Philips DVP642 DivX-Certified Progressive-Scan DVD Player
Some Drawbacks to look out for
I bought this about 1 month ago and it does play DVD-R discs even though the outside of the box and instructions does not list it. I was excited to be able to play downloaded .avi files on the TV but soon found some serious shortcomings.    <br /> <br />Pros:  <br />- plays .avi files and many other video files normally only playable on a PC. <br />- plays most DVD and CD formats <br />- decent quality playback <br />Cons: <br />- Onscreen directory menu is very plain, response is slow <br />- Can only show 25 files max, the rest just don't appear. <br />- Only shows the first few letters (about 12) of the filename the rest is cut off. If the first part of the filename is the same for multiple files you could have a list of files onscreen that have all the same filename. <br />- Poor errortrapping.. often goes into a lockup state if an unreadable disc or file format is attempted to be read.  <br />- Cuts off the bottom of the screen where subtitles are for fansubbed anime for example. <br />- Cheap design/quality remote.  Since almost all the operation of the player has to be done from the remote, I would have expected a better remote.      <br /> <br />If you can live with the cons it is a decent DVD player for the price.  As for me I will be looking for a better one and will relegate this one to the kids.