Toshiba SD-1600 DVD Player
for this price, you can't go wrong...
first time dvd buyer, did quite a bit of research before purchasing, and made my choice - toshiba sd1600 - based on many of the reviews here.  i've had it about a week, playing a few movies and quite a bit of music on it.  i have to say that i've not been dissapointed at all.  the picture quality is excellent, the sound is very good, the set-up is a snap...only complaint (and it's very minor) is that the remote is not back-lit...but i knew that before i bought it, so obviously, it wasn't a major concern.  otherwise, this thing is perfect.  in order to upgrade to higher quality audio/video capabilities, you'll likely have to spend about twice as much.  for the money, this can't be beat.