Cyber Home CH-DVD 402 DVD Player
A good, solid, entry level media machine
I bought this as a second player for DVD movies, CD Audio, and MP-3 music discs burned on my Mac. It will also play Kodak Picture CDs or JPEG pics you burn on a CD.<br />So far, I have been very happy with this player for the price. It has all of the video and audio outputs I need, and it actually has some cool features found only on higher-end models.<br />First off, let me say that this is a LARGE component. It won't fit on top of a medium sized TV (around 26-27 inches). The entire cabinet is real metal, and has a solid feel. So what it lacks in compactness, it makes up for in sturdy construction-so sturdy that my Technics Pro Logic Receiver is sitting on top of it! The buttons on the front are minimal, but well arranged and useful. Unlike some of the other \\"economy\\" brands Cyberhome does give you an LED display on the front of the machine to see what chapter or track you're playing. The remote has glow in the dark buttons that-while not exactly intuitive-are logically arranged. The picture quality is quite good through the S-Video and Component Video hookups. By choosing the \\"SETUP\\" button and then navigating to the \\"VIDEO\\" menu you can actually adjust the brightness and contrast output of this player. In fact, it is ESSENTIAL you do so, as this DVD player seems to have the brightness and contrast values set to \\"LOW\\" at the factory. Having this feature is a nice plus.<br />What does the player lack? No Dolby decoding built-in, but it will let you output to an analog or Dolby digital receiver. It does seem to take longer to read and start playing a DVD than other players, but that's minor.<br />To sum up, if you want an affordable first DVD player, look at this one instead of the really cheap APEX. This one looks better and plays better. You won't find one better for the price, and may end up buying two for the price of one namebrand.