Apex AD-1500 DVD Player

OK it is actually a really good player if you don't mind it breaking after 1 year.

They DO NOT SELL REPAIR PARTS! So after it breaks, you just throw it away. They do not repair it out of warranty nor can you buy any repair parts.

BUT if you want to repair it yourself get this, if the belt breaks, go to STAPLES, OFFICE DEPOT, etc and buy an assortment of small rubber bands. The belts APEX uses are the exact same size as a small rubber band! And the rubber band is actually thicker and more heavy duty than the cheap belt that comes with the APEX player. The rubber band will last like 1 year or so. Since the replacement is actually more heavy duty than the original, it can actually last longer. Also rubber bands are made from natural rubber so they are more flexible than the neoprene belt that APEX uses. BUT natural rubber is susceptible to age, heat, ozone, and UV so it will breakdown after a while. But since you were smart and bought a whole bag of replacement rubber bands, your should be good for a long time!

If APEX was smart, (and they aren't) they could have had a really good player here for cheap. But instead they chose cheap. All it would have taken them was to get a beefier belt and that DVD player would have lasted years instead of months. They should have spent the extra 5 cents for the thicker belt; bunch a greedy dummies...

I purchased this DVD player in January 2002. I have never had a problem with it... it's still working great.

I picked up this item in mid 2002.

I have had almost no problems at all with this machine since i bought it to replace a Pioneer unit that was stolen from me. This unit from day 1 worked better than the unit it replaced at half the cost.

I have only had problems playing about 5 discs, and I play anywhere from 2 to 20 movies/anime/mp3's/cd's a week. The remote may be on the smaller side but well designed (except for the placement of the mute button) It can be a tad loud on the ejecting of the disc tray, but it's not loud enough to be a concern.

Easily one of the smartest purchases i've ever made.

I bought mine 11/2001. Compared to some of my friend's dvd players that were purchased near the same price, it was great. The sound and picture quality were pretty good. Two small complaints - 1)The remote buttons pop off easily 2)The front of the disc tray (the panel)came off and with the help of a 2 year old got stuck inside the tray area. My DVD player died 1/2005. Not from my son; it would start freezing and skipping at the beggining and end of scenes.

I've had two of these so far and encountered a number of others, and my experience has been mixed. Their performance is great, they play anything thrown at them and I love the hackability of it, however it seems Apex got hit by the bad capacitor fiasco that plagued computer peripheral makers for several years. Every single one of these units has started acting up eventually and on every one the problem has been a single failed capacitor in the power supply. If you open it up you'll likely see it bulged at the top and possibly leaking. Now this is about a 50 cent part and it's not hard to change *but* most customers will likely have to find a technician to replace it as it requires soldering. So in the end, great player for me since I can fix them myself, but I hesitate to recommend them to non-technical customers unless they've been refurbished already since in my experience this capacitor *will* fail.

This player can play anything which is good; it even played DVD-RWs for a limited time but then didn't. I still have the receipt to the Apex AD-1500 which I purchased 03/20/02, so I guess if you get lucky it will work almost 3 years. It could have possibly pushed 4 to 5 if I only used it for my other region DVDs like I did in the beginning, but recently have been playing everything back to back in it. If you are going to use the Apex for multiregional than it's a good buy as long as you use your other player for everything else, just don't pay too much for it. I still think it's unreliable though.

Ours just broke after about 3 years. Not completely, but the power button sticks really badly so it's hard to turn the unit off. Plays all Region 2 disks (after hack) no problem.

I bought a similar "value" Apex DVD players from Amazon about six months ago. The thing had an annoying hum at times, but worked... at first. After two months it wouldn't play DVDs longer than maybe 90 minutes. I tried calling their service line - no one answered the phone. I went to their Website and wrote to their service e-mail address - I received no response, ever.

My guess is they figure (rightly) that no one is going to go to a lot of legal trouble over a device that costs less than $100. There are other companies that make low-end DVD players and other equipment - patronize one of them instead of Apex.

