Konka KD1800U1 DVD Player
Great product for the price...
I did a fair amount of research when I decided to enter into the DVD world. Based on my audio reciever's capacity (doesn't support Dolby  Digital, for example), I opted for a player without all the bells and  whistles--I'll get one of those players when I upgrade my TV and stereo a  couple of years from now. In the $200 to $300 price range, I was dizzy with  all the choices. I liked the Toshiba 3109, but I kept coming back to the  Konka KD-1800U. I had found so many complementary reviews (both editorial  and customer)  about the Konka, but I was wary because the brand was pretty  unknown to me. I am glad I took the chance, though, as my first viewing  with the Konka was fantastic. <br />I should explain, though: I had ordered  the KD-1800 and Amazon shipped me the KD-1800U1. I had seen a couple of  mentions about this model in reviews, but didn't know that much more about  it. There are some differences, including no coaxial out (despite what the  description says) and support of Dolby Theater (DTS) (though the KD 1800U  did support DTS, even though it didn't say it anywhere). I was pretty  confused when I recieved this player, as I didn't know that much about it.  The [...] site said nothing about this new model. Amazon didn't  have any info about it. I eventually got through to a very knowledgable guy  at Konka who explained that the KD-1800U1 is the new/replacement model for  the KD-1800U, which was discontinued a couple of months ago. It seems that  the geographical zones that the KD-1800 was set up for barred it from being  used in Asia and Mexico, so this 1800U1 is for North America (zone 1). With  this update, they also put in some extras, like another set of A/V OUT  jacks (for  example, to hook through a VCR, though I loathe to think what a  taped DVD would look like). All in all, the Konka rep convinced me that  this was indeed a better model than the 1800U for the same low, low price  of under $200. <br />Now, for the test: I hooked everything up with myjury-rigged home theater system (I'm a scrapyard wannabe-audiophile) and my  workhorse 27&quot; TV. My first test run was with Fight Club, and the  opening credits, with the camera running along a tangled network of neurons  and synapses, really looked amazing. Even my friend, who isn't too  discriminating when it comes to fuzzy pictures and poor-quality video, was  amazed at the resolution of the picture. The sound (during the THX  &quot;volume swell&quot;) was super crisp and sounded great, even through  my hodge-podge of varied-quality speakers. Suffice to say, the movie looked  and sounded great and made me realize what a great technology DVD is. After  that, we had to take the Matrix for a test run, and skipping through the  chapters was a breeze...again, everything looked wonderful. My only  complaint is that the remote, which is layed out pretty terribly with tiny  buttons and no backlight (which I'd expect with a player of this price), is  PAINFULLY SLOW. Not that big a deal and I'm sure I'll get used to it, but  still a drawback. If you get impatient easily, you might think about  plunking down the extra money for a more responsive player, but I hardly  think it will make me (who is admittedly impatient), too antsy.<br />For the  value, the options and the quality--both audio and video--the Konka 1800U1  is a fantastic entrance into the world of DVD. I highly recommend it!