The best comercial DVD/CDR/SVCD/MP3 Player

[ZippyP.]

....WM has a 90 day return,..

hoyboy,
I think most manufacturers have a 1 year warranty. gmatov was referring to Walmart's 90 money back if you're not satisfied policy.

[gmatov]

Hoyboy,
Quite a lot of our electronic gear comes with a 3 month warranty.
I was out last night and today looking for a DVD, and every brand I saw said 90 days labor, 1 year parts.
Withmy Apex, which just crapped out, there was a charge of 39 USD for labor, to replace a defective laser, per the tech. Plus shipping from near East coase to West coast. As it cost 59 USD new, rather silly, so will pitch it.
Maybe on the next, I'll take mkelly's advice. I never buy the extended warranty ( as he said, a sucker's bet ). but Best Buy offers 2 years for 30 USD. In this case, it might be worth it.
If you go to CompUSA, you can even find HDDs with a 90 day warranty. They all used to be 3 year, and now many, not all yet, are 1 year.
I think this is their way to try to spend us out of recession.

[gmatov]

ZippyP,
No, as I said in the above, they all had a 90 day labor, 1 year parts warranty.
Also, as above, you pay for shipping, and 39 bucks flat labor charge. This was for more expensive brands as well.
And, yes, WallyMart has 90 day return, BB has 30, I don't know what CompUSA has, but I think Circuit City is 30 also.

[MachineMan]

Im thinking of buying the Sony SLV 300P for <$200. It plays DVD+-R(W), CD, MP3, VCD, JPEG, and VHS. It also has Progressive scan.

[steve996]

I'd have to say my Panasonic RP82 is the best made player ever - cost me $185, and with it's Farouja deintelacing chip, made it the #1 player in the Secrets DVD Player test. The AVIA DVD resolution tests look incredibly perfect in progressive mode on my hdtv. It plays everything I throw at it, VCDs, 480x480 SVCDs, 704x480 and 720x480 XSVCD, 352x480 CVDs, MP3s, CDRs and CDRW, DVD-R, DVD+R, everything but DIVX. Since this player is hard to get though because its so highly sought after, the XP30 or XP50 are your next best bet.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Panasonic S35(single-disk)for $99US or S65(5-disk) for $129 are both progressive scan and will play anything.

[BJ_M]

I'd have to say my Panasonic RP82 is the best made player ever - cost me $185, and with it's Farouja deintelacing chip, made it the #1 player in the Secrets DVD Player test. The AVIA DVD resolution tests look incredibly perfect in progressive mode on my hdtv. It plays everything I throw at it, VCDs, 480x480 SVCDs, 704x480 and 720x480 XSVCD, 352x480 CVDs, MP3s, CDRs and CDRW, DVD-R, DVD+R, everything but DIVX. Since this player is hard to get though because its so highly sought after, the XP30 or XP50 are your next best bet.

i have a Panasonic RP82 also at home .. really really nice picture

[vance43211]

it's really a compromise buying a dvd player these day. there really no one player that do everything well, so if i were u i get a couple of them for a compromise

i did what u are doing now a few months ago

i already have a ps2 (no mp3 or vcd) and a $2200 pioneer dv-09 that plays the best picture in the world for regular dvd, but the picture sometimes get stuck on burnt dvds and it don't play mp3

i went shopping and promptly return about 12 dvd players

the super cheap ones plays everything but have horrible picture quality and are just subject to breaking easy and they don't last very long and have issues when it get to the second layer part of the movie

the mid price ones show better picture but usually don't play all the formats and some of them have issues at the second layer too

the high end ones have the best picture and go the the 2nd layer seamlessly, but they might only play one or two other formats

i had brought a GE that seems to do everything right, but one night i just turn it off to go to bed, and the next day it just wouldn't come back on

finally i quit looking for the perfect dvd player. there wasn't one

then one day i walk in a pawn shop and i see a toshiba 5 disc
sd-2805. i knew the guy that work there and he let me take it home for a couple of days to see if i like it.

