i have seen quite a few post on here about how some Sony dvd players will let you play vcds encoded at a higher rate then the 115vcd bit rate (more on that in a few). If you havent heard, the Apex ad600a dvd player will play virtually any format out there (including mp3.cds), which its mainly known for. This dvd player currently sells at circuit city for only 159$!!! BUT THE BEST PART is it has a built in secret menu thats lets you turn it into an all region player and lets you shut the macrovision off!!!! It even will convert PAl to NTSC (and vice versa) with its own built in converter!!! So you can watch Pal now on your NTSC tv with no problems!!! With this in mind i figured it might let me play a video cd at a higher bitrate------ i just tested some things out on the apex ad600a. it WILL play video cds encoded at a higherbitrate then the standard vcd 115bit. I tested a clip at 3000bits and it almost played(sound skipped). So i lowered it to 2500bits and it played fine!!!! I am also wondering then just maybe this player can play the new super video cd format as well? I have not tried any other bitrate lower then 3000 but higher then 2500. But i figured i would let you people out there know it can play these higher bits resulting in a better looking video cd

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), February 13, 2000

Answers

oh and for the record, i used the nti cd maker pro to make a video cd with the different bitrates (the adaptec wont let you)

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), February 13, 2000.

ok i did the testing anything higher then the 2500 bit will cause you problems. Also in concerns with the adaptec. i tired it one more time and it says "incorrect bit rate", but i go to "add anyway" and i burned the vcd. Everything seemd ok except that the player wouldnt play the vcd, it said it was a vcd, but when i hit play it kept saying "stop" instead. It turns out adaptec went ahead and made the vcd with the folders but it did not put my data in it anywhere!!! So if some of you try the adaptec, be aware of what might happen, which is why i suggested the nti cd maker pro---thanks

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), February 13, 2000.

Doug: Thanks for the info buddy. Nice to know a cheaper DVD hardware that will play any CD-R/CD-RW media that you are throwing at it. Have you tried all CD-R/CD-RW media makers on this puppy? Did it has any hangup or nasty secret during playback? I am considering a second DVD player at my Video Studio to test my VCD creation, instead of running back and forth between the PC and the living room to play it on the Pioneer. I love the Pioneer...it plays everything i've throw at it so far...keep the info flowing...

-- lnguyen (wingstarzz@hotmail.com), February 13, 2000.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!!!! I use the dazzle dvc to capture video normally. I used it for this process and captured at the 2500 bit i mentioned. i then burned it to vcd and when it played the picture/sound skipped a bit. Naturally i figured out what the hell went wrong. THE DAZZLE DOES NOT encode your capture as a true mpeg system file. On my previous test i had clips from a 3000bitrate mpeg and then used the panasonic encoder to - encode it as an mpeg system file (not vcd) this way i can change the bitrate to the 2500. Well i retook the clip and converted it using the panasonic keeping it still at the 2500 and mpeg system form. I burned it and it worked great!! So again this just might be a problem for the dazzle. I cant answer for other cards but if you use the dazzle and have this dvd player, here is what i do (i do the same method for vcds as well) i capture at 3000bits then i use the panasonic encoder to convert it to an mpeg system file with a bitrate of 2500 (or if this was for vcd i would select the ntsc/vcd file form). I also put on the adaptive filter set to strongest and the rersults are quite nice. hardware itself. But if you use

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), February 13, 2000.

hey Inguyen, ok even though the player can do all this great stuff. its still a 159$ player. the pioneers im sure are made just a bit better( i should know i own 2 pioneers)) but if you want the full info on this machine go here and check the discussion forum for this player (this also tells you how to access the secret menu and everything else) http://www.nerd-out.com/apex/index.html

some poeple have had some slight problems with the player while others have not (including me). The most notable problem people had was the player heating up. Some fixed this by putting a small fan behind the machine. I had my machine on all day using it on and off and it stayed cool so... Also another problem was some people it would play their dvds to a certain point then stop or pause it, etc. Again though most people have had no problems at all. and

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), February 13, 2000.

Doug: I went and bought one yesterday @ circuit city. They has increased the price on this item to 179.99 now due to the high demands on this product. Furthermore, they also hid the machine so you have to ask for it. Any how, i tested it and it has a major problem with VCD on CD-RW or CD-R. It produces random noise pixels during play. The same CD is played on the Pioneer is perfect. I am about to return it for a Pioneer.

-- lnguyen (wingstarzz@hotmail.com), February 15, 2000.

