Ok I have a chance to buy a Apex 1500 for $39.99 after rebate locally after Thanksgiving. Now they will have the 1500 and the 1600 models and I was thinking of picking one up since $39.99 is cheap even dealing with a rebate.

So is the playback good enough for a second player that I would only use on imported discs. I will hack it to be region free. I know some models will be easier to do than others so i will try to make sure i get one that is easier if possible.

Would the 1600 be easier to make region free?

Should i go for a different brand?

I only have a passing interest in a region free dvd player so I do not want to pay alot.

By the way i made sure to not mention the store since i do not want anyone getting sued

Have you looked at http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/? I imagine they'd have all the answers about ease of hacking. Probably not answers about playback quality though.