well it had a great picture, played everthing i threw at it, it is region free and has no second layer issues (It didn't play dvd-mp3s though, but 95% of the dvd players on the market can't do that)

i brought it for $100.

the verdict isn't out yet on if it will last, but i'm betting it will

[gmatov]

Half the people here love what they have, the other half feel they bought a piece of junk.
I'm stuck between buying a throwaway Norcent DP300, 49 bucks, and a 108 buck Philips, tho' WallyMart has one marked down to 80 at the 2nd local store. I figure Philips, with SVCD-VCD on the box, and owning the VCD process, should be the best at playing VCD-SVCD, although they may not digest X of either flavor very well. I don't know if I'll take their 90 day return, or go to BB and pay 30 more for the 2 year replacement. If they break that easily, the warranty might be worth it

[steve996]

If picture quality is you most important concern, read about the infamous Secrets DVD player shootout tests here:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=5

[gvvb]

I do not have a home theater system, so my strategy has been buying throwaway player. If a unit breaks in 1 year, I feel that I have used it enough to recoup my innvestment. I have Apex 500, and Mintek 1600. The Mintek 1600 is better than the Apex 500. They both play dvd, vcd and svcd on cd-r/cd-rw for me. On some vcd/svcd movies that I could not progressively scanned with the Apex, the Mintek has no problem at all. The Mintek can play my dvd-r movie (burned with Nero's DVD-Video and UDF 2.01) while the Apex can't. I have them for almost 2 years now and they are still going strong. My vote is for Mintek as it works best for me.

[taz291819]

Go for the Philips DVD-724. It is the only player I have that has played EVERY disc I've thrown at it. This includes VCD, SVCD, DVD-R, and DVD+R. It also plays PAL discs fine on an NTSC set. It also plays ac3 encoded with Besweet (using little-endian or big-endian method...Intel/Motorola). The progressive output is nice also. Only downfall is the remote, which I didn't care for too much, but programmed a universal remote instead. Bought it at Wal-Mart for $130 about 6 months ago. Give it a shot.

[mkelley]

Steve,

That's a good link, but everyone should be aware here that unless they are using component video on a large screen these tests are essentially meaningless.

They remind me of the high-end audio tests magazines used to do 40 years or so ago -- they panned everything that cost less than $1K (and that was real money back then) as sounding very poor. But these were guys to whom anything less than perfect concert sound was a no-no. They would all, to a man, berate CDs nowadays as not having anywhere near to good sound (because they miss the frequencies of analog).

For anyone using S-Video connections on a TV 36" or smaller, *any* DVD player out there will give quality so good I defy someone in a blind test to tell the difference. Indeed, even on my large screen TV (80 " Mitshubishi) I can't tell the difference between my $2K Pioneer DVD player and the $79 Apex (that's because I don't have component inputs on my big screen).

The bottom line is that unless you're into component inputs or HDTV I would not consider for a moment picture quality as a criteria.

[draganong]

gmatov,

How much would you like for the dead Apex ? I might be interested in buying it.

Dragan

[learner1]

I just recently got the philips 724 from Best Buy for 79.99.
It plays commercial DVD, DVD+R/RW authored with Pinnacle
Studio 8 and DVDLab, SVCD, VCD, MP3s on CDR. I have not
tried JPEG yet. It can be made region-free easily.
The only thing I don't like is open/eject button on the machine
does not work unless the machine is already on.
I don't know if there is a hack to turn off macrovision.

[gmatov]

Dragan,
Where you located, in a general sense. If shipping's too high, wouldn't be worth buying.
I thought of checking nerdout.com to see if the guy needs any info from inside it, for hacks, whatever.
I think I am getting the Philips.
What's a Dragan? As a Serb, we use the name. Just curious. If you're not, I won't tell you what it means.
Anyhow, make an offer, I can't be offended.

