Mr. Cinema

I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation on a good dvd player under $100. I hear great things about the Panasonic S35S, which sells for around $78 at Walmart. They also have an RCA Progressive Scan, the model is like DRC something. It's $69. Anyone know about these or care to suggest something else? Thanks.

The Void

If you are connecting it to a standard tube TV I don't think it will matter much in picture quality. Just look for the features you want and stick with a name brand like Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, Pioneer.

That S35S should be fine on a standard TV but I'd want something better for a higher end, large display.

costanza187

arent they all under $100?

Iron_Giant

Any of the new sub $100 DVD players are very close in video and sound quality.

But, one feature I love in the Toshiba SD-4900 is that it has all the same controls from the remote control on the front of the DVD player. Have you ever lost your remote (under the furniture...) or left it in another room, with the controls on the front of the player, you can navigate around the DVD until you find you remote.

sataniko

I bought the Pioneer DV-260 at Walmart for $88.88 plus tax and it's the 3rd and the best DVD player I've owned. It plays everything I throw at it. I'd highly recommend it.

AOD

The Panasonic S35 is an excellent player and I would recommend it to anyone looking to get an inexpensive player. It also doesn't have the CUE error associated with it. Depending on how big your display is, it could be a problem with other players.

renaldow

Toshiba SD3900, home theater mag reviewers have only found 'subtle differences' in picture and sound as some $800 players. The other cheapies can't say that.

Groucho

I would say go with the Panasonic. I don't have that particular model, but my Panasonic players have always been reliable. Whenever there's a problematic DVD that has a glitch in certain players, you can always check the thread...sooner or later somebody will post "No problems on my Panasonic!"

Mr. Cinema

Thanks for the info. Does anyone have the RCA player? The model is DRC 212. It seems to sell very well at Walmart (they have sold out of it recently), but I am leaning toward the Panasonic because that brand seems to always get mostly positive reviews. BTW, it is the S25 that they have, I thought it was the 35.

Also, what does CUE mean?

BStorlie

I recently purchased the Toshiba SD-4900 mentioned above and couldn't be happier. I haven't found any problems with it and at $79 it was a heck of a deal. I would highly recommend it.

AOD

Chroma Upsampling Error. Also commonly called the "Chroma Bug". A thorough explanation can be found HERE

NaturalMystic79

Another vote for the Toshiba SD-3900... excellent DVD player that is extremely easy to use!

nimravak

Thanks for the advice on players. I was wondering what some of you think about the Magnavox MDV45317. It sells for a little over $50 and it has a brand name. How does it compare with DVD players such as APEX that are in a similar price range, or brand name players that are $30-40 more?

TLC

How often does it freeze up on rentals?

Pistol Pete

Here's another vote for the Toshiba SD4900. In addition to the front panel controls, it is also the cheapest player I could find that would play DVD-Audio discs.

It can also easily be hacked for region-free viewing.

Raul3

Can the Toshiba play PAL discs?

Slowpc

Also grabbed a Tos - 4900 here and loving it. It has played PAL dvds and svcds (did the hex patch for svcd playback) and i had no problems at all the picture did not seen to look any different when doing the Pal to NTSC convert. Overall , a great dvd player. A co-worker of mine grabbed the Tos - 3950 and he loves it. Plays his vcds and his dvds with no problems. He has some imports comming in to test with but it seems like the player is just as good with imports as the 4900.

Alfer2002

What I hate about Toshiba's is their hit and miss ability to playback DVD-R/+R discs....

I need a new player as well and since I just have a 35" TV and no plans to invest in HDTV until the prices are well within a normal budget of ours, I'm going with the RCA since it states it will indeed play both +/- discs..many other brands do just one or the other..or none in some cases.

I back-up my DVD's to both + and - hence the reason for my choice.

DavidH

Go with Panasonic. They have had the best, overall downconversion.

svadas

I got the Panasonic S55 from amazon for $103. It seems ok to me.

Mr. Cinema

I bought the Panasonic S25S in January. So far, it's done well. It's only skipped one movie, but it was a rental that was extremely scratched up. I'm starting to get worried though, because I keep reading about this "ho7" error that is supposedly being more common on Panasonic players. It's something to do with the motor quitting? Has anyone else read of this? How worried should I be?

DVD Josh

Your search ends with the Toshiba SD-4900. $80 at Crutchfield.com. Best for multi-region play, superior picture, excellent sound.

X

Ends is right. At least there... Nice having DVD-Audio at that price!

DVD Josh

X, I'm starting to get the feeling you are stalking me to debunk everything I post in this forum

X

I just had to check out the player's specs. Not that I would actually buy it at Crutchfield though. And not that I could even use another player. I have way more players than TVs as it is.