Apex AD-2500 Progressive-Scan DVD Player
By: Apex Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 108
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 On: 2008-01-03
Cheap and worth what you pay for it. Good for basic DVD playing. Might last a couple years.
 On: 2007-05-14
I had never heard of Apex, but the player is packed with features! Plays discs of JPEG pictures, plays both NTSC and PAL DVDs. Component out and Karaoke input. What else can you ask for? Works great!
 On: 2006-11-20
Garbage is the nicest way to describe this player. My biggest complaint is the noise this thing created. Maybe I am alone in this but it was so loud that you had to turn the TV up more than normal just to be able to enjoy the movie. The noise was so loud that it was near impossible to watch a movie late at night. About a month after using this player the tray stopped working. When you inserted a DVD the tray would stop about a 1/4" from being completely closed. You had to FORCE the tray closed.
There are MUCH better players out there and for less money. Dont waste your time.
On: 2006-04-16
i bought this product thinking it was a good deal and i was short on cash. this thing sucks. it is big, loud, and a piece of s--t. it is awful. when i play movies, it makes a really loud and annoying noise. it takes way to long to load and it gets -1 star
On: 2006-03-30
I have owned this DVD player model for less than a year and a half. It suddently stopped working, with disk every that tries to load giving the "no disk" msgs. There is almost no technical support from APEX on what or how to fix it.
On: 2005-03-17
Apex Digital products often fail within the first year. They have horrible customer service, false advertising, and fail to honor their warranties. They do not care about the consumer and based on my past 1.5 years of experience there is virtually nothing we can do about it but stop buying their products.
Please check www.labbb.gov (Better Business Bureau) and search for Apex Digital to see the F rating the better business bureau has given them. Saving 10-15 dollars is not worth the hassle they cause.
 On: 2005-03-13
Used it for good 15 months. It was bargained priced for the features it offered. Average user interface. Played everything I put in it and for the time it worked, I really thought it was a good bargain. But like another reviewer mentioned, it wont read anything any more. Tries to load and ends up with "no disc". Im sure somebody in China would want the metal casing back so they could recycle it into another feature rich bargain electronics.
On: 2005-02-03
Its a shame they dont stock this unit anymore. It plays just about anything you put in there, including DVDs from overseas. The only complaint I have is the remote control range, which I find poor at times. Other than that, this is a great player.
On: 2005-01-25
I purchased this player 10 months ago. After six months it began to fail loading the DVDs, giving me the No DVD message. After 10 months of very light use (about 2 DVDs per week) it loads nothing. Pass on this one.
On: 2004-09-07
It works fine, but it is put together very cheaply and it makes an awful hummmm noise about half the time. I wouldnt recommend it unless you dont mind your DVD player making loud humming noises.
On: 2004-09-06
It works fine, but it is put together very cheaply and it makes an awful hummmm noise about half the time. I wouldnt recommend it unless you dont mind your DVD player making loud humming noises.
On: 2004-08-28
We bought this because of price and features. The features were as advertised...the quality left much to be desired. It seemed like the spin on the disc was never properly calibrated, so the machine would hummm when you started it up...and would stop after the second or third track would play. The user interface is horrible. 15 months after buying this, the video out channel is completely blown...now its only good for playing CDs or as a paperweight. I will be buying more of a recognizable brand name in the hopes of getting a better product. You get what you pay for.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-06-17
My husband and I really enjoyed this machine for the first 12.5 months of use. It worked well and had many features we didnt expect from a machine of its price. However, the laser reader broke two weeks after the warantee went out. I think that most machines that are made today seem to be of lesser and lesser quality, and this machine is no exception.
On: 2004-05-20
The first unit I had was dead on arrival. The second unit I received was scratched but seemed to play alright. After two months of normal usage it began to randomly fail to play. It began freezing during films for up to 10 seconds at a time before continuing to play. This had nothing to do with the actual DVDs as the same scene wouldnt neccessarily cause the problem to repeat itself. Since others are raving about it, your mileage may vary. I imagine it is just really bad quality assurance on their part.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-03-19
I will probably not buy apex anymore. My apex 2500 will not start any of the dvd disks & it kept on going "idle". Very mad. I figure amazon.com checks out the products it carries. Will trash this junk. In the future I will stick with name brands such as Panasonic or JVC.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-02-23
After reading the reviews I thought to myself, " Are they talking about the same DVD player?" I have had this player for 6 months & have never had a problem with it. I have it hooked up to a Toshiba Flatscreen Widescreen HDTV & the picture & sound are perfect. I probably would not recommend this player to someone with an old TV. Its great for High Definition TVs but would probably be no different than any other DVD player on a regular TV. The remote works fine, the tray has never given me a problem. Its very light and feels cheap but its not. Only the price is cheap. It plays every format I have ever tried, including ,PAL, MP3,MPEG & VCD. Read the owners manual good before hooking it up and use new batteries in the remote & you should have no problem. The only issue I have with this player is that it will only play region 1 disks & there is no hack that can change this.
by: iamthesystem On: 2004-02-21
I purchased this DVD player while deployed to Afghanistan. It was on sale at Amazon.com and I didnt know what to expect (though nearly all reviews set my expectations fairly high).The DVD player arrived and it has played everything Ive thrown at it (even local movies purchased at the local bazaar which are probably knock-offs from Pakistan). This is a great product and it has made me put stock in the APEX brand.
On: 2004-02-01
This Apex model broke after about a month. Because it was still under warranty, we sent it back to Apex for repair or replacement, following all the instructions. This was five months ago, and after numerous attempts--including a registered letter to the companys president--we have given up trying to get a working DVD player out of Apex. This is the most appalling customer service I have ever experienced anywhere!
Unless you have a burning desire to donate money to the Apex company, you would be wise to take your business elsewhere!
On: 2004-01-14
I bought 2500 DVD player in Sep. 2003, and now its broken. There is no vedio output anymore. Sometimes the disc can get stuck in the tray. But the DVD play does have more features than other DVD players. You get what you pay for.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-12-08
I loved this dvd player for the 1st week I had it. Then I discovered that the remote wont turn the player on. Ive also tried an aftermarket remote that I use for the rest of my home entertainment system and it wont turn it on either. You have to be about 1 ft. away before it will work. But it will turn it off from across the room. Other than that, Ive got no complaints. Its always worked with anything Ive put into it. DVD-RWs, MP3 cds, it all plays. And any cd with a jpg. image it will show the image. The only reason it gets 4 stars is because of the low price. If it had cost any more I would have been outraged with the remote deal but it also is region free so you can play all those japanese dvds with no problem. This is its only redeeming feature considering every other player will play everything except dvd-rws. For the price its a good deal but it is kept in the bedroom where it isnt used very often just because of the remote.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-12-01
My Apex 2500 died after 4 months. It took two days to get through to "customer service." I have the option of shipping it back at my expense for a new unit -- for a "labor" charge of course since the labor warranty expired at 3 months. Ill certainly never buy another Apex product.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-11-26
Think again before you buy anything from APEX! Check BBB at http://www.bbbsouthland.org to see how customer said about APEX.