I can see no reason for anyone who already has a DVD player to change to this one. For the same $180.00 you pay for this unit, you can get a nice MP3 player...that is portable. It may be able to do CD-R and CD-RW but other units can as well, and those units are manufactured by well-known companies such as Sony, Pioneer, and Philips. I am not about the trade in my DVD player for this unit. My RCA handles VCDs just fine(a little bit gets cut off the top for PAL encoding) and plays DVD just fine. It will not read CD-R or CD-RW but I generally use CD-R for music and my stereo works well with CD-Rs. Is there any other compelling reason other than a higher bit rate to sell off a $500 DVD player for $200 on EBay then get this one? You lose $300 when you can just save up $150.00 and get the Diamond Rio PMP300 (first generation) MP3 player. Want CD-R and CD-RW compatibility then trade up to a multi-disc changer form Sony or Panasonic(both units read CD-R and CD-RW) fine. I can understand folks who are new to the DVD area and want a cheap player. But even those folks opt with RCA or Philips since many of these units sell for $200-$240 and have reputation behind them. The home theater people always buys the best equipment and forget stuff like this. Especially when this unit is so new that no one knows if it has problem playing certain DVD movies.

-- The Lone Ranger (rutger_s@hotmail.com), February 15, 2000.

Lone Ranger: I know...I made a mistake...I'll not do it again :). I have a pioneer DVC302D(multi-tray, built in AC3 decoder), and it plays flawlessly with anything i throw at it. I was just looking for a cheaper DVD player so i can test my product on the fly during authoring without running back and forth from my dent to my living room where the Pioneer resides with my 60inch rear projection TV and my Theater sound system. I'll get another Pioneer DV525D player...The only thing i was interested with this player is that i can play the new SVCD format! but with the performance i was getting from this unit compared to the Pioneer...I don't think it is worth the trouble...so I am planning to return the APEX and get another PIONEER.

-- lnguyen (wingstarzz@hotmail.com), February 15, 2000.

i never suggested for anyone to trade in their player. This is actually my 3rd dvd player. i did say that its still a 169$ player. but for what it can do its worth it. i personally have not had any problems with the Apex player. i stated the things the Apex can do for the fact that many people out there do not want region code or macrovision bullsh$t. I for one am one of them. No one is going to tell me what i can hook my dvd player up into, what i can or cannot copy, and what movies im allowed to watch. I do everything in my power to kick a hole through that crap. Well then, to get players that have none of that garbage on them you 99% of the time have to get a modified player. I dont know if you know how much they can go for, but a modded player can cost up to 2-3 times the original price. Thats fine, but most people do not have the 600 or 700$ to spend on a modded player, nor may they not want to spend that much. So i listed what the Apex can do and for the price it is as i said before worth it. To me its worth it also becasue i can play some Pal dvds i picked up. My pioneers play them fine but they do not decode them to NTSC. The apex can. my pioneers are both modified to be all region and macro free players (606d and 525). Thats great but its still modified. So i loose my warranty and i might have to remove the mod if indeed i do need to ever repair them. Also similar to playstation, since it may be a sort of chip that mods the machine, they can easily (like playstation) put an anti-chip device on the movies themselves, resulting in me not being able to play them. The apex has all the same features BUILT IN. And it is also for that reason i picked this player up. Why you may ask do i have 3 players, the answer is this. Well for one my other 2 are pioneers and as far as im concered their top of the line. the 606d was and still is a great machine, However it does not play cdrs. It can read cdrws though, and ok i found one cdr it liked. Then i found out the 414's replacement was the 525 and the 525 had all of the same features as my 606d in addition to reading virtually any cdr. So once my vcd making process started you can easily see the reason for this. I was then planning on selling my first player until i saw on a website that the 606d modd was really a 3 wire "jump" set (in other words solder point a to b and so on). The 525 uses some kind of chip device. So i decided to keep the 606d in case they do ever make anti chip movies. Then i heard about the apex. i knew it was not as well made as my pioneers, but since everything was built in with no mods and that it can play and decode the Pal signal as well all for less then 200 it was a sure thing. So now i have the 3 players and each has its own purpose the others might not have, resulting in 3 players and im damn glad i bought them. So for those that actually read this, i never meant for any of you to trade in your players. I would never have done that either. But it is a great back up machine. To those that have had a problem with it, i am sorry to hear that. Mine and quite a few other people i know have it and its been working fine.--thanks

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), February 15, 2000.

lnguyen,RCA's new 5 Disc DVD changer that goes for $499.00 does play SVCD. You can go to www.rca.com and click on DVD. There you will find the disc changer. I am thinking of moving up to that unit later on.

