Philips DVP642 DivX-Certified Progressive-Scan DVD Player
A must have
I don't want to start a detailed review here, it has been done by other reviewers very well, especially by the guy who listed all pros and cons (that review should show up first as \\"most helpful\\"). What I want is to add a few points from my personal view. <br /> <br />I have been using this product for 1.5 years and had not a single problem with it. No, it doesn't play ALL formats (the notorious QPEL codec is too much for this player, as well as some kinds of XVID, not to mention Micro$oft's compression - WMV, ASF - no one ever is going to support those because of licensing fees I believe). But I did not expect it to play EVERYTHING, that only happens in dreams. As it is, it plays about 95% of whatever I put in it, and that is as good as you are going to get in a $70 unit. <br /> <br />I do find the interface clunky and an utter disgrace for a company that respects itself. Philips is a great innovative company but in their efforts to undercut the market and bring us the newest technology at lowest price (I believe it's their philosophy, opposite to Sony's - another great innovator, the current low prices for DVD-players is mostly Philips' - the DVD inventors btw - doing) they compromise the quality of their products and sometimes come out really CHEAP. That what happened here, I don't think the UI was ever \\"designed\\", they just cut costs that way and it is quite embarassing. It is, however, still usable so I can live with it. <br /> <br />What really pisses me off is the 90-day warranty. Since when new electronics items get only 90 days? Again I have to mention Sony who's been pushing this lame deal on us for years (and you know you are paying EXTRA for a \\"Sony\\") but I didn't notice that the other manufacturers have \\"followed the suit\\". Bad, bad companies... <br /> <br />That said, I have to say that the player is still EXCELLENT for the money you pay and it plays so much more than your regular DVD-palyer that IT IS A MUST-HAVE. I got one for everyone in my extentedfamily and am getting another one for my brother-in-law as I am writing this.