Amazon should be very careful in selecting vendor, a vendor like APEX definitely is not a good choice. Beside loud operation, the Karaoke died after just 2 uses, returned to Apex on 9/6/03 and still waiting for the replacement. APEX gave me different reasons as why the unit is not sent back to me yet.
- UPS record showed that APEX received the unit on 9/9/03 (but APEX insisted they did not received it until 10/1/03).
- One customer representative told me the replacement should be shipped out on 9/22/03. Three weeks later, another APEX people told me whoever promised me to ship out the unit is not valid, because that guy is no longer work with APEX.
- Their computer system is down¡K
- Its will take another 2 - 3 weeks. No matter when I called, APEX always gave me same answer!
- Again, APEX told me on 10/21/03 that the order has been placed and it may already shipped out. So I asked him to give me a tracking number, APEX said he did not have it and its impossible to get one, since its in another system!
- APEX dont have the unit for replacement. (But they do have it for sale here in Amazon and other places!)
On: 2003-11-25
OK, so when you pick it up it feels like an empty tin box... completely cheapo feel to it -- but it works GREAT! it plays all the DVDs I rent from blockbuster regardless of fingerprints or minor scratches (way better than my expensive Sony DVD that freaks if theres a slight smudge)... Also, on the "el cheapo" end of things, it makes a reasonably loud revving/tracking noise when its switching between the main menu screen and the sub menus (kind of like the sound your computer makes when you put a CD in it for the first few seconds)... the noise doesnt occur during movie playback (or pause/ff/rw) so this isnt really an issue -- it just adds to the cheapo feel of it -- BUT in the end, Id highy recommend this or the Apex 2600 for a cheap DVD player...
On: 2003-11-21
The machine worked great for the first a couple of days. Then the remote stopped working. I called Apex, they told me I have to take the battery out, then press every button on the remote (hundreds?) for 1 second per button. They told me this would reprogram the report. I didnt believe this s__t, but I tried and it worked fine again. Its very annoying because this kept happenning. But for $60 I guess I should not complain too much. All my friends thought I got a good deal too. I later found out that, if you take the battery out everytime you finish using it, then itd be okay. I guess some low grade capaciter is the problem.
On: 2003-11-20
I bought one of these for my parents last year. I was impressed with a few of the added features this had (that my own, more expensive DVD player doesnt have).Picture CDs.
Burn a CD of jpg digital photos, and this DVD player will display them in slideshow format, with many options for the transitions and how long youd like each picture on the screen. MP3s
Decent visual display (better than most) for going through CD-Rs burned with mp3s. We havent tested it with a DVD-R yet, but Id be surprised if it had any problems.
On: 2003-11-18
I must admit that originally I went out with the intent to purchase the 2600,when I got to the store the 2600(on special)was out of stock.The salesman offered me a 2500 for the same price $49.99 and originally I thought this a bum-deal however when I took this baby home and plugged it in I realized what a gem I had.My old DVD player was decent but no VCD and no Progressive scan,this one even plays mpeg-1 files that are not in VCD format and I have loads of them.What a treasure it plays just about everything and the picture quality Fuhgeddabodid absolutly fabulous. Thank you Apex
by: Anonymous On: 2003-11-03
Just want to emphasize its compatibly. There is no dvd code restriction on this player! It plays all discs my friend bought in Asia. Of course, it also smoothly plays dvd I rent from blockbuster. wonderful!!!
On: 2003-10-31
I bought two of these DVD players. Neither produces an image or sound as good as my worst performing VHS player. Play quality is also very irregular. So, dont waste your money . . . buy something else . . . or dont buy anything at all.
On: 2003-10-28
It works great. Plays all my DVDs without skips or delay. The connections in the back are numerous (2 R/L cables, S-Video, Digical audio, composite, optical? Also plays window media which is awsome.
On: 2003-10-26
FOR LESS THAN 55.00 YOU GET A PROGRESSIVE SCAN DVD PLAYER THAT IS AWESOME.I BURN ALOT OF DVDS ON MY COMPUTER AND THIS PLAYER PLAYS BACK ALL OF THEM ,NO PROBLEM. THERE ARE CERTAIN CDS THAT I HAVE PURCHASED LIKE THE LIVE KORN CONCERT WHICH IS REALLY A TOUCHY DVD, IT WILL NOT PLAYBACK IN ANY OF MY TOSHIBA PLAYERS, WHICH COST OVER 250.00 EACH, AND AS I SAID BEFORE IF YOU BURN YOUR OWN DVDS ON THE COMPUTER THIS WILL PLAY THEM BACK IN PROGRESSIVE SCAN , SOMETHING THAT ALOT OF DVD PLAYERS WONT DO UNLESS YOU SPEND WAY MORE THAN 55.00. THIS PLAYER HAS MANY FEATURES,WAY MORE THAN OTHER PLAYERS, BUT 55.00!!!!.I OWN 4 OTHER DVD PLAYERS, BUT THIS IS THE ONE I ALWAYS SEEM TO USE, THE PICTURE IS AWESOME, HOOKED UP BY MONSTER COMPONENT VIDEO CABLES, WHICH COST MORE THAN THE PLAYER, TO MY 65 INCH SONY PROJECTION TV I HAVE HAD THIS PLAYER FOR ALMOST 1 YEAR, & HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS, ITS RELIABLE. AND I AM BUYING ANOTHER ONE , BECAUSE FOR 55.00 IT IS AWESOME!!I DONT SEE HOW YOU CAN DO BETTER FOR THIS PAULTRY SUM. ON SOME PLAYERS THE EXTENDED WARRANTY COSTS MORE THAN THIS DVD PLAYER. THIS IS A NO BRAINER.PROGRESSIVE SCAN LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER THAN COMPOSITE VIDEO CORD CONNECTION. LIKE A VEIL IS LIFTED, THE PICTURE IS SO CLEAR, THE SOUND IS AWESOME.IF YOU DONT WANT TO SPEND ALOT BUY THIS. IM BUYING A SECOND ONE FOR MY IN FOCUS X1 DLP PROJECTER.THIS ISNT THE BEST DVD PLAYER EVER MADE AT ANY PRICE ,IF YOU WANT TO SPEND SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A HIGHER END PLAYER, GO AHEAD. BUT I BET THE PICTURE RESOLUTION WILL BE IDENTCAL TO THIS APEX, THIS DVD PLAYER IS A STEAL.
On: 2003-10-25
It worked fine for maybe two weeks till it died on me. I would not recommend this product under any circumstances. Maybe I was just an unlucky person, but I rather not press my luck.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-10-21
A friend recommended this dvd player. I cant believe it plays our dvd+r disks. And for the price of this player its a good buy, plus free shipping. Would recommend to others!
On: 2003-10-20
Im very happy with my new DVD Player.., it allows me to playback burned DVDs, multizone DVDs, also I can download videos from the WWW, and burn it on a Video Cd (VCD) or Super Video Cd (SVCD) and it looks great.
It also allow me to reproduce mp3 and audio CDs while Im doing something else. It have a yummy screensaver that appear when you hold on the movie or while you listen to music.
It also reproduce Cds with images..., a great feature...., cuz you can see with your friends and realtives your pictures. It allows you to rotate them, change the way they appear.
Its a great product !
I recommend it 101%.