[vance43211]

steve996

u must have gave the wrong url. nothing come up when i click on it for the dvd video comparsion

as for dvd video i notice a lot of difference in video quality between dvd players

my pioneer dv-09 is light years better than anything else and that is through the composite input (it actually look better than the componet video. it the only dvd player that i've seen that like that)

i do admit that my tvs are 46 and 52 inch though

[steve996]

Mkelly, while it may be argued that DVD player quality does not matter if the picture just outputted from S-video or composite, I do not know and it really is impertinent to my setup, because I only use the component outputs to a tweaked and calibrated Sony HDTV. I suppose one could also debate that if you are watching your dvd player on a 10 year old 19" tv, then player quality doesn't matter - but I guess that's not the point, however maybe I missed the point, what was the title of this post again? Should we assume that no one here has, or is will not eventually acquire a hd capable set? Unless you have seen a good progressive signal from an outstanding player such as the Panasonic RP-82, or a more obtainable XP50 to a calibrated HDTV, then you have not seen what a good progressive signal from a DVD player is capable of, and really aren't qualified to say the differences between DVD players are like splitting hairs among the eliteists. We are talking about a $200 dvd player that outperforms all the $2000-$5000 players out there, and also play mp3s, vcds, svcds, xsvcds, cvds etc. If that still too much money, then I guess a post should be started on 'what is the cheapest player I can get that will play it all' and start it off with a $50 Apex. If you saw SW Episode II on my setup, you would swear it was in high definition - I have been receiving plenty of hd signals for the past couple of years from DirecTV and OTA with my DTC-100.

Vance the link I posted should work, but if not you can try the following link to the main page:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_10_1/dvd-benchmark-guide-to-progressive-scan-sho...ut-1-2003.html

Again, here's the url to the latest summary:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=5

[mkelley]

Chill, Steve. All I said, and I stand by it, is that if you do not have an HDTV or component inputs you won't notice a difference between DVD players.

Not everyone in the world will go to HDTV -- believe it or not, there are still many people in the world who play only analog records (and still believe the sound is superior to CDs).

I'm glad you're happy with your setup, but understand you do not come close to representing even a tiny percentage of people out there.

[vance43211]

analog records do sound better than cd ( probaly because of the phrase distortion they introduce)

but u do not have to have a golden eye to see the differences between dvd players

[mkelley]

True, vance, but the sound on DVDs isn't as good as it is on my laser players.

Besides, the only point I was trying to make is a lot of people will *not* be moving to HDTV. And, as I said (and this is the last time, as I'll not watch this thread anymore) there is no difference to the eye among DVD players as long as you aren't using component in or HDTV, particularly on any set smaller than 36". Look at my original quote -- that's all I've ever said.

As to whether that constitutes the "best" commercial DVD player -- well, there are a lot of factors that go into what's best. If you eliminate picture as a factor (which IS eliminated if you follow the above) then price certainly becomes a factor. I'm sure everyone would agree that, all things being equal, something becomes "better" if it is cheaper (paying more money for the same thing doesn't make it "better"). So I think it was a legitimate point to raise in this thread.

Just like a true audiophile won't be satisfied with anything less than a $10K or greater system, someone with HDTV and a large screen probably does need a $200+ DVD player. For the vast majority of people this isn't true.

Now, as Mr. O'Reilly says, I'll leave all of you with the last word as I exit this thread...

[vance43211]

i understand your point mkelley, but u need to understand ours. u don't have to be a videophile to see the difference between dvd players on regular tvs with the composite out jack

as a famous a/v magazine once said " audio test may be sudjective and true or false, but video is different as we can see the results"

it's obvious u don't see the difference (maybe 80% of all people can't see the difference but 20% can and that is a lot of people)

that why some people will only use instant copy to make dvds and some people swear by dvd2one

i think MackemX said it best

"In the end it's a matter of individual perception and the level of quality delivered by the playback system"




P.s. u don't have too get mad at us if we don't agree with u. this is a forum, and we have opinions too

[gmatov]

Ah, if only we could all be in the top 20 percent, and all see the defects in the programs that are crap.
My own program is the best, but I'm not telling 80% of you, because you couldn't appreciate it. So is my player, but, again, ditto.
The guys at the famous A/V magazine wanna know, I'll check em out to see if they can really "see" the difference, because it IS visual, because a "tin ear" is one thing, but a pair of 20/160 glasses DOES make one an expert, don't you think?

