Are any DVD players $100.00 and lower worth it?

Bobby Shalom · 06-25-02, 10:44 AM

I am interested in buying a cheaper DVD player for the upstairs, any reviews on cheapo dvd players?

Brian Shannon · 06-25-02, 11:34 AM

IMHO, no.

The hot new price point seems to be $149. I would be wary of the least expensive players having problems with certain discs.

skar · 06-25-02, 11:44 AM

What is your main player? Some of $150 players have great features. Perhaps you could upgrade your main DVD player and move the older one into the bedroom.

clemente · 06-25-02, 03:25 PM

I hard-core brand name or bust person might say no.

However, of the people I know, mainly my brother and sister whom both have sub-100 DVD players, none have ever had any problems with there players.

If it's a back-up, I'd have no problem using one of these.

hypeiv · 06-26-02, 02:12 AM

i won a cheap cheap orion dvd player (from target) and gave it to my parents and its in their living room on their 30 inch tv that didn't have svideo so i thought no big deal... i haven't had many problems but here are a few....

No CD-r Support
No VCD Support (untill i unlocked it with a remote code)
No LCD display ( it uses like 4 lights but no read out)
Menu feels very clunky, hard to change audio track or sub track while the movie is playing.

On 13 days it couldn't fast forward, when i hit FF it would actually move slower than just playing, so i had to jump to the right scene and let it play out. This is the only disc of the many that have been played on this player.

It will play CD-RW's(music and vcd) and there is a remote code to make it region free...

The tv it is hooked to is universal and takes a pal and ntsc signal... i have played ntsc and pal dvd's on this player no problem and even some region 2... when set to region 0 it still plays rce discs...

(note: it doesn't convert pal when i watch a pal dvd i have to set the tv to pal)

So.. basicly i would get a brand name cheap player but the cheapest good player i have seen are like $120 and $130 at costco.

Can't really judge sound and video it sounds fine and looks fine for what i am doing.. tv sound and composite video.

Electric2k · 06-27-02, 08:24 AM

The Daewoo 5700/5800 is a great player for the money. It can play pretty much any format out there, and is region free out of the box (with a remote code combo).

The build quality is much better than other players in this range too.

06-25-02, 10:44 AM	#1
Bobby Shalom Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Minnesota Posts: 820	Are any DVD players $100.00 and lower worth it? I am interested in buying a cheaper DVD player for the upstairs, any reviews on cheapo dvd players?

06-25-02, 11:34 AM	#2
Brian Shannon DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jun 1999 Location: USA Posts: 11,525	IMHO, no. The hot new price point seems to be $149. I would be wary of the least expensive players having problems with certain discs. __________________ Brian Shannon Photography Brian Shannon Photography Blog Brian Shannon on 500px

06-27-02, 08:24 AM	#6
Electric2k DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jul 1999 Posts: 1,171	The Daewoo 5700/5800 is a great player for the money. It can play pretty much any format out there, and is region free out of the box (with a remote code combo). The build quality is much better than other players in this range too. __________________ Electric2k

06-25-02, 11:44 AM	#3
skar DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: New York, NY Posts: 2,644	What is your main player? Some of $150 players have great features. Perhaps you could upgrade your main DVD player and move the older one into the bedroom.

06-25-02, 03:25 PM	#4
clemente DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,167	I hard-core brand name or bust person might say no. However, of the people I know, mainly my brother and sister whom both have sub-100 DVD players, none have ever had any problems with there players. If it's a back-up, I'd have no problem using one of these.

06-26-02, 02:12 AM	#5
hypeiv DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Richardson, TX Posts: 1,505	i won a cheap cheap orion dvd player (from target) and gave it to my parents and its in their living room on their 30 inch tv that didn't have svideo so i thought no big deal... i haven't had many problems but here are a few.... No CD-r Support No VCD Support (untill i unlocked it with a remote code) No LCD display ( it uses like 4 lights but no read out) Menu feels very clunky, hard to change audio track or sub track while the movie is playing. On 13 days it couldn't fast forward, when i hit FF it would actually move slower than just playing, so i had to jump to the right scene and let it play out. This is the only disc of the many that have been played on this player. It will play CD-RW's(music and vcd) and there is a remote code to make it region free... The tv it is hooked to is universal and takes a pal and ntsc signal... i have played ntsc and pal dvd's on this player no problem and even some region 2... when set to region 0 it still plays rce discs... (note: it doesn't convert pal when i watch a pal dvd i have to set the tv to pal) So.. basicly i would get a brand name cheap player but the cheapest good player i have seen are like $120 and $130 at costco. Can't really judge sound and video it sounds fine and looks fine for what i am doing.. tv sound and composite video.