they just throw them on wood stacks and they are always dropping them and shit so i say take it back and pick up another and if its not flicker free try circuit city or some other retail seller of Apex and try them.

Hope you have some luck.

[rhalim01]

Thanks for the recommendation!

I will go back and get another Apex. Hope it's a buggy player.

[macleod]

how do you have it hooked up to your TV? That sounds like macrovision from my experience (I have the 1100W 1mb version). If you have it "daisy chained" through your VCR to your TV, you can get a flickering. What I did was I downloaded the "hack" to demacrovision (and while I was at it, region free) the DVD player so I can go through my VCR. I also bought some higher quality (not the best, but not the ones that came with the dvd player) RCA plugs and now it works great.

It could also just be a bum dvd player.

[rhalim01]

Thank you for the reply. Sorry that I did not mention about how I hooked it up.

Initially, I connected the player and TV directly using composite cable. Then I saw the flickering, and then I used S Video cable, just to see if it would go away. But the flicker persists. By the way, the connection from my playstation 2 to the TV is through component cable. Could that make any difference? I thought S video cable should be good enough.

Also, my version is the "old" 512Kb. Maybe if I upgrade the firmware, the flicker will go away?

By the way, the DVD that I used to test is original DVD disc (not copied from another DVD or video), so is macrovision still a problem here?

Thank you so much for everyone who has replied.

[i-on-s]

Not all DVDs have Macrovision protection (i have tons of newer and older dvds that do not fade in and out and some that do) and also the 512k versions cant have the firmware upgraded since its a 512k model i think only the 1mb models can be updated with the newest firmware.

Also if you're hooking the dvd player straight to the TV macrovision should'nt apper cause macrovision is for when you hook your dvd player to a vcr and try to record and use it for dvd->vcr->tv for use people that dont have updated tvs with RCA imputs in the back of the tv we have to route it through the vcr to the tv.