I bought this player a little over a year ago, mainly for the ability to upgrade the firmware to region-free. Played everything I put in it until a few days ago, when it started having intermittent problems- graphics were staticy and blocky, sound would just buzz and it wouldn't eject discs until I shut it down and restarted it. That lasted for two days before the problem became permanent. Now it's a doorstop. The Apex web site appears to be down right now, but based on the other reviews here I doubt there's much point in contacting them.

Will play MP3 off CDR. Random function is crippled. Will only play randomly from one folder. No display or use of enbedded MP3 header tags. Correctly decodes VBR MP3.

Will not recognize MP3s burned to DVD.

As far as I know...

It's compatible with:
music cd, cdr, cdrw, vcd, svcd, xvcd, xsvcd, dvd, dvd-r, dvd-rw, dvd+r, dvd+rw.

It's able to read mp3 and mpeg1/2 but it can't read divx files nor Kodak Picture/JPG CDs.

I haven't run into a brand of media that it's not able to recognize yet. You can also update the firmware to macrovision/region free. And if you really know what you are doing, you can even change the default background/screensaver image to one of your own for fun! Just do a search on the web or go to vcdhelp.com.

Overall, it's a solid player with decent video/audio quality. But if video/audio quality is more important than versatility for you and affordability is not a factor, then definately look elsewhere.

If you Google for this model, you can find out how to easily make it region free, so you can watch the foreign DVDs you bring back. It is pretty solid, but has no R/G/B or optical outputs; RCA and S-Video only.

This DVD player is beyond anyone would imagine. This player plays it all, anything your throw at it, VCD, SVCD, DVDs, and even does automatic VCD PAL to NTSC.

What this player lacks is a component connection. This is more for someone who wants a second dvd player for a bedroom. For a dvd in the living room, search up for the next best APEX player which has progressive scan.

I plan on leaving the entire...very short, history I had with this dvd player. Well, it most likely was around 2 months after I purchased this item where I began facing problems. I used it a fair amount, not non-stop but not rarely either; I was watching around 1 or 2 movies a night most likely. However, by 2 months after buying it, it was like the juice would run out and after watching one movie it would flicker on and off. This would annoy me because I couldn't get a dvd out of there, but I found out if I turned the power off then on again and hit the eject button quick enough the dvd would come out and I'd be able to put in a new one and it would load, otherwise it wouldn't work. Also, if I did this I wouldn't be able to use subtitles or anything either because I would click on subtitles then go to load the movie and the power would go off and on again. At first I tested for obvious things like plugging into different surge protectors, different outlets, diferent rooms in the house, and even tried it at a friend's house and yet nothing seemed to fix it. Well, I read another comment about this dvd player saying that if you leave the actual dvd player button on and let it sit kind of in stand-by mode and just turn it on with the remote when you go to use it it would increase the length of the dvd player; well, I was doing that this entire time from the minute I bought it. Of course, because it was having problems while I did this anyways, I assumed that maybe leaving the kind of "stand-by" mode was sucking juice from it and wearing it down so I stopped leaving it in that situation for long periods of time and would turn off the entire unit when I was doing watching movies. But, in a couple months more I was faced with more problems. Next, the green light display would start going out from time to time and so you wouldn't be able to really read what track or section you were on or any of that, that got annoying real fast. Finally, it's past 10:30 p.m. and I'm so angered with this dvd player that I'm writing this complaint because about an hour ago it officially died. Once again, I tried everything like all kinds of different outlets or anything I could think, but nothing worked. I even read the manual front to back and it didn't help me at all. The power won't even come on and I'm very dissapointed and upset.

I bought the APEX 1500 on Valentine's Day and have been in DVD viewer heaven ever since. I bought this very inexpensive unit with the idea that it would be `throw-away' electronics but now find that - wow - this unit delivers everything I need right now. I put the popcorn in the microwave and before it was done popping, I had the unit out of the box, set-up, connected, and was watching my first DVD movie before the popcorn was cooled.

You know, until one matches a DVD player with a HDTV, one isn't getting the full `visual value' of the DVD capability. So, until those HDTV prices drop, this unit's low, low price and great image delivery looks fantastic on my 27 inch, 12 year old, Toshiba television. .

