So, you think DVD isn't mainstream yet?

[Lex]

DVD Player Price Buster

79.99 and it does CD-R/RW?!? If you've been looking for a bedroom player, even, this may be it. I can't see them getting to much cheaper ever. Could t he 49.99 DVD player be within reach though?

Lex

[AndrewM]

I bought one for $40 through a special promotion at a store we were shopping at, spend so much money and you can buy the DVD player for $40, which is what we did. Then threw it into the bedroom which it's morking fine for. Although I must say that it's the biggest POS I've ever seen (not even an S-video out), it's incredibly noisy...but it works.

Andrew

[GregoriusM]

Lex: When you look at the specs of that Apex, it shows no Dolby Digital decoding in the player. If that is true (and I doubt it), it wouldn't be able to play any 5.1 DVD's unless you had a receiver or pre-pro that did the decoding.

The average consumer buying a cheap player like this would probably not have a receiver and would be sending the input straight to their TV.

Very often the specs on these mega-sites leave a lot to be desired.

[Kevin P]

Lex: When you look at the specs of that Apex, it shows no Dolby Digital decoding in the player. If that is true (and I doubt it), it wouldn't be able to play any 5.1 DVD's unless you had a receiver or pre-pro that did the decoding.

The average consumer buying a cheap player like this would probably not have a receiver and would be sending the input straight to their TV.

A decoder built into the player benefits only those who have a receiver with external 5.1 inputs. If you're running the L/R audio outs directly into a TV, you'll get stereo sound from any DVD, whether it's DD 5.1 or not. All players will downmix DD 5.1 to 2.0 for the analog outs.

With DD/DTS capable receivers as cheap as they are, I think you'll see fewer and fewer DVD players offered with "built in decoding". Not many people use it. Such players were mainly for use with older ProLogic receivers that were "DD ready" with 5.1 inputs for an external decoder or DVD player with built in decoding.




Official Computer Geek and Techno-Wiz Guru of HTGuide - Visit Tower of Power
My HT Site

[Andrew Pratt]

I've seen similar priced players up here too...Wall mart has a variety of players from symponic etc all priced at about $130 cdn which wouldn't be far off your $80 USD price.

[Lex]

Really and truly, the days of built in dolby decoders are about gone, IMO. Not many receivers today, if your buying the system today don't have digital inputs. Even at Radio Shack, they have digital input RCA receivers. DD and even DTS processing are fairly cheap today.

I personally have all the DVD players I need for now. I just found it to be a pretty good value for a starter DVD, and maybe this one has S-video. I did find it strange there was no indication of digital output. Surely it has a digital output.. Surely.

Lex

[GregoriusM]

A decoder built into the player benefits only those who have a receiver with external 5.1 inputs. If you're running the L/R audio outs directly into a TV, you'll get stereo sound from any DVD, whether it's DD 5.1 or not. All players will downmix DD 5.1 to 2.0 for the analog outs.

With DD/DTS capable receivers as cheap as they are, I think you'll see fewer and fewer DVD players offered with "built in decoding". Not many people use it. Such players were mainly for use with older ProLogic receivers that were "DD ready" with 5.1 inputs for an external decoder or DVD player with built in decoding.

Duh! Sill me!

I stand corrected! ops:

[Sonnie Parker]

I'd say for the family that's just renting a few movies the el cheapo DVD player for $70 - $80 is the way to go. Heck, that's better than a VCR and should last longer.

Only problem is the widescreen.

For instance: My dad won't buy a DVD player because he says most of the movies he wants to collect on DVD are in WS format. On his 27" TV, and with mom and dad's eyesight and age, it just won't work. They both hate those bars. I told dad not to worry about it. He has no reason to be collecting up a bunch of DVD's for his kids to inherit.

I'm sure other families will have this delimma. If they plan on upgrading to a 16:9 TV or have a BIG TV that will still suit the widescreen, it's not a major issue. But for small TV's, no doubt it is.






SONNIE

Cedar Creek Cinema

DVD Collection

BFD Comprehensive Setup Guide

[Andrew Pratt]

Sonnie the answer for your parents is to get a DVD player with the zoom function and they can then just zoom the image to fill the screen....yes they'll cut of the sides of the image but they likely won't care

[Lex]

Was just reading about a Samsung for like 169.00 that does that very thing...

Lex-

[Burke Strickland]

Was just reading about a Samsung for like 169.00 that does that very thing...

While $169 may seem like "nothing" to those of us who might spend that much or more just for interconnects or speaker wire, it is more than DOUBLE the price of the entry level machine first mentioned in this thread, and that price leap could very well be the "deal killer" for someone with a more casual interest in DVD and HT (and other priorities for their cash) :>) than we have.

Burke

[Sonnie Parker]

Yeah, I haven't thought about the zoom. I have that feature on my Toshiba. He's kinda tight though, he likes the $75 players. It probably won't be too long before some with zoom will be that low.






SONNIE

Cedar Creek Cinema

DVD Collection

BFD Comprehensive Setup Guide