I’m finally going to bring my family into the 20th century by getting a DVD player.
The reasons for the addition are fairly simple:
[ul]
[li]There is more content (especially whole seasons of TV shows) available on DVD than VHS[/li][li]I find that VHS has started going the way of audio cassette tape. It’ll still be used for home recording, but if you want pre-recorded stuff, it may soon be only available on DVD. I’ve noticed the DVD section of my local Blockbuster devouring more and more store space every month.[/li][li]Improved video resolution/clarity. [/li][li]Being able to do the things you can do on a disc that can’t be done on tape (skip instantly to parts of the movie, etc.)[/li][/ul]
I don’t need anything that will give me surround sound, etc. I don’t have an audio receiver, nor even a set of fancy speakers (just the one’s that came with my mini-audio system).
My budget is under $200. The place where I work has some Apex models for under $100, but I would feel more comfortable with a major brand name (Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, etc.).
So, does anyone have any recommendations? Suggestions? Advice? I’m all ears…
I bought an Apex three weeks ago for $59 at Circuit City, largely based on what people said in this thread. The only problem I’ve had is my new found movie addiction is cutting into my board time.
I bought in years ago with the full blown system and have never regretted it. The movies on DVD are getting better as there’s a lot more in the menu now… chats with the director and actors, multiple endings, interesting notes about filming, etc.
You’re right about it being nice to jump to a scene too, especially if you want to demo your system to the bark splitting gattling gun scene from Predator or the Mustang/Charger duel from Bullitt.
We’ve found that building up a library of classics does work pretty well. The quality is never going to degrade and a number of titles we’ll want to view over and over through the years.
Also, if you have children they’re wonderful. The Baby Motzart, Einstein, VanGogh series is fantastically done with amazing resolution and crystal clear sound. It’s a must for toddlers.
Some titles we felt were must owns and are of good quality on DVD include:
Camelot, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Last Picture Show, Hud, Holy Grail, Bullitt, Predator, 2001, Dr. Strangelove, Andromeda Strain, Toy Story and The Thing. Really, everything we’ve bought has been clear with no disappointments.
I bought a Sony DVP-S360 (I think) about a year and a half ago. No complaints so far. Is deja.com still operational? I found the reviews there to be pretty good. One piece of advice: if you go to a Best Buy or other mega-store, don’t let them sell you a DVD player with a surround decoder built in. One salesman tried to convince me you needed two separate decoders which would work together, “to get really good sound.” Total crap.
However, if you do intend to one day get a true surround sound decoder, get a DVD player with digital outputs, as opposed to one with just analog. Thus you’ll have the room to upgrade.
As folks have said, the technology has matured enough that most all players will give you great performance. Would you ask which VCR to buy? Probably not, as they tend to perform the same. The only difference can be the extra features/functions.
One thing that you might want to consider is buying a player that is convertable to multi-region (and one that can play PAL encoded disks as well).
This way you’re not limited to releases in Region 1 (N. America) and that can be nice.
If you’re trying to narrow it down between two similarly priced DVD players, consider doing what I did.
Compare the remote controls. If you’re like a lot of DVD users, you’ll be using the remote to control just about everything on the DVD player. I’d pick the remote that has larger buttons…a friend of mine has a DVD player with a remote control that has amazingly small buttons, and he has a hell of a time with it.
I got a Sony DVD player back in 1999, and the remote for it is simply outstanding.
sony (somewhat) recently dropped the price, $199.99 at bestbuy.com (probably the same at the meat-space stores)
you get a reasonable dvd player, and a kickass video game system… plus the bonus of getting cool parent points from your kids (if you have any)
also, PS2 can do rca or svideo out, plus it has an optical audio out incase you own/buy some quality stereo equipment.
learning the button mapping for the game controller to dvd player functions can be a pain, but not too bad, and there is an aftermarket IR remote controller for it if it really annoys you.
I think I’m in the exact same boat. I got a Sony 3 or 4 years ago and the remote is great (especially in the dark, where I use it the most). I bought my mom a player for Christmas a few years back at a nice price (under $200, which was super-cheap back then), but the remote has these itty-bitty little useless buttons, which means that when nature calls or the phone rings (or you wanted to hit “slow” when the nude scene starts coughcough*) you have to turn on the lights and then squint to find what you’re looking for. And you have to worry about hitting 2 butons at once.
So I’ll say this, if you are purchasing online, make sure the photos of the unit show the remote. Otherwise, pay special attention when at the store.
One issue I have with dvd players is that if you turn them off, they forget where you
were watching. A vhs film remembers where you are, of course. Is there any other solution
than to keep the player on & in pause until I watch it again?
My DVD player has a “position memory” button. Press it before you shut it off (or even switch discs) and it will start at the same place next time you play the disc.
I gotta confess that I don’t have a DVD player, and I don’t know much about them. However, I know that the connectivity is an issue. Look into things like S-video, RCA outputs, component outputs, etc. Your TV may not have the connectors that the DVD has.
I got a Samsung DVD player 2 years ago, and it has served me very well. Even though you now say you don’t need surround sound, you would still do well to get a player with digital outputs, in case you change your mind later on.
Prices have come down in the last year or so and $200 will get you a very nice name brand DVD player. I wouldn’t bother with Apex; they’re made in China and the quality is iffy. Better to go with Sony, Panasonic, or Samsung.
As Spritle said, connectivity is an issue. If you have an older TV with only a coaxial input, you’ll need to get an RF modulator to hook up your DVD player.
It’s not too bad if you only have a coaxial input - that’s all I have on my tv. If your tv is from 1991, I can almost guarantee you that you don’t have the proper inputs for it (especially not S-Video and all the other major new features).
All you have to do is buy an RF Modulator (approx $20 at Best Buy - just ask the guy or girl what you want to do and they’ll walk you right to 'em) when you buy your DVD player. What this does is you hook up the DVD player cables into the Modulator. Then you hook up your Modulator through the Coax connection on your TV and voila, the signal is translated. Does just fine for me. Won’t give you the kind of picture quality that S-Video will, but it’s still better than tv/video.