Coby DVD237 Progressive Scan DVD Player

Given that this DVD player was priced at $30, I didn't expect it to impress me, but I did expect that it would work on a basic level. After initially plugging it in, the disc drawer would not open. After power cycling it a few times it did open, but would not recognize any of the discs I inserted. All were normal unscratched DVDs. After power cycling the unit a few more times it did eventually play a DVD properly, but it also demonstrated that it would never behave reliably and repeated plugging and unplugging would be the norm with this DVD player. I hope that all of Coby's entry level units are not this poor. I give it two stars only because this unit could be coaxed into operation with enough perseverance.

One thing being a pain when to go back and forth between Britain and US is Regional DVDs. US has one standard and Britain has PAL. In order to play anything in the US other than region 1 you have to buy a PAL DVD player, then have to have a PAL telly! What a pain. Even when you get region 0 which supposedly plays on a few (not my four!), you still need the telly that reads PAL!

So the brilliant solution is this AKAI DVD. It is just such a dream to this videophile. It's a multi region player, and yes I can play my DVDs I get in England and no special tell. The player has a converter! Gee, how SIMPLE can you get!!

It plays multi regions - 5 Disc changer, DC CDRW/MP3. The picture is exquisite. The Zoom is amazing on this one! So this Lovejoy Addict has my 5 Disc changer loaded with series 1 and 2 of Lovjoy (nearly) and eagerly waiting release of series 3.

So, don't sit around wishing you could play a DVD from Britain or elsewhere...Read more

STOP and BEWARE. If you want to purchase a multi-region DVD player DO NOT buy the Coby DVD-237 DVD player it is just a regular DVD player. I wanted a multi-region player that I could watch DVD's from England on (Region 2). I read the reviews and other people wrote about how easy this player was to do it, so I ordered it. Well I got the player yesterday, and the player DOES NOT do multi-regions. It may be a fine little player, but it is not what it is advertised as, now I have to return it. You can contact Coby Customer Service at 1-800-681-2629 and they can tell you what the player can and can't do. But it does not do Regions outside the US.