[MackemX]

same old same old

why is it 2 people can stand in the same room and argue about which is better quality?

exactly!

now what might be pleasing for one person's eye ain't necessarily gonna be pleasing for someone else cos they ain't looking through the same eyes or receiving the same signals to the brain

I'm one who can see and is fusst about the differences regarding home cinema setups and I don't need to wear PAUZE/ZOOM specs or have a 120" screen using a component signal like some people seem to make out to see it

some people have a better perception of quality than others and this is why you normally get strong differences of opinion regarding quality basically with anything that can be compared, not just video

yes, you get such in depth tests as I have just seen but what good are they if people will always see different pictures even when looking at the same pic in the same room at the same time?

like I said it's whatever is most pleasing for the users eye is the best option for them

before I buy something I like to try it if possible but I may use other people's suggestions to add to my shortlist as something to try but not as a 'I must buy this' cos such n such says it's the best

if only it was that easy :P

[papaholmz]

I work at an electonics retailer, so I have had the fortunate experience of testing out many DVD players before I made my decision. Once again, it all depends on what you want to play. These days most new DVD players will play VCD, SVCD, and DVD-R fairly well. However, there are a few DVD players that have really stuck out as being excelent DVD players. The reason I chose to buy these DVD players is because they will play back a DVD+R that was encoded with PAL DVDMPEG. Now this wasnt DVDs from a different region, but DVDs that were encoded with 25 fps. The source for these DVDs was PAL, so instead of converting the PAL to NTSC and wasting all that time, and loosing quality, I just searched high and low for a DVD player that would play PAL 25 fps.

After all my searching, the two best DVD players in my opinion are:

Harman Kardon DVD101 (progressive scan and DOES play mp3)
JVC XVS56GD (progressive scan but doesnt play mp3)

Both DVD players would play PAL 25 fps, as well as all VCD, SVCD, DVD+-R, and JPEG CD that was thrown at it. However the HK DVD101 takes that cake as it will play mp3, and DVD + - R/RW.

[psx_pirate]

after trying several players i now have a p&b 2233 that i paid 80GBP for(i live in the uk) this machine is marketed around the world under several different names including arianet (see their website) this machine plays everything i throw at it without any problem it even plays cheap bulkpaq dvd's (the crappy purple ones that not many players will play). i have tried loads of different brands of dvd's and cd's including dvd-rw and cd-rw it plays them all the player is also region free and macro free and even has a karoke function. The player plays vcd.svcd,xvcd,dvd-r,dvd-rw,cd-r,cd-rw (i havent tried dvd+r/rw) and mp3 it also has built in ntsc to pal conversion arianet also do a 2255 player with the same features except it isnt macro free but it does have progressive scan which the 2233 does not have

[killmore]

I just searched high and low for a DVD player that would play PAL 25 fps.

My Apex 5131 plays PAL at 25fps. My TV and everything else is cheap so I don't know how good the picture quality really is

[SVCDummy]

The newer APEX (i.e. 1600AD) are no longer playing the VCD and CVD disks like the older models. The first 2 production runs of the new APEX players were still using the same internal chipset as the older 1200AD type machines. All of the production runs dated this year are crap since the chipset has changed.

The only player I've found that plays EVERYTHING had been the YAMAKAWA DVD-218 and it's predecessor the 208. It is currently in production and even plays Kodak Picture CD's in addition to the usual VCD,CVD,SVCD,XSVCD,DVD,DVD-R,DVD-RW,MP3-CD,AUDIO-CD and even disks with just raw MPEG files bruned to CD. The only thing I've found that it doesn't play is Divx.