I watch only purchased or rented DVDs (about 2 or 3 per week) - I do not play MP3, CD, underground copies of movies and the like.

Here's a helpful little tip to keeping your Apex AD-1500 running longer: Instead of using the console mounted power button for turning it off and on, just leave it in stand-by mode and use the power button on the remote to turn it off and on. This will keep the internal's of your AD-1500 from having to heat up and cool down every time you turn it on or off. I've had my Apex for almost a year without a single problem , and if you're wondering if I ever use it, the answer is yes , I use it almost every day for dvd's, vcd's and music cd's.It could be the good unit bad unit theory , but hey, it's a great player at a great price, let's just see if we can get them to last a little longer.

I don't have a "modern" tv, so I didn't need to spend a lot of money on progressive scan or any special features. The Apex player plays the DVDs without skips or issues. I've never had an issue with it in terms of hardware. The remote that comes with it has a few frivolous features, like zoom and frame by frame, but I use an all-in-one remote so they haven't come up.

All in all, a very good and inexpensive product.

I bought this as a starter unit a few months ago, and am greatly impressed. It is cheap but it plays everything and its picture is very clear. I really like the zoom feature for when the widescreen versions are too small. Sound is great hooked up to my stereo, but when hooked up to the TV I could only raise the volume up so far (but it was loud enough). If you want something as a second unit or just a cheap DVD player, then this is probably it.

When i first got this dvd player in Feb 2001 i think it was.... i searched for a month and a half for the best value and most features for the small ammount of money i had. To tell the truth i was not expecting it to last this long. But it has and its done very well. If i needed to i would buy another APEX with out a second thought.

Apex Digital has only 90 day/ 1 year warranty, poor customer support, and incompetent service people. Get an RCA instead. No 800 number, expect to wait up to i hour by phone (long distance calls add up), online support takes up to one week for response, and still, they won't fix the problem. Firmware too slow to decode copy protected region 1 dvd's, frequent pixel drop out, and frequent DAC lock-ups.

I received the AD-1500 today. Set it up. Pressed Open/Close. The display indicated my choice, but the tray refused to open. Some mechanism within whined for a minute or two, until the player gave up.

So now I get to return it.

Granted, glitches happen. No manufacturer is perfect, and this may be an isolated incident. But it doesn't particularly inspire consumer confidence, either.

Just to be clear: my 1-star rating doesn't indicate anything about the actual picture or audio performance of the Apex player ... I never got that far.

This player is well worth the money, however for a few bucks more you can buy a better unit.

This unit works very well for an inexpensive DVD that is used on occasion. It falls short in the following respects:

1.) Although it plays perfect DVD's very well, it doesn't play them if they have slight damage. It will not play a DVD that plays without a problem on my Toshiba DVD player.

2.) It does not have a universal remote. The included remote is ok but has limited function.

This DVD player stopped working in 3 months. Interesting thing is the warranty only covers you for 90 days. To return it to Apex to be repaired is "going to cost more money". If you want quality don't buy this DVD player. If you just want a 90 day "inexpensive" item with below average warranty you found it.

Here is a very useful link on how to "JUST MAYBE" fix your DVD player if it is Locking/Not Reading.
Lots of Info here if you are willing to get your hands dirty!
( http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=117757#117757 )

Here is some info I used:

Update: I opened the player that locked up the
worst in my earlier testing and found the trimmer
potentiometer that RickH described.
As he said, it looks like a little phillips
screw head (that appears to be made of white

nylon). You can't miss it on the power supply
board. It's toward the outside of the case and
seems to be marked on the board as RV
(variable resistor?) and is to the right of R27.
(A couple of inches to the right of the fuse.)

1) Removed cover
2) Turned the pot 1/8th turn counter-clockwise
3) Thought it might be better set too low than too high
4) Adjusted a micron more counter-clockwise
5) Replaced cover.
6) Enjoyed flawless, no-freeze playback!

Goodluck Rick...

