Posted by shumway on 10/10/05 12:51

campu2.net wrote:

>
> dubbah wrote:
>> campu2.net wrote:
>>
>> > I have a $59 APEX that's been going strong for over 3 years.
>> >
>> > I plan on sticking with the cheap players $50 to $60 found at Wal-Mart.
>> > If they last a year, I believe they are well worth the money spent.
>> > Any time over a year is a bonus.
>>
>> Any time over a year is a bonus? I don't think so, it depends upon
>> the brand and how much it is used. My Phillips (Magnavox) player I
>> bought at Target for $59. saw its video lens die a few months ago when
>> I must have left it playing for hours without shutting it off before
>> going out of the house. It would have cost me $39. for a new lens, I
>> decided to just use it for music cds as long as it will serve that
>> purpose. My $99. Sony I bought at Wal-Mart works well and I use it with
>> respect. The Sony was bought before the Phillips, too.
>>
>> It's interesting to hear if lower brands work okay, though I think a
>> good name brand makes the difference, anyway. Target would never cover
>> my damaged lens because it was past warranty anyway.
>
> Regardless of the brand, $59 DVD players lasting 1 to 3+ years are
> probably the best value in the history of consumer electronics.

Partially true. I will agree that $59 is not much considering the
complexity of a dvd player. I cannot, however, think of any home
electronics/appliance that has close to that short of a lifespan.

It seems from the comments here that my experiences are not that unusual.
It seems that a few posters have had good luck with Panasonic (good to here
since I bought a panasonic DVD recorder about 4 months ago). I will
probably go with a panasonic DVD player.


>
> I'm usually slow to jump on the latest audio/video equipment because
> of the inflated prices. The one exception was my first VCR. $900+ and
> it was dead within a year. I spent the next 12 to 15 years going
> through
> VCRs as fast as I go through socks. It took many years for VCRs to come
> down to $500, then $300, and now $100.
>
> Now its $59 DVD players and $5 DVDs available on eBay etc. which you
> can turn around and sell for $5 when you are tired of them. Movie fans
> have never had it so good.

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