Apex AD-1500 DVD Player
Lots of features for the price
I've owned this DVD player for about a year and use it heavily.  It's a terrific entry-level DVD player for the price.  It has a ton of features and plays just about every format imaginable.  The picture and sound quality are fine.<br />This DVD player features S-video output and coax digital audio output.  Because it lacks component video output (let alone progressive scan) and optical digital audio out, I called it &quot;entry-level&quot;.  But it's priced right -- you really can't expect component video outs at this price.<br />I play back a lot of MP3 music on CDs.  Other reviewers have complained about the sound quality, but I've had no problems with sound at all.  Most of these CDs are CD-Rs, and they've all played without trouble (even with minor scratches).<br />There are a number of minor annoying problems.  If you're frugal like me, this is still a great bargain.  But I'm sure there are people who'd rather pay a little more to avoid these issues:<br />-- the remote control IR receiver is very picky.  I have to point the remote directly at the DVD player.  (Actually, I haven't tested yet whether the problem is the remote control itself or the IR pickup).<br />-- The remote isn't laid out that well.  A lot of the menus and options are hard to find and not designed well.  This is a problem on most DVD players, but I think it's clear that Apex didn't do much usability testing at all.<br />-- When playing an MP3 CD, I can see the file listing on my TV screen, which is nice.  However, it's hard to operate without turning on the TV (there isn't that much displayed in the DVD player's display window), and it'd be nice if I didn't have to turn on the TV if I just want to play music.<br />As you can see in the picture, this DVD player is rather narrow.  Which is nice, because that means I can put the DVD player and my VCR on one shelf in my entertainment center, rather than using a shelf for each.<br />Overall, it's a nice little DVD player, and a great bargain forthe price.