anyways, i wanna buy a portable dvd player and i was hoping for some suggestions. my top choice is a 7" but im having a very hard time finding one. in fact i havent seen one in a store anywhere where i live. the only places that even sell them here are best buy, target and circuit city with very limited selection.
so, i think i might save about 100 and go with a 5.8" specifically this one :
anyone own this? or any 5.8" portable? what do you think? hows the quality and clarity of picture? the battery life says only 3.5 hrs which kinda sucks (not even enough for two movies) but i think most portables are at that amount or even less.
i want it not only for the travleing im going to be doing but for my home dvd player as well, since i dont own one and it can be hooked up to a tv and used like a normal one.
so any suggestions, opinions or thoughts on portable dvd players would be appreciated. thanks.
atari2600
06-25-01, 10:42 PM
ive noticed that there are alot of smaller companies that sell portables online for good prices. are these companies reliable to buy from?
for example, with this 7" sharp (the one i really wanted but cannot find in any stores...only online) is being sold at alot of these places ive never heard of:
If I were you, I would stop screwing around with 7inch screens, invested a little more and bought a nice slim laptop with a DVD-Rom.
That way you not only have a nice laptop for pleasure or business use, but also a huge screen, relatively, to watch the movies on. Plus a support for DVDRom only features right there. Thats what I did, plus I suggest you get one with a PCMCIA DVD out card so you could connect it to any sound system and TV if traveling.
Now you are gona say that you got to power up the laptop, start a software program etc. But tell me, if you sit down to watch a movie for 2 hours, does it really matter. It's not like you are really gona watch movies on a subway or in a phone booth. Just think what you really need. With DVDRom laptop you'll kill 2 birds with one stone and maybe even for almost the same price.
atari2600
06-26-01, 12:33 AM
ive thought about that, but isnt a laptop with dvd gonna cost alot more? i dont think its worth it for me, especially if the computer isnt even that good. i dont need a laptop at all, plus i really want to use this portable as my home dvd player (with remote n all).
would be awesome to get that nice big screen but im not sure if i wanna shell out all that extra money.
BRDeckard
06-26-01, 12:57 AM
Well if you want to use it at home, connect to TV and audio system then maybe you don't need a screen at all. Those without it, still have all the features, find one with a dolby digital decoder built in and they are around 350-450 dollars. I was thinking about getting a portable one myself, since from 1997 to early 2000 I only had DVDroms, one in laptop other in desktop computers and was connecting laptop to the TV. So I just went a normal standard Sony player. They do have a bunch of other features that portables dont, like various surround sound modes and picture variations.
Also, I'm all crazed on Sony, every gadget and electronic "thing" i own is by Sony, so I of course would recommend getting that portable Sony dvd player they used on the international space station heh.
Phil Pugliese
06-26-01, 02:13 PM
Panasonic.. I got it for Xmas and have been happy so far. FWIW, get yourself a power invertor for the car, so you do not use up a 3 hour battery.
CrashMan
06-26-01, 02:42 PM
I have the Sony portable FX1 player and I really like it. I do have a problem with noise that seems to come and go. Check out this thread for that info:
Aside from that, I like it and recommend it. It has S-Video and optical outs for home use and the 7" screen is sharp and bright.
Something else you may want to consider, even though it seems frowned upon here, is an online auction. There are reputable companies that sell any number of portables through auctions and you can sometimes find a good deal.
[Edited by CrashMan on 06-26-01 at 01:34 PM]
Xytraguptorh
06-28-01, 05:06 PM
I was halfway looking for a portable DVD player, but the one I found with the largest screen size (9" I think) was $899. For $999, I bought a laptop with a DVD drive, which is a much better buy not only for the bigger screen size and more powerful speakers, but obviously because it's also a computer. Since I've had the laptop, I've gone back to the store and looked at portable DVD players, and just can't imagine enjoying a DVD on that small of a screen. Laptops with DVD drives are coming down in price, so I don't think you'll necessarily have to spend all that much more money for one instead of getting a portable DVD player.
My laptop has a 13.3" screen, which is quite a difference when you're comparing screens of that size. For more money you can a laptop with up to a 15" screen. And I actually use it instead of my desktop computer for almost everything, even though the former has a 19" screen. Laptops are just so much more convenient.
duckdogger
06-29-01, 10:38 AM
If either of these are used, and they have the proper digital coax out, can you use the Sony surround head phones?
vernie
06-29-01, 11:42 AM
I would recommend Pioneer LC-10 here: http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=piopdvlc10. I own one for a year and have been very happy. The price has dropped quite a bit since the new model LC-20 came out. It was $900 last year, now $615 at Etronics. Etronics is a reputable online store. I bought mine from there.
Kakkarat
07-02-01, 03:37 PM
I got a Toshiba SDP-1000 for just under $600. But I know you can get it cheaper now - I think for under $500. It has a 5.8 inch screen, but its progressive scan. I think it currently the only Progressive scan portable on the market. Toshiba is going to release a larger 7 inch version soon, though.
