Page 1 of I`m loosing it here.... Samsung 909, LG 3551, Pioneer 535, Toshiba SD100E, Aiwa 370 or Harman Kardon

OK here`s the thing.
I`m going barking mad with all these players around.
So I`ve come up with these so far.
The prices are the ones that I found in my neighbourhood (Belgian prices converted to British Pond).

What I need:
A good player, with NO risks like skipping and a reasonable workability (like layer change!!).
Either Region free, or easy to make region free.

What I like:
Macrovision Disabled.
MP3 playability.
Don`t care much for the built in DD decoder.
A good price ;)

And this is what I came up with so far (remember what I found near where I live). And there NOT in order of preference:

* Samsung 909 ->205£
(nice price, easy macro and region free, DD decoding, but what about playability??)

* LG 3551E -> 289£
(easy region free, MP3, CD-R, CD-RW, DD decoding, but not so nice price)

* Pioneer DVD-535 -> 243£
(region free [don`t know `bout macro], CD-R, CD-RW, good quality, but slow layer change???)

* Toshiba SD100E -> 243£
(region free [don`t know `bout macro], CD-R, good quality)

* Aiwa XD-DV370 -> 228£
(lots of people`s favourite, easy region free, MP3, CD-R, CD-RW, no Macro Disable)

*Harman Kardon DVD-1 -> 296£
(region free [don`t know `bout macro], CD-RW, good quality, nice looks, but relativly high price)

Please, please, please give me your opinions....

Thanks

¦°e\/[\]

This item was edited on Friday, 1st December 2000, 00:08

SONY DVP S336....

It Rocks Big time....

Bueatiful picture... Lovely Sound...

You know you want it....

SONY ROCKS DA HOUSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HITACHI 705!(also known as the SONY 535 Tonker!)

HITACHI ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!

NUFF SAID!

SONY DVP S336....

It Sucks Big time....

Bueatiful picture... Lovely Sound... No CDR/RW...... No MP3.... No Pal conversion....

You know you DONT want it....

SONY ROCKS DA TOILET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK guys, thanks for the replies, but I was kinda hoping that people could give some commments on the players that I listed.

Duke I haven`t seen the 705 in the shops yet (did see the 505 for 273£ though, but it wasn`t regionfree yet).

And I have to agree with Duke on his 336 comments.
Nice player, but lot less functions.

Thanks again.
But still waiting for a bit more helpfull answers...

¦°e\/[\]

OK Lets be sensible..

OK so it does not have the toys that some players have but do you take the dvd format seriously and want to watch a good fine detailed picture with good sound.

Ok the layer change is a bit slow but I would rather have the Quality than the Quantity.

Toys are for boys...

The TOSHIBA SD100E has the upgradable firmware which is cool by CD but the picture and sound are now where near as good as the sony. I nearly had one... I viewed then choose the better of the too.

The Awia 370 has been discontinued so I would not bother with it. Nice player though considered it myself.

The Panansonic RV20/40 are good buys nice output too.... They are also doing a free 3DVDset with the panasonics from now for about 2 months.

I got my sony from Paul Taylor (aka Multiregion Magic) and I trust his advice....

SONY Rocks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My lovely Gladiator disc looks and sounds like mi Sony was born to play it.

This item was edited on Friday, 1st December 2000, 09:46

I like my new Aiwa! Super picture, easy to hack, silent, fast! BUT, on my telly the picture jumps every once in a while, and the mp3´s wont play!

I think this might be the player for you! I think the problems i have are because of my telly or the cheap Scart cable i bought!

Hope this will help you!

My Sony also playes Region 0 (NTSC), Region 1 (NTSC) and lo and behold region 2 (PAL) fine with my Sanyo 32" (NTSC/PAL) TV through a nice gold plated scart lead...

So I don`t have ANY problems playing anything....

ROCKS BY SONY because You know it does Too...

It also does SDDS if you have a nice sony amp....

Lovely

I have just been through the mill trying to decide which player to buy. Top of the list was an LG3350, but I couldn`t find it in stock anywhere.

Jimbo`s comments about the Aiwa are certainly appealing, but I have a big problem getting it from Comet (et al.), knowing the huge mark-ups they earn.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I eventually plumped for a Sony 536. Now I know it doesn`t do MP3 or CDR, but I`m hardly, if ever, going to use those features. If MP3 is important to you, don`t go for a Sony.

My eventual decision was actual based on more than just a feature count. I`ve been reading the forums here for a couple of weeks, and have seen various reports of problems with players, some of which are common, others restricted to one or two people. Now I`ve just bought a new 32" widescreen, and wanted a DVD player that would give me top notch playback without any hassle/blocking/skipping etc. At 298 pounds, the Sony was my best bet (before Xmas!).

Overall, just make sure you`re not attracted too much by features - after all, it is a DVD player, and video and sound quality should be paramount shouldn`t they?

Got to admit if your budget will stretch to it. The Sony 336 can be got with all the toys (except MP3) from multiregionmagic for a whisper over £300.
However, I am the very proud owner of an LG3350 and have not been disappointed. I have it plugged into a 32" Widescreen TV and I have no quibbles over the quality of playback, the multiregion hack is an absolute doddle and it`s quite a nice looking box with really tight build quality. At £230 delivered from techtronics it is a good deal. If Macrovision disable is really important to you then there is a little box of tricks that will set you back £40 that you can get from most decent electrical suppliers (e.g. Maplin`s) that will do that for ANY DVD player.
The Aiwa is an older version of the LG so make your own mind up on that one....:0)