Coby DVD-588 5.1 Channel Upconversion DVD Player with HDMI Output & Progressive Scan

• HD Upconversion for enhanced high definition video
• DVD, DVD+R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, and JPEG Compatible
• 5.1 Channel digital audio for surround sound systems/Dolby digital decoder
• HDMI output for perfect digital signal transmission to Home Theater Systems
• Convenient front panel and On-Screen display function/Parental lock control

This does a nice job on the upconversion. Looks and sounds good using the HDMI output. Plays just about anything you throw at it as do most Coby's. Surprisingly will also do DTS sound although it doesn't specifically mention it in the spec's. Only question is how will it hold up in the long run.

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My first player was faulty and had to be returned. Note their return policy meant I had to pay the shipping costs to send back their faulty product!! Not happy about that since it didn't work in the first place!!

I heard nothing from them. After a week I called to discover they had not processed my return. My phone call did prompt a response, but even then I had to wait another week before I got a player which this time worked. They did not tell me they had a problem getting me a replacement, so player excellent.... Customer service I regard as poor since I had to chase them to get any action.

I doubt I will purchase from them again.

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I own this for the last 60 days. When I recently went to India, I bought some regional language movies that were in PAL. So I bought this thinking that for the price of ~$55 I get the one that can play PAL/NTSC, MP3/WMV/DivX. On top of that it is a region free player as well as has a HDMI interface. However 2 months later this is what sums up my experience:

1. I could watch all of PAL DVDs. Watched some of the DivX movies. Felt great about the player. However the remote was not that reliable. I had to press hard/twice some times. That didn't bother me as I started using my universal remote(came with my pioneer plasma TV).

2. After 5-6 days, DVD player doesn't respond to remote/keys. Even the power button doesn't work. I have to remove the power from my extension cord. I still have this problem at least once in 2 weeks.

3. After a while I realized the it is not upconverting to 1080i/p. Though they don't advertise it (Coby says unconversion of 5.1ch audio only), I didn't realize that earlier.

4. After 5 weeks I'm getting tired of this as I finished watching most of the movies I brought from India. Video is freezing once in a while, taking looong time to load etc.

5. After 8 weeks I decided to listen to some mp3 cds on Coby. Took too much time to load the mp3 to CDs. However it played all of them. Wait.. not for the entire day!! By evening COBY is almost dead!! No matter what cd/DVD I put in, it's always on "Loading" state!

May be its my bad luck of getting a faulty one. May be not! May be!!

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I wanted an all-region player that will last a year. A year is all I expect out of DVD players lately. So, out of the box, it works great. The picture is awesome, the sound is good. I like the HDMI option. Most of all, I like that I can play my PAL movies. You have to have the DVD hack code for this model to play regions other than North America, but its easy. Just type the model name and the word "hack" into google and you'll get it. You just open the tray, type the code and the region you want and presto. I know this brand has a terrible reputation, but I've had no problems.

I got this thing to abstain on the HD format wars for a year or so.

It works reasonably well. The video quality over HDMI is fine. It does seem to have trouble with audio on some discs. On some discs, the channels are somehow screwed up (effects are overpowering, voices are faint) when downsampling to our stereo TV. On others, the audio occasionally drifts out of sync, which can be fixed by pausing the playback. Weird, and a little irritating. On many discs, the audio is perfectly fine.

If you buy this expecting to be wowed, you should learn to manage your expectations. It's a cheapie, stopgap player; it costs less than dinner for two and it shows. However, it is the definition of "good enough" for us.