Apex AD-2500 Progressive-Scan DVD Player
This gadget is worthy of a thousand adjectives
Apex AD-2500 Progressive Scan DVD Player key strengths are: (1) Picture quality, (2) Integrated feature set; and (3) Multiformat. Picture quality is bright and vibrant, colors are reasonably well saturated and balanced, with images being decently detailed with satisfactory contrast and shadow delineation. Even with DVD's of my home made movies, aliasing problems, moire patterns and pixel fragmentation were minimal. The setup menu provides access to a well laid out menu, and all features can be set through software. For example, unlike my Pioneer 525, which has a manual switch on the back of the unit, I can change between S-Video and component video conveniently through software with the remote control. Although the instructions advise to not have all cables (RCA, S-Video and Component) connected at once, I encountered no problems doing so. The major features are complementary and work well together. Lastly, the multiformat enables the unit to play everything from commercial DVD's to DVD-R/W.  Dolby Digital 5.1 is OK with 2 speakers but a tad weak with surround; system probably needs a bit more wattage to generate a more completely immersive listening experience.