I've got the DV-353 and it's an okay player. I've probably run 100+ dvds on it so far and it hasn't died on me yet. I had an apex player before and it died. The layer change is noticeable, but not too big a deal.
Apex is amazing sometimes. For an extra room I picked up a combo DVD and 20" flat screen TV for $239 on special at Circuit City. I get it out of the box and the picture is tweaked over almost 45 degrees. I bring it back, full refund no questions asked. So I order another one at the Sears website, an internet special for $199! And it works perfectly. I was expecting something much worse. Medicore I can live with at that price. I wonder if it's worth the time to put a Cal disk in it and tweak the picture....