Apex AD-660 DVD $99 after rebate at CircuitCity.com / AD600A or AD660 $99 in store

[Atrac]

OK, let me start off by saying..there's NO loophole or secret menu on these !!!!!

CircuitCity.com *edit* is selling the Apex AD-660 DVD Player for $149. Then, there's a $50 mail-in rebate.

I've owned this player (I've owned every Apex!!! Can't get enough of 'em!!!!) and have these comments:

1) Supports DVD/VCD/SVCD/CD/CDR/MP3. They advertise that it plays CDRW, but I found that it will stop recognizing a CDRW after it has been erased and rewritten to a few times.

2) The subtitles are set to "On" even if you turn them off in preferences. So basically, the DVD movie starts and you have to manually shut off the subtitles (slightly annoying).

3) If you like to watch Chinese VCD's that have dual audio (Mandarin on one channel, Cantonese on the other channel), you can't turn off one or the other. Makes for a strange viewing experience!

4) You *have* to burn your mp3's using ISO9660/Mode 1/8.6 Character File names. If you burn any other way, the player won't read the mp3's properly (unlike the AD-600A and the AD-703, which reads pretty much anything I throw at them).

Positive comments? The picture is nice and bright (unlike previous Apex models). Very fast menu and track access (and I do mean *FAST*).


If you need a cheap DVD player or a second one for the spare room, I'd recommend this player.

*edit* They've changed their website. It now seems that the $50 rebate is "Internet Only." Kinda weird. Must be a promotion to get their website out there!

*edit edit* Please see other posts below for possible B&M (Brick & Mortar) Deal.

 

[fr]

They're also selling the Apex AD500A (doesn't play MP3/CD-Rs) this for $99.99 (no rebates). The thing is, if they're out of stock on the 500A, the computer *should* automatically offer the 660 as a substitute for the same price. That's how it worked at my location.

So it's possible to get the 660 for $99.99 + tax out the door.

So ask a sales counselor if it will work. Most of them are pretty laid back and are wililng to just try it.

 

[Raj]

I've been wanting to get the 660.
how about a link for the lazy to the player and the rebate?

Thnx

 

[Xanth]

Well I just got a nice surprise at Circuit City.

I went in and asked the sales rep about his APEX players and he said that the 99.00 dollar model (I forgot the number) was sold out and they were selling the 660 in it's place for 99.00 !!! Needless to say I walked out of the door with a dvd coupon book a 660 and a $20 mail in rebate form bringing the apex to a nice 80.00 total.

Add this to the 40gig maxtor, zip drive combo I got for 101 and I'm a happy man


BTW this is not that unlikely to happened to you considering a fair amount of people walk in and buy the cheapest dvd player, just call before you drive in.

I also wanted to add that 80 is an awesome deal just to turn this player into your music machine, keep that toshiba for you dvd's use the apex as a replacement for you 100 disc cd changer..

Happy Holidays

 

[wasssup]

You can check circuitcity.com for local availability. The Apex 500A is out of stock locally, hopefully i'll get the 660 in it's place...they don't open for another hour though

 

[VenGog]

It is great....
Can someone confirm, if I can play
CDRs burned with digital VCD?????
Thanks in advance..
VG

 

[wasssup]

yes, DVD/CDR/CDRW/MP3/VCD/SVCD etc...

 

[slicksilver]

does anyone have a link to the Apex's home page?(Official site)

Raj

 

[bubba]

Xanth-

Where did you get the $20 rebate?

 

[wasssup]

Mine always has a funky sound when I hit open...probably got a defective unit, gonna go and exchange it later tonight...

btw, i didn't get a rebate form either...

And Atrak, thanks for the hot deal, needed a second dvd player that played cdr/w etc...

 

[Atrac]

Incidentally, Apex seems to sell units with several different types of DVD Drives. I own an Apex AD-600a and it too makes a funny "buzz" noise whenever I turn it on or push "eject." Another drive will make a very high pitched "cricket noise" ever 5-8 seconds when listening to CD's or mp3's. The third drive won't make any funny noises, but when you push eject it opens & closes notably slower than most other DVD Player drives. This drive seems to have trouble reading CDRW's.

My preference is the first "buzz" noise drive. It is quiet at all other times and has given me zero problems.

(Like I said, I know Apex!!!!)

