Okay, finally taking the plunge and buying a DVD player. Are there certain features that I should look for? Also, I don't know what MP3 is. Can anyone recommend a brand (or tell me which brand not to buy)? Thank you!!!
We had a JVC DVD player that died after just over a year (the laser went out and it costs as much to replace that as to buy a new player). We then bought a Panasonic and have had it for quite a while without any problems.
We also got a Panasonic a while back. We always buy Panasonic for VCR and such. You want to make sure you can connect it to your tv without having to connect it through the VCR or satellite set up. They are the red, green and yellow connectors.
Ok, this might sound silly since we don't actually have a DVD player (yet) but I'm going to try to answer some of your questions anyway.
One feature you *might* want is progressive scan depending on your tv. That *does* however add a fair chunk to the price tag. If you have a big screen (and high definition) tv, you can probably notice the difference in picture quality going up to the progressive scan from a regular player, however with a regular tv it really wouldn't be noticeable. A regular DVD player will still work great on a big screen tv, but supposedly you can tell the difference and if you're wanting the best, progressive scan would be an option to consider.
Many DVD players today play back not only DVDs but also other forms of media such as CD-R's and MP3's. In other words, if you make a CD of MP3 music from your computer, you can play that on a DVD player that supports that option.
Check out http://www.epinions.com/elec-Video-DVD-All for some reviews. I've been reading there myself. (And will also be checking back to this thread as I'm curious to other people's opinions. I've been looking seriously at a Toshiba DVD player for a Christmas present.)