Rating: 
Summary: Question:When is a multidisk player NOT a multidisk player ?
Review: Answer: When it comes from Apex. Based on generally good experiences I've have had with Apex gear, I bought the unit a year ago, and it has functioned properly, playing disks with multiple formats, but it DOES NOT SWITCH from one disk to another by itself, let alone from one track to another on another disk. This a fundamental requirement of a multidisk system, IMHO. I've been waiting for a firmware upgrade, but none has been forecoming. In short, don't buy this unit.
Rating:
Summary: Features but no quality
Review: APEX players DO sport some of the best FEATURES available; but some of the most inconsistant and questionable quality.The 5131 worked fine with 5" discs for 8 months. The problem with the unit is that unless you hard power it off, the spindle motor runs ALL THE TIME. The part they used doesn't hold up to that. This is a common problem in the forums, and there is no easy way to repair or replace it. The tray has slots for the 3" CDs; however, the tray jumps when it spins. Sometimes 5" CDs will jam or fall back inside, but always with the 3" CDs. I had a collector CD that was destroyed by the carousel (Scratched through the silver of the CD). As is common with most APEX players, this is of questionable quality. Some people have good luck. We didn't with this one or with a 1110W. Both failed in less than a year with only light to medium use, plenty of ventilation and no physical abuse.
Rating:
Summary: Features but no quality
Review: APEX players DO sport some of the best FEATURES available; but some of the most inconsistant and questionable quality. The 5131 worked fine with 5" discs for 8 months. The problem with the unit is that unless you hard power it off, the spindle motor runs ALL THE TIME. The part they used doesn't hold up to that. This is a common problem in the forums, and there is no easy way to repair or replace it. The tray has slots for the 3" CDs; however, the tray jumps when it spins. Sometimes 5" CDs will jam or fall back inside, but always with the 3" CDs. I had a collector CD that was destroyed by the carousel (Scratched through the silver of the CD). As is common with most APEX players, this is of questionable quality. Some people have good luck. We didn't with this one or with a 1110W. Both failed in less than a year with only light to medium use, plenty of ventilation and no physical abuse.
Rating: 
Summary: Burnt Out after a year
Review: Be aware of this procuct. A little over a year and it will not read a disk. Trash.
Rating: 
Summary: Fixing the Remote Control Problem...
Review: Best investment I ever made. Now for fixing the remote... It's easy. The problem is that APEX used the wrong plastic (the red transparent plate over the display), and it attenuates the IR from the remote. Two ways to fix (take your choice).
(1) Pop off the plastic window (it's just adhesived on). You can just leave it off (not recommended) or proceed to step two...
(2) If you want to replace it, look for the sensor in the lower right side of the unit; mark the position on the faceplate, and drill a 1/4 or so hole in the faceplate to expose the sensor. Stick the facplate back onto the doublesided adhesive on the unit.
Your operating range should be about 3 to 5x what it was before!
Rating:
Summary: Fixing the Remote Control Problem...
Review: Best investment I ever made. Now for fixing the remote... It's easy. The problem is that APEX used the wrong plastic (the red transparent plate over the display), and it attenuates the IR from the remote. Two ways to fix (take your choice).
(1) Pop off the plastic window (it's just adhesived on). You can just leave it off (not recommended) or proceed to step two...
(2) If you want to replace it, look for the sensor in the lower right side of the unit; mark the position on the faceplate, and drill a 1/4 or so hole in the faceplate to expose the sensor. Stick the facplate back onto the doublesided adhesive on the unit.
Your operating range should be about 3 to 5x what it was before!
Rating:
Summary: An unhappy APEX customer
Review: I bought the 5131 last summer. It worked well at first, but then my DVD's would start skipping, even brand-new ones. Now the carousel tray will not always open. Sometimes I have to cycle power on it a few times before it starts functioning properly. The whole unit also often freezes completely so I have to restart the DVD and find out where I left off. It's been a while since I have been able to watch a whole DVD whithout the thing crashing.
Rating: 
Summary: APEX? recommendation
Review: I bought the APEX based on it's value and Karaoke capability. I'm on my 3rd unit as the first 2 were dead out of the box. The first wouldn't do much although the tray would open and close. The tray jammed on the 2nd unit I bought. I gave APEX 3 chances and the 3rd was the charm. I almost thought it was defective too, as I was only able to get black and white out of the S-video output. However, I finally determined that it was a defective cable, replacing it enabled the APEX to deliver an outstanding image, equal to the Toshiba DVD it replaced. Funny, the old cable worked with the Toshiba but I may have damaged it during the installation of the 3 APEX units. I love the unit, the features are easy to use and all is well so far. The mic input for the Karaoke works well and I look forward to trying a DVD Karaoke disc which I will be ordering from Amazon. From the other reviews, I already know that the CD-G discs will not work as hoped.
Rating:
Summary: $40 Labor after 90 Days
Review: I bought this player at July 2003, it stops working right before Christmas. When I finally got connected to the APEX customer support (1-866-427-3946 and it's always busy), the lady told me it's a defect on the Laser Pickup and I need to send it in and pay $40 labor to fix it.
Rating:
Summary: Very bad player !!! Don't buy it !!!
Review: I decided to return it the day after I bought it. I couldn't stand it any longer. These are the reasons: 1. When it played DVD, it always paused about 0.5 sec when switching to the next chapter. It was very annoying because the movie could not be played smoothly. 2. The romote control was awful. I needed to point the remote control directly to the device within a very short range to control it. 3. The mechanism was very slow - in terms of loading the discs and change the discs. 4. I couldn't stop the machine when I watched VCD. I could pause it, but could not stop it. What a junk! 5. The user interface was very unfriendly. It's very hard to find the function I was looking for. 6. User's manual was not useful at all. It didn't explain any new terms about the DVD player that I've never heard before. It was written carelessly and couldn't help users with their troubles. I am an electrical enginner and have used many personal electronics before. This one is definitely the most horrible electronic product I have ever seen in my life. I cannot believe any company can make a junk like this and still sell it. It's a big joke!
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