IN DECEMBER 1999, The Wall Street Journal wrote about the cheap prices of DVDs. "Retailing most places for just $299, DVD players are flying off the shelves," the paper wrote. Two years before that, in 1997, "most DVDs sold for a prohibitive $600."

What a difference another two years make. DVDs -- or Digital Video Discs -- have broken the $100 price range, falling into the price range of video cassette recorders. The $100 price tag is a sort of pyschological barrier for a lot of people -- if they know that DVD players are now in that price range, they may be more likely to consider getting one (even if they eventually do buy something a little more expensive).

The quick drop in price of DVD players has been led by Apex, a brand name you probably haven't heard of, but is the #2 brand in the U.S., with about 15 percent of market share. Its AD-1500 model, pictured here, sells for under $100 at J&R and you can find it for as low as $80 at Kmart. Another cheap DVD brand is Oritron, which -- like Apex -- is manufactured in Asia.

So how do you decide whether to get a cheap DVD player or a fancier one, say in the $200s or $300s? It comes down to what you expect to do with your machine. If you are the kind of person building a fancy home theater with surrond sound speakers, then you are better off with a machine that has more bells and whistles. If, however, you are a DVD newbie who wants to start building a disc library, then a cheaper one is the way to go.

I really look at the cheaper machines as a nice way to get into the DVD game without a big investment. Then, in a couple of years when you are hooked, you can upgrade. At that point, the cheap machines will be better than today's best ones.

Do keep in mind you get what you pay for -- therefore there may not be as many features as you want and the machine may not be worth repairing if something goes wrong beyond the warranty date.

RESOURCES:
ApexDigital
JandR DVD section
DVDBuyingGuide.com
DVDFile.com

If you have a cheap DVD player, do write in to techguru@sree.net and let me know your thoughts.

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