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What's The Best Combo DVD/VCD/CD/MP3 Player?

Posted by Cliff on from the makes-a-great-christmas-present dept.

option8 asks: "In the process of building a home theater with components, I've found a few all-in-one units that play DVD, CD, VCD, and MP3 CDs, and a few are pretty cheap (Apex's MD100 and MD600a for instance) but I wonder if the /. community has any to recommend that are solid performers and that are reasonably priced. Are there any pitfalls I should know about like: surround sound, skip protection for DVDs, etc?" We've had an earlier discussion on MP3/CD combo players so why not add few more disc formats into the mix? Do any of you have any experiences with such hardware and can you steer readers to the good ones?

4 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Be sure to make sure the player will read CDR by discovercomics · · Score: 4

    Some players won't read CDR discs. So if you like to burn your own music be sure to verify that they will be readable. I would suggest taking both a home burned CDR and MP3 disc with you to check out the players with. If your buyin on line then be sure to read all the docs.

  2. Uhm, ya. by Lonesmurf · · Score: 5

    This may make me sound like a complete ass, but I have the perfect DVD/CD/CD-R/CD-RW/MP3/VCD player for you: your computer.

    That's what I do I have an older box, a P1-266, hooked up to my TV and sound system. I can play just about any format that a fancy-shmancy one-for-all device can, and at the same time, I can have it run as a nice fileserver for my MP3s. It cost about 300-400 bucks to set up, including the cables, nic, DVD, etc. You can't ask for more than that, man.

    Rami
    --

    --

    rJames.org - illustration
  3. Screw the Combo players by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5

    Personally, I wouldn't touch a combo player with a ten foot pole. There will always be some area of the player that will not work the way you want, or an area where quality has been skimped on to save money etc.

    Your best bet is to get seperate components, each the best quality you can afford. O.K, so you can almost certainly combine the Audio CD & DVD player into one (Almost anything can play an Audio CD these days after all), but please, if you want something like Dolby Digital 5.1 etc. get a stand alone, quality amp and speakers. If you want an MP3 player there are stand-alone/rack mount components that will do that job for you better than any integrated system can.

    The only cavet is space, and cabling. If you use crappy cables you'll loose all the benefits, so make sure you factor that into the price. It might also be more expensive than a combo player, but damn, it will be a hell of a lot more flexible and much better quality.

    O.K, just my opinion, but combo players tend to suck pretty badly as far as i can see.

  4. Apex 703 by jridley · · Score: 5

    The relatively new Apex 703 would be my pick right now. I own an Apex 600A, and I love it. The 703 does everything the 600A does (OK, no loophole menu) plus it's a 3 disc changer and has a built-in 5.1 decoder. I've had less trouble with the 600A than with any previous DVD player I'd owned. The 700 has flash upgradable BIOS too in case some new title comes out which bothers the player (like Matrix did with previous players) The 3 disc changer would be nice as I'm viewing VCD's a lot more, now that I have a player that will read CD-R's :-) Plus load 3 80 minute CD's full of MP3's and you've got music for a GOOD LONG TIME. The 703 is available at either Circuit City or Buy.com for $199. You can get free shipping from Buy right now and probably find a $15 or more coupon at dealprovider.com.