 

[wasssup]

i see...guess its not defective then, huh? In that case i'll just keep it...also, you haven't tried playing SVCD's with it, have you? I tried it, and whenever I hit FF (fast forward) it rewinds instead....works fine for VCD's though. I have yet to try cdrw's too...

 

[Xmenxmen]

Hey wassup,

The apex plays svcd fine. It's a matter of how the disc was created, not the player that controls the button.

 

[wasssup]

Well...I *was* gonna keep this one, then I said I might as well exchange it (since it was boxed up again)...it's too late to even change my mind, it's in my car right now and will remain there till night (and since it's freezing, something else may go wrong, who knows). This is a great player though, but small things (like that buzzing before it ejects) just annoy me. Hopefully the next one won't have any problems...

P.S. - THIS MODEL HAS A $50 MAIL IN REBATE! (ACCORDING TO THEIR WEBSITE)...

Their site is pretty slow right now, but hopefully they'll fix it. If that's true, it's $99.99 - $50 = $49.99! Pretty hot deal for a dvd player with that many features.

 

[adamstorch]

Someone please post the web site already!!!

Adam

 

[nitros]

APEX's website: http://www.apexdigitalinc.com

 

[iDazzler]

I went to CC (Raleigh, NC) and found a mountain of Apex 500 for $99, the 600A model was also there and it was going for $149 - potential $50 mail-in = Awesome deal.


Hey Wasssup,

When you say "Their Website" , do you mean Circuit City or the Apex Site? I couldn't find the Apex Site....

 

[iDazzler]

Thx Nitros

 

[adamstorch]

Thanks for posting the web site, could'nt find any rebates though!

 

[nitros]

APEX's website: http://www.apexdigitalinc.com

 

[nitros]

The rebate is mentioned on the front page of circuit city's wb page. But their site is really hurting right now.

http://www.circuitcity.com

 

[madcow223]

if you go search for apex brand dvd players, you'll get the correct $50 rebate link.

but, the small print on the rebate says that the $50 off is only for internet purchases.
the rebate is to match the price of the dvd player at the B&M.

so, you should be able to walk into the store and get the apex 660 for 99.99 out the door.

beats waiting for the rebate.

 

[kingink]

This is kind of old news, but thanks for reminding me. About a month back I was going to get one of these at any SF location and they were all sold out. I'll try again, but I think I'll use the website this time and get it shipped. I hope I get the 660.
kingink

 

[Kwad Guy]

Anyone know if this thing will read the VCD "albums" that WinOnCD 3.8
makes? In prinicpal, these VCD albums are a way to basically
play MP3s on any DVD player, not just one that explicitly plays
MP3.

But my experience is that only a handful of players can deal
with these VCD2 albums. My old Phillips just gives an error message.
My Panasonic will play but ONLY if you're happy starting with
the first track on the VCD and playing through to the end. (If
you try to navigate to any other track, it hangs so badly that
you have to power off to get it to stop and even then it takes
30 seconds to stop--yes 30 seconds after you hit power off!)
My Apex 600A will play any single album on the VCD you choose,
but I can't figure out how to navigate out of that album once
you've selected it (it just keeps repeating that same album).

So how about this new Apex? Does it know how to properly handle
VCD2?

Kwad

 

[Atrac]

Actually, the story's a little different here in Southern CA. I went to the Pasadena CC and they are substituting the AD-600A for the AD-500A!!!! Yep, and the AD-600A is a better model than the AD-660!!!

How is it better?

1) Has component video output.
2) Better support for mp3's. (You don't have to burn in ISO9660/Mode 1/8.6 Character file names. Joliet/Mode 2 is supported, although it still will only display 8.6.)
3) Better CDRW support (at least it's better than the AD-660 I took back!).
4) Left/Right Audio Mode (for watching Mandarin/Cantonese VCD's). The AD-660 says it supports this feature, but good luck getting it to work!

I don't know if you'll get the AD-600A in your area, but either way, AD-600A or AD-660 is a great deal for $99!!!!!

Also, I seriously doubt anyone can use the AD-660 rebate on the CC website with a AD-660 purchase made in the store. The rebate clearly states "INTERET REBATE."

Finally, for you hackers out there, I bought two of the AD-600A's (Merry X-mas, Dad!). One has no manufacture date on it, and the other one is dated 6/2000. *Neither* have a secret loopholes menu!!!! It's LONG gone, thanks to the MPAA.

The Pasadena, CA Circuit City had 33 AD-600A's left about an hour ago.