Apex PD-100 Portable DVD Player
Briefly Worked Great then Failed
I bought the PD 100 new and without any prior knowledge of its quality history while on a road trip out of state.  It came packaged from the factory in a blister pack with normal retail markings, but no box or protective coverings; much like how portable CD players are packaged. ... It worked great for the remainder of my trip and my wife and I enjoyed viewing DVD's in our automobile, and even inside hotel rooms. The picture quality was ok, not great, but acceptable. Unfortunately the sound from the speakers is inadequate and we immediately had to buy external powered speakers to hear it comfortably.  Another problem soon emerged--the silver finish would easily rub off with normal use of the controls, leaving scratch-like marks, --not a huge problem, but still annoying.  The battery never lasted more than about 60 minutes so I resorted to using the car cord or AC power pack. After returning home the machine was hardly used and was not abused or dropped.   A couple of months later the picture began to periodically freeze up then resume spontaneously.  Later the freezing-up worsened, often locking up and the machine had to be turned off/on to reset itself, which made watching a movie less fun.  Finally the freezing up got so bad that is wasn't worth the bother of trying to watch a DVD (no improvement with switching DVDs).  Presently the unit will no longer play any DVD and the \\"no disc\\" error appears.  At this point the lens was visually inspected and appeared clean; no scratches or debris.  The national electronics store no longer carries this unit so it can't be exchanged, but I am told I will receive store credit only because I purchased the extended warranty.  My experience may have been an irregularity, but I would not recommend this model unless you are assured a no-hassle refund policy. If your budget allows it, I would recommend spending extra to buy a more popular brand with a good reputation for quality.