Is an Apex DVD player a quality machine?

cidmo · 12-21-01, 03:02 PM

I'm looking at an Apex AD1500

"This versatile Apex DVD player supports a wide range of formats, including VCDs, SVCDs, CDs, CD-R, CD-RW, and MP3s. Also features Dolby Pro Logic and is Dolby Digital/DTS/PCM ready. Enjoy precise control over your viewing with Fast and Slow Motion Forward and Backward as well as Frame by Frame Slow Motion."

Does anyone own this one or have any opinions on it? Thanks in advance

adia4625 · 12-21-01, 03:05 PM

Cidmo,
Try the Hardware forum.

The mods are going to move this.

Merry Christmas and thanks for the nice pics.

thepol · 12-21-01, 03:06 PM

I bought one for my parents last year at Christmas. They have been able to figure the controls out and have not broken it yet so I would say for the price I paid it is a good run of the mill machine. I can not remember the model number though.

Dead · 12-21-01, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by adia4625
Cidmo,
Try the Hardware forum.

The mods are going to move this.

Merry Christmas and thanks for the nice pics.

Yup, but I'll be nice enough to leave a link in the Otter so anyone interested can jump right over...

twikoff · 12-21-01, 03:14 PM

i bought one of the first ones they released, back before some of the options were banned.. love it..
great player at a great price
for that price, to get a player that does dvd, vcd, mp3
and can handle cdr and cdrw disks.. has karaoke..
not to mention being able to make it regionless and turn off copy protection..
and for it also to support dd and dts.. couldnt ask for much more from a player..

sure.. it might not be super quality with dvd movies.. but I am more then willing to give up that very slight difference for all the extras I got..
and Ive had mine for a couple years now.. never had a problem..
only had two dvds movies that I had any trouble playing..
and the people at nerd-out.com/apex gave instructions on how to make those work easy enough..

4KRG · 12-21-01, 03:25 PM

I just bought one to supplement my Toshiba 3109, I had the need to play VCDs and my old Toshiba would not do it. I kept it for two days and returned it.

It played discs just fine, but the video quality was not as good as the Toshiba and the mechanism was clunky.

I also hated the fact that is was a "mid-sized" component, it did not fit in my theater rack properly. The display looked cheesy, the power on LED was about 1000 times too bright, almost blinding in a dark room.

I then purchased a Toshiba 3750 and have been very happy with it so far. I think it is a keeper.

jfoobar · 12-21-01, 03:44 PM

Not really. I own one of the original AD-600As for region free capabilities but the picture quality on their players is definitely substandard to quality lower-end players.

X · 12-21-01, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JustinS
Not really. I own one of the original AD-600As for region free capabilities but the picture quality on their players is definitely substandard to quality lower-end players.

I also have the AD-600A for its special features. The picture quality isn't bad, but I only use it on a 27" TV, not on the RPTV. Actually, the picture looks pretty damn good on a 27" Sony Wega (it doesn't have to do anamorphic downconversion with the Wega's squeeze), so I guess it might depend on how you're viewing.

I would imagine they've ironed out the seamless-branching problems in the newer models.

kunert · 12-21-01, 05:15 PM

Bought one of the original AD-600As for region free capabilities, and it stopped working within a year.

X · 12-21-01, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kunert
Bought one of the original AD-600As for region free capabilities, and it stopped working within a year.

I'll bet you didn't do the heat-sinking trick. Mine's got 1 3/4 years on it, but I don't use it more than 1-2 hours per day.

Otto · 12-21-01, 05:18 PM

I picked up an Apex 500W player about 6 months ago. The quality is as good as the Sony I used to have in its place, it hasn't given me any trouble other than it being slightly unresponsive to my universal remote, and it plays anything and everything. MP3's, CDR's, CDRW's, VCD's, whatever. Hell, I threw a couple of MPEG compressed videos on a CDR disc and it played them too. It works great.

twikoff · 12-21-01, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by X
I also have the AD-600A for its special features. The picture quality isn't bad, but I only use it on a 27" TV, not on the RPTV. Actually, the picture looks pretty damn good on a 27" Sony Wega (it doesn't have to do anamorphic downconversion with the Wega's squeeze), so I guess it might depend on how you're viewing.

I would imagine they've ironed out the seamless-branching problems in the newer models.

yep.. mine looks damn good on my 36" tv..
and has 2+ years on it, without ever having any problems

asabase · 12-21-01, 11:20 PM

I've had my 600A for almost a year now with no problems. The remote is pretty crappy, but it plays mp3s which is one of the main reasons I bought it.

My friend recently bought one of their newer models and had to exchange it 3 times before he gave up on them.

nekobus · 12-22-01, 03:01 PM

The Apex is one of the worst quality players out there. Picture quality isn't that great, it has trouble with problematic discs and have very poor build quality. Between my friend and I, we had 6 of them. Some people will post that they have had better luck and like their machines.

But IMHO, it's better to spend a few more bucks and get a higher quality player. Many name brand players are now less than $150. For example, this week Best Buy is selling the Pioneer DV-341, which plays VCDs, CD-R, CD-RW for only $130. Amazon has the DV-343 for $140. The Panasonic DVD-RK31 is under $150 if you want mp3 playback. Save yourself a lot of hassle and buy higher quality player.

