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Playin’ DVD’s on your computer is pretty cool, and wirin’ your pad to send a DVD signal to your TV from your computer is pretty damn spiffy too, but it’s not always the most elegant solution. In fact, given the cost of quality RCA cables, and the possibility that you may have as old an entertainment set up as some of us, playing a DVD on your TV through your computer two rooms away is not the best way to impress the ladies, especially if the signal you get is more than a little fuzzy. The utilitarian geek, however, will note that connecting your computer to your entertainment system is not only a good idea if you want to watch DVD’s in your living room, but if you want to listen to mp3’s as well. Clearly, there’s no better solution available. Or is there?

Review:The Apex 600A DVD player is a power-users dream. Certainly, it’s not the greatest DVD player out there, but power isn’t always proportional with price, and the 600A doesn’t exactly cost an arm and a leg. The beauty of the 600A isn’t solely based on its DVD-playing features (though they’re not exactly sub-par either), but rather on what features the 600A boasts. In fact, calling the 600A a DVD player is only a fraction of the truth. If you haven’t already guessed it, the 600A plays mp3’s as well, assuring the 600A a position in the mp3 revolution.

Unlike most build-it-yourself solutions, the 600A simplifies playing mp3s with the included remote, which controls everything from the typical DVD play controls to navigating directories on your favorite mp3 CD. No longer do you have to run into your bedroom to change songs. No longer do you have to squeeze past 50 people at your latest partay ’cause someone doesn’t like the mp3 CD that’s playing. And best of all, no longer do you need to leave the living room to play your favorite Vanilla Ice song a fourth time.

Oh, wait, playing DVD’s and mp3’s aren’t the only things the 600A does either. There’s also the ability to play video CD’s, which lets those of you who make .mpg versions of your favorite DVD’s and movies play them on your TV. Finally, I can watch all 39 ripped episodes of The Mysterious Cities of Gold on my TV, instead of sitting in my uncomfortable computer chair a couple feet from my monitor. What more can you ask for? More features, I hear you say? Well, if you’re too poor to buy an audio CD player, the 600A can act as one of those, too.

Though all these kickass features are present, there’s a reason the Apex 600A carries the title of “DVD player”. In fact, it’s because of the “secret menu” that many hardcore DVD aficionados are trying to get their hands on one of these puppies. This configuration menu, hidden from the average user, lets the curious geek bypass Macromedia copy protection, allowing you to copy DVD’s to VHS with litle to no problems. In addition, the 600A allows you to select from numerous region codes, so you can play DVD’s from a number of countries. Better yet is the fact that you can change the region code on your player as many times as you want, unlike those DVD ROM’s out there that only let you change the region code two or three times. Now I can get ahold of the French-only release of Mysterious Cities of Gold II. Man, if only I could speak French.

The Apex 600A is only sold through a few retail outlets, and the only major one is Circuit City. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, all they had in stock was the display unit, which they refused to sell. I was put on their backorder list along with 29 other people, and had to wait a month for my unit to come in. By then, rumours abound of “modified” units that didn’t have the “secret menu”, since some corporate officials were making a fuss about the lack of region locking and Macromedia protection. Aww, are those rich-boys afraid of losing a little money? Fortunately, if you act quickly enough, you’ll still be able to get ahold of the 600A before production stops. As it stands, the 600A will soon be replaced with the new Apex model, the 660A, which is supposed to be practically identical to the 600A aside from the removal of the “secret menu”. Of course, if you only care about the mp3, VCD, and/or audio CD playing, then you’re in luck, ’cause Apex has no plans on getting rid of those excellent features.

After buying the Apex 600A, I didn’t have any problems setting it up. The included cables were all I needed to hook the audio up to our receiver, and the video up to our archaic VCR. The manual is pretty simple to follow, and contains information on playing the various file types, and even gives an intro. to what they are if you’re not in the know. The only thing the manual doesn’t include is how to properly burn CD’s for mp3 and VCD play; I threw an old party mix mp3 CD into the player and it worked fine, but non-Joliet burns done on a Mac weren’t readable. Also slightly annoying is the fact that the mp3 filenames on the disc were cut off at 8 characters, as if they were being viewed in DOS. As for VCD play, the manner in which you have to burn the CD is slightly more complicated, and I wasn’t able to just pop in my CD’s containing The Mysterious Cities of Gold after all; instructions for VCD creation are easily obtained from the web.

The most annoying thing I found was when I put my first DVD into the player, which was rated R: I was prompted for a parental control password. The 600A comes with password-protection enabled, so as to keep children from watching movies with adult content. I couldn’t find the default password in the included manual, so I had to jump online to find it. FYI, the password is 3308.

I serously believe the Apex 600A is a good DVD player, and an excellent entertainment toy. No longer do I have to worry about the cables running from my computer up into the attic and down into the living room being eaten away by rats. There’s nothing easier than just poppin’ a DVD or CD into the 600A, rather than having to load up Winamp or my computer DVD player, and checking to make sure all the audio connections are enabled properly. And heck, for the price, it’s tough to pass this offer up, especially since these things are going fast, and won’t be around for too much longer.

Verdict: 9/10
Price of Tested Unit: $170 plus tax.
Pluses: Plays mp3’s, VCD’s, is technically region free, and Macrovision can be turned off.
Minuses: mp3 filenames are shortened to 8 characters, VCD’s need to be burned in specific manner.
Final Words: For its price, the Apex 600A is an excellent addition to your entertainment setup.

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