E8A
On: 2003-10-19
I bought this unit four months ago. It worked fairly well - there were a couple of glitches that resolved. But now when I put in DVD, the LCD reads no disc, and it wont play anything at all. I have not been able to get any tech support either. Looks like Ill be shopping for another DVD player soon, and you can bet it wont be an Apex! The only reason I gave it one star is because 0 wasnt an option - too bad.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-10-11
I found that if you take a sponge slightly wet and wipe the dvd just prior to inserting it into an APEX dvd player it may actually work. note: Several attempts may prevent the eventual purchase of a sony or some other dvd player that actually has a function.
On: 2003-10-11
I bought this one less than 5 months ago...now there is nothing on
the LCD. When i called customerservice, i had to wait more than 30 minutes and ve got to talk with horrible representatives. They dont care what is your problem after we paid for their product.
TRUST ME! STAY AWAY FROM THIS CORPORATION!!!
On: 2003-10-11
I should have believed my friend who suffers from this product.
they are never good in VCR, now they are sucked on DVD.
it broke on my right after 4 months...
please dont be the disappointed one like me.
On: 2003-09-30
Soy de Buenos Aires, argentina. Compré este DVD y me lo trajo mi TIA de USA. La verdad que anda bárbaro, pero la macana es que la reforma para que sea multizona es muy costosa, yo recomendarÃa que averiguen alguno que no cueste tanto. Pero por lo demás, podes ver SVCD, VCD, DVD`s difÃciles, etc. Lo recomiendo ampliamente....!
On: 2003-09-30
Excellent picture and features and even plays CD+G formats. The karaoke function is what put this one over the top. Not going to find any other ones with karaoke for under $70
On: 2003-09-22
Had one, worked ok, played most dvds, sometimes hung up, after little over a year power supply went out. Got GF one, lasted about 4 months and now usually wont even recognise there is a disc in, or will freeze up before even getting to the menu screen. I dont plan to ever buy another APEX
by: Anonymous On: 2003-09-16
Have to return the unit because of some major problems:1) "No Disc" error happens to half of my DVDs; those DVDs are working fine with Apex 1110W (from Wal-Mart.) So, it is NOT true it can play all.
2) Too noisy: the DVD spinning noise is another killer; just too loud.
3) Switching to PAL is too complicated. The only TRUE advantage of this unit is its PAL format supporting function. But playing a PAL DVD is so complicated: you have to stop, power off, power on, Eject, press PAL/NTSC button, play, etc.... Apex 1110W is much simpler; just press PAL/NTSC to make instant switch. Hope major brands start support PAL disc.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-09-13
I bought my in July 03 and now in Sept. 03 Im going to have send it back in for repair already. The player does not read read my DVDs (even the new ones) any more. It keeps saying that there is no disc. This is too much hassel for a $60 player. Ill have to pack it, send it in and wait for it to be fixed or replaced. The AD2500 is not bad, it does very much everything I want to use it for. But this is way too unreliable.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-09-07
Regardless of the reasonable(cheap) price, this DVD player is all-region decoded, which means you can watch ANY, again...its ANY DVD from the whole world.where else can you get that from??? Although they didnt list it because of licensing issue, but this is how they do it~~~
On: 2003-09-03
with such a price, you get all the functions you need. Does this model looks like the one sold by Gateway?
On: 2003-09-02
All in all I have purchased 7 units (one for myself, others for friends & family) and every one is happy w/it. I have mine over 4 months now, on average it played ~1.5 hr of VCD daily, never had any problems. Mine has no problem playing MP3, VCDs, SVCDs (in both PAL & NTSC format); I dont use it to play DVD much for I have a different unit hooked to a home system.I wonder if APEX has a poor quality control and thus there are the complaints from the others! Ill order 4 more units for my friends (as they dont have Internet access).
On: 2003-08-30
USED THE MACHINE WONDERFULLY FOR 2 WEEKS, AND THEN IT DEVELOPED A TERRIBLE SMELL FOR A DAY AND THEN WAS DOA THE NEXT MORNING. I WAS USING THIS AT A BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, SO IT WAS A REAL BUMMER WHEN IT QUIT. I WILL SAY THAT I RECEIVED AN ABSOLUTELY NO HASSLE REFUND, BUT I THINK I AM GOING TO MOVE AWAY FROM APEX.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-08-27
Bought this DVD player 6/1, received 6/9, installed 6/15 (Fathers Day present, along with the Clint Eastwood DVD Collection). Anyway, during the last few DVDs weve tried to watch, the machine has skipped screens, and reset itself to the beginning of the DVD numerous times throughout the show. Called Apex CS - was on hold for 43 minutes before reaching a person. Gave my info, was told "good thing you called when you did, the 90 day warranty is almost up". Got my RA# and will be returning this unit tomorrow for repair. Guess my advice is, if you want a good, cheap DVD player that will last you 2-1/2 months, this is your lucky day! Also note that Apex does not pay shipping costs for returns. Also note that estimated turnaround for the repair is 5-6 weeks.
On: 2003-08-25
The APEX 2500 for the price comes with a number features including DVD/MP3/Kodak CD/WMA. Not listed is it VCD compabilities which is a nice bonus. The picture for dvd play is good, but not great. The one real down point of this player is it is LOUD. A light humming noise comes from the player with a cd/dvd spins up. It isnt bad if you are on the sofa and the dvd player is on the TV, but if you are close to the player you do hear it. In all for the price and features, you cant really lose.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-08-20
I notice in the tech specs and the picture of the remote control that this one doesnt support PAL like the previous models.I hate it when a company like APEX also starts to make DVD players which limit cross-compatibility for somebody like me(who buys videos around the world. PAL and NTSC). I verified on the APEX website and saw that the AD-2500 that they have on their website supports both PAL and NTSC. The one on amazon doesnt!!
On: 2003-08-16
I was very disappointed with this product. This player has major cd wobble(this makes a very loud annoying hum. I have to eject and reseat the dvd untill it has a smooth seat, sometimes up to ten times). The audio skips in and out(on and off). So, as your watching it randomly cuts out audio. This is not at the same places on the same cd, it is random you can rewind it and then audio will be there but will skip out in another spot. These problems do not have anything to do with the dvd. it does it on every one, even brand new ones.
Although it does play many formats, which is a plus, this is not a quality product. Beware!!
On: 2003-08-11
Searched for a name brand dvd w/progressive scan and afew more extras such as playing PAL and being region code free! Not SONY, not PANASONIC, not RCA, not PHILLIPS, not SAMSUNG and only one JVC model[]did what the apex does so well! ITS PLAYS EVERYTHING FROM EVERYWHERE and PROGRESSIVE SCAN []wake up name brand makers! Apex lover for life!
by: Anonymous On: 2003-08-09
It is definitely a beautiful player. I only played VCD on it and it was working wonderfully. The first item shipped to me could not open the tray and I returned to get a replacement. Apex has a reputation of quality issues but I am taking my chance here. The power-off state has a red light on it and it is kind of annoying. It was also a little loud playing some disc. I also hooked up Y Pr Pb and try progressive scan on a DVD and it gave me a narrow small letter box with poor picture quality. I hope it is just because the DVD and will try a couple more today.
