Apex AD-1500 DVD Player
A fantastic entry level DVD player!
I purchased my first Apex AD-1500 as a second unit for my bedroom. I was a little wary at first thinking, \\"How much performance can I really get out of a DVD player that costs less than [$] and is not much bigger than a phone book?\\" The short answer to my own question was LOTS.<br />I purchased my SECOND Apex AD-1500 as a replacement for the more [costly], and lesser performing [other] DVD player that I have in the living room.<br />I have yet to find a disc that these little units will NOT play. I've been playing DVDs, CDs, VCD, SVCDs, and of course, MP3s without trouble.<br />Whereas my [other] had the occasional skip with dual layer DVDs, the Apex units have shown no problems what so ever.<br />The living room unit is connected to my surround sound system. The sound quality so far has been acceptable. Stereo seperation is decent,and center and rear channel performance is also decent.<br />Pros:<BR>Cost - under [$] in my case. You can buy 4-5 of these units for the price of a high end [other]. The unit could almost be considered \\"disposable\\".<BR>wide range of playable media<BR>(DVD, CD, CD-R/RW, VCD, SVCD & MP3) 12cm and 8cm sizes.<BR>Very in depth On screen programming, allowing for decent tweaking.<BR>!! ZOOM button !! Rocks...<br />Cons:<BR>Unit is very light - not much inside the case. Slides easily with no rubber feet. (easily solved)<BR>Opening and closing of the dvd tray sounds a little clunky. One unit is louder than the other, but this is due to a totally different DVD drive in the unit which utilizes a different gear system to open and close the tray. <BR>No optical output or progressive scan.<br />All and all, a decent, low-cost entry level player. Probably not a player for the high end videophiles.<br />Of course, both of these players are brand new. My opinion may change in the months ahead if they start having problems, but that is what warranties are for...Both players are still running flawlessly.  I have had ZERO problems.  No skips etc.  The players DO NOT run hot as someone else had been stating.  <br />I also discovered that on the later models of the AD-1500 you can burn your own firmware upgrades.  One of the firmware upgrades even disables the MacroVision on the box.  You can then run the player through your VCR and tape your DVD's.  There is also a utility available to let you change the players startup background to anything that you wish.<br />With the above having been said, you proceed at your own risk performing these upgrades.  The remote chance exists that you can permanantly damage your machine if you are not careful...<br />I have performed the firmware flashes on both of my machines without trouble and I can tape anything that I put in it...