[JakeLipson]

I need to buy my first DVD player in the coming month or two.

I know that sounds nuts because I've been on this board for so long, but up until this point in time the DVD players were my family's and I was just using them to play my discs. Now, however, I'm going to college in August. I realize that college is primarily for my education and I want to go there to advance that. But loving movies is part of who I am and I don't want to give that up completely either.

My parents are providing me with a small TV (17-20 inch or so, I think), but my mother was completely floored when I asked for a DVD player. She was under the impression that I would watch a DVD once a month when I come home for a visit.

For several years previous to now, I got a $10/week allowance which was to cover DVDs, books, music and whatever else I wished to buy. As long as it was not a night show, my parents would cover theatrical movies the first time I saw them. Pretty nice deal, I think. For the summer prior my move to college (August 20), my mother is thinking about raising that to $80/month for June through the early part of August. But I am now required to pay for theatrical movies as well. Not as nice as the previous setup, but I can live with that.

The hitch is that -- since they don't think I should have a DVD player -- they're not going to include that with the TV they've agreed to purchase for me. They said I can have one if I really want it, but it needs to come out of my $80/month too. And that will make much more of a dent in it than $6.50 for a movie ticket.

So I need some advice here. I have never been involved in the purchasing of one of our DVD players before. I want a good one from a reputable brand which I can trust not to have playback problems, and it needs to last me at least all the time I'm in college, which I think will be five years. And, of course, it has to be within my price range. I want to be able to go to some movies this summer and there are one or two must-have discs (though fortunately not a lot.) I would, of course, like to have a Blu-ray player and HDTV, but I know my limits so I'm not going to get that; it's too expensive and, as I said, college is about studying so I need to impose some limits on myself.

I would appriciate advice on a good make/model/brand/etc. for my needs? Thanks.

Edit: I should have given this thread a more descriptive title -- sorry!