Portable DVD Player recommendations?
04-22-03, 07:30 AM
#1
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Portable DVD Player
Does anyone have any recommendations as to the best Portable DVD Player to purchase? It doesn't have to be the best one ever made; but, I don't want to throw my money away, either. I would appreciate any information you may have!
04-29-03, 06:01 PM
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I got the cheapy $299 Initial 6.8" screen (made by shinco) from Walmat and have been super happy with it. If you spend much more you might want to look at some of the super cheap portable computers with a dvd.
04-29-03, 07:19 PM
#5
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If you can find one, the Aiwa XD-DW5 is pretty neat. It plays VCD, and mine supports:
CD-R (most types)
DVD-R (some types)
And its region-free via remote hack, and does PAL to NTSC conversion.
(Note, region free and recordable media aren't officially compatable with the player, so beware that the one you pick up might not play them)
CD-R (most types)
DVD-R (some types)
And its region-free via remote hack, and does PAL to NTSC conversion.
(Note, region free and recordable media aren't officially compatable with the player, so beware that the one you pick up might not play them)
06-03-03, 10:18 AM
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Car Adapter included? Or should I go Initial?
Does the Aiwa xd-dw5 come with a power adapter you can use in a car? It looks pretty good, otherwise. My other choice seems to be the Initial 7 inch screen.
Any comments on these otherwise? I'm looking for a cheapy that I can use occassionally in my car....
Thanks
Any comments on these otherwise? I'm looking for a cheapy that I can use occassionally in my car....
Thanks
06-04-03, 09:44 AM
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Well, this is the one I got. Target has a 7" Audiovox "Eddie Bauer" edition on sale this week for $289. Very nice and easy to use, not heavy at all. The player (without the battery) was the exact same size as a DVD case. The battery mounts on the back of the unit and increases the size by about 1". Included accesories are car & wall adapter, RCA, S-Video and sound cables-all mini plug. The battery gave me around 3 hrs.
06-05-03, 09:06 AM
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Just ordered the Initial 7" from WalMart. Amazon reviewers liked all the other Initial players, and this one's newer and (I sure hope) better. $278 with car adapter and all the rest of the usual stuff.
06-05-03, 10:16 AM
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I have a Panasonic L70. The screen is a bit small at 7in, but that's offset by the long battery life (5 - 6 hours) and relatively small form factor. I travel with it constantly and have never had a problem.
06-10-03, 02:46 PM
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Initial Initial evaluation
Update on the Initial 7" from Walmart. Got it yesterday, determined to just return it without using it. Pulled it out, it was well packed and the case wellmade. Opened it up only to see the size. Looked big enough. Okay, figured, let's at least see how she looks. If it's REAL bad, I'll forget about it (portables) altogether. Turned it on and was blown away!
Nice and bright, pretty darn clear and sharp. The sound was decent. So I charged the battery. Turn greened (charged) in under an hour, although it warns it needs 6 hours. Is it really finished? Not sure yet. (Still haven't tested battery-only play).
All in all, I very happy. At under $300, with adapters for home and car, a graphics equalizer, nice slim remote, I'd say it was well worth the bucks.
If it fails tomorrow, I'll post.
Nice and bright, pretty darn clear and sharp. The sound was decent. So I charged the battery. Turn greened (charged) in under an hour, although it warns it needs 6 hours. Is it really finished? Not sure yet. (Still haven't tested battery-only play).
All in all, I very happy. At under $300, with adapters for home and car, a graphics equalizer, nice slim remote, I'd say it was well worth the bucks.
If it fails tomorrow, I'll post.
08-22-03, 11:13 PM
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Reviving this topic... Just picked up the Polaroid 0700 at Best Buy for $299. It is NOT region free. Put in Ju-on R3 and the player said "wrong region".
not sure how lcnickell was able to play other region DVDs in the Polaroid...
Thong
Edit - Here's how to make the Polaroid PDV-0700 region-free. Info from dvdrhelp.com. I tested on my player and it works.
not sure how lcnickell was able to play other region DVDs in the Polaroid...
Thong
Edit - Here's how to make the Polaroid PDV-0700 region-free. Info from dvdrhelp.com. I tested on my player and it works.
Region code hack posted by Jay at August 12 2003:
1. When playing a DVD, press stop on the DVD Player to ensure that the disc is not spinning. (You may even want to remove the disc from the playing unit.)
2. Using the remote control, press the "Set-Up" button and advance to the far right-hand tab "Preferences".
3. Enter Code # 1379 then use the "up & down arrows" to change the Region Code.
4. Once code is chosen, press enter.
1. When playing a DVD, press stop on the DVD Player to ensure that the disc is not spinning. (You may even want to remove the disc from the playing unit.)
