Best portable DVD player?
September 27, 2005 1:30 PM   Subscribe

What is the best portable DVD player in terms of quality and price? We will mainly use it for travelling with small children.
posted by jacobsee to Technology (5 answers total)
 
I don't have an answer but I do recommend you give more info for people who might: are you talking about a portable DVD player that you hook up to a tv or one that has a screen built into it?

Also, are you looking for region-free or hackable or doesn't that matter?
posted by dobbs at 2:23 PM on September 27, 2005


Response by poster: Well I didn't really know what I wanted but after doing some web research I think I'm in the market for a player with a built-in 7" screen (or so) in the $100 to $200 price range. Units with bigger screens are looking too pricey for me right now. What does region-free or hackable mean?
posted by jacobsee at 2:33 PM on September 27, 2005


Response by poster: I'm finding that I can get pretty dirt-cheap models at Circuit City or Comp USA but am worried that I'll get what I pay for. On the other hand, renting one from In Motion might be almost as much as buying one of these cheapies so maybe I don't have anything to lose.
posted by jacobsee at 2:38 PM on September 27, 2005


We had a portable DVD player in that range (a Sharp brand) with a 7" screen. It worked for a while but had 2 major problems: 1) Heat -- the unit would heat up to a level where it was not only difficult to touch, it may stop functioning all togehter, and 2) The power cord broke, and it took 4 weeks for Sharp to get us a replacement.

Having no more urge to go through that, I found that my 6 year old Dell laptop had a DVD drive available. I had to pick it up on eBay, as Dell no longer sold it, but I only spent 19.50 for the drive.

That, and VLC player, and my kids now have a 15" monitor in the back seat.

I had to pick up a 12v car-power converter, however, which ended up costing me an additional 25.00, as the length of our trips tended to be longer than the battery life of the laptop.
posted by thanotopsis at 3:18 PM on September 27, 2005


you'll get what you pay for.... buy cheap, get cheap..

I bought a small one, realized in days that the viewing angle was limited, picture too small, and that the thing was made poorly..

ended up getting a Go Vision DVD Travel Theater... nice little thing...it doesn't run on batteries, but has a cig. lighter adapter for the car......
posted by HuronBob at 4:57 PM on September 27, 2005


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