Apex DRX-9200 DVD Recorder/Player
Significant Problems, Not Recommended
As some other reviewers have noted, this player is plagued by several major problems. A firmware update would probably be able to cure most of them, but there's no indication that Apex is going to release one.<br /><br />At the time of its release this unit was cheaper than comparable models, but there are now better options for the same or less money.<br /><br />First, the bad news:<br /><br />- A maddening bug in the setup interface makes it impossible to correctly set the unit's clock to PM, reverting to AM regardless of repeated efforts. This isn't a significant problem for playback and on-demand recording, but makes timed recordings impossible<br /><br />- Lockups are common when recording from the front DV/Firewire input (and possibly other inputs, but I primarily use Firewire). The lockups generally hit at the end of a recording or during the final write process after recording has stopped. Either way, you don't learn until sitting through the entire record process that the recording has failed and the disc is ruined. You're then forced to throw away the disc after resetting the unit by unplugging it. I've now grown used to power cycling the unit between each disc write in the hope of avoiding lockups.<br /><br />- On-screen video quality using the coaxial input is pitiful (a live DirecTV feed ends up looking like it's coming in on rabbit ears). You definitely don't want to watch TV with the signal routed through this player all the time. The problem doesn't seem to carry over to recordings, though -- just live TV.<br /><br />- The unit makes a surprising amount of noise due to an internal cooling fan. You'll want to turn the unit off when it's not in use. It does not automatically power down after a certain amount of time like most DVD players.<br /><br />- The remote is poorly designed (though the same is true of most AV equipment) and only works when pointed directly at the unit. I duplicated its functions with a programmable remote early on so this wasn't a long-term issue.<br /><br />- The unit is very thin vertically and the mirror finish doesn't look bad, but it clashes with our other black components while the bright LEDs on the unit's small screen are distracting and cheap-looking.<br /><br />Positive Aspects:<br /><br />- When it works, the recording results are adequate. I've made quite a few DVDs of content from my Tivo and directly from a DV camera. Playback of discs recorded with this unit seems to work fine on most PC and standalone DVD players as long as you select the Finalize process in the menu after recording to disc. Only DVD+R media is supported for recording.<br /><br />- Regular DVD playback works fine and Dolby 5.1 passes through correctly via a coaxial jack. It also supports MP3 CDs and offers minimal on-screen navigation for songs.<br /><br />- The front-panel access to Firewire, S-Video and AV jacks is very handy.<br /><br />- The automatic creation of chapters with thumbnail images works nicely.y and the mirror finish doesn't look bad, but it clashes with our other black components while the bright LEDs on the unit's small screen are distracting and cheap-looking.    Positive Aspects:    - When it works, the recording results are adequate. I've made quite a few DVDs of content from my Tivo and directly from a DV camera. Playback of discs recorded with this unit seems to work fine on most PC and standalone DVD players as long as you select the Finalize process in the menu after recording to disc. Only DVD+R media is supported for recording.    - Regular DVD playback works fine and Dolby 5.1 passes through correctly via a coaxial jack. It also supports MP3 CDs and offers minimal on-screen navigation for songs.    - The front-panel access to Firewire, S-Video and AV jacks is very handy.    - The automatic creation of chapters with thumbnail images works nicely.