Philips DVD711AT DVD Player
Technology is Upgradeable
I don't have a need for a very expensive DVD player right now. To be honest, I don't think the performance features are worth the price jump.  I own some pretty serious audiophile equipment; however, I don't have a high-definition TV, so I can't comment on digital imagery. I've purchased many DVD cheapo units before, and to be honest, linear branching seems to be the most problematic trouble symptom for many players.  Philips didn't necessarily outshine the competition, but it is a much more solid performer in general.  You get tiny pauses between linear branches (dual layer switches), which are hardly noticeable and compared to the other DVD players that require firmware upgrades to fix the lockups, the Philips is champion. I owned the GE 1105P and 1106P and they were nightmares.  They would skip over chapters and lock up, so I was very close to buying a very expensive unit.  <br />I happened upon the 711 and boy am I glad I did.  It isn't that it is a flawless machine, but what a lot of people don't realize is that it is upgradeable.  This means, that if it can't run a DVD (which I haven't noticed and I've played all of the trouble makers) or a technology like VCDs, Philips can mail you a disc to pop in the unit and it will flash the BIOS and fix the problem.  This should be a standard feature in all DVD players.  What I'm hoping for is for an upgrade that will allow this unit to become MP3 compatible. I don't know if they will, but it certainly is possible, notice &quot;Feature Upgradeable&quot; on the box.  Even salesmen don't have a clue as to what that means.  People who are complaining about the unit struggling with CD-R/W and VCDs, most likely have a legit concern, but the good news is that it can be fixed without having to ship it to Philips or having to take it to a repair shop.  In the long run, being able to download a patch off the Internet, burn it to CD and pop it into your DVD player will be much more convenient than having to ship the unit out.  Itis a brand new product, and with most brand new products, there will be a few bugs, but in this case they can be user-patched which is a big plus.  Philips doesn't have any Web site up for this unit yet, but I'll be thrilled when they do.  The thought of being able to upgrade to a new technology, format, or being able to troubleshoot discs that won't play, far outweighs the minor performance issues.  I'm basing my review on DVD performance and CD performance.  I don't care if it can play VCDs or CD-R/W flawlessly, because most DVD players in this price range can't play CD-R/Ws and VCDs at all.  Philips gave us a dual-laser setup, so playing CDs is just as fast as an ordinary CD player.  Taking into consideration that you can get this unit for sub $200, it is a bargain.  My opinion is is as follows:<br />Who the heck buys a DVD player to play CD-R/Ws or VCDs in this price range anyway?  It is just an extra bonus that it can play these formats as well as it does.  Both of these issues could be addressed if people report it to Philips.  Perhaps the person who said Philips responded by saying that these performance issues weren't problems, didn't give Philips a chance to explain why they weren't problems.  All I can say, after dealing with Thomson Electronics (GE, RCA) products, is that Philips tech-support seemed real honest to me.  Thomson Electronics wouldn't even admit that their players had performance issues.  Philips seemed to acknowledge the possibility that future problems could arise.  That's why this disc upgradeable DVD player is revolutionary.  No problem is a problem when you can flash your own BIOS.  Don't hesitate to at least check it out.  You can spend $500 if you want, but think about what you really need.  If you already have a CD-Player, you're not going to have any problems.  If you do, call Philips for a patch or download one yourself.