recommend cheap dvd player (1 Viewer)

[Sathyan]

I've tired of PowerDVD crashing and watching on a monitor so am
looking for a set top box DVD player. Audio will be processed by my
Onkyo AV Receiver (can use Toslink or Digital Coax). My TV is a 19" GE
RF-only model which I don't plan to replace for several more years until the HDTV switchover.
Video signal will be sent on composite cable thru the VCR (so
macrovision will need to be disabled).
Please follow-up with your recommendations. I am in the USA. Internet
or local stores (Walmart, Sears, Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, Radio
Shack) would work.
budget - about $100, or a bit more if build quality would improve
required:
Single-Disc
DVD Video, VCD playback, CDR VCD's
remote control
RCA composite
toslink or coax digital audio output which passes AC3/DTS to receiver
macrovision over-ride (TV is RF-only, so video must be passed thru
VCR)
NTSC
would-be-nice:
S-video output
component video output
region-free
PAL
CDR, CDRW, CD, SACD, HDCD, SVCD, MP3, JPEG CD, PCD, DVD Audio
HT System

 

[Lee Petty]

only thing i know of under $100 is the apex player they sell at walmart for $80.

 

[Sathyan]

If I raise the budget to say $130 will the entry-level DVD players of Toshiba, Samsung, Panasonic, Pioneer, and JVC be significantly more reliable (better quality control)? I've seen too many complaints about Apex players developing fatal problems.

If Macrovision over-ride cannot be done with these brands, I'll just have to get a RF Modulator

 

[Michael Lomker]

I've never heard of a DVD player that allows you to override the copy protection. That would defeat the point, you know. They do make boxes to remove macrovision but they only work with composite video, afaik.

The cheapest CD player that is known good is the Panasonic RP62 and it's around $180. Anything less expensive is going to be a compromise of one kind or another...probably doesn't matter which brand that you chose.

The Apex is known to have trouble playing certain discs. I wouldn't even consider it.

 

[Jack Briggs]

I'm happy with my little bedroom unit, the Tosh SD-2800. Works nicely. Don't know how the pictures it produces would look through an RF Modulator-to-RF input though--and on a 19-inch GE.

Any chance you might be able to upgrade to a good 27-inch interim set with S- and component-video inputs, perhaps?

 

[John Garcia]

I would say raise the budget to about $150 and get the basic models from either Sony or Panasonic. There are no mass market, big name players that will defeat macrovision, sorry.

The new NS415 has a video passthrough that allows you to loop the VCR's signal through the DVD, rather than the other way, but you would need composite at least on the TV.

I used to have this problem with an older TV with a Panasonic A300U. Panasonic makes an RF adapter that allows the VCR to loop through the cable itself, so no macrovision issue with the display, though you still cannot tape from the DVD or TV.

How about a switch box or adapter that will convert to RF?

My recommendation is to get a new TV, since you are missing out on the majority of picture quality via DVD right now by using RF anyway. Nobody knows when the HD switch will actually occur, so this is not a good reason not to upgrade.

 

[Sathyan]

Any thoughts on the Sony DVP-NS315?

Target has it for $150 so I think I'll pick this up and give it a try. Maybe my VCR isn't macrovision sensitive (I haven't had to disable macrovision on my Hollywood Plus card).

For RF modulators I see Radio Shack, RCA and GE all around $30. Is there any difference in quality?

I fully agree that a better TV would be in order but just cannot afford one at this time (If not HDTV, my next TV needs to be 27" and s-video) as I just bought some audio components.

I thought the FCC had mandated a switchover to HDTV in 2006. Is this incorrect?

 

[John Garcia]

Mandated, yes. Will it actually happen? Nobody is really sure.

 

[RoyGBiv]

If you can get to a Sam's club, you can get a Daewoo DVD player with the features you want for $89, and it can be made VCR friendly, if you catch my drift. Check out the Daewoo forum at www.nerd-out.com.
SMK

 

[Sathyan]

I bought the Sony DVP-NS315 yesterday for $150 and it seems to be doing the job. I've not encountered any macrovision issues (I can see the picture clearly; what would Macrovision do anyways?). My VCR is Panny PV-8450 - maybe it isn't macrovision-sensitive.

I've tried the following DVD's: Tora Tora Tora. Das Boot, Jeeves & Wooster Season 2, Kalifornia. Do all DVD's have macrovision?