The risk may be worth it!

My other cheap Chinese DVD player broke in my room and I needed a quick and cheap replacement. I figured I would give this a try.

Experience in using product: I use it for the most basic function...DVDs. I believe that this is what this item is intended for but it does have some extra features you may want it for.

PROS: The slim design is nice. The lights and buttons on the player are colorful (neon blue) and easy to find/use. The cd eject runs smooth and quiet. It has progressive scan, which allows for high-resolution playback and has a coaxial digital output terminal. If you are using this for your main DVD player it is compatible with your Dolby digital receiver. The player will also playback CD's, CD-R/RW's, MP3's and picture CD's from your camera. It has a set-up for parental control to stop any devious child from viewing your adult DVD's. It has 16:9 / 4:3 picture select, zoom, slow motion play, scene skipping, fast forward up to 16x speed, and all the other basics. Remember I am a basic user. Any more in depth and I would have to pull out the manual.

CONS: I do not like the remote control set up. The buttons are small, and not labeled or placed well on the remote for easy use. Every time I use it I have to look closely so I don't hit the wrong button.

I have noticed a slight tracking problem but that was with a DVD copy from VHS. The bottom of the screen was fuzzy and I couldn't fix it. I don't know if was operator error or the player. Original DVD's work fine.

I have noticed the subtitles automatically coming on regardless of setup but only on certain DVD's. Can't explain it but I turn it off and all is well.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Inexpensive ($30). nice looking. The picture quality is nice and I see no picture quality difference between the Memorex and my father's expensive Sony DVD player.

My opinion: Well, I am only speculating but I suspect the components for this product are not as high quality as some the expensive machines, Which is why you only pay $30. This might explain some of the bad reviews on this player. The DVD player I replaced was cheap and lasted 3 years. I feel that is pretty good based on a few simple facts. (1) It was inexpensive, (2) did what I intended it to do, play DVDs, and (3) with technology always improving why waste hundreds unless you have a 50 inch LCD HDTV and surround sound entertainment center and need all the upgrades. This player is all the basic user really needs and you get it without paying alot but you take the risk along with it

UPDATE on 02/16/06: The player still works like new and I have had no problems. I use it almost every night and it is working as it should. Don't let all the negative feedback sway you to far from buying one. Just remember the risk vs. reward theory and decide. Expensive ones break too!