Argh! I've been pretty happy with the 500wm I picked up for about 79$. It's come in pretty handy for playing MP3 CDs and the like as well. The new silver Apex player I've seen floating around walmart is excrutiatingly cute as well.
It's not really that hard to figure out why people buy them. It's hard to screw up how a DVD works. If you are decoding it properly, then it looks right.
The only people I hear saying there is a difference between an Apex at $79 and a Sony at $500 are the people that bought a Sony at $500.
I guess it's hard to admit you got ripped off.
(My Apex synchronizes exactly the same as my friend Robb's $500 Sony DVD player - in fact, if either of us have a problem with Dialogue sync, it's his DVD player, not mine.)
I bought a "piece of crap" DVD player about 3 years ago for $140 bucks at Circuit City. The average one at that time was $400 or more. My friend used to laugh at my Oritron(that's the brand name), but his expensive Sony DVD player has since taken a shit on him while mine is still working fine. Sucker.
I'm actually deciding what my birthday/new job present to myself will me. An XM system for my car (although the portable one you can take inside to your stereo) or an all-region DVD player (I want the British Region 2 Futurama box set).
We have an Apex and a Mintek(sp?) in our house, both the el cheapo brands, and they work just fine. No complaints whatsoever.
"You used it to shove your miserable daughter down our throats week in and week out...not anymore!" - Ric Flair gives me hope, Raw 3/18/02
"I thought it was cool how HHH just tossed Jericho out of the ring and made him vanish, possibly into another dimension, at the end of the match." - Dr. Unlikely says the funniest thing I've ever read on Wienerville.
I've heard secondhand that XM is the land of Clear Channel... if you have ever lived in a town dominated by them (like San Diego) you might want to consider that before picking up the XM service.
Then again, this could be totally wrong. It is secondhand.
The main reason(s) I want XM is that I have a 6-hour drive once a month and am not always in radio range of an ESPN station. That's coupled with the fact that the local ESPN station here stinks, with too many interruptions for stuff I don't care about (local shows, minor league baseball, women's basketball for god's sake). I really don't want it for anything else: all the music stations and whatnot are just a bonus.
And I usually buy a book on tape when I drive for the in-between times and they cost more than the $10/month XM fee (after buying the unit that is).
Originally posted by odessasteps I'm actually deciding what my birthday/new job present to myself will me. An XM system for my car (although the portable one you can take inside to your stereo) or an all-region DVD player (I want the British Region 2 Futurama box set).
XM is getting a reputation as "the trucker's radio" for its' nationwide service. But, as Guru Zim pointed out, it does have a Clear Channel quality in that many channels like to repeat the same tracks over and over again. Also, the signal has problems dealing with tunnels and urban canyons (I understand that the angle of the signal is too low to the ground, which allows tall structures to block the signal). I'd check the terrain of your six-hour drive before buying XM.
As far as a multi-region DVD player - do you have a perfectly functional DVD player already? If so, think long and hard about whether or not you would need the multi-region decoding enough to offset the cost.
Steph
I'm going twenty-four hours a day...I can't seem to stop - "Turn Up The Radio", Autograph
"Clear Channel quality"? Hell, it has Clear Channel FORMATS. "Mix". "KISS". Those are Clear Channel trademarks they're putting into a bunch of their markets. I think the XM propaganda I saw even used the Clear Channel "Mix" and "KISS" logos.
On the other hand, now you can travel across Nebraska and get a consistent Art Bell instead of flipping back and forth between a half dozen stations as they all fade up and down...
Yeah, it seems Clear Channel has their hand deep into XM. Sucks to be a music fan.
Originally posted by JobbermanI bought a "piece of crap" DVD player about 3 years ago for $140 bucks at Circuit City. The average one at that time was $400 or more. My friend used to laugh at my Oritron(that's the brand name), but his expensive Sony DVD player has since taken a shit on him while mine is still working fine. Sucker.
Your Oritron still works...mine took a dump a while ago. It still works, its just incredibly temperamental. I like to hear that these Apex players are good. That will probably be my next player, I just wish they were DVD-R compatable.
When my time on earth is done, and my activities have passed. I want them to bury me upside down, so my critics can kiss my ass. Bobby Knight
Got my Apex as an Xmas gift and has been doing great. Hooked it up to my old ass Sony Home Theatre...7 years and still kicking ass and it rocks as much as my friends $400 Panasonic Dvd's. Though i do have a little problem with the control remote. It has a very short range sometimes, others i can use it from across the room nicely...anyone has this prob also?