On: 2003-08-08
We ordered the first APEX AD-2500 and after two weeks it broke down (would not respond to the remote control). Amazon replaced it free of charge, but then 4 months later the new player broke as well (would not show the picture, though the sound continues coming). Very sad and a lot of hassle. I guess we get what we pay for, regardless of how many stars the product has :-)
On: 2003-08-06
All I can say is this machine is great. Buy it; you will love it. At this price, you have very little downside. I found the sound and picture to be great, and the operations were very simple.I bought this player because of the recommendations I read on this site; they were right on the money.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-08-05
I bought my Apex because of its high compatibilies and functions; it has that, but ... The player is of low quality build. The remote stopped working after about a month; the player has problem properly decoding after powering off after a few months. Then it has problem playing periold. And finally, the disk loading tray wont even open after less than 11 months. Its not worth the trouble with Apex DVD player; there are plenty of other brands that can play vcd and other formats.
On previous review, I gave it a 2 stars, but now that it has died, it deserves the 1 star that it is truly worth. Had I written a review a 2, 3 weeks after I bought the item, I would probably gave it 5 stars becuase of its attractive price and many features, but 2 weeks is not enough time to see the quality and reliability of a product. Stay away from Apex DVD player.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-08-03
Buy a cheap player, expect low quality!! I strongly recommend paying a little more for a better known brand with comparable features.1. Component output was not working on the unit I got. There was no signal on the PB channel. All my pictures were shades-of-red-only!!
2. I had to do a +2% tilt correction on my TV to get the picture orientation correct.
3. The disc tray is so shaky and fragile you feel that it will break at the slightest extra pressure.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-08-03
Ive had this player for about 2 months now, and Ive had very few problems with it. The picture quality is gorgeous and has plenty of outputs. A few problems though. It had problems reading my Friends Season 4 DVDs. Also, there are small sharp edges on the bottom of the player so watch out when you handle it. But other than that, the dvd player is an incredible bargain as it plays svcds, vcds, picture cds, mp3 cds, etc.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-08-03
I bought this unit from Amazon and was extremely disappointed by virtually everything of it.I will only provide here the Cons of this unit since there are NO Pros as far as I know of from three weeks of using (well, except saved myself ($$$) from a brand name). 1. The unit does not turn on after one press to the PROWER button. I have to press it two or three times as if it needs to be waken up slowly, which is ridiculous. 2. Extremely poor audio quality. I cannot describe the poor audio with words, as I could not believe what I heard from playing a top original CD with it. It has no detail, no cleanness or any kind of original imaging, as you would expect from a Sony or a Panasonic. 3. Bad design of the CD tray. It merely fits a CD or a DVD and as the tray slides in, it leaves no room on top from the LCD panel, I get worried of the scratched DVD every time I change. 4. The remote control is also badly designed and HAS NO PLAY BOTTON, which is substituted by the ENTER button. You will not find this kind of poor design on any brand name. 5. Poor video quality, last but not least, I am not happy with the video quality. I have used 5 Panasonic and 3 Sony, all of which provided me with much superior imaging. In all, I will stay away from cheap, unreliable brands such as this one. Spending ($$$) more for a Panasonic or Sony is not only worthwhile, but also necessary...
On: 2003-07-30
I bought this because 1) its cheap (plus no tax, free shipping), and 2) it has karaoke. For some reason, name brands such as Sony dont have that capability. Well, the karaoke works ok, definitely not like the audio you get at a karaoke bar, but good enough for home use. Besides capability of playing DVDs (even ones from China) and VCDs, I was surprised to see that it can play JPEGs. I scanned in many pictures and burned them on a CD, in different folders...and on the screen, you can choose any folder and view the contents. Needless to say, a great surprise!The only problem Im having is that I have to turn the machine on 2 times in order to get it to play. The first time, there is no display, and after turning it off and turning it on again, the display pops up. Strange...
On: 2003-07-21
I had a slightly older model. It too was very reasonable priced, but it had a weak remote. APEX wouldnt do anything about the weak remote, but I solved that problem with a programmable learning remote.
The DVD lasted just over a year- hardly longevity. Then I contacted APEX and it was so much to reapir, I decided just to replace it; but Ill be damned if I any buy anything from them again.
On: 2003-07-10
I Like to make SVCDs of the home movies that I have made and it plays it like there is no difference between that and a regular DVD! There is no way you can go wrong with this model!
by: Anonymous On: 2003-07-08
Apex is the best value in the market. I have used this unit for 3 month now and am very happy with it. It takes everything I throw at it. It replaced a Panasonic progressive unit which I owned for only a week. That Panasonic had hard time to read MP3 and JPEG discs I burned, but this Apex unit take them all with ease. a couple of DVDs I played had scratches all over and my DVD-ROM refuse to read. But this Apex read both like nothing is wrong. The only thing that I may wish it had is options on display mode. It has zoom function though. So if you play 2.35:1 on 4:3 TV, 2x zoom get you close to full screen, and if you play 1.8:1 then you have to watch in that format (which I prefer). Overall, a solid product with tons of features and unblievable price. I paid [$] but that was still a great great buy!
On: 2003-07-03
It does everything as advertised. Amazing DVD Player. The remote control could look better and the DVD tray could be a bit stronger but for its output it is worth it.
On: 2003-07-03
I have owned it for 6 months now. I was skeptical at first, but I was pleasantly surprised with the quality. I like the progressive scan part bz I have a HDTV TV. I viewed jpegs photo files. It even has a screen saver funtion. Despite the fact that I play it 5 hours a day (for my sons Baby Einstein dvd videos), it is still running strong. Im happy with the purchase.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-06-30
This is my first DVD player and I tend to do a lot of research on electronic components before I make a purchase so when a friend recommended I take a look at the APEX brand I decided to give it a shot. Mind you Im partial to SONY but Ive seen the quality on some sony models with HDTV and was not quite convinced. The test was to hook it up to a modulator for connectivity and I must say Im impressed. One problem though is to keep the video powered off or you will get feedback while playing a DVD. The picture quality and sound are great so far and the AFF feature is ok for those widescreen DVDs.Im keeping it simple for now until I really start to experiment and test its true capabilities. More to follow later.
On: 2003-06-30
This DVD player plays all formats, does JPGS and AVIs and so on. The only problem Ive had with it is the remote control. Pressing the power button; you need to be within 5 feet of the unit to power it on. You can be at a normal range to turn it off, but its the power on IR command that seems weak. Other than that, it has basic features and if your looking for a general DVD player, this is your winner.
On: 2003-06-29
Why 5 stars for this cheap DVD? Reasons:
1. Price so low and it come with remote control, other low-end DVDs price is 17% cheaper (means little difference for such price) but no remote control. Think like this, if this product can last for one year, it only cost you less than 17 cents per day. Even half year life wont cost you more than 33 cents per day.
2. It can read most CD-R and DVD... although the box stated its a Regional "One" DVD player.
3. If you still looking for more reasons than you should stop reading this... :-) just kidding... hey, setup is very simple and you dont need to read the manual, good enough?
Even AD-2600 is coming, its more expensive (but no much), and no Karaoke function. (Ok, be fair AD-2600 looks more slim and stylish, with more digital in / out but also less analog)Dark side:
1. Short 90 days labor warranty. (Parts warranty is 1 year) -- but I already did the calculation for you above. If it broke at the first 3 months, youre cover. If it broke after 4-6 months, blame yourself unlucky and dump it. If this player broke after 1 year, why upset? Just buy another new one then.
2. Quality problem -- very common in China made machines, its pure luck to decide you got a good or bad one. I tried my siss first before I brought mine, her machine CD tray in and out is not smooth (with small click sound) even its not serious. But a problem is a problem -- it will only go worst as time go by.
3. The advertisment of the box said it can change the 16:9 movie to 4:3 but it didnt happened to my VCD... may be DVD ok? I dont know... This is not a fancy DVD player as Sony or Pansonic, even the remote looks cheap; but for this price, I can bear with it...
Also, Amazon delivery is lighting fast...within a week I could enjoy all CD and DVD in my bed.
On: 2003-06-27
Apex has a 90-day warranty.....ours fried after 4 months. Repair is more expensive than a new machine. Do not burden yourself with this nonsense....buy something that works for longer than a few months.
Not to mention: slow to respond to remote control, flimsy construction, poor substitute for a real cd music player with a good display, etc.....
On: 2003-06-27
I bought my first Apex (model 500) over 2 years ago for $100. I was amazed to discover later that it not only plays standard DVDs, but also VCD, SVCD and more recently DVD-R that I have authored!! I still have it. So when I saw the AD2500 for [item price] and free shipping, I immediately bought 2. This model offers progressive scan as well as component video output and it still plays all of my home-authored VCD, SVCD and DVD-R!! This is an incredible value, specially when you know that most name-brand DVD players DO NOT play VCD, SVCD, DVD-R, etc. So the AD2500 is the BEST product if you are looking for excellent video output as well as compatibility with every home-produced video format you can think of (except DivX, which I have not tried that yet!) and every brand of DVD-R disk!! There is only one item that is not as good as before: the remote control!
On: 2003-06-27
I bought this player for karaoke functions. Its sad most DVD players in US dont carry this feature...but anyway, im compelled to write this review not because its mic function is so fabulous, but because ive been able to play many DVDs that were not playable on me and my friends laptop (Sony grv550 and Dell 4150, both bought during Xmas 6 months ago)Just a few examples, my sony grv550 would skip on the 21st chapter of Die Another Day and my friend(college roommate)s dell would not play the Ring 2 (US version) we bought from Blockbuster. Both discs work flawlessly on Apex. I dont know, but its just frustrating when the playback is not smooth (pause/resume,etc) and the dvd drive is highly sensitive and only accept the perfectly maintained discs. I also tried mp3, karaoke discs (vcd, mtv), audio cd, and pic CD. Everything works flawlessly. The unit is not the sleekest, but definitely blends w/ home theater system and the remote is a bit confusing at first, but its no big deal. As long as you dont get a defective unit (i noticed some reviewers are among the unlucky few), you cant possibly go wrong w/ this feature rich, COMPATIBLE(plays everything i throws at it), and low price player. Oh yea, the karaoke function works very well, and it comes w/ two microphone inputs.
On: 2003-06-25
Well, I just got my Dvd player yesterday in the mail and after I played the first Dvd. It worked excellent, no color problems no skipping or it blinking off. But when I played the second dvd for some odd reason the color kept going from light to dark, and the dvd would blink off to this blue. Its very hard to explain. You can still see the movie but when the dvd blinks, this blue would appear and that was on and off throughout the entire movie. So I decided that it must be the cd, because why would the dvd player do that if I just got it. So I cleaned the dvd but it continued. So I played a third dvd and and it worked just fine like the first one. So Im guessing that maybe its just certain dvds that works in this dvd player. But overall despite the problem with the second dvd. I think that it was a pretty good dvd player, especially for the price.Probably in about 2 months I am going to write another review just to inform everyone on how this dvd player is working. But anyway peace and God Bless :)
by: Anonymous On: 2003-06-20
I should have known that this was a horrible machine. It worked fine for a couple months then one night it just fried. By the time this had happened the store wouldnt take it back as it was too long. I wrote the company a couple times with NO responce. HORRIBLE COMPANY. I have gone to stores and see this brand on display and most of the buttons will have fallen off. That should warn people about this horrible product.
On: 2003-06-17
When I was looking for a dvd player one of my main concerns was finding one that could play my burnt VCDs. This one plays anything, Im impressed. My only complaint is that its HUGE, if I knew it would be so big I wouldnt have brought it.
On: 2003-06-15
I bought 2 of these bad boys but I had to return one. The one I returned had a big dent on the top of the case (maybe I get the Dickensons one... see their review). I thought I could live with the dent but about 8 days later, I no longer got video signals no matter what I did - neither switching discs and cables, pressing the I/P button, nor swearing at it helped any bit.The 2nd one is still working fine (knock on wood - 10 days and counting) and plays everything I throw at it! I would have given this player a full 5 stars based on value and supported formats/features but my experience with the first kinda spoiled it for me. A couple of side notes:
1) If youre using component video cables, go to setup and change your video setting if the video has a red/pink tint to it.
2) The burnt plastic smell and the buzzing from the disc tray is unfortunately a normal thing...
On: 2003-06-15
This DVD, Apex 2500 is absolutely awesome! Nothing beats this further. I bought an Apex 1200 few months ago after reading some reviews but when I brought it home, everything was functioning well except for playing VCDs. So I had to return it as I was looking for some real budget DVD player which could also play VCDs. I did alot of research and luckily for me, I stumbled upon this 2500 model and after reading the reviews and doing enough research, I clicked the " buy " buttom. This dvd player is just like a monster. It can practically play anything. Yes, anything from DVD to VCD, Mpeg files, MP3 files, Cd-r and Kodak Picture. At first I did not really believe those reviews as I had a bad experience once, but this time, I am really glad that this player is the best one can ever ask for. Its small, its light, its cheap! yes, very very affordable, considering the amount of features it has and most importantly, it can play almost anything! Buy now, wait no further. If you still considering for a DVD player, this will be the best buy. Even if you dont like the brand, trust its features, it will shock you tremendously.
On: 2003-06-13
I used to be an audio/videophile that believed in buying high end brands. Not anymore! The difference in quality between low cost & high end DVD players is very hard to perceive unless you have the training of an expert and the high end equipment to tell the difference. Almost all DVD players today use the same DVD decoder chips that are made by just a few major companies, so the electronics are basically the same.I wanted a cheap player that would handle playing movies, home videos, and music (CD, MP3 and WMA) on any media format (DVD, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW). It does all that I wanted, and it exceeded my expections with the nice menu screen for playing back MP3s & WMA. Now I have it all: I can watch rented DVD movies, playback my kids home videos burned onto DVD, and listen to the equivalent of 30 CDs that I ripped into MP3 or WMA on 1 CD (better than a carosel CD player!). As long as it lasts a few years, Ill be happy.
On: 2003-06-08
My player is just out of the box, and I understand from reading the other reviews I only have a 50/50 chance of it surviving very long, but I dont care... this thing is amazing. Ive spent I dont know how many hundreds of hours screwing around with jpeg slide-show programs, ripping and encoding vcds that my expensive DVD player didnt like, having to convert and burn music cds from my mp3 files... and on and on.
So now for all of [item price] I get a piece of hardware that hooks up to my tv and plays almost every type of media that exists! Thanks to these cheapo players from Asian mystery companies, I can only assume that the big companies will have no choice but to follow suit with reliable, inexpensive players of thier own.
This is the future, and it should have been here a long time ago. The future is cheap, universal hardware, not a zillion different third-party applications that force you through countless contortions on your computer so you can watch your media in your living room. Huzzah!
by: Anonymous On: 2003-06-06
This is a pretty good DVD player. The Picture is Awesome when its working and the sound is outstanding. Perfect for surround sound (5.1). Everything worked good with a few exceptions. After about 60 minutes of watching a DVD the sound gave out through the optical. Now that doesnt work at all anymore but the analog is still ok. Movie often freeze and frames get skipped, as if too much information was being read by the laser. Mp3 sounds great but some songs would skip on a perfectly clean CD. VCDs dont play too well on this player. Overall this is an "ok" product for 60 dollars. Everything else works fine so far. But Id go with a major name brand next time. I will probably return this item soon.
On: 2003-06-05
If I had seen Apex sooner, I could have saved hundreds of dollars when I purchased my RCA and Samsung models.
I am really happy with this model and I was extremely surprised that it had a karaoke system. Its not as good as my Pioneer, because the echo quality isnt there, however, I cant complain for the price. Its a great back up!
I like being able to play vcds,mp3s,view photo albums etc.
I was so pleased, that I had to order one for my father.
I plan on purchasing another one to replace my broken model in the bedroom.
What good is paying a lot of money for some of the big name brands when they dont perform as well? Are extremely sensitive to slightly scratched rented dvds by freezing up.
This model has not done that!
For my experience, Id recommend it and use your savings for something exciting.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-06-03
Ive had this DVD player for about 2 months, and its worked great so far with one exception. On some dvd movies the motor in the dvd player starts to vibrate. The sound can be annoying unless you turn the volume up. After a few minutes, the noise goes away. The dvd player has paused for a few seconds on a couple of movies. This is acceptable. Ive watched an est. of 20 dvd movies with this player so far. Also, Ive owned the dvd player for about 3 months. The video quality is excellent. Home dvds played fine on the player. I dont use the dvd to play mp3s, vcd, or other formats. I wouldnt buy it as the main dvd player for a home theater setup due to the vibration on some dvds (unless its just my dvd player.) Its kind of embarrassing(the vibration) if you have visitors over, but its a good second dvd player for the price. Btw. Netflix rocks. If you rent a lot of dvd movies at blockbuster, you may want to look into Netflix. Extremely easy to use and you can go rental crazy. Dont want to pay 4 dollars to see a movie you know you probably wont like, but you have a curiosity to see it ...Netflix may be for you.
On: 2003-05-31
The price was right and the picture was good. However, I was forced to return two of these DVD players as the first arrived with a large dent in the casing. The replacement arrived with a larger dent in the casing, but on the opposite side. Both boxes were in perfect condition along with the internal packing material. This leads me to believe the item was boxed up and sent this way from the factory. The price is low but I guess the adage holds true that you get what you pay for. Its a shame as Im sure a lot of work went into packing this many features into a unit and keeping the price as low as they have.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-05-30
My overall experience with this system and company is very low because of the following reasons: the system broke down after 3 weeks of min. use, the company does not pay for shipping for the item under warranty, the call to request the status of item to be fixed is long distance call, the website for the company is not accessible for information through both major browsers (the front web page is accessible but the information for products are not), it takes a long time for them to try to fix a product (3-4 weeks) but at the end of the period they claim product is not under warranty because of some minute detail. I also feel this product was engineered without considering the heat issues; therefore breaking down early. Next time, I will only consider name brand products to avoid the non-professionalism.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-05-30
Well, so far everything looks lovely. The unit plays many formats as advertised, most impressive of all: raw mpeg files (non-vcd encoded). ...The unit is new to my posession, so Id like to comment on a few things immediately noticeable: 1. When powered off, the unit has a bold red light signifying its current status. Its large and abrassive, and throws the humbled look of my predominantly-dark-colored stereo gear way off. Ive since covered it with a sticker and it has helped increase the ambiance of the entertainment center. 2. The drive opens and closes very slow. Not only slow, it retracts and extends with a pathetic whine. One must question the drive tray motors life expectancy. Additionally, the tray when fully extended, is still a bit submerged within the units actual innards. As you insert a disc onto the tray, you have to guide the disc somwehat inside the dvd unit, and down onto the tray so as not to scratch the disc. Id much prefer the tray extend outward well enough that a disc simply be placed onto the tray without having to worry about potentially scratching. Still, these points aside, the unit is well worth the small investment. However, the unit serves as an additional player within my gear, and not the primary player. Admittedly, this is my first Apex purchase and I am a bit suscpicious. But keep these points in mind. It receives a 4-star rating from this 1st week owner.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-05-30
The remote on my Apex DVD player stopped working after just few weeks; this leave me unable to navigate the menu since there is only a few buttons on the player itself.DVD player has problem waking after Power Off; the player would not decode properly, so the picture would be scrambled. I have to turn on and off several times to get it functional again. So basically you have to leave the player on all the time to avoid this problem. Good compatibilities, can play vcd without problem. Although it can view JPEG, it would distorted the ratio to fit into the TV frame, so its basically useless for picture viewing.
On: 2003-05-28
As soon as I turn on and put any video formate, it will play. I love it and you will love it too. Buy it for this low price and enjoy it.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-05-22
This is my first DVD player. Its cheap and it has been working great for me so far. I wish it comes with an alternative color such as black because my other components (Tv, vcr, receiver) are black. The only odd thing about it is the remote control which I dont understand why. I can not power it on from my sofa which is about 15 feet away. I have to get close to the DVD player to power it on. Power off and all other buttons are OK from my sofa. May be APEX designers thought that the first thing people would do is to put in a DVD or change a DVD. In other to do that they have to be right in front of the DVD player. So no need to suck the alot of battery power to power the DVD player on. Who knows...may be its a defect in the product.
On: 2003-05-17
I was a little wary of buying something with the name Apex on it, but after I got it hooked up I was glad I did. The picture is gorgeous and the features are outstanding for such a low price. The instructions are a little hard to understand, and can lead to a lot of frustration. For the reviewer who had problems with the red lines; the problem can be fixed by changing the output from s-video to component. The only thing about the dvd player I didnt like was the fact that when using dolby digital, you cannot get secondary audio via the red and white cables at the same time. No biggie though. I am definetly satisfied.
On: 2003-05-16
This DVD player is wonderful! The picture is soooo very clear and it seems to play everything!!! It was easy to install, easy to use, and has truly fantastic features. Did I mention just how clear the picture is??? :-) My God, but its clear! We have another name brand DVD player (starts with an "S") that we paid $$$ for, and this Apex player outshines it!! For the price, why not buy TWO!??!?! Two top knotch players for the price of one!!!!!!!!! I know Im considering it.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-05-16
I just got one myself. And its not true that people hints/ siad about its a region free player....This is NOT a all region DVD Player. Where are you from, "davidxwang from Pittsburgh, PA USA" ? What did you do with it to make this region free?
