Best VCD/SVCD player

[Bloody Aztec]

I'm looking for a good VCD/SVCD player. I don't care at all about DVD playback, I just want good VCD/SVCD playback.

Are there any good portable players which have a good looking playback and don't skip? What about standalone VCD/SVCD players? Where could I buy such a thing?

Thanks!

[oberkfell]

People laugh at me, but the $73.00 Apex 1100w plays everything: SVCDS, XSVCDs, VCDS, XVCDS, MP3s, JPEGs, CDs and DVDs.
I like the fact I can encode at 4000+ it gets close to DVD quality.

I use my sony for DVDS and this little gem for everything else.

Wal-Mart has them, and so what if the thing goes bad in 6 months (from some who have owned previous APEXs), just buy another one. By the way you can upgrade the firmware to play windows media files. I have not did this yet. The newest model (1600?) plays these without the upgraded firmware.

[homerpez]

I won't laugh at you, oberkfell... but I have been burned by the purchase of an Apex... the ROM drives are quite cheap, and break down fast.

I'd say the Pioneer DV-343 is excellent for VCD/SVCD playback. Multiplex with bbMPEG and not TMPGEnc, and you'll be able to play any variation of VCD or SVCD on this player, even PAL on an NTSC screen!

[Chris Smithe]

Sounds like a versatile player, but I don't like the "buy every 6 months" mentality. When I buy a new piece of electronics, it's a relationship something akin to getting a new dog. You take care of the dog and plan on keeping it for the long haul. You don't just trade it in for a new model every so often. :wink:

[oberkfell]

So what your saying is you may have that 8-track player pumping out the Osmonds.

For $73.00 you can't go wrong. Go out to Wally World "White Trash Gathering Spot" and check it out.

[homerpez]

Oberkfell, etc:

I guess what I'm saying is I've already been though $198.00 U.S. worth of Apex's... if my $139 Pioneer DV-343 lasts me 6 months, it will have outperformed the 2 Apex units I've been though COMBINED.

"You get what you pay for".

Don't get me wrong, with a PC DVD-ROM drive in place of the original, an Apex does play VCD, SVCD and variants as good as the next machine.