Need recommendation for DVD player that meets these specs



- Under $100
- Plays CD-Rs burned with apple?s superdrive  using apple branded
CD-Rs (dvd for general media)
- Play MP3 CDs
- If it had a I-link or firewire output, that would be nice, but NOT
at all required (I?m just dreaming on this feature).
- Has remote
- Reliable (as much as can be gleaned from a quick search of user
opinion on the web)


The last 2 home dvd players I had would both randomly crash when
playing or fast-forwarding dvds rented from blockbuster. They were
older, cheaper players.  Would happen on about 30 percent of tiles,
even though I could see no scratches on those titles. Sometimes they
would play must of the way through the movie and then stop.  Always
stopped at a different spot.

Thanx in advnce,
Jim West

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Clarification of Question by sherpaj-ga on 29 Jan 2004 14:26 PST

It can be up to $125, if that makes it easier.

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Clarification of Question by sherpaj-ga on 01 Feb 2004 15:07 PST

getting desperate for a solution

I was told apple.copm had a list of compatable payers.

Thanx in advnce,

---

Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 07 Feb 2004 13:29 PST

sherpaj-ga:

I'm posting this here as a Request for Clarification, as I am not sure
that this Answer is necessarily the sort of information you are
looking for. Please review it, and if you  are willing to accept it as
the Answer, please reply so that I can post it officially as the
Answer, and so that you can rate it.

It seems Apple no longer wishes to maintain the list of players that
are compatible with DVD-R's burned on a SuperDrive. Here is Google's
cached version of that list:

http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:YVmpIillPOsJ:www.apple.com/dvd/compatibility

However, if you try to go to http://www.apple.com/dvd/compatibility ,
you will be redirected to the iDVD site. Searching in Apple's support
knowledge base pulls up an article that was recently updated (Feb
2/04) that no longer contains any specific information:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42662

The website that jts80-ga suggested in the Comments section is the
website I myself also recommend to anyone looking for general DVD
compatibility information. However, for your specific requirement
(SuperDrive compatibility), the dvdrhelp.com database is not very
helpful. Here is the report for the Apple DVD-R (for general media)
compatibility:

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdmedia.php?selectmedia=168#comments

Only problem is, none of the commenters that submitted those results
happen to be using a SuperDrive, and none of the DVD players they
claim compatibility with are available within your price threshold.

Your best bet (and unfortunately, since DVD players are almost all
made by contract manufacturers in China, with constant firmware and
hardware changes inside the player that are untraceable by the
consumer until after the unit has been purchased, a bet is the best we
can do here) is to look for a player on that original Apple list. To
stay well under your $125 limit, two units that come to mind right
away are the Apex AD-1500, and the Apex AD-3201. Both are older units,
and therefore may be a little hard to find, but are good value for the
money:

Apex AD-1500
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=1663503
http://shop.bizrate.com/marketplace/search/search__cat_id--11530000,prod_id--6553245,keyword--apex%201500.html

Apex AD-3201
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=1242602
http://shop.bizrate.com/marketplace/search/search__cat_id--11530000,prod_id--6553246,keyword--apex%203201.html

I hope that one of these two players works out for you. Yes, the units
are 'low-end' units, but when you get a good one, they are rock-solid.
You can read more user reports at the Apex region-free hack forum:

Nerd-Out.com Apex Info Site
http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

---

Clarification of Question by sherpaj-ga on 08 Feb 2004 23:11 PST

aht-ga, your answer was great.  pls put it as the answer.  Your answer
lead me to trying to purchase a AD1500, but I found them in short
suppy.  I found a lead to a player called the AD2600, also by Apex. So
I am going to get that one from amazon.  thanks tons.

sherpaj-ga:

Thank you for accepting this Answer, reposted below:

--------------------------------

I'm posting this here as a Request for Clarification, as I am not sure
that this Answer is necessarily the sort of information you are
looking for. Please review it, and if you  are willing to accept it as
the Answer, please reply so that I can post it officially as the
Answer, and so that you can rate it.

It seems Apple no longer wishes to maintain the list of players that
are compatible with DVD-R's burned on a SuperDrive. Here is Google's
cached version of that list:

http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:YVmpIillPOsJ:www.apple.com/dvd/compatibility

However, if you try to go to http://www.apple.com/dvd/compatibility ,
you will be redirected to the iDVD site. Searching in Apple's support
knowledge base pulls up an article that was recently updated (Feb
2/04) that no longer contains any specific information:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42662

The website that jts80-ga suggested in the Comments section is the
website I myself also recommend to anyone looking for general DVD
compatibility information. However, for your specific requirement
(SuperDrive compatibility), the dvdrhelp.com database is not very
helpful. Here is the report for the Apple DVD-R (for general media)
compatibility:

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdmedia.php?selectmedia=168#comments

Only problem is, none of the commenters that submitted those results
happen to be using a SuperDrive, and none of the DVD players they
claim compatibility with are available within your price threshold.

Your best bet (and unfortunately, since DVD players are almost all
made by contract manufacturers in China, with constant firmware and
hardware changes inside the player that are untraceable by the
consumer until after the unit has been purchased, a bet is the best we
can do here) is to look for a player on that original Apple list. To
stay well under your $125 limit, two units that come to mind right
away are the Apex AD-1500, and the Apex AD-3201. Both are older units,
and therefore may be a little hard to find, but are good value for the
money:

Apex AD-1500
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=1663503
http://shop.bizrate.com/marketplace/search/search__cat_id--11530000,prod_id--6553245,keyword--apex%201500.html

Apex AD-3201
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=1242602
http://shop.bizrate.com/marketplace/search/search__cat_id--11530000,prod_id--6553246,keyword--apex%203201.html

I hope that one of these two players works out for you. Yes, the units
are 'low-end' units, but when you get a good one, they are rock-solid.
You can read more user reports at the Apex region-free hack forum:

Nerd-Out.com Apex Info Site
http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/

-------------------------------------

PLEASE NOTE: Regarding the AD-2600, please read through the threads on
Nerd-Out, first:

http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=28

Generally, the reviewers do not think highly of this particular unit.
I would advise against buying it from Amazon.com, as the return
process will be painful if you find that you do not like the unit's
performance.

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

---

Clarification of Answer by aht-ga on 08 Feb 2004 23:37 PST

sherpaj-ga:

Just in case my last comment in the Answer goes unnoticed, please note
that the AD-2600 is NOT highly recommended by the forum users at
Nerd-Out.com:

http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=28

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

Check out dvdrhelp.com. They've got an extensive database of DVD
players with lots of details about compatibility. You can search the
database by specifying criteria.

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers