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I bought this when my boyfriend and I split and I realized I didn't have a DVD player after I moved out. It works great, very slim and easy to place alongside the TV and cable boxes. A little bit loud when it starts up for such a small piece, but not noticeable during play. It's a good product. I haven't tried the special high tech stuff part, I haven't had a need.

I have owned this model for about 4 months now. At first it worked great. I was able to burn .mpg, .avi (including DivX and Xvid), etc. and watch them without any problems. I updated the firmware the first day I got it and haven't done anything different since then.

Lately I have had this thing freeze up on me a lot. I thought it was only happening when I was fast-forwarding media files, but today it has frozen up on 2 different discs during normal play. After it froze the first time, I tried a movie that I know I have seen before on this player. When it freezes, I have to un-plug it. None of the buttons function on the player or remote.

I will more than likely try to re-do the firmware and reset all memory. If that doesn't work, I will exchange it for the same player. While I am un-happy with it's performance, I don't want to spend another $50-$80 on a basic dvd player. I am saying this because I believe this unit has the ability to be worth as much or more than it is selling for. If everyone that has problems with it gives it a lower rating, we will get a better feel for how widespread or isolated these problems are.

As far as the functionality when it is working, I think most people will be happy with it. It uses the directional arrows for fast forward (for those of you who have complained of this as a problem.) The power button is top center on the remote an red. I don't know how anyone could miss that. If you have a Harmony or similar universal remote, there is an eject button available that isn't included on the remote that comes with the player. My only problem with the remote is it has to be directly in front of the player. The same is true for my Harmony remote, so I know this is a design flaw in the player itself. If your player is turned to an angle beyond about 20 degrees, the remote won't work.

Another of my complaints is that you can't disable the auto-power off feature. If you pause a video, the player will turn off after a while. If you were watching a DVD, you can resume play when you turn it back on, but the same doesn't apply to data discs.

Also, it won't play WMV files. At first I thought this was because of licensing with Microsoft. After purchasing, I realized that it does play WMA files. I don't know why the would emit that format.

The weak signal link between the remote and the unit can be annoying when you want or need to stop, pause, ff, or reverse a program quickly. Although there's no dedicated open/close button on the remote, the disc tray can be opened/closed with the remote if you press and hold the stop button for about 4 seconds). Also, the picture is excellent through the HDMI connection, and the unit is inexpensive. Finally, it does what I primarily bought it for - playing DivX dvd's. Update on 6/13: It doesn't appear to automatically set the aspect ratio (full screen or widescreen) to match that of the dvd - you must go into the menu and set it.

This product is cheap. It works beautifully for what it is. However, the motor is way too loud, and the construction of the DVD player itself is very fragile.

If your looking for a good cheap dvd player this might meet your needs, but if you have the money you should definately go with something that is better built and not as loud.

To simplify the conversion procedure from region 1 to region 0, do this:

1. Turn on the unit
2. Press the `Setup' button on the remote.
3. Go to the "Preferences" page by using the right arrow key.
4. Enter 138931 from remote keypad
5. You will now see the current region code displayed (in US it's 1)
6. Use the Up arrow key to select "0" for region free access, or 'Down' arrow key for other regions
7. Exit by pressing `Setup'.

This modification can be reversed as desired, and any region number can be substituted.

The player is not the highest quality, and it may not last forever, but the picture and sound are excellent. It is fine for region 3 discs, which are the only ones I own other than region 1.

There are annoyances, like the lack of slow forward/reverse, the slowness of drawer opening, and loading, but these are tolerable for the price.

It is in use here as a back up unit for the discs my Panasonic reject as unplayable for reasons of "dirt", "stains" or "scratches".

For the record, that's hooey. The discs are perfect, as testified to by the 3 other players in the house. I think the DVP 3960 could play a pancake if you stuck one in.

The fact it's that un-fussy makes it worthwhile.

I hate that it doesn't have RAM. That is why I like the Panasonic in spite of its attitude. It holds the disc position in memory, to be resumed as desired without missing a beat. Nice.