TheKobra · 12-22-01, 03:49 PM

No. If you want a good player take a look at the Panasonic RP-91K. Link: http://www.prodcat.panasonic.com/sho...elNo=DVD-RP91K

I picked mine up at Ultimate Electronics about 4 months ago for $349.00. It plays everything.

PhYbEr · 12-23-01, 09:40 PM

i've got the apex ad-600a (the one with all the "features"

) and its a great machine.. ive had it for over a year now with no problems.. can't say anything about the newer ones though.. and NO i wouldn't have bought an apex if i was looking for an all around quality player..

12-21-01, 03:02 PM	#1
cidmo DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: VEGAS Posts: 854	Is an Apex DVD player a quality machine? I'm looking at an Apex AD1500 "This versatile Apex DVD player supports a wide range of formats, including VCDs, SVCDs, CDs, CD-R, CD-RW, and MP3s. Also features Dolby Pro Logic and is Dolby Digital/DTS/PCM ready. Enjoy precise control over your viewing with Fast and Slow Motion Forward and Backward as well as Frame by Frame Slow Motion." Does anyone own this one or have any opinions on it? Thanks in advance __________________ "You're not cool til you get an Art sig."

12-21-01, 03:44 PM	#7
jfoobar DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Jun 2000 Posts: 31,564	Not really. I own one of the original AD-600As for region free capabilities but the picture quality on their players is definitely substandard to quality lower-end players. __________________ If you can’t say something nice, don’t say something nice.

12-22-01, 03:01 PM	#14
nekobus DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 1,358	The Apex is one of the worst quality players out there. Picture quality isn't that great, it has trouble with problematic discs and have very poor build quality. Between my friend and I, we had 6 of them. Some people will post that they have had better luck and like their machines. But IMHO, it's better to spend a few more bucks and get a higher quality player. Many name brand players are now less than $150. For example, this week Best Buy is selling the Pioneer DV-341, which plays VCDs, CD-R, CD-RW for only $130. Amazon has the DV-343 for $140. The Panasonic DVD-RK31 is under $150 if you want mp3 playback. Save yourself a lot of hassle and buy higher quality player. Last edited by nekobus; 12-23-01 at 03:28 PM.

12-21-01, 03:05 PM	#2
adia4625 DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 3,222	Cidmo, Try the Hardware forum. The mods are going to move this. Merry Christmas and thanks for the nice pics.

12-21-01, 03:06 PM	#3
thepol Member Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 180	I bought one for my parents last year at Christmas. They have been able to figure the controls out and have not broken it yet so I would say for the price I paid it is a good run of the mill machine. I can not remember the model number though.

12-21-01, 03:14 PM	#5
twikoff DVD Talk God Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Right Behind You!!! Posts: 79,337	i bought one of the first ones they released, back before some of the options were banned.. love it.. great player at a great price for that price, to get a player that does dvd, vcd, mp3 and can handle cdr and cdrw disks.. has karaoke.. not to mention being able to make it regionless and turn off copy protection.. and for it also to support dd and dts.. couldnt ask for much more from a player.. sure.. it might not be super quality with dvd movies.. but I am more then willing to give up that very slight difference for all the extras I got.. and Ive had mine for a couple years now.. never had a problem.. only had two dvds movies that I had any trouble playing.. and the people at nerd-out.com/apex gave instructions on how to make those work easy enough..

12-21-01, 03:25 PM	#6
4KRG DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 15,430	I just bought one to supplement my Toshiba 3109, I had the need to play VCDs and my old Toshiba would not do it. I kept it for two days and returned it. It played discs just fine, but the video quality was not as good as the Toshiba and the mechanism was clunky. I also hated the fact that is was a "mid-sized" component, it did not fit in my theater rack properly. The display looked cheesy, the power on LED was about 1000 times too bright, almost blinding in a dark room. I then purchased a Toshiba 3750 and have been very happy with it so far. I think it is a keeper.

12-21-01, 05:15 PM	#9
kunert DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 1,243	Bought one of the original AD-600As for region free capabilities, and it stopped working within a year.

12-21-01, 05:18 PM	#11
Otto Banned Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 11,544	I picked up an Apex 500W player about 6 months ago. The quality is as good as the Sony I used to have in its place, it hasn't given me any trouble other than it being slightly unresponsive to my universal remote, and it plays anything and everything. MP3's, CDR's, CDRW's, VCD's, whatever. Hell, I threw a couple of MPEG compressed videos on a CDR disc and it played them too. It works great.

12-21-01, 11:20 PM	#13
asabase DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Jul 2000 Posts: 5,649	I've had my 600A for almost a year now with no problems. The remote is pretty crappy, but it plays mp3s which is one of the main reasons I bought it. My friend recently bought one of their newer models and had to exchange it 3 times before he gave up on them.

12-22-01, 03:49 PM	#15
TheKobra DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Stuck doing T.P.S. repots for Lumbergh!!!! Posts: 2,469	No. If you want a good player take a look at the Panasonic RP-91K. Link: http://www.prodcat.panasonic.com/sho...elNo=DVD-RP91K I picked mine up at Ultimate Electronics about 4 months ago for $349.00. It plays everything.

12-23-01, 09:40 PM	#16
PhYbEr Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: The chair at the top of the stairs.. Posts: 855	i've got the apex ad-600a (the one with all the "features" ) and its a great machine.. ive had it for over a year now with no problems.. can't say anything about the newer ones though.. and NO i wouldn't have bought an apex if i was looking for an all around quality player..