Apex Digital AD-3201 DVD Player

This DVD player will perform very well for the "average" DVD owner. For those of us who aren't going to use a ton of extra features, who are hoping to get a DVD player that pretty much just has a nice picture, good sound and which isn't going to give you a hassle when you want to enjoy a DVD -- this is a nice player.

I bought this model at KMart when it was on sale for $99+tax. The reason that I bought this player is I heard that you can download firmware updates online, burn them onto a CD and that should solve issues/problems that the manufacturer might usually only solve with a newer model. For this reason, I have found the AD-3201 model to be more flexible than most DVD players made by more well-known manufacturers. Also, I feel that Apex is a very economical choice, especially as a first DVD player. Not only is the price just right for me, but when I purchased this player, I felt that it might save me the hassle of buying newer and newer models as DVD technology improves.

I was surprised at the good feedback and reputation that Apex was getting online. I liked the flexibility that the company gives you in providing these updates. After a few months of owning this player, I still can't complain.

What I like best about this DVD player is that it plays what you put in it! I have heard from listening to people who own other brands of DVD player that some players won't play certain DVD movies -- they freeze up or skip screens. My parents went out and bought a Sony DVD player not too long after the technology became popular. I really had faith in the Sony brand name, but shortly became disgusted with the player. I watched Das Boot in the Sony DVD player and halfway through the movie (when I was really enjoying it), the player started skipping scenes! Then, it would pixelize and then completely freeze. I had similar problems while watching "The Perfect Storm." I hesitated for over a year and a half before I finally purchased a DVD player, because I did not have faith that the major manufacturers had a solid grasp on the technology. Then, I found out that Apex was not just inexpensive -- but possibly better than manufacturer's products that I was more familiar with.

This DVD player does have some really minor flaws. First of all, the remote looks pretty complicated. I don't know what most of the buttons do. I know enough to be able to operate the player and navigate the menus. Also, the player seems to have a default subtitle/language setting that's a little inconvenient. You have to go into the menus so that you don't end up watching English language WITH English subtitles. It's a mild annoyance and so far seems to happen with any DVD that has the subtitle option. I have remembered to turn the subtitles off before watching the DVDs since I became used to the flaw. I also find it vaguely annoying that the DVD player will pause momentarily and redisplay "PLAY" on the corner of the screen whenever it switches layers in double-layer DVDs. The "PLAY" only stays on the screen for a few seconds, but it does disrupt viewing. The screen saver is also very plain: just the word 'APEX' in an oval bouncing around the screen. Yawn.

The sound on this DVD player is quite good--it has both analog and digital outputs. I don't have a fancy Dolby sound system, but I appreciate that it supports these in case I decide to do the home theater thing in the future. The picture quality is nice -- I have no complaints at all and my friend who would be much more likely to complain about picture quality than me says that the picture quality satisfies him. Best of all, the DVD player is without the quirks and problems that my parents' Sony player seems to have.

So far, I mostly just use the DVD player for DVD rentals (Netflix -- see my Netflix review on this website if you are interested) and the small collection which I am slowly building. I have played one or two VCDs and SVCDs on it without any problem. I intend to try an MP3 CD in it sometime, but really don't feel the need to use it for that purpose. I'm sure that the player has some extra features that a more advanced user might appreciate, but I can say with confidence that the DVD player is best suited for people like me who just want a player that plays what you put in it.