Looking for good DVD player below $80

[robbaggio]

HI,

Im looking to get my sister a good solid dvd player for christmas, but unfortunately my budget is $80.

I want it to be able to play VCDs (not necessarily SVCD), and DVD backups on 4X Ritek DVD-R (using DVDshrink & Nero). MP3 CDR support would also be nice.

All i really need it to have is S-Video output for video and 2 channel for Audio. I would like it to have good picture quality and audio quality.

Could you please give me some ideas as far as which DVD players you think would be best.

Thanks in advance
robbaggio

[andkiich]

A lot of posts on this forum seem to point to APEX as a good low cost "play anything" type of player.

I personally like SONY, however the cheapest "play anything" SONY I have found has been around $99.

[ZombieRes]

Apex, around $43 at a supercenter or regular wal-mart

[gmatov]

I saw a Panny at CC last night for 79.99. Box said it played VCD/SVCD. If they advertise it, I think they have paid the royalty and you can assume it actually does..

Unlike a few of the older APEX's that you easily hacked/cracked.

My Philips 724 was cleared at WalMart for 78 bucks, but they are probably gone.Any Philipss you buy should, by definition, play VCD, as they own the rights to VCD, makers don't want to pay them a royalty.

Hell, I bought one I'd never heard of last night for 33 bucks. Gave it to my daughter tonight. Don't know if it plays VCD or not, but they want to play DVDs, so doesn't matter.

George

[tigerman8u]

Sears has an Apex for $39. My Apex 500 plays cd-r, DVD -/+R, and dvd -rw without any problems. haven't tried dvd + rw. i burn short clips of mpeg2 as data files for testing and the Apex lets me choose the file and plays great. video quality also very good. great value for low price.
ps. got an Apex flat screen 4 days ago and this works and looks great also.

[jeex]

apex = will play everything except vinyl, but they crap out very quickly.

i like the pioneer dv-260.. it will play dvd-r/w, dvd+r/w, svcd, vcd, mp3 and convert pal to ntsc.. the dv-250 isnt a bad choice either, except it wont convert record pal dvd's to ntsc, but it will convert pal s/vcd's to ntsc..

last i checked, wal-mart was selling the pioneer dv-260 for $79

[gmatov]

As a caution, my APEX 1201 crapped out after 6 months. I called their support # and they advised me 1 year parts, 90 days labor. 39 bucks flat fee for labor, ship from PA to CA. Probably 10 to20 shipping. 59 bucks original purchase price. I declined.

They are, however, throwaways at 30-40-50 bucks.

For you, however, as a gift, she should expect and get a decent warranty.

Then, too, if you get a 30 buck unit, she'll know it is a piece of crap, and, as one of our radio people says, after the WalMart debacle, she'll say "Oh, you got me a DVD player!!! You cheap prick, I know it was only 30 bucks!!!"

Look for something decent in your price range. Some are downright cheap, some are inexpensive. There is a difference.

[MachineMan]

Cyberhome CH-DVD 300. I just got mine at Best Buys for $35. Plays all DVD formats, VCD, MP3's and JPEGS. It works with my Ritek DVD-R's no problem, I also use DVDshrink and Nero. Has dual channel composite out, component(progressive scan) and S-Video out with PAL or NTSC. It even plays raw MPEG video files on a CD or DVD with out authoring, I just tested it tonight.

[wxguywa]

I second the previous post on the Cyberhome model. I've had a Cyberhome CH-402 for more than a year now and it's been a great little player. Plays everything I've tried and can be made region-free. I'm sure the 300 series is just as great, if not better.

[zanos]

Dude, just about every entry level dvd player on the market from every company is $80 and below and this is in retail stores. Almost all of them play dvd-r. The cheaper ones like apex and mintek, etc. all do vcd.

[Steve_h]

The Koss KD365 from Sears plays DVD +/-R, RW, VCD, SVCD, MP3 (has random mode). It even plays a directory of JPEG's on a CD as a slideshow. However it doesn't play XSVCD. I paid $48 which included the extra amount for a 2 year replacement warranty.

[b00tL3GGa]

i'm with jeex on this one...screw koss and apex and all those crap companies. Get the Pioneer dv-260 at walmart for $78. I got one last night and it plays EVERYTHING. Some folks don't like the silver color, but it worked out great for me. Your sis will know you spent 40 bucks on her if you get an apex; this pioneer looks like it would easily go for >$100. Good luck

[b00tL3GGa]

btw...coincidentally, all my backups are on 4x ritek dvd-r's made with dvd shrink and nero no playback problems yet.

[b00tL3GGa]

btw...coincidentally, all my backups are on 4x ritek dvd-r's made with dvd shrink and nero no playback problems yet.

[ZombieRes]

Man, I must be one of the lucky few. I've had my Apex AD-1100W for like 3 years and have never had a problem with it. On a side note I burn everything with princos(labels and sharpies) and have never messed up once. I guess I am lucky???