Low end DVD advice

[waynemk]

A friend who knows I'm into A/V asked me for some advice on a $100 DVD player. I live to research and demo equipment but have no experience at this price point so I would appreciate someone's advice.

She currently has a "twenty something inch" tv that doesn't appear to have s-video inputs. She will be asking for a little bigger LCD later this year for her bday from her Ps. I am going to recommend a Philips DVP5960/37 to her. It doesnt have s-video out but that isn't an issue as what she has can't take it and what she will get will have HDMI.

Anyone have good/bad input on the unit or a better sugestion? Upsampling/HDMI is not critical but would future proof her purchase especially since she will be asking for an LCD.

 

[j_garcia]

The obvious choice would probably be the Oppo 970HD with HDMI at $149. Considering her current TV doesn't have HD capability, this player will likley be fine for her and when she gets the LCD, she will be all set.

 

[waynemk]

Yah that was my first thought but she is pretty solid about the $100 mark.

 

[Nick250]

What ever the $60ish Panasonic or Sony is. For a basic system I seen no advantage in spending more.

Nick

 

[j_garcia]

Check out the offerings from Panasonic then. I've owned 3 or 4 of their ~$100 players and was never disappointed with them. The S-77 got a decent review at Secrets, though I think it has been discontinued, which means a new model should be coming. The F-87, a 5 disc carousel, is still available. Sony was better with their interlaced players, but their recent low dollar progressive players just seem really cheap recently (not garbage, but not great either).

 

[Tomorrow]

Check out the offerings from Panasonic then. I've owned 3 or 4 of their ~$100 players and was never disappointed with them. The S-77 got a decent review at Secrets, though I think it has been discontinued, which means a new model should be coming. The F-87, a 5 disc carousel, is still available. Sony was better with their interlaced players, but their recent low dollar progressive players just seem really cheap recently (not garbage, but not great either).

The Panny F-87 is terrific, and can be cheaply modded to match very expensive gear.

 

[supervij]

My parents recently got a Philips 642, only $60 CND. It plays everything just fine, plus it plays DivX and just about any burnt disc you can throw at it. Yeah, it's pretty low-end, but just in case she doesn't get that big LCD screen, this will still be decent.

cheers,
supervij

 

[hemiram]

I have the Phillips Upconverting player DVP5960, and so far, I'm very happy with it. DVD's look great on my 37" Sharp in 1080i.