Page 1 of new to dvd what to buy???

i live in ireland (south) so i don`t have the choice that can be found in the uk, and it a long way to go if i need to bring back a faulty player.
so what should i buy from the following.!!!!
LG 3200
Wharfdale 750s from Tesco
Alba 103
Bush 2002
Philips 711
Marantz 3100 from Richer Sounds
Please can i have replies in plain english and not in techo jargon.
thanks

Are you likely to be buying Region 1 DVDs and what kit are you going to use it with? Do you have a Dolby Digital amp, Pro-logic or neither? You need to factor these into your choice. If you have a Dolby Digital amp, then you don`t need a player with a decoder built in. If you have a pro-logic amp, then you do. If you have neither, then it won`t make a lot of difference.

I`d steer clear of the Bush and Philips players. If you have a Dolby Digital amp, then the Wharfedale would be my choice out of your list. Otherwise the LG if you don`t need Region 1. I don`t know much about the Marantz, but they are usually "tweaked" Philips machines.

Hope this is of help.

Thanks for the help mike. I have a Pro-Logic amp. and i would like to buy region 1 dvds over the net.
so you have given me something to think about.

Hi there,

I can maybe help cut your list down a little.

I had an Alba 103 for about 5 weeks and took it back. The reasons are as follows:

Poor picture quality compared to other dvds.

Technical support is awful.

After pausing etc soundtrack not in line with video.

Will not play discs that have been coded using RCE (sorry I know that is jargon) - the only discs that are affected thus far are The Patriot and Thomas and the Magic Railroad or something like that.

As far as I am aware Alba and Bush models are identical (I think) - in any case they are part of the same group and thus a number of points above will reapply.

I bought a Pioneer 530 from www.techtronics.com, have a look at their website for some prices and information.

Richer sounds will demo players for you as well, it is worthwhile going along to see them if you have a local store.

Hope this helps

Hey Mick can u tell me what`s wrong with Philips?
Haven`t found anything bad untill now.

It`s not on your list, but I would definitely suggest you check out the Aiwa DV370 (available from Comets for 199.99 or http://www.hed.co.uk for 169.99)

There is a simple multi-region hack (see elsewhere on this forum or I can post it again if required). It handles DVD, CD-R, CD-RW, VCD (unlike the LG 3350), and MP3 (v nice ,same as LG 3350 - MP3 sound is also output via the Coax output which is handy). Picture and sound quality are excellent, and Aiwa is a long established brand. It has DTS support.
About the only thing missing is a built-in DD decoder but I have a Sony DD amp so that`s not an issue for me.

In short, AIWA 370 ROCKS!!!

Cheers
Jezebabes