I purchased the DVD player after much consideration and review. It was recomended in an electronics magazine as a best buy under $100.00. I have used it for DVDs, CDs, and CDRWs. It comes with a wide variety of features, all user friendly; and, I have yet to come across any problems.

Ive had this machine for over a year. The quality of both picture and sound are awsome and I have never had any freezing problems ever. The remote wont work if you do not point it directly into the machine but so what? The picture quality really is exellent also it plays all my homemade CDS and CD-RW-VCDs without any skipping. WOW.

This DVD player gave a no-disc error the first time that I used it. I put a DVD in, it said LOAD for about 2 minutes, then the NO-DISC error came up. Dont think this is a worthwhile buy. For a little more money, you can buy something a lot better.

This is my first DVD player and for the price, I have to say it exceded my expectations. I have only watched rented DVDs on it once or twice a week. I've seen it skip once only, in 3 months (hardly noticeable, anyway), and haven't had any problems with it at all.

A few points:
- Keep the unit on a flat, firm surface like it says in the manual.
- The tray mechanism is loud, but that's it (no problems).
- The remote is not very "intuitive"
- Besides DVDs, it plays almost anything in MPEG format, even if you just burn a CD with a .mpg file in it.
- The unit is very light in weight, deep and narrow in dimensions.

This is no top-of-the-line or high-quality DVD player, but it's great for the price and it works!

I agree that this system is great while it works, but I'm becoming disenchanted after having FOUR consecutive systems fail. My first system had a relatively minor but annoying problem: periodically during DVD playback the video would freeze for about 1 second and then continue. The first replacement of this machine had a more serious problem: DVD playback would develop more and more static until only video and audio noise was left. The second replacement, after six months, would not turn on. This morning we found that the third replacement (our fourth machine) has its colours all confused...even the APEX screensaver is in psychadelic greens and reds. I think at the end of this experience, you're better off spending more money on a more mature vendor's system. I still think the MP3 interface for the Apex is better than any other, but it's not worth all this hassle. Nothing is more annoying than sitting down to watch a DVD over the holidays and finding the system is broken AGAIN! Our other A/V components have worked fine on the same wiring for over 4 years in our current house, so don't blame the electricals.

Hope you find this persuasive.

I received this dvd player as a gift Christmas of 2001. The sound often goes out halfway through the movie being watched, and periodically the entire machine goes out and has to be unplugged to "reboot". Recently, it went out completely. This is not due to wear and tear. This machine rarely gets used and is only a year old. It should be in peak condition. Do not waste your money on this machine!

I had the same experience as most of the other reviewers who have owned this player for 6-8 months. I've had it eight months, and it worked fine for that time and I was satisfied with the performance. Then yesterday I tried to play a DVD and it was broken (nothing comes up on the small display and nothing plays). I thought it was a deal at the time I bought it, and I guess I got my moneys worth, but my next DVD player will not be an Apex.

The polarity on these reviews seems to tell a tale. Everyone either got a 'good one' or a 'bad one'. I didn't start getting 'no disk' errors until I had used the machine (fairly heavily) for 11 months. But you know what? I'm still satisfied that I got my money's worth, based on the cost of the player. Sure, it's a hassle replacing it - but I'm seriously thinking about buying the same model again.

While it was working, we had no problems at all. Excellent picture and sound quality. I purchased this particular model after reading many reviews for low-cost players. This was one that seemed to have the best features and reliability in the price range I was looking for.

The way I look at it, you can buy two or three 'disposable' units by the time you pay for one high-end machine. And, the way things change so quickly with electronics these days, I'm not in a big hurry to invest in a 3 - 4 year machine just to find it limited or even obsolete in 2.

Closed captions appear on the setup menu of this player, but you won't get them on the screen of your tv. That's a design limitation of this model number. But most dvds include english subtitles, which you can use instead. If you need closed captions, you'll have to call Apex & they give you another model like the 500, which isn't as much fun.

You definatly get what you pay for. After about 6 months of using this player the sound became terrible. After checking to make sure the audio connection to my t.v. was ok, I found that it was not the connection, but the player. The sound works fine for awhile then it starts to get gravely and cuts out. If you want a DVD player that is not too [costly], but you have to take into consideration that you might not hear what is going on in the movie.

