SMC DVD330S DVD Player
Watch out for hidden VCR hazard!
I bought this DVD player in April of 2001. I bought it mainly because at the time, I ordered a lot of movies from England. I hooked it up to my TV, had no problems. Well, then the batteries started going out quickly. But I have another remote that does this, too, so I started taking the batteries out when not in use. When I moved, I had to hook it up through the VCR. It worked fine until 2 weeks ago when the remote died. No battery changes bring it back. So I contacted SMC. <br />The man I spoke to today said they'd discovered two years ago that the video protection inside the DVD player, which apparently is meant to prevent recording DVDs onto VHS, sends a signal back to the remote, and it makes the remote not work. If it is that way for too long, the remote dies. He said they stopped making them in 1999, and sold their quantities as is w/no warranties to larger companies who may or may not have opted to give a warranty.<br />When the remote worked, this was a great product. Just be careful. It will cost you [money]to get a new remote, if they happen to have any in stock. If the remote doesn't work, you cannot change regions or TV systems.