My Sony DVD player died and I need a cheap player quick! (1 Viewer)

[rob kilbride]

It died right in the middle of watching LOTR TTT with my wife. I thought maybe the disc was bad but when I tried to restart it, the disc wouldn't start at all. I have a Sony DVP-S530D. I took it apart and it looks like the laser will not move as it is supposed to and it moves slightly back and forth as if it is stuck. Please, I need some advice. On the off chance this is something I can repair myself please post how I can do it. If it is something that would be relatively cheap to repair, let me know. But most likely the advice I need is on a good cheap player that is relatively glitch free. I eventually would like to get another Sony player because it was the only glitch free player I could find back in '99 when Toshiba, JVC, and Magnavox all gave me lots of problems. Are all newer players pretty much glitch free now? I would hope the disc manufacturers and player manufacturers would have worked out all compatibility issues by now. I would like to get a cheapo player for around $50 because I'm pretty strapped for cash now, something like an Apex. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Dalton]

Rob,
You might try the Cyberhome DVD players at Radio Shack. I don't have one but i have heard they are pretty good for the $$. They run about $40 to $60 i believe. I would stay away from Apex, they have given me nothing but trouble in the past. You can also pick up a decent name brand refurb on ebay pretty cheap also. I got a decent JVC progressive scan player w/dvd-audio to use as a second player for non-anamorphic discs. It only set me back $70 with shipping. This player used to retail for $249 when it first came out. Look around ebay if you don't want to try one of the low end B&M offerings.

Dalton

Dalton

 

[Topher]

I have an Apex in my bedroom and it has always been perfect, never a bit of trouble. Of course for the price that is great! Wouldn't want to use it for my main player though.

 

[Frank joe]

try a closeout , in a hi fi store or a demo.

 

[Chu Gai]

take a look over at www.overstock.com for some ideas...s/h is $2.95

 

[Bill Will]

This week a store in my area has the Sony SDVPNS325B on sale for $59.00 & last week another store had the Panasonic SK35K for $59.99 after a $20.00 mail in rebate. So I would look around because you can find Name Brand DVD Players for under $60.00 I would also try fighting with some of the stores in your area & see if you can get them down to the $60.00 mark.

 

[rob kilbride]

I bought an Apex today for only $34.99 at Circuit City. Unfortunately he audio seems to come in late while navigating menus and some special features. Plus while watching on of the documentaries on the LOTR TTT bonus disc the picture pixelated badly and eventually the audio and then skipped ahead. I'm reasonably sure the disc is fine as there are no major blemishes. It also seems to have trouble navigating some menus. Looks like I'll be trading it in for a Sony ASAP. Sony has the DVPNS325 for a fairly low price. Can anyone tell me if this is likely to be as reliable or better than my Sony DVP-S530D?

 

[Dalton]

Rob,
Those types of problems are exactly why i recommended you stay away from Apex. The price is good but the performance leaves MUCH to be desired. Not to say the big name players don't have problems, they just don't seem to have nearly as many problems as Apex and some of the other obscure brands.

Dalton

 

[Dave Moritz]

IMHO I would look at the Panasonic's if you are looking for a good low cost dvd player. I would stay away from APEX and JVC! My brother purchased a JVC dvd player last christmas and the picture is horible. The fine details in the background have a blocky pixelated look to them making the picture from time to time look like garbage. This depends on the lighting in the scene and other factors as it does not look totaly horrible all the time. But I would stay away from it just the same. I have heard nothing but bad things about JVC and Apex. I would also stay way from low cost Sony models as the quality IMHO is sub par. And no I do not hate Sony, As I own a Sony DVP-S9000 ES dvd/sacd player and it performs very nicely. If I where you I would take my favorite movies and try a few out in person and buy the best one you can afford. I would not buy one just because it is the cheapest.

 

[ChuckSolo]

Also, in defense of Apex, I had both a DVD player and 27" Stereo TV made by them and they were both good units. I sold both to my nephew a few months back and he says they are both going strong. I sold the Apex stuff not because there was anything wrong with them, but because I wanted a TV with component inputs, which the Apex TV did not have and the DVD player only had an optical digital output connection and I wanted a player with a coaxial digital output as well. I have to concur with the Panasonice recommendation though. I have a DVD player and 2 TVs made by Panasonic and have been very happy with them all.

 

[Don_Berg]

I've had no problems with JVC DVD players - their reliablity appears better than some of the low cost Panasonic models - there are lots of forum reports of failures after 6-7 months of use of the latter.