Philips DVP642 DivX-Certified Progressive-Scan DVD Player
Amazing player with a few minor issues
This unit is simply amazing in terms of compatibility. It plays back mpg, mp3, xvid, divx 3, 4, and 5, MPEG-4, and of course good old-fashioned DVD-Video. A word about audio codec compatibility, however: it plays MP3 and AC3 audio, but *not* DivX ;-) Audio or WMA. So if you have any avi videos with DivX ;-) audio, just use any video converter software to change the format to MP3. There are a few annoyances though. For instance, only the first ~12 characters of the filename is displayed (if you're using a data CD or DVD with video files burned on it). Also, divx video plays back flawlessly, but only up to data rates of about 1500 kbps. Above that level the video may occasionally skip a few frames or freeze completely.  <br /> <br />MP3 and JPEG files on CD or DVD also playback nicely, and you can have a slideshow with music in the background. The unit is a bit noisy during playback, but not enough to be really annoying. For the price, you get an amazing amount of value and compatibility.  <br /> <br />In my opinion, the time saved in not having to master and burn DVD-Video formatted discs far outweighs the minor issues. Just take any files you want to play, burn them on a CD(RW) or DVD(+RW) and you're all set.