I had an Apex AD-660 for, damn, about 6 or 7 years now. I had flashed the bios & everything to remove region & etc. although I never did the JPEG update. All of a sudden today my wife says it won't power on & the power led just flashes when we try to manually engage it. I will see if I can get it running again, at least to get her brit com dvd out of the player, but I think this old dog has passed on.

That all being said, I wanted to ask what you folks would recommend.

NOTE: I don't have a HDTV but I am setting aside some money & perhaps next year I can get one.

So with an eye towards an HD future, should I get an Upconvert player? I can't really justify dropping tons of cash on a HD/BR dvd player.

I would like a player that played mp3, & images as well (if possible).

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Most upconvert players require a HDMI input to work as an upconverter, so you won't get anything out of it until you actually get a HDTV with an HDMI input.  If you do get an upconvert model, the Samsung is good.

Quoted: Most upconvert players require a HDMI input to work as an upconverter, so you won't get anything out of it until you actually get a HDTV with an HDMI input.  If you do get an upconvert model, the Samsung is good.

The player itself need a HDMI input?

Or do you mean the upconvert process only works when you send the signal to the tv via HDMI?

Sorry I'm confused about this.

Thanks!

Good luck finding one that isn't upconverting even if you wanted. All but the very, very cheapest DVD players now are "upconverting" players. $40 would get you a Philips upconverting a few months back. If you're up in the $150 range, may as well look into HD DVD. Some models can be found for that price now, and they all upconvert standard DVD as well.

ETA- The wal-mart cheapo Philips model I mentioned will do JPEG, DIVX, and MP3 I believe. As far as HDMI, you'll likely need that once you get an HDTV and can use the upconverting feature. For now it won't matter to you (just hook it up like your old player and get an HDMI cable once you get HDTV).

Quoted: Quoted: Most upconvert players require a HDMI input to work as an upconverter, so you won't get anything out of it until you actually get a HDTV with an HDMI input.  If you do get an upconvert model, the Samsung is good. The player itself need a HDMI input? Or do you mean the upconvert process only works when you send the signal to the tv via HDMI? Sorry I'm confused about this. Thanks!

To make the upconvert process work, your TV will have to be hooked to the player via an HDMI hookup.

pioneer elite DVD player.  If you get a new 1080p TV it will do some upconverting of its own.

I got this one: Sony upconverting from amazon



I got into HDTV early mainly for cable HD broadcasts, so my 5 year old Sony TV is only 1080i capable.  Doesn't do 1080P.  Used a HDMI to DVI cable to pipe the signal from the player to my TV.  Pleased as heck with it.  

When my TV dies and I upgrade to a 1080P, then I'll get a HD or Blu-ray, meanwhile I'll watch the format wars until then

Thanks for the help explaining everything.

I was thinking about a Philips DVP 5982 as my folks have one of those, but I will check out these others as well.

Damn hard to keep on top of everything these days.

The best value I can recommend is the Magnavox BDP170MW8 for less than $30.00, I am impressed with it bigtime, and if it takes a shit it only cost me $30.00 at Walmart.

If you do not have a new HDTV LCD Plasma, the cheapest you can find.

I Just bought a Panasonic DMR-EZ47V I couldn't be happier. VCR/DVD recorder and 1080P DVD up-converter. Works great. Also has a digital tuner. 240.00 on Amazon... Check it out.....
KDX

Link!

Get 10 Free HD DVDs with Selected HD DVD Players @ Amazon.com