Apex Digital Introduces Five New DVD Players

[J.A.F._Doorhof]

Apex Digital has reported it will release a complete new line of 18 model televisions and many new DVD players, which will ship to retailers in the second quarter this year. The new units are the best value for cost DVD players yet from North America's second most popular brand name. Apex Digital has out-sold all competitive brands except Sony, in just two short years in the marketplace. The continued success of the Apex Digital brand is ensured with the new introductions, which have exceeded expectations with features and continued excellent value to the consumer.

The new DVD player models were showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show schedule Jan. 8-11, and received tremendous acceptance by most major retailers. The new five DVD players include the AD-1200, AD-1600, AD-2100, AD-2500, and the AD-3000.

All five units play DVDs, VCDs, SVCDs, CDs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and MP3. Each model also displays automatically, Kodak Picture CDs. Other features include Dolby Digital/DTS Pass Through, Dolby Pro Logic, RCA and S-Video outputs, Programmable Playback Sequence, Analog Audio Output, Slow Motion Forward, Fast Motion Forward, Multiple Angle Feature, Multiple Language Subtitles, Parental Lock, Frame-by-Frame Advance, 2x and 4x Zoom, and a built-in Screen Saver. And all five units are PCM Ready. Moreover, the AD-1600, AD-2100, and AD-2500 feature Microsoft Windows Media software (WMA). The Microsoft Windows Media is a compression system that allows up to 22 hours of music to be stored on one disc with excellent quality music reproduction.

Steve Brothers, senior vice president sales and marketing, stated during the Apex Digital press conference, "In keeping with our past record of firsts with new technology, WMA will rank as our premier audio format. We expect consumers to embrace the WMA technology quickly and Apex Digital will provide this feature on almost all models (except promotional) DVD players, this year."

Apex Digital players are the first wave of DVD players in the market capable of playing WMA formatted discs. Apex Digital proved once again it has the ability to be an innovator by showing four models with the new Microsoft WMA capability. According to a poll conducted by the Apex Digital staff, show attendees were surprised that Apex Digital had product that included WMA on display. Microsoft personnel demonstrated the new audio technology on Apex players at both companies, and reported a 'strong interest' in the products. In addition, The AD-2100, AD-2500, and AD-3000 include a Component Video Output and the AD-2100 and AD-2500 also include an Apex Full Screen. The AD-2500 and AD-3000 have Virtual Surround Sound and Optical Audio Outputs. The AD-3000 is the newest addition model and features the new 'slot loading' feature rather than a tray that comes out, to load the disc.