which DVD player is best for me?

[dariddlah]

i live in canada, and recieved a Sanyo SL-18 DVD player from my parents for christmas. they paid almost $200 for it, and i was dissapointed to find out it played neither VCD's or SVCD's. I was wondering if someone could reccomend to me a semi-cheap DVD player <around $200> that would play VCD's and SVCD's as well. If you want mp3 support as well, does that cost a lot more? the SL-18 i got does play MP3's, and thats a nice feature. if you have any insight at all into this matter, feel free to leave me a reply, im a newbie to the DVD scene and just looking for opinions.

thanks..

[Tikkanen]

I'm kind of in the same boat as you. My Pioneer DV-333 won't play SVCDs correctly anymore. I'm looking for a backup DVD player that:

1. is fairly cheap (under $100)
2. plays SVCDs (esp. VBR) flawlessly
3. region-free would be a plus but not required.

What is the best player currently available on the market that fits the bill? My local Circuit City unfortunately only stocks the new APEX AD-1200 that can't play VCDs anymore. TIA.

[mojo2185]

For a cheap DVD player, that plays:
VCD, SVCD, DVD, DVD backups, MP3s, Photos, random MPEGS tossed on a disc, Audio CDs... probably even a frisbee or dinner plate,
I would recommend looking into an Apex DVD player. The model i have is an Apex Ad-1100W, it now costs between $50-70, and i'm very pleased with it. Not sure about VBR (i think it does though), and i'm pretty sure i read about a hack on this site to make it region-free and macrovision free (i think its called macrovision, the thing that distorts the picture when you hook it up to a VCR so you don't copy DVDs to a VHS).
Best place to start is here: http://www.vcdhelp.com/dvdplayers
Hope some of what i wrote helped!

[ZippyP.]

Here in BC, Futureshop (Bestbuy out East?) has 3 models:
Apex 1200 - plays DVD,SVCD,MP3, not VCD $95
JVC XV S300 - plays DVD,VCD,SVCD,MP3 $180
Samsung DVD S221 - plays DVD,VCD,SVCD,MP3 $150

I bought two of the 1200's and they are cheap in price, looks and packaging. Returned one to the store DOA. A friend has the JVC and is happy with it. Take your pick.