Doug, I am not saying you made a bad choice. I just wanted to know the best point to buy this unit other than price. The items you list are already available on a number of units withOUT modification. Samsung has it as does Philips. Also the only people who would want a multi-region player are folks outside of the U.S. If you live in the U.S. there is no need to remove the Region restriction. You may want to remove macrovision but again with a simple external unit, you beat macrovision. My point is simple, there is really no compelling reason to buy this unit over some more expensive type.

-- The Lone Ranger (rutger_s@hotmail.com), February 15, 2000.

Hey guys: I am sorry to start all this mess...I didn't meant to blame any one for the problem i had with the APEX...it's a good machine for the price which Doug has mentioned (Circuit City decided to capitalize on this machine is their prerogative). I was looking for something cheap that will do everything that the Pioneer can do for testing purpose only. Apex fits that description and i bought it. Well, it did not work out for me since the machine flashes junk on the screen every minutes or so...maybe they change something in the machine since doug bought it last. The Apex i bought now will not support multi-region, it says so on the box label and the user manual. This is a personal problem and i aim to rectify it by returning the product for something else that i can use. Unless there is something about this product which Doug has a fix for that i don't know about....This is what this forum is for right? learn from each other. Thanks Doug for the information...Thanks Lone Ranger for the many valuable infos from the other threads...

-- lnguyen (wingstarzz@hotmail.com), February 15, 2000.

hey lone ranger, No need to remove the regional coding if i live in the US? No offemse but obviosly your not inot imports that much are you? the majority of films i like (which also happen to fall in the horror genre) ARE NOT made in the US and most never will be. Further more most of them are uncut and end up being a region 2 or Pal or both dvd. Their for for this and (who knows what they re-release elsewhere) a multiregion player is defienlty needed. As to the other concern mentioned from someone else, i had no idea samsung or phillips has players with the same features built in. But with not offending anyone i really do not like either of the twos products.

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), February 15, 2000.

oh, inguyen, the secret menu is like this turn on the machine with no dvds or anything inside. When "no disc" appears, push the setup button on the remote, next scroll down until "preferences is highlighted. THEN push STEP, then BACK then FORWARD on the remote you will now be taken to the secret menu where you can change some things. DO NOT though change anything else but the region and macro choices. my instructions to also say its a region 1 only player, also when at the secret menu note the "you should not be here" logo at the bottom. From before another need for that apex is that it can convert the PAL signal to ntsc without anything else i just put in my pal disc and rechange to ntsc and boom. Im watching PAl dvds on my NTSC tv. Good converters alone just for this go for 250 and up.

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), February 15, 2000.

hey Lone ranger, i forgot to mention, the dvds macro is a bit stringer then a videos one therefore the macro removal thing (video clarifier) does not really work too well. It also stumped the "go duel decks" which are NOT made to pick it up. And on these machines it picked it up a littile. Sima now makes ones for dvds but its only 125$. no thanks if im doing all of this i would rather have a modded machine. Another example of a nneded all region in the uS. I like the film mad max. the Jap dvd looks a thousand times better then the US but it also features the origignal Austrailian language on it as well. the us doesnt and probably will not besides being artifact central. Their is a ton of things like this and why an all region is needed

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), February 15, 2000.

Sorry Doug,

The region change doesn't work too well on this unit. My friend who works at Circuit City took one home. Changed the region to 2 and tried a Region 2 Jackie Brown, did not work. He changed it back to region 1 and it would not accept Scream: Collector's Edition. He got a copy of the Region 2 Jackie Brown and it plays well on his moded DVD player and moded DVD-Rom. Even Scream: CE works on the moded player and DVD-Rom.

Still, if I buy another DVD player. It will be a DVD-Changer not some single disc unit. I am leaning towards the RCA 5 disc changer that plays SVCD, VCD, CD-R, and CD-RW. That is what most people do and even my friend has had a hard time selling this unit. Not everyone wants this one, they want Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, or some other brand they know they can trust when something goes wrong.

-- The Lone Ranger (rutger_s@hotmail.com), February 16, 2000.

Oh and Doug,

No countries except Japan and U.S. have the uncut Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Halloween, Halloween: 20 years Later, Friday the 13th 1-9, and Nightmare on Elm Street 1-7. U.K., Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. all edited these films down. There are also a bunch of other horror/slasher films released in the U.S. that won't be released elsewhere unless cut. So again your argument is a moot point. This unit simply is too cheap to be any good.

-- The Lone Ranger (rutger_S@hotmail.com), February 16, 2000.

Actually their are a bunch of others i was refering to besides the main general ones. I put the apex region selector on bypass and its been working fine. Also the friday the 13ths 1-4 were released uncut in Norway as well as parts 2-4 being uncut on UK video. Again i still have had no problems with the player so im keeping it, end of disccusion.

-- Doug (mazinz@aol.com), February 16, 2000.