I have acquired some DVD's from outside the United States and cannot
play them on my current DVD player.  I am interested in purchasing an
all region DVD player.  I am interested in one that is easy to set up
and will last a few years under normal wear and tear.  Does anybody
have experience with this product such that they can recommend a good
quality model and dealer?

Most DVD players have an undocumented way to change them to a region
free player.  Usually this involves pressing a long sequences of
numbers on the remote control.

A good website that documents how to convert your DVD player to a
region-free one is:
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers

Just:
1) Click on a DVD player's name to go to its info page
2) In the "More Features" section look for the "Region code hack here"
3) And you will get a page, for example:
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php?select=Philips+DVP+642

It will be easy to find one that you can buy at your favorite electronics store.