We've had the player for about a year now, and I've got no complaints. I didn't expect much considering the price, but I'm pleasantly surprised. We don't expect much from it, just play movies, that it does well. We have very little on the side of electronics (we're rather simply living people) and can't justify spending much money of something like this, so it was a perfect fit. We've had none of the problems some complain of. It does sometimes make a "whummping" noise as the disk seems somewhat off balance, but it just reminds me of the noise you hear at the back of the theater when you can hear the film going through the projector. So, indeed, you get what you pay for, and this has been well worth the money we invested in it. Simple people, simply happy with this simple machine.

Clearly among the worst DVD players on the market. Given the price you would expect there to be very limited features, etc. But it is inexcusable that the features that it does have simply do not work, and those that do, work only some of the time. The Remote stopped working within only a few days. The player has trouble loading DVD's, runs hot during playback and has a very annoying screen saver that kicks in automatically when the controls aren't touched for 10 seconds (this does NOT happen during playback). To its credit, the picture quality is similar to more expensive models but the sound output needs improvement. Buying a cheap DVD player may seem sensible to those on a limited budget or who are seeking to buy one as a gift for someone else, but it makes much more sense to spend a few more bucks for a better quality player. Spare yourself from the headaches later.

I have been very unhappy with this DVD player. The player worked properly for about one year. Now the DVD player apparently overheats causing the picture to get stuck on one scene. The player also fails to detect DVD disks half of the time.

This is our first DVD player. We bought it at [local store] for [money](after rebates) the day after Thanksgiving. We don't have much to compare it too, but so far we have no real complaints. Plays DVDs, audio CDs, and MP3 cds without any problems. I've read reviews complaining about the remote, but I don't know what the problem is. I do have to say that the MP3 user-interface on the TV is really lame. Not quite sure what's up with that. From the reviews I've read, I'll be happy if this lasts more than 9 months, but for [money], I can't complain.

I bought this simply because I'd read it could play region 2 DVDs (that is, DVDs from UK; actually, it plays any DVD from anywhere unlike normal DVDs which are tied to the country of origin). It does. But it's a clunky piece of equipment and I would not recommend it unless you need this feature. To 'get' the feature, you have to download firmware from the web, burn the firmware to a CD, then load the CD into the unit (search google for Apex AD 1500 region firmware). Once you've done that, it becomes a 'region free' DVD player (it also defeates macrovision, which means you can play the DVD through a VCR, which most DVD players cannot).

Otherwise, buy a more popular, well known brand. The picture quality is only so-so and it just looks like it was made extremely cheaply. But, I'm ordering another one right now so I have a backup, since I really need to be able to play region 2/PAL dvds, which almost no other (cheap) player does!

Note that there is no guarantee that the above technique will work, and you are absolutely voiding your warranty! Some models have a serial number that is known NOT to work.

Note also - I bought the Apex model 3201 from Amazon as well, and it too is 'region free' - without having to mess with firmware. BUT - the quality of that player is poor (locks up playing well known DVDs) and it's PAL->NTSC conversion looks decidedly worse than that of the 1500.

I've owned this DVD player for about a year and use it heavily. It's a terrific entry-level DVD player for the price. It has a ton of features and plays just about every format imaginable. The picture and sound quality are fine.

This DVD player features S-video output and coax digital audio output. Because it lacks component video output (let alone progressive scan) and optical digital audio out, I called it "entry-level". But it's priced right -- you really can't expect component video outs at this price.

I play back a lot of MP3 music on CDs. Other reviewers have complained about the sound quality, but I've had no problems with sound at all. Most of these CDs are CD-Rs, and they've all played without trouble (even with minor scratches).

There are a number of minor annoying problems. If you're frugal like me, this is still a great bargain. But I'm sure there are people who'd rather pay a little more to avoid these issues:

-- the remote control IR receiver is very picky. I have to point the remote directly at the DVD player. (Actually, I haven't tested yet whether the problem is the remote control itself or the IR pickup).

