This machine has features on machines costing much more, and some that they don't even have. A zoom function is included which many machines even costing more do not have. Another nice feature is the remote has a type of volume control, many DVD remotes have absolutely no way to control volume meaning the need for two remotes by the armchair. The remote here controls the audio output from the DVD. Even though a universal remote would be better this works adequately. So far I have had no problems with the machine, playing DVD's and CD's flawlessly. I have no experience with playing MP3's. The inexpensive price is quite a plus too. Highly recommended

In November 2001, I bought the Apex AD-3201 on sale for (...). I liked the advertised numerous features and connectors on this model. I bought it mainly to play DVD's and MP3's. I hooked it up to my 27" Hitachi that also has a lot of "bells and whistles." I connected the audio cables and S-Video cable. The first DVD movie I popped in worked great, ... for the first 57 minutes. The AD-3201 then locked up, and the picture was frozen on the screen. None of the controls on the remote would work, and none of the controls on the unit itself worked, except the "Power" button. I had to turn the power completely off, and then on to restart the DVD movie. I fast-forwarded the movie to the elapsed time setting where it had frozen, and watched the rest of the movie. I checked the DVD disc for dirt or scratches, but there was nothing wrong with the disc. I also noticed that every so often, the AD-3201 would pause about a quarter to a half second, and then continue playing... Read more

I realize that many people have had trouble with Apex units in general, and with the AD-3201 in particular, but I'm not one of them. It has played every DVD, VCD, SVCD, CD-R and CD-RW I've thrown at it, including 80 minute ones. It has never stuttered during playback, and sound and video quality is excellent.

I bought mine in mid 2001, and I convinced my local techie store to let me set up multiple units side-by-side for comparison. I auditioned at all the MP3 compatible units they were selling back then since my primary interest was in a player for my 100+ MP3 CD's. Obviously, audio quality was paramount. I agree that song names are mangled horribly when displayed, but all the other units at that time did the same thing, often worse, although there may be more capable units out there now in this regard. At least it does subdirectories - one of the players I looked at treated an MP3 CD as one big directory no matter how the disk was actually organized, simply assigning a number to... Read more