On: 2003-05-15
This player is a [bargain] at only its price. It can play anything you throw at it and still under 100. This company is building a very good among many people for its ability to give what people want. I have tested this out with everything from VCDs to DVDRs. This thing plays everything and is has PROGRESSIVE SCAN!! Even the players over $100 cant even do as much stuff as this player can. It also has automatic Pal to Ntsc screen so dont worry if you bought a Pal Vcd and afraid it will play in B&W. You have nothing to worry since it will change it up for you. The remote is really nice and a much big improvement from the old Apex 1500. The remote doesnt even have to be aimed straight at it for it to do its thing. Very nice. People dont know what theyre missing out on if they pass this one up!!
by: Anonymous On: 2003-05-14
Mistakenly I bought this player thinking that it played multi- region DVDs - it doesnt. Definitely not a sexy machine and the remote is basic looking also find that the signal strengh from the remote is poor. Main drawback for me was the menu to select mp3s. When playing a mp3 file you cannot browse the collection of mp3s without first stopping the file being played.Picture is great and sound too. For the price its a good player , not great.
On: 2003-05-03
I just recently discovered and purchased the Apex AD-2500 Progressive-Scan DVD Player. Ive been searching for one that would play the variety of formats I use, and when I discovered it would actually DO MORE than what it claimed, (unlike many descriptions of other players), I snapped it up. It plays VCD, SVCD, DVD, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW (the biggest surprise!), plus Kodak picture disks, WMA, MP3 and Karoke! A lot of player for the money. Its too new (to me) yet to comment on its durability, but so far, so good.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-05-01
Apex AD-2500 Progressive Scan DVD Player key strengths are: (1) Picture quality, (2) Integrated feature set; and (3) Multiformat. Picture quality is bright and vibrant, colors are reasonably well saturated and balanced, with images being decently detailed with satisfactory contrast and shadow delineation. Even with DVDs of my home made movies, aliasing problems, moire patterns and pixel fragmentation were minimal. The setup menu provides access to a well laid out menu, and all features can be set through software. For example, unlike my Pioneer 525, which has a manual switch on the back of the unit, I can change between S-Video and component video conveniently through software with the remote control. Although the instructions advise to not have all cables (RCA, S-Video and Component) connected at once, I encountered no problems doing so. The major features are complementary and work well together. Lastly, the multiformat enables the unit to play everything from commercial DVDs to DVD-R/W. Dolby Digital 5.1 is OK with 2 speakers but a tad weak with surround; system probably needs a bit more wattage to generate a more completely immersive listening experience.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-04-23
This is a superb DVD player, as good as my Sony one. I like specially the ability to play almost any formats. Not to mention DVD, VCD, oddly enough, it also plays my jpg album CDs as silde shows -- enjoy watching my vacation pictures on a 36" Sony TV! AFF feature is found much more useful on my tiny 20" bedroom TV than the 36" TV when watching those widescreen DVD movies. The only problem I found with the unit is, when playing unbalanced DVDs (like those with librarys anti-thief tag attached), the motor makes a lot of noise.
On: 2003-04-21
... This is the most full featured DVD player on the market today. Not only does it flawlessly play every one of the advertised formats (DVD, VCD, SVCD, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, and HDCD-encoded discs... all of which can be on burned CDs, I burned a 400mb .mpg file all by itself (not in VCD format) onto a CD-R and popped it in. It showed right up in the list that would normally be used for MP3s. Hit play on the icon.... played just fine! Also, for VCD or SVCDs that dont have "chapters" like a normal DVD to jump to, this player will actually scan through the disc and create its own 15 pictured indexes for you!
On: 2003-04-19
I bought this one recently because I read the review and someone said it played all region dvd. But it is not, so im very disappointed with it. The buttons dont work very smoothly.
On: 2003-04-17
This player rock. I own Lasonic and Apex600A DVD players they both still working but I need a new toy that can play just about format out there. To my surprise Apex AD-2500 really impress me. It plays almost anything you put in, (except divx). No freeze, no disc noise, well contructed - well made, great video quality output, progressivescan is big plus although I dont have HDTV yet, it plays mpeg, wma, vcd, svcd, mp3,and other cool stuff such as full karaoke functions for those who love to sing and view photo with Jpeg and Kodak picture cd. I tested all of them out and believe me this thing work. In a word....WOOOOW!!!!!
by: Anonymous On: 2003-03-31
It works great for playing vcd, svcd, dvdr etc. However out of 5 that I ordered 2 either didnt power on or did not play vcd/svcd etc...after dealing with the return process and having to wait I finally have 3 that actually work...and they work great so far. I recommend it for saving some $ but be sure to totally test it when you get it.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-03-27
This DVD player is probably the best value one Ive seen so far. It has more features than you can imagine. Some most useful features for me are:1) it plays all regions DVDs. DVDs and VCDs from Asia didnt play in my Panasonic player but no trouble here. Not all Apex DVD players are region free. ... 2) For U.S. DVDs, you can switch from wide-screen picture to full-screen picture at a press of a remote button. 3)Two microphones can be connected for karaoke. 4) Kodak picture CD works on this player too. (I havent tried it yet) ...
On: 2003-03-15
This DVD player is the best one I ever had. Its like the ultimate multimedia machine. It even played the VCDs that my Panasonic DVD player (which only played DVDs and VCDs) couldnt play and much much more. I am a fan of karaoke, and to my surprise, this Apex player evens plays CD+Gs! There even a couple of jacks in the front to plug in microphones.I also think that its ability to play Photo CDs is remarkable. I have a few Kodak picture CDs, and before I could only play them on my computer, but not anymore! I have learned that Apex is a good brand, and the only brand I know that plays photo CDs. What will they think of next?
by: Anonymous On: 2003-02-07
This DVD player has the ablility to play pretty much every format you can imagine but the main feature for this DVD I think is the Progressive Scan capability. The bad news is, it doesnt work well at all with my Sony HDTV. The screen keeps flickers everytime when I switch from Interlace to Progressive mode. So if all you want is to have the ability watch VCD, SVCD, DVD...etc., might as well get a cheaper Apex instead.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-01-28
Where did you guys buy this product from the US? I cannot find it anywhere.
On: 2003-01-25
I owned a Toshiba DVD player for three years.