2. Using the remote control, press the "Set-Up" button and advance to the far right-hand tab "Preferences".
3. Enter Code # 1379 then use the "up & down arrows" to change the Region Code.
4. Once code is chosen, press enter.
Last edited by Thong T; 08-23-03 at 10:14 AM.
11-13-03, 04:17 PM
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Amphion Mediaworks M280
I picked up the AMW M280 from Best Buy for under $300 and it works great. It converts PAL but it's not region free and the "1379" remote hack is disabled. You can view the info using the code but you can't changer anything. Anyone know how to get around this or know where I can get a firmware upgrade?
11-18-03, 06:13 PM
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Originally posted by Thong T
Reviving this topic... Just picked up the Polaroid 0700 at Best Buy for $299. It is NOT region free. Put in Ju-on R3 and the player said "wrong region".
not sure how lcnickell was able to play other region DVDs in the Polaroid...
Thong
Edit - Here's how to make the Polaroid PDV-0700 region-free. Info from dvdrhelp.com. I tested on my player and it works.
Reviving this topic... Just picked up the Polaroid 0700 at Best Buy for $299. It is NOT region free. Put in Ju-on R3 and the player said "wrong region".
not sure how lcnickell was able to play other region DVDs in the Polaroid...
Thong
Edit - Here's how to make the Polaroid PDV-0700 region-free. Info from dvdrhelp.com. I tested on my player and it works.
thanks!!
p.s. How's the battery life after a full charge?
11-19-03, 10:41 AM
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Picture is alright. Nothing spectacular. I didn't expect much for a $280 player. Just don't look at it right after looking at the much more expensive Samsung or Toshiba models. 
It'll make the Polaroid's picture looks like crap.
Battery life is about 3.5 hrs on a full charge. I use mine mainly for plane trips and when travelling for business or family trips...
Thong
It'll make the Polaroid's picture looks like crap.Battery life is about 3.5 hrs on a full charge. I use mine mainly for plane trips and when travelling for business or family trips...
Thong
11-19-03, 12:20 PM
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Originally posted by Thong T
Picture is alright. Nothing spectacular. I didn't expect much for a $280 player. Just don't look at it right after looking at the much more expensive Samsung or Toshiba models. It'll make the Polaroid's picture looks like crap.
Battery life is about 3.5 hrs on a full charge. I use mine mainly for plane trips and when travelling for business or family trips...
Thong
Picture is alright. Nothing spectacular. I didn't expect much for a $280 player. Just don't look at it right after looking at the much more expensive Samsung or Toshiba models.
It'll make the Polaroid's picture looks like crap.Battery life is about 3.5 hrs on a full charge. I use mine mainly for plane trips and when travelling for business or family trips...
Thong
Thanks Thong. So is the picture bearable enough to watch for a few hours? Or are the colors off, too much glare, fuzzy, etc?
Is it worth nearly $300?
11-19-03, 02:49 PM
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Picture is very watchable. I found that the key is getting the angle of the screen right. Once you've seen the Samsung 10" player's screen, you'll notice the lower resolution of the Polaroid. But it's completely watchable.
Since it's on the lower end of the player spectrum, the GUI isn't the best. For example, in the soft menu, there is a brightness adjustment. This brightness is different than the brightness buttons on the screen. Also the contrast is too much right out of the box. I turned my contrast all the way down to get a decent picture without halos.
After I first bought it, I put in a variety of DVDs so I can play with the settings. Once done, the rest of the DVDs look fine on it. Not great, just fine. I've watched 2-3 movies on it in one sitting before in my hotel room. The nice thing is that you can just hook it up to the TVs in the hotel room if you get tired of looking at the LCD screen.
As you can tell, I have an envy for the Samsung 10". But it's way too expensive for me to justify to the wife.
Thong
Since it's on the lower end of the player spectrum, the GUI isn't the best. For example, in the soft menu, there is a brightness adjustment. This brightness is different than the brightness buttons on the screen. Also the contrast is too much right out of the box. I turned my contrast all the way down to get a decent picture without halos.
After I first bought it, I put in a variety of DVDs so I can play with the settings. Once done, the rest of the DVDs look fine on it. Not great, just fine.
I've watched 2-3 movies on it in one sitting before in my hotel room. The nice thing is that you can just hook it up to the TVs in the hotel room if you get tired of looking at the LCD screen.As you can tell, I have an envy for the Samsung 10". But it's way too expensive for me to justify to the wife.
Thong
11-19-03, 03:04 PM
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Originally posted by Thong T
As you can tell, I have an envy for the Samsung 10". But it's way too expensive for me to justify to the wife.
Thong
As you can tell, I have an envy for the Samsung 10". But it's way too expensive for me to justify to the wife.
Thong