I LOVE this player. It was relatively cheap, and the picture quality is amazing. One advantage of a portable over a laptop is the portability. I mostly use my player in my car while commuting. I just plug it into my power inverter, stick in a disk, output the sound to my tape deck, and listen to commentaries. Makes my long commute go much faster. But, I also have a laptop that I use for work as well.
You could also use this as your main player if you need to - it has all the outputs needed (component, s-video, digital sound, etc).
If you're interested, do a search in this forum on the model name. There was a thread a month ago that detailed the best deals on this model.
Mowork
07-03-01, 11:23 AM
Kakkarat...
I've been SERIOUSLY considering the SDP-1000. Problem is, I can't find a B&M that carries them (I'd like to see one "in person" first). Last week, though, my local Best Buy had the new 7 in. SDP-1500 on display and WOW !!! Awesome picture !! Now I'm torn between which one to get because of the screen sizes. The 7 inch Toshiba was on display next to a 5.8 inch Aiwa and I thought the size difference was quite noticable. The other reason I'm torn is price. I think there's about a 400.00 difference between the two. Can you or anyone for that matter tell me any negatives that you've experienced with either one of these players?? Any help would be much appreciated.
Kakkarat
07-03-01, 03:21 PM
Mowork,
I can't think of any big negatives about the sdp-1000. The screen is one of the smaller ones, but I can't really complain, the picture quality is amazing. Also, it has a very short battery life (2 - 2.5 hours), but I have always pluged it in so far. I don't know about the battery life of the 1500, though. But if that one is basically the 1000 with a bigger screen, then I would highly recommend it. By the way, what is it going for?
Li
07-03-01, 03:49 PM
Actually, the SD-P1500 has an 8" screen. I'm pretty sure that would a rather large difference when compared to a 5.8". :)
The SD-P1500, since it's so new, is rather expensive. I'm not sure why, but every site I go to look for information cannot be any more precise than to say it has a "3+ hour battery".
It all sounds good, but I'd never pay such an expensive price tag. I could barely get myself to put down the $577 (though I already owe about $200 already) for the Pioneer PDV-LC10. I’ve yet to receive it yet, however. Ordered it last night.
If 5.8" seems too small, you could always meet in the middle. 7" screens are fairly good size, and you can get one for much less than $900. But, if you have money to burn, then I'd say go for the 8". Otherwise, you might want to settle for a little less. If you'd really perfer a Toshiba, then I'm sure a SDP1000 would make a good buy.
Hope I’ve helped a little.
[Edited by Li on 07-03-01 at 12:52 PM]
Mowork
07-04-01, 02:44 PM
Kakkarat,
Yes, the SDP-1500 is basically the 1000 with the larger screen. Like I've said, the picture that I saw was very very impressive. Regarding price, Best Buy had it for 899.00 as I recall. I'm really not looking to pay quite that much for a portable. Maybe the price will come down some as we head closer to year's end. However, if that doesn't happen, I can easily see myself getting the 1000 instead....
Li,
From where did you order your Pioneer?..... Regarding the screen size, I've not really seen a 5.8 inch screen in action, only the 8 inch Toshiba and a 5 inch Panasonic and I thought there was quite a size difference between the two....
Li
07-04-01, 03:17 PM
Mowork,
I actually ordered it through a site called Shop4Digital.com (Here's the actual URL for the Pioneer: http://www.shop4digital.com/shop/SearchResults.asp?ProdStock=PIOPDVLC10RB). I had searched around for quite a while for the best price, and they were the best I could find. They had it in-stock. I ordered it close to midnight Monday and it was shipped out Tuesday. I should have it by the end of this week (really looking forward to it :)).
I was going to try using Ebay, but couldn't find a good deal. Plus, you can't get things like warrantees when using it. I went ahead and bought a two year warranty for about $60. I hear it can cost a bundle to fix one of these machines without one.
[Edited by Li on 07-04-01 at 12:33 PM]
Mowork
07-04-01, 09:44 PM
Li,
I'd thought about using Ebay but decided against it for the same reasons you did.... Man, I'm really getting the itch to get one real soon. Thanks for the feedback and have fun with your player !!
mdean
07-09-01, 05:41 PM
Check out Costco.com. They have several portables ranging from $699 to $499.
The Panasonic LV-55 is $499.99 with a $100 rebate from Panasonic.
I got a Panasonic LV-50 in May when Costco had their own $100 rebate. Final cost to me was a mere $300.
The Panasonic rebate has a quick turn around--less than 3 weeks. They process them quickly; the Costco rebate just arrived today.
Anyway, I love the LV-50. Great picture that can be viewed from all sides, better than the LV-55.
I paired mine with a pair of Sony floating minispeakers ($179 from Good Guys) and the sound is great.
By the way, the Panasonic rebate for the LV-55 expires 7/31/01.
Buy: