I, too, read some of the negative reviews, but said, what the heck? It looks SOOO cool! I also was worried because I have a Cyberhome DVD player that cost all of $35 two years ago (can you say obscure brand?). I went ahead and took the risk and what a great decision! Set up took all of 30 seconds (20 of which was to scan the instructions and find the DVD player code) and we had no problems with having to re-program it! Also, we found that my son can put his hand over the "laser part" and it still works! What a great toy! A great, safe, educational alternative to video games. Oh, yeah, it's durable, too (as discovered when he "accidentally" threw it to the ground!).