Brands

There are literally scores of brands of DVD players in all its categories, some very well known, and others much less familiar. Some manufacturers offer sets of various types, while others are known mostly for one type of DVD product. Here’s a rundown of some of the major DVD player brands you’ll encounter, listed in alphabetical order:

Apex Digital

Sells standard DVD players.

Apex is a value-priced brand and one of the leading providers of DVD players sold at Walmart.

Audiovox

Sells portable DVD players and car DVD players.

Audiovox is one of the leading sellers of portable DVD players. Many of its models are tablet-style players with mounting straps for use in a car.

Coby

Sells standard DVD players and portable DVD players.

Coby is a value-priced DVD brand that is widely distributed by almost all retailers of consumer electronics.

Funai

Sells standard and Blu-ray DVD players, portable DVD players, car DVD players, DVD recorders, and DVD recorder/VCR combos.

Funai might not be a household name, but it's the brand behind other brands of DVD players, mainly the lower-priced labels it controls. Those include Emerson, Sylvania, and Symphonic, which are typically sold at mass-market stores, such as Walmart. Funai also manufactures several retail private-label DVD brands, such as Walmart's Durabrand players and Best Buy's Insignia-brand Blu-ray player.

Insignia

Sells standard and Blu-ray DVD players, and portable DVD players.

Insignia is Best Buy’s electronics house brand. Insignia products, which are made overseas by contract manufacturers, are positioned as a “value” line.

JVC

Sells standard and Blu-ray DVD players, DVD recorders, and portable DVD players.

The company’s products are typically positioned in the middle-to-upper price range. JVC is in the process of merging with Kenwood, best known for automotive consumer-electronics products.

LG Electronics

Sells standard DVD and Blu-ray players and DVD recorders.

LG is an up-and-coming brand of DVD players in several categories, including standard and high-def (Blu-ray). LG products typically sell in the mid-to-upper price brackets, while its Zenith brand is used as a value brand in wide retail distribution. Recently, the company has used colors for some of its portable DVD players to differentiate them from the competition.

Memorex

Sells standard DVD players and portable DVD players.

Perhaps best known as a blank-media brand (audio and video cassettes, CDs and DVDs), Memorex is now owned by Imation, which uses the Memorex brand for a variety of consumer electronics products and recordable media.

Panasonic

Sells standard DVD and Blu-ray players, DVD recorders, and portable DVD players.

Panasonic is a top-tier consumer-electronics manufacturer in multiple product categories, and its various DVD products are typically midpriced and widely available. The company has been one of the more aggressive in the Blu-ray category in terms of price and assortment.

Philips

Sells standard DVD and Blu-ray players, DVD recorders, and portable DVD players.

Philips was sold to Funai in 2008 and a new company for these top-tier products, P&F, was formed. Its new products will be manufactured by P&F and Philips branded. Its DVD products, which are typically midpriced, will continue to be widely available. Philips is one of the only companies still selling a DVD recorder/DVR combo. The 2008 models in every DVD category except Blu-ray will continue to be available as carryover models without any changes to these mainstream products.

Pioneer

Sells standard DVD and Blu-ray players.

Pioneer typically targets the step-up consumer, particularly with its higher-priced Elite series, which generally has limited distribution. The company is currently targeting mid-tier customers with its Pioneer-brand Blu-ray players, which have fewer features than Elite models.

Polaroid

Sells portable and car DVD players.

The Polaroid brand was acquired in 2005 by a former U.S. licensee, Petters Group, which had been using it for value-priced TVs and DVD players. The Polaroid brand is especially strong in the portable DVD market, and products can be found in Walmart and other retailers.

RCA

Sells DVD players and portable DVD players.

Alco Electronics, a large Chinese consumer-product company, acquired the venerable RCA name and video-product franchise in 2007. The company made a short-lived commitment to the rival HD DVD format and is currently focused on value-priced standard and portable standard DVD players.

Samsung

Sells standard DVD and Blu-ray players, and DVD recorder/VCR combos.

Samsung is a top-tier manufacturer in several product categories. It's often an innovator, as when it became the first company to offer a high-def DVD player that could play Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. It was one of the first to include a Blu-ray player in a home-theater-in-a-box system.

Sanyo

Sells DVD players, DVD recorders, and portable DVD players.

Sanyo, which also controls the Fisher audio brand, makes midlevel products in its DVD player line. Its products are often sold at Walmart.

Sharp

Sells Blu-ray players.

Sharp, perhaps best known for its Aquos LCD TVs, is unique in that its only DVD offerings are high-definition Aquos-brand Blu-ray players (it currently has no standard DVD players). The models are midpriced compared with the competition.

Sony

Sells standard DVD and Blu-ray players, DVD recorders, and portable DVD players.

Sony is a top-tier consumer-electronics manufacturer in numerous product categories and has been one of the strongest proponents of the Blu-ray high-def DVD format. Its PlayStation 3 game console, which includes an integrated Blu-ray disc drive, has been the best-selling Blu-ray device since its debut in 2006.

TiVo

Sells digital video recorders (DVRs).

TiVo is one of the few sellers of stand-alone DVRs, and it's the most dominant. Its newest product is a relatively high-priced ($600) high-definition DVR that can hold up to 150 hours of high-def video. It also has a $300 model that holds up to 20 hours of HD content. TiVo's interface is widely acknowledged for its ease of use, and it's licensed by some cable and satellite providers.

Toshiba

Sells standard DVD players, DVD recorders, and portable DVD players.

Toshiba has a full line of portable and set-top DVD products. Toshiba was the prime proponent of the HD DVD format but left the market in February 2008, essentially ending the high-def-format war. It recently announced plans for a Blu-ray player.

See also:

HDTVs

Digital video recorders

Home theater systems