Alternatives to Apex players?

[homerpez]

I've seen the tutorial on the 600, this is what's making me hopeful on the 500W... they look basically the same, and I would guess they use almost the same (if not THE same) ROM units. They are so close in "vintage", too, if I'm wrong correct me. I thing one series came directly before/after the other.

This is the ony offending part, the playback board (decoder, video, etc) works wonderfully!

Believe me, if I succeed, I will let everyone here know about it

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: homerpez on 2001-08-21 12:21:45 ]</font>

[next]

The 600a has been out of production for a while. It was the original Apex that caused the initial stir with the hackers. The 660 is just now going out of production. It too became very popular with the hackers. The 500w is a relatively new model, its been around for about 3 months I think. The 500w requires a chip replacement to make it region and macrovision free. The 660 can be made region and macrovision free with a simple CDR upgrade with the new rom firmware burned onto the CDR. Just play it in the 660 and in a minute or two the process is complete. Most 660's can handle the upgrade with a CDR. There are a few 660 firmware varieties that cannot but they are relatively rare.

I like the Apex because the hacker community has embrassed it. For example firmware upgrades are now being written by hackers that will make the 703, 660, and 500w be able to play minidvd's. Not too many other brands have this type of following. Sampo does and it is a good player.

With the hackers this active it makes having to go out and buy a new player to play additional formats unnecessary. Minidvd being the example I use here. With other brands if you want to upgrade to minidvd you're out of luck. You have to go out and get a new unit.

Actually I think the 500w can handle minidvd right out of the box. I'm not sure. But I think you get what I'm trying to say here. Also Apex seems to be marketing new players that can play just about any format out there. Region and macrovision hacks may be tougher to find for the newer players though. And do your homework. Not all Apex players are the same. Apex contracts with different production facilities to manufacture their models. Some models are not very good at all.

Check out this link for info on Apex:

http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/

For my money the 660 is the best low end player out there. And the playback quality is suprisingly good. Most of the complaints you here could be from improper encoding techniques. I've evolved to a process that gives me almost digital cable quality with my home brewed xVCD's and xSVCD's. I do feel the Apex models I have handle xSVCD better than xVCD though.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: next on 2001-08-21 13:45:54 ]</font>

[Type-E]

Does Apex 500W or 660 has digital optical out?

[next]

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On 2001-08-21 14:03:49, Type-E wrote:
Does Apex 500W or 660 has digital optical out?
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My Apex 660 and the 703 have digital coaxial out. I don't think the 500w does.

[Type-E]

I am talking about optical out, not coaxial out.. I saw that the samung 301 has both and component out as well. is the samsung 301 good?

[next]

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On 2001-08-21 16:49:54, Type-E wrote:
I am talking about optical out, not coaxial out.. I saw that the samung 301 has both and component out as well. is the samsung 301 good?
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If you're simply interested in optical out then I'm sure it's fine. If you are interested in anything else that has been discussed here then you'll just have to give it a go and let's us know.

[ilc]

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On 2001-08-15 13:01:12, WMCollins wrote:
I just purchased a second APEX 660 from Sam's club. (So I do not have to steal the DVD player from the family when I want to do some work.) I had the DAEWOO in the cart because on the box it did not mention being able to play PAL along with NTSC. So for only $20 more, I chose the APEX 660 ($119). Also, Wal-Mart had the APEX 500 for $99.
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The Daewoo DVG-3000N can play PAL and NTSC. It can do everything that the 660 can do, with more features (like 2 headphone jacks with level control), except disable Macrovision.

Walmart has the Apex 500W, not the Apex 500. They are two completely different players.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ilc on 2001-09-05 00:45:30 ]</font>

[ilc]

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On 2001-08-19 08:02:26, danmanx wrote:
Around here, there's a store called FYE which is selling Daewoo DVD players for $99. I don't know what they play though, probably not as good as Apex.
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If it's the Daewoo DVG-3000N that they're selling...it can do pretty much everything than the similarly-priced Apex players (500, 500B, 500W, 660) can do, but better...except for turning off Macrovision.

[ilc]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
Actually I think the 500w can handle minidvd right out of
the box. I'm not sure.
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I've tried...it can't even play the VOB files.

The 500 (no letter at the end, and only the later versions) can play the VOB files, and so can the 660 (most versions), 700, and 1500. The 700 can be upgraded for true miniDVD support. Note that the Apex 700 is also sold as the Haier 700.

The Daewoo DVG-3000N can also play the VOB files, but there's no miniDVD upgrade (yet).



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ilc on 2001-09-05 00:51:57 ]</font>

[Erwin]

"it can do pretty much everything than the similarly-priced Apex players (500, 500B, 500W, 660) can do, but better...except for turning off Macrovision."

........and be able to use a PC DVDROM or CDROM (atleast on some Apex models)

Does the DAEWOOs have better playback (less pixelization) than the Apex? Do they have a decent buffer like the Apex models (meaning is there no access time when a DVD layer switch is present)?


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Erwin on 2001-09-06 21:24:27 ]</font>

[ilc]

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Does the DAEWOOs have better playback (less pixelization) than the Apex? Do they have a decent buffer like the Apex models (meaning is there no access time when a DVD layer switch is present)?
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First, let me clarify that we're talking about one particular Daewoo player: the DVG-3000N. There are other Daewoo models out there that aren't made by the same company that made the 3000N (this is similar to the Apex players being made by different companies.)

Now, a friend of mine who is much more into VCDs than I am tells me that the DVG-3000N has the best VCD playback he's seen (and he's tested a LOT of players.) I would assume this means that (among other good things) there is less pixelation on the DVG-3000N than other units he's tried.

There is an option one of the menus called "PIC MODE" - if you select the "N-FLICKER" ("NO FLICKER") option, it supposedly often improves picture quality for VCDs.

As far as layer switching is concerned, I haven't noticed any such problems on the Daewoo DVG-3000N.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ilc on 2001-09-09 02:39:35 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ilc on 2001-09-09 02:40:53 ]</font>