We're thinking about buying a DVD player, but I don't really know much about them. We don't want bells or whistles, just something that will handle the basics. What do we look for in a player? Any recommendations?

Ed

I assume you mean a PC DVD player Ed? If so I've used Pioneer for a few years with no problem. Features? not much to add really you shove the dvd in and assuming you have some prog like Power DVD away you go.

If you meant a stand alone model I use one bought from a chain over here called ASDA which is a subsidiary of your Wal-Mart. It only cost roughly $50 and works fine branded 'Pacific 2002' , probably flies a differnt flag in the US.

Wal-Mart arent liked here and a couple of friends of mine bought players from them and returned them just at the end of the guarantee period (3 years) for a later replacement!

Thanks for the reply Chris. I was talking about a stand alone unit. After checking out some posts on various groups, I think we'll be OK with an inexpensive unit. We don't have an HDTV or a serious speaker system, so I think just a basic player will do the job.

Ed

Ed, last Christmas my wife and I bought both our sons DVD players, they were very cheap, made by Apex and they work great. On the other hand my wife and I bought ourselves one, made by Sony and we paid 300 for that one. Let me tell you, we won't even rent a dvd to watch on our Sony because probably 80% won't even play. It is extremly sensitive to scratches on the dvd itself. Both of the players we bought the boys play anything without a hitch. If you've never visited www.epinions.com , it's a great resource for researching other people's experiance's with almost everything, includign dvd players.



Ken

Ed,

If it makes you feel any better, I purchased a VERY INEXPENSIVE DVD player about 3 years ago for under $80 Canadian...

I've played everything off this thing MP3, home movies from PC to CD-R, regular DVDs, music cd's... you name it! All without a problem.

Unless you have theater setup in your home, there isn't really any point of spending an arm and a leg on an expensive unit.

Save your money... heck, you can probably get 3 for the price of a 'regular' unit :D

Thanks Eric. I think I'll stick with a name brand, but something *really* affordable. I don't think I'll need more than that, at least for the time being.

Ed

A lot of DVD players sold in Europe are set up to play only European coded DVD's supposedly to stop US discs pre empting actual film releases in Europe. In reality designed to prevent Europeans buying cheaper DVD's from US sources! Luckily making most DVD players multi-regional is merely a code entered via the handset and the info is available on many sites for most DVD makes.

whatever you do, don't get a JVC!

we paid $113 for a basic player and the LCD screen stopped working about 2 weeks after the warranty expired. They wanted $210 to repair it!

Hmmmm.....JVC was one of the brands I had in mind. But I think I found a Toshiba that will meet my requirements. Thanks for the input.

Chris,
That's interesting. I thought the only place you might find questionable tactics would be in the good old USA! :)


Ed

Backfired in a big way Ed people just download films off the internet just like Mp3's. The film and record companies back catalogues have in effect 'vanished' !!

Ed, both my son and myself have had Sonys for three or four years with no problems. So far has played everything. I do find them sensitive to dust and scratches though.

Bob

Thanks for the info Bob. I wound up buying the Toshiba. So far, everything is great!

Ed

Hi
Dvd players have really come down in price. I bought an Apex DVD AD-1100W at Walmart awhile ago for about $60 and it's just fine for my purposes. In addition to using it to watch movies it plays jpeg picture cd's as well as the photo slide shows that I've been burning. It looks like a toy but works fine.

Paulette