However, it couldnt play CDR/DVD- R, so I decided
to get a new toy. I first bought a Sony NS315 from
Circuity City, for according the ads, the Sony
plays DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW, it was cheap too
(...) and I had always worshiped Japanese brands
(all my electronics are made by Sony, Panasonic or
Toshiba, except my last MP3 player, the Iriver ifp
180t, found in Best buy). Then one day I saw a
review on [Amazon.com], for the same price, the Apex
2500 plays everything! I love the word
"everything", so I decided to give Apex 2500 a
try. I searched the net, though Sears advertised
it on its web, the local store didnt carry it. I
ended up ordering one by mail from J&R in New York
(...).I got this unit two days ago, and I found I am
obligated to write my experience here. In summary,
I am more than satisfied, it is an astonishing
unit, full of surprises! 1. Amazing picture, better than that from my Sony
or Toshiba. 2. Plays MPEG movies: when plays MPG movies, the
quality is comparable with that on my computer,
even better than the output of my computer when
using a TV! (I have a regular Panasonic TV, no a
progressive one). 2. Plays DVD-R/RW (not sure about DVD+R/RW). 3. Plays PAL DVDs. I didnt expect this! Just
tried on some DVDs friends brought me from China,
Thailand and Canada and it plays them all. 4. Plays JPEG pictures: the picture quality is very
impressive. 5. Progressive scan: I dont have a high
definition TV, not benefitting from this feature,
but it doesnt hurt. 6. Plays MP3/WMA. 7. Plays CDR/RW. 8. Karaoke capabilities built right in: there are
two microphone inputs. I didnt expect these
neither. Another surprise! 9. Optical/Coaxial/S-video/Dolby, all the usual good stuff. 10. For those interested, it could display menu in Chinese. 11. Stylish: yes, sexy and good looking! 12. Cheap, cheap and cheap: ... for all the above features! I am going to return the Sony. no more superstitious
on Japanese brands! Weakness: the audio output maybe not be as
impressive as my Toshiba; The buttons
on remote control could be more intuitive and meaningful.
On: 2002-12-15
I bought the Apex AD2500 because of its laundry list of features/compatibilities. Those of the brand names with similar features were priced twice or more. I have had it for about 1 month now, and I am yet to see/experience those problems reported by others. I recommend it to anyone that want the best/most for the buck. The decision to buy the AD-2500 versus any other on the same price range was not a simple one because I already has Sharp-701 which plays every other VCDs & no CD-R support. Also, after reading several negative reviews on Apex and other DVDs from various sites. Then I was reminded that the world of consumer electronics has no absolute best equipment out there. Despite all the marketing hype being thrown at consumers by media giants like sony, jvc, and the rest. The fact is, every electronic equipment has its short-coming --- yes including the brand names. They are all subject to malfunction at some point with or without proper care. A perfect reminder is my $450 JVC VCR with such silly features like Jog-shuttle remote, (which a sane person may never-ever use) which gave up one month after my $36 extended warranty expired. Talking of Apex breakdowns, several factors other than manufacturer defect can be responsible, such as storage/delivery mishandling, or the ultimate one---USER-ERRORs. I know a guy that will NEVER border to read the manufacturers notes/instructions first, instead prefers fiddling with the equipment until he run into problem (often serious damage) before thinking of flipping thru the documentions. At the end such user will blame it on the product. The documentations are included for a reason, use it first before applying your technical skills. Functionally, all DVDs may be the same but setup/operations varies.
On: 2002-12-14
I bought the Apex AD2500 because of its laundry list of features/compatibilities. Those of the brand names with similar features were priced twice or more. I have had it for about 1 month now, and I am yet to see/experience those problems reported by others. I recommend it to anyone that want the best/most for the buck.
The decision to buy the AD-2500 versus any other on the same price range was not a simple one because I already has Sharp-701 which plays every other VCDs & no CD-R support. Also, after reading several negative reviews on Apex and other DVDs from various sites. Then I was reminded that the world of consumer electronics has no absolute best equipment out there. Despite all the marketing hype being thrown at consumers by media giants like sony, jvc, and the rest. The fact is, every electronic equipment has its short-coming --- yes including the brand names. They are all subject to malfunction at some point with or without proper care. A perfect reminder is my $450 JVC VCR with such silly features like Jog-shuttle remote, (which a sane person may never-ever use) which gave up one month after my $36 extended warranty expired. Talking of Apex breakdowns, several factors other than manufacturer defect can be responsible, such as storage/delivery mishandling, or the ultimate one---USER-ERRORs. I know a guy that will NEVER border to read the manufacturers notes/instructions first, instead prefers fiddling with the equipment until he run into problem (often serious damage) before thinking of flipping thru the documentions. At the end such user will blame it on the product. The documentations are included for a reason, use it first before applying your technical skills. Functionally, all DVDs may be the same but setup/operations varies.
=================================
[UPDATE: Sep04/2008]
-6 years later my Apex AD-2500 is still kicking like no mans business; despite brutal attack by my 5-year old who pops DVDs in and out several times a day, even when no one is watching the video.
On: 2002-12-13
This will play any thing... DVD-Rs, DVD-RWs, DVD+Rs, DVD+RWs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs.MP3, WMA, Kodak, Jpeg, VCD, SVCD compatible. Progressive Scan, and more... Best DVD Player you can buy for the money although you can buy it at [local store for $.]
On: 2002-11-30
The Progressive Scan picture is Awesome! It does my HDTV flat screen TV justice!
The AFF feature turns any wide screen DVD picture into full screen eliminating the cut off top and bottom portion of the picture.But most of all! Finally a Progressive Scan DVD player that actually plays MP3s randomly (shuffle). When you can lay down about 140 MP3 songs on one CD why should they only let you play them one order. This great player will actually let you play MP3s randomly! I have waited a long time for this fabulous DVD/MP3 player! I am a very picky gadget man and have bought and returned several DVD players after I have found out they fell short in on area or another. (This occurred many times since most sales people did not know what an MP3 file was never mind whether the DVD player would be able to play them in random order if desired.) This DVD player has exceeded my every expectation! Excellent Progressive Scan Picture. Plays MP3s the way they should be - Randomly!
On: 2002-11-18
The High-resolution Progressive Scan picture is Awesome! It does my HDTV flat screen TV justice!The Apex Full-screen Function feature turns any wide screen DVD picture into full screen eliminating the cut off top and bottom portion of the picture. Plays DVD, VCD, SVCD, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, and HDCD-encoded discs It can let you view JPEG Picture files and pictures on any Kodak picture-CD The Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel digital output (for immerse surround sound when used with a compatible AV receiver) provides awesome sound. 4 x zoom and 8 x fast forward work well and the picture remains sharp. But most of all! Finally a Progressive Scan DVD player that actually plays MP3s randomly (shuffle). When you can lay down about 140 MP3 songs on one CD why should they only let you play them one order. This great player will actually let you play MP3s randomly! I have waited a long time for this fabulous DVD/MP3 player! I am a very picky gadget man and have bought and returned several DVD players after I have found out they fell short in on area or another. (This occurred many times since most sales people did not know what an MP3 file was never mind whether the DVD player would be able to play them in random order if desired.) This DVD player has exceeded my every expectation! No I do not work nor have any affiliation with APEX Digital I just am very pleased with a product that finally does everything I want and more!
by: Anonymous On: 2002-08-26
Great DVD. Progressive Scan is a must. Yes, a must, especially if u plan to get a digital TV (which u will believe me, the world is moving to those).Apex rules DVD!
On: 2002-05-23
This dvd player will play anything you throw at. All my collection of mp3,VCD,SVCD,DVD-R and DVD-RW all play in this machine that my Pioneer DV 333 will not. I am big name shopper who like to shop top of the line electronic from panasonic, sony, and pioneer. But his Apex proves me that I am wrong. This player accepted most comprehensive media format including my Kodak CD slide show created from my digital camera download. I even downloaded funny TV ads in Window media player and burn into a CD and Yeah..it plays on this DVD player. I even surprise to see that my music DVD created with Sonic DVDit SE in PCM ( uncompressed format) plays too. Now I think I wont be shopping another dvd player with multi format support for a longer time.I am getting another one for my parents.
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