What is a good, cheap DVD player which plays all formats?

[dragonsau1988]

hi,
i would just like to find out any recommendations on a low priced quality DVD player which plays all video types(vcd, svcd, cvd, etc)? I would appreciate any suggestions
thanx

[winny22]

look here http://www.hifibitz.co.uk/Warehouse/list.htm

[dragonsau1988]

i'm told the Apex 1500 is good for vcd's and svcd's. is this true?

[winny22]

i got the pioneer dv 350 excellent 129.99 on the net 160 in the shops delivred in 3 workin days in the uk

[mats.hogberg]

Centrum Libra/Gemini (=SEG Beverly Hills, Hollywood II et al)
Eats anything (Besides VCD's made with Nero, it seems...)

/Mats

[benryan1]

before I bought my first DVD player I had never heard of its brand, it's called "Yukai" and it cost me IR£90. It plays VCD, SVCD, MP3, Audio CD, DVD, to be honest everything i've tried on it has played perfectly. I also have a DVD-RW and have coppied loads of movies on 69p each DVD-R and even they played without a hitch.

"Soccer is a real mans game"

[kjmacke]

APEX ALL THE WAY. WALL-MART CHEAP!!!!!!

[SergeantD]

Definitely get the APEX AD-1500 if you can still find one. You should be able to find one for no more than $79. I love mine as it plays EVERYTHING!!!!

[EricB]

GE5803P is sold at WalMart and does a great job. Note that current APEX players do not support VCD. You would have to find an older model.

[devinemi83]

The Apex AD-660 has always served me well.

[wulf109]

I've had three Apex DVD's,one worse than the other. They would have to be giving them away free before I'd "buy" another one.
Try a Sampo DVE612,plays everything including miniDVD and SVCD at 9800 bitrate.

[vitualis]

I don't personally have an Apex or have ever used one, but it seems that at least one person (who has done some pretty in depth authoring) has found that the Apex AD-1500 does not interpret some PBC commands correctly (not able to use BSN>1 is a severe limitation)...

http://forums.vcdimager.org/viewtopic.php?p=838#838

Regards.

[fmctm1sw]

Wow, I see a lot a Apex owners. I have an AD-1100W. I played VCDs, and SVCDs on it recorded on Memorex and Maxell CD-R media and an Iomega CD-RW. Cost $65 at Walmart. Has a macovision and region free hack. No fancy display but at $65 who cares.

Once again... all things Apex: www.nerd-out.com

[dragonsau1988]

how does VCDEasy make VCD's that are more "compatible" with DVD players? this is what i've heard, but i don't know how it does it? i have a mitsubishi DD-4001 and i doesn't play vcd's. will using Vcdeasy make vcd's that are compatible with my player?

[banjazzer]

Buy an Apex if you must. But don't expect it to play VCD if it was manufactured after April 2002.

[vitualis]

VCDEasy / VCDImager will create S/VCDs that are absolutely compliant (as long as you don't force it not to!).

For SVCDs, there are a number of options that will improve compatibility of "SVCDs" on a number of "broken" (read: dodgey) players.

If your player doesn't actually support VCDs (very very rare) or SVCD (not uncommon) or it doesn't read CD-R/W (not uncommon), then VCDEasy isn't going to help you.

Regards.

[banjazzer]

If your player doesn't actually support VCDs (very very rare)

This used to be the case, but it is much less rare for cheap players manufactured after April 2002. Apex, for example, have discontinued VCD playback on all their DVD players. The reason is that many manufacturers were not paying Philips the licence fee necessary to play VCD, and earlier this year they started to tighten up on this. Rather than pay the licence, Apex withdrew VCD-capability under the impression that few people had any interest in it.

The fact that many people say a particular player will play VCD is not a reliable indication at all, unless that player was manufactured recently! Caveat emptor.

[wee haggis]

If your player doesn't actually support VCDs (very very rare)

This used to be the case, but it is much less rare for cheap players manufactured after April 2002. Apex, for example, have discontinued VCD playback on all their DVD players. The reason is that many manufacturers were not paying Philips the licence fee necessary to play VCD, and earlier this year they started to tighten up on this. Rather than pay the licence, Apex withdrew VCD-capability under the impression that few people had any interest in it.

The fact that many people say a particular player will play VCD is not a reliable indication at all, unless that player was manufactured recently! Caveat emptor.

Is this a trend that might spill over onto other manufacturers ?
(ie:new DVD's not having VCD capability because of Philips licenceing policies?

[banjazzer]

It has happened with Apex, and with Pacific (a UK player marketed by ASDA(Wallmart). Since allowing mpeg-1 playback is trivial, the only reason for a player not to play VCD is because of financial considerations. The bottom line is, before buying a player, ascertain what formats you wish to play, and make sure they play. Or obtain an undertaking from the vendor that you can return the player!

I don't blame Philips particularly. In Apex case, the amount to pay for each player apparently was pretty small, but they reckoned there was very little interest in VCD. I'm not sure they made the right marketing decision, but then I know very little about marketing. 8)

[esmerelda1983]

All i can say is that i LOVE my Samsung DVD M-205. have a look at the "DVD Players" Section. i plays CD R, CD RW, MP3, VCD, SVCD. thats all i have tried. it has multiple fast foward speeds upto 128X and rewind, slow motion. it has zoom upto 4X, DTS support, Fibre out, CoAxial Out. It has region hack, which i use for region 1 (player is region 4).
its got a host of other features and i think u should have a good look at its specs.

Maybe i have had my head in the dirt, but i have never heard of apex brand in Australia.

Anyway............. GO SAMSUNG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!