-- The remote isn't laid out that well. A lot of the menus and options are hard to find and not designed well. This is a problem on most DVD players, but I think it's clear that Apex didn't do much usability testing at all.

-- When playing an MP3 CD, I can see the file listing on my TV screen, which is nice. However, it's hard to operate without turning on the TV (there isn't that much displayed in the DVD player's display window), and it'd be nice if I didn't have to turn on the TV if I just want to play music.

As you can see in the picture, this DVD player is rather narrow. Which is nice, because that means I can put the DVD player and my VCR on one shelf in my entertainment center, rather than using a shelf for each.

Overall, it's a nice little DVD player, and a great bargain for the price.

I bought one of these at Circuit City. The video quality was mediocre. However, I had to return it because the disc tray was defective. When I put in a DVD it would either NOT close properly or would get stuck when I hit the open tray. Although the price and supposed hackability of this player can't be beat, I would NOT buy this player as your everyday DVD player.

I bought this player to be my bedroom player and to play SVCD's upon occasion. I love the features on this thing and I can't believe they're down to [money]. I paid [money]and it was worth every [money]. I have three players, the other two more expensive ones, yet this has the best features. I love the ability to view how much time is left on a chapter or the feature. I upgraded the firmware, which turns off Macrovision and region-free coding. It plays everything I throw at it and even shuffles my MP3 CD's songs. I highly recommend this player.

I bought it on a whim. It was the best whim I've ever made. This DVD plays everything, and it's simple to use. I highly recommend this to anyone - especially to people who've never had a DVD player before.

I have owned four players and spent quite a bit of money on them. I bought this player and it is better than any other the others. It has everything that everyone needs to watch and enjoy the wonderful and exciting world of DVD's. I love my player and for the price I would not recommend any other player. THIS IS THE ONE. What a great product.

All I can say is WOW.... I bought this dvd player and popped a dvd in and I was blown away by the richness of color and quality that this player has. The picture and the sound is crystal clear. The system is very quiet when it plays dvds and the controls both on the system and on the remote control are fairly easy.

This system also plays CD's and CDRW but the sound qulaity is awful. So I will only use this product for dvds and not my cds.

Overall, this is a very good dvd player that has an unbeatable price. Awesome dvd player!

And remember, if you buy this on Amazon.Com, you'll get free shipping!

Its hard to describe so let me just say the picture was doing a lot of screwy things and the colors were off.

APEX [is weak]!
Not that you should expect much when paying such a small amount of money for such an electronic device, but it is frusterating. Mine lasted just beyond the termination of the warranty coverage and then completely stopped working. It worked great until that point, but now it would cost me more to fix it than to just buy a new one. Instead I'm going to invest a bit more money and purchase a quality dvd player.
good luck...

The good thing about this DVD player is that you can disable Macrovision and enable multi-region playback if the serial number starts with either A, B, C or D. When it works, the DVD player plays *some* VCDs and DVDs. Most of the time it will refuse to recognize a DVD and "NO DISC" will appear on the display. Once you'll open and close the door a dozen of times, your DVD might play. Cleaning the lens will not help much. The remote contol has be be held no more than a feet away. You go further, and the remote control is completely useless. (With fresh Duracell Alkaline batteries, that it) This unit is light, cheap in price & cheap in contruction. Should anybody decide to buy this 'lemon' do yourself a favor and buy the extended waranty, you'll need it.

It is been my experience that this machine is not meant for heavy usage. But there are very few players that can read the numerous formats i.e. VCD, SVCD, MP3, etc this machine can display. I find that if I don't use the 2X, 4X, 8X fast forward speeds, the player won't vibrate. reference vcdhelp.com for performance reviews of other players and their is a good chance you can buy them from Amazon.com whom I rate five stars over the four to five years I have bought stuff without problems.

Didn't work right out of the box! The disk tray did not slide out when pressing the button on the machine or the button on the remote. Kept making a grinding sound. Had to return this immediately for a refund. This problem was not addressed in the instruction manual nor on Apex's website. FAQs were very basic and unhelpful.