Customer Reviews

Zenith DVD2381 Progressive-Scan DVD Player

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

We were given an Apex 1500 as a gift,which died after one week of use. When we went shopping for a replacement we were loking for a unit with more than basic features. Image and sound quality were very important but reliability was paramount. CIrcuit City had quite a wide selection with very little price difference from one unit to another. We selected the Zenith DVD 2381. WOW what a great machine at a reasonable price! The unit has every bell and whistle you can imagine. First it is very attractive. Handsome understated face plate that stands apart from the endless look alike black boxes. But look...what is that button on the right?? It is a jog wheel similar to the controls on the back of a Digital camera. It allows you to control the unit from the machine and not require a remote for basic functions! HALELLUAH! We once had a vcr that had only mininal controls on the machine and demanded the remote to function, If you have ever lost, broken, or had the dog eat a remote you can guess what happened there, and we were stuck. This unit aleviates that possibility and I feft, that the designers are really looking out for the customers needs here. When we set the unit up at home we were not disappointed by the electronics either. Picture is razor sharp, sound is excellent also. The unit has a host of otputs for all the latest formats including progressive scan. The remote functions for your TV also and the button glows in the dark. Thejog forward and advance control is fun. The box says that the unit is software upgradable for future developements, but there is no mention of this in the manual or on Zenith's web site. We are very happy with the unit and would recommend it in a heartbeat!

Especially for the price, this is a fine product. I have not had any mechanical problems with it, and the features are more than enough to keep me satisfied. I especially enjoy the zoom function and the ability to go forward or back frame by frame.

Lesson learned. I purchased this player without having a DVD disc with me to test it. The main reason that I purchased it was the pirce and the progressive scan feature. I setup this player in no time and played a new movie The One and noticed that the image would pause for about five seconds. I own a Toshiba and it never did this, os I tested the player using The Martix and the player would skip over scenes or skip ahead five seconds in a scene. Someone would be talking and then it would skip to another scend five seconds ahead. I also could not get this player to play a mp3 file and I tried more than one type of disc and different formats and it would not play. I also ran a dirty disc test, by touching my nose and placing my oily finger prints over the disc and inserted in to the player and the player froze and would not open the tray or turn off. I had to disconect the power a few times and pressing the open button it finally open, a good player should play a disc with finger prints on it with no problems. I do like the features on this player, but what good are they if you can't watch a move wihtout it skipping or jumping ahead in scenes or pausing during playback. Zenith states that the player is software upgradeabel, but a visit to the website didn't list any info on this at all and the website didn't list a tech support number to help with this problem. I will return this player and try another.

We purchased this DVD player last year from Circuit City. It freezes consistently about 10-15 times per movie on all but the newest DVD movie. Rental DVD viewing is so awful, that we can't even invite friends over to watch on our large screen tv due to the embarassment of this. We tried to return it but CC insisted on sending it out to have it repaired vs. giving our money back. The repair attempts were unsuccessful x2, with the technician finding no problems. We are now back to the drawing board and will have to purchase another player. It definitely won't be a Zenith!

My friend recommended this unit and so far it has been excellent. They also have it at Circuit City. I like the little color CD that spins around on the display.