DVD players are now as ubiquitous as mp3 players or as CD players were in the late 90s. Fierce competition has also made DVD players amazingly cheap: While a DVD player used to be a luxury item they are today almost disposable. Presuming that you're not trying to jump on the HD bandwagon, which offers little to the average consumer over a standard DVD and requires upgrading to an HDTV to see any effect, today you can get DVD players at not only reasonable prices, but downright crazily cheap prices.

The main thing to remember is virtually anyone can make a functional DVD player these days. There is no secret kept locked away in a lab at Sony that makes their players better. They are virtually the same regardless of manufacturer, except for how "nice" it is on the outside.

Your best bet for a cheap DVD player is to wait for "Black Friday". The Friday after Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday retail rush and retailers like to open it with a bang. In every black Friday for the past few years, there's been a $15-30 DVD player of reasonable quality on sale at one of the major retailers.

Of course, this deal also goes on all year long too. For example, as of publication, Best Buy has a DVD player (which I happen to own. It works just fine) for $24. If you want a name brand, it jumps to $33 and then $38 for RCA and Phillips. At that price, even with the limited warranties, you could buy two and throw out one if it happens to break and still be spending a "reasonable" amount. The main thing to do is just to keep an eye on the advertisement section for when there's a price drop and then to swoop in on it. Virtually all major retailers have a cheap DVD player that is perfectly functional and will serve you well in the $20-40 range on any given weekend.

If you have a decent computer monitor is to purchase a DVD player (and burner!) and install it in your computer. They tend to run the same amount, but also have the added ability to burn backups of your computer, music, DVDs, etc. Price wise, they tend to stay in the same bracket. $40 will get you a decent drive, and you may even be able to get it for less if there is a mail in rebate.

Finally, another way to approach the DVD question is to look into purchasing a gaming system. The PS2, Xbox, Xbox360, and PS3 all support DVD playback. The Ps3 and the Xbox360 are rather expensive ($299-399 for the xbox260, and $599(!) for the Ps3), but include many extras that might make it worth it (including being a full blown gaming system with a lot of power under the hood). On the other hand, an original xbox or ps2 is more affordable. Expect to pay around $80-130 for one of these. Both of them offer a wide range of games and DVD playback (out of the box with the ps2, and with an adapter with the xbox), and the xbox will also let you rip and play mp3s back.

Good luck! As with anything, you may also be able to get a better deal by purchasing from other people in your city. Check out craigslist.com to see if people are in your area. Go into your city (try yourcity.craigslist.com), go into the electronics section, and search for DVD players, or for one of the gaming systems mentioned above. You aren't going to get factory fresh items, but you might get a decent deal! Try the free section too! Sometimes people just want to get rid of something, even if it still works!

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