Good value!

I was looking for a DVD changer to replace my aging Aiwa single-CD unit I use for music. I originally bought the Zenith DVC2550 on a whim many months ago because of the price ($175). Then I found out that it didn't play CD-R disks! So, I decided to give that one to my in-laws and begin a search for a replacement before my old Aiwa CD gave up the ghost completely.

I found several current models in this class: Kenwood DV505, Pioneer DV-C503, Sony DVP-NC600, Panasonic DVD CV51, and Toshiba SD-2705 & SD-2715. All of these are 5-disk changers with CD-R support (some with MP3), digital audio output, S-video and composite output, and priced in the $200-$250 range.

The Zenith just seemed to have the best combination on paper for me. It has features that some of the others are lacking such as:
- MP3 decoder
- Variable FF/Rew, up to 100x
- Play exchange (swap idle disks while one is playing)
- Picture zoom
- Bookmarking

Of course, it's also missing some things that the others have, so you'll have to weigh the options according to your preferences.
- Warranty is 1 yr parts/90 days labor, most others are 1 yr/1 yr
- Remote is just a basic unit, and not organized tremendously well (a complaint with many of the others in this class). It looks as if it might be lighted, but don't be fooled. Lucky for me, the universal remote with shuttle dial of my old Zenith works with this one, so guess which remote the in-laws get.
- The front panel of the new unit is not great. It just looks cheaper than the old Zenith and it lost the menu arrow dial. That doesn't bug me because I'll use the remote (from the old unit) for everything anyway.
- No optical output for digital audio, just coax.
- No VCD support

As of this writing, this model is relatively new, which can be bad or good. New models benefit from added features and better reliability. However, there might be bugs yet to be worked out. I had good luck with my old Zenith, and I suspect most of the internals are the same.

I've seen some recommendations to stay away from Zenith. Much of that is due to their questionable future a couple of years ago when they filed for bankruptcy. They seem to be healthy today, though. In addition to my previous DVD changer, I've had good luck with a pair of Zenith VCRs and TVs in the past, so I'm hoping this unit will treat me well too. I'll post again in a few months for an update.

I've browsed one movie so far just to try it out, and the picture quality is excellent (S-video running to a Sony Wega TV), as it would be with any of the players in this class. Audio was also good. It took noticeably longer for the unit to recognize a CD-R, but it played fine. I did encounter one occurrence of a "disk error" when it was shuffling from one CD to another, but it played that CD fine on the second try. The trays aren't very deep and don't seem to hold the CDs very accurately, so the CD may have been mis-aligned. I'm going to give it a rigorous workout before the 90 day labor warranty runs out, so I'll report back if there are troubles.

What my decision really came down to was price. I was at Circuit City checking out some of the models listed above, and I saw that the Zenith had just been reduced to $159. The others were all still over $200, though you can get them cheaper online. This is a lot of value for the money. So far, I'm very pleased with it. If you're in the market for an affordable DVD player that can also be the CD changer for your audio system this one is hard to beat.

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OK, as promised, I'm now reporting back after a few months. The big news is that I had to send it in for service! Notice in the initial review above that I reported an instance of a "disk error" message. Well, just days before the 90-day labor warranty ran out, I started to get the error again. It only happened on particular music CDs, and those CDs would ALWAYS get the error. Other music CDs and all DVDs I tried were fine. There was an authorized repair center here, so I took it to them. They said they could recreate the problem (with the CDs I provided), but Zenith couldn't tell them how to fix it.

The problem CDs were unscratched and played fine in all other players. I even took them to Circuit City to see if it was a problem with all players of this model, but they worked fine in an identical unit. I called Zenith and they told me I had to send it in. By now, the 90-day warranty was expired, but they said if I included the dated receipt from the first repair center it would be OK. They dispatched UPS to pick up the unit, so I didn't pay anything (nice surprise).

I got a call from the repair guy a few days later. All he could tell me was that it was a strange problem that was tough to diagnose, but he verified that it works now. He also said that he updated the software to correct bugs with certain new DVD titles (common problem with lots of players). I have not received the unit back yet, but I expect it in the next day or two.

So, obviously you're now wondering about the reliability of this thing. From the discussions I had with the technicians, I got the impression that problems with this unit have been very rare. Hopefully, this was just a fluke. This shows the importance of putting a new player through a tough workout when you first get it, especially if the warranty is short.

The main thing I take away from this experience is the good customer service provided by Zenith. I expected them to question the quality of my CDs and generally give me the run-around. They trusted my diagnosis and didn't ask me to pay for shipping or anything. Service was prompt and professional. I'll give the unit another strong workout as soon as it returns, and I'll report back with any updates.

One last minor thing: The front panel of the unit has a bright blue light that glows when the unit is on. For those who like to have a nice dark home theater setting, this can be distracting. It's purely cosmetic, so I'm considering opening it up to disconnect it. A piece of tape over the lighted area would be another option. It's not enough to make me unhappy with the unit, just somewhat annoying.