I'm considering the following models:
AndrewBoss SP-2820
Philips DVP642
RJ-1500DVX
Lite-on LVD-2002

I need one with good picture quality and a good remote because I will be using this player as my main DVD player.

The AndrewBoss looks quite good, but I'm unable to find anything other than the specs, same with the RJ Tech player. I know a lot about the Phillips and Lite-on Models.

My price range is than $100 including shipping.

Any other suggestions are appreciated,

Thanks, for all your help. - Jonathan.

how you doin jman, I just recently bought the philips dvp642, and it is pretty amazing, all of my divx's work very well....there are a few of the older ones that i have, which play, but are not able to fast forward or scan ahead, but the picture quality and sound are amazing on all of them. There have been a lot of people who have complained about the remote controller on this player, but I think it's fine, no problems. people have also said that there is no eject button, but all you have to do is hold stop on the remote, kinda annoying, but it's not really a big deal..you gotta get up to get the disc out anyway right? but I have to say, that the divx quality is amazing...i've heard mixed reviews on dvd burns with it...as you'll see if you do soe research on the forum, but overall, i haven't had any real problems with it, great player and mad cheap, for like 70 bucks can't go wrong...

How does it play DivX v3 files at 29fps? Does it play Divx files in the OGM (OggMedia) container?

I have A LOT of divx files that are v3 and are 29fps. Have you ever had problems with those? i.e. the simpsons episodes from robotolabs.cjb.net are ALL divx3 @ 29fps. I want to get a DVD player that is compatible with DivX so I can watch the simpsons episodes that I can not yet buy on DVD.

Thanks!

My JVC XV-NP10S has zero problems with DivX v3 files at 29fps...low motion or whatever.Xvid is a different story..have to re-encode most of those.As far as OGM,no go so far.Your Simpsons episodes will/would play fine on this player.

Amazon have the philips for $66.49 with free shipping

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...ics&vi=reviews

I know this is a little bit off but a modded XBOX with XBMC beats any of the current DVD Players that support divx. Xbox Media Center is based off of Mplayer so you can play just about any file extension out there without a hitch.
It is out of your pricerange but considering you can play just about any internet downloadable file extension with it, it is well worth the extra cash. Also with DVD region X on the XBOX you can play PAL/NTSC format DVDs without having to bother doing any conversions.

Thanks! But I hope I could get feedback on how well the phillips plays them.

The Phillips is supposed to be pretty versatile but no standalone DVD Player that supports Divx/Xvid is as universal as they should be. What I posted above really is your best bet if you don't want to risk it. The other advantage is that if there is a file extension that the XBOX with the current version of XBMC doesn't support, whenever an upgrade comes out it will fix the problem instead of you having to go out and buy a whole other unit. The other thing that I notice is that the Phillips will only play Divx, ect. on CD-R but not DVD-R. That gets to be a royal pain since a DVD-R will hold so many more divx episodes than a regular CD-R.

My phillips DVP642 plays divx from DVD-R. It did fail on one of 3 disks I tried. The one that failed may have been compiled to PS2 format with PS2MediaPlayer thou (not 100% sure).

I'm just going by what I read in the specs. Anyways, I can't get any data DVD-R to work on my PS2 Reality Media player (V1.5) but it plays CD-R without a hitch.

i've managed to get ps2reality player to work dvd-r and use good media
here's a link that might help
http://www.ps2reality.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40179

Thanks for the info. It doesn't really do me much good at this point though since I don't use PS2 Reality Media Player much anymore. It just can't compete with XBMC for the number of acceptable file extensions and ease of use (no DVD-R issues).

Whatever you do stay away from Kiss Divx players

In the UK, DK Digital 915 is very good, it just plays everything

Agreed. The price simply doesn't justify what you are actually getting. A pre-modded XBOX costs less and all it takes is for you to pick up Slayer's Auto Installer V2.6 and you have XBMP and the latest XBMC (V1.0) installed after pressing about 3 buttons on the controller.

How long do XBOX's usually last? I really want to get a versatile DVD player and a modded XBOX is starting to sound like a GREAT idea.

i looked at using the xbox as a media player a long time ago but looked verry complicated to make work so went with the ps2 . going on about using sdk and xdk's and stuff .While with the ps2 media player all you had to was download the files add the avi's and burn . But the ps2 media player is very limited .I think the only way i can get the xbox media center to work is see if they sell it up the barra's and make an iso of it extract there media files and replace them with my own

Umm, if you pay for XBMC then you need to have your head examined. Like PS2 Reality Media Player it is an un-official release. As for the complexity of XBMC? It is a complete non-issue now. All you need is a modified XBOX and to pick up Slayer's Evox Auto-Installer V2.6. Burn Slayer's to DVD-R and pop in your XBOX. Select the option from the menu to format the E:/ drive and it will do the rest for you. No more complicated configuring files or FTP'ing necessary. XBMC V1.0 just happens to be one of the many cool apps that the latest Slayer's automatically installs on your XBOX. The cool thing is that XBMC works with the XBOX remote, so it makes navigating the program dead easy. No need to convert the files you D/L, just burn them as data discs, pop them in and they should work (unless they are corrupted). The two extensions that I am not sure if they currently work on XBMC are .rm and .ram. Everything else, to my knowledge works (ie bin, divx, xvid, mpg, dat, jpg, ect.). In addition, Slayer's will also install DVD Region X on your XBOX, which will allow your XBOX to play PAL DVDs on an NTSC XBOX/TV setup or vice-versa. The only downside is that as of yet there is no remote support for it, so you will need to use the controller. As far as how long an XBOX lasts? That depends. If you get one, try to get one with a Samsung drive in ita (There are 3 different stock DVD Drives in the XBOX). Those things tend to be the most flexible with media (although it should be noted that they don't get along with DVD+R unless you have adjusted the booktype/bitsetting option on your burner) and in turn are pretty durable.

I used to watch my divx with the ps2media reality.. no disrespect to the programmers but ever since i saw the quality of the picture i was getting from my phillips 642k... WHOA... forget about ps2!!! go for the philips 642k. i heard the neuston maestro dvx1201 is pretty good.. or their mc500.. if you can find them :P

Yeah the quality isn't the greatest but it is a good option for those who already have a PS2 and don't want to invest money in a seperate player. As mentioned above though, not a single other standalone unit will offer you the versatility of file formats that a modded XBOX with XBMC will.