Oritron NPD3117 On Media Networked Progressive Scan DVD Player

Rating:
Summary: Good concept, poor execution, TERRIBLE customer service!
Review: First, let me say that if it worked as advertised, I'd be happy. Heck, I'd even be happy if it mostly worked as advertised. However, I had a VERY different experience. I bought mine in September 2003. It always had problems playing over a WiFi network - video would freeze up and the NIC would lose its IP address. Not an issue with my network, as I had perfect, continuous connectivity on 2 laptops elsewhere. Finally got it connected directly and the video was great, but now I have a wire running across my living room.
A month after I got it the display started showing weird characters. It was still legible but it was obvious there was a mistake. Calling Tech Supp was a NIGHTMARE. You see, instead of outsourcing support overseas to someplace like India, they IMPORTED the foreigners and have them supporting you out of Salt Lake City, or so they say. That is, if you can understand what they say. And they don't understand you. (And no, I don't have a Boston accent, nor a NY accent.) Speak -- more -- than -- one -- word -- per -- second -- and you'll completely throw them off. TERRIBLE. And they read from scripts, and do not know their products and the features. (I was actually teaching them about their own product at many points throughtout the conversation.) In fact, they didn't even have any test-units nearby so they could try what they were telling you to try. Come on, that's tech support 101. OK, so to continue my nightmarish story, a few months ago I had decided that I had enough when the tray stopped opening/closing and when it did open/close there were no sounds/signs of th disc spinning up. So I requested an RMA. (I could have lived with the mucked up LCD, but this was too much.) SO... 4+ weeks later I receive a BRAND NEW UNIT and was all geared up to test it out. Never got to test it out, as it was DOA. DEAD ON ARRIVAL for those of you who don't know the acronym. Funny thing is, right near the on/off switch on the back it had the "QUALITY CONTROL PASSEED" sticker on it. Yeah, right -- Quality Control DID Pass -- it must have PASSED AWAY at Koss/Oritron/etc.. After an hour on the phone with them last night (where, incidentally, they did not make a SINGLE troubleshooting suggestion) they said they'd send me a shipping label and it would be another 3-4 weeks to get a replacement replacement unit. Do I need to remind anyone here that this was a replacement unit they sent me that was ENTIRELY DEAD? Nothing -- not even a light, a purr, a spark, nor any smoke. I'm still waiting for them to call me back to let me know what they'll do about it, but it doesn't look good. Looks like I'll be without a DVD player for yet another month. I'll update this as the story unfolds, but I'd avoid doing business with Oritron/Koss/etc like the plague if I were you.

Rating:
Summary: Works great for a few months
Review: I bought one of these in September, and DVD player stopped working in January. The controls are sluggish and feel very cheap. Often a button must be pressed several times before anything happens. Pick something else for a media server and buy a regular DVD player.

Rating:
Summary: Works great for a few months
Review: I bought one of these in September, and DVD player stopped working in January. The controls are sluggish and feel very cheap. Often a button must be pressed several times before anything happens. Pick something else for a media server and buy a regular DVD player.

Rating:
Summary: Not working in less than a month of use
Review: This unit was connected worked with my system less than a month, now it is NOT working. Not ejecting nor showing anything on my TV screen. I've tried everything it said to do in the manual yet it has NO capability of playing nor ejecting a CD or DVD.
I am truly dissapointed since we purchased this item recently. I should have bought the Gateway unit.

Rating:
Summary: It died just out of warranty. Buy a different one!
Review: When it worked, it worked great! I mainly used it for streaming my MP3's wirelessly with my Netgear card, and it worked beautifully. It also played all media I threw at it with no problems: DVD, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW. Quality of the DVD player itself seemed better than I expected of Oritron. The player's cabinet seemed solid, the faceplate seems to be metal-plated plastic since it feels a little cool to the touch. Fit & finish are good. The appearance is understated and classy. The remote on the other hand, is cheap and junky. The sliding door feels like it wants to come off and the buttons are squishy and stick. 6-months later, the display shows gibberish and the DVD part doesn't work at all. Being an electronics nerd, I decided to take it apart. I found the +5V voltage was reading +3V and noticed capacitor "C18" in the power supply was swollen. I replaced it and now it works, but the display is still showing gibberish. GoVideo D2730, Gateway Connected DVD Player, Amoisonic NDP9200 all run the same software and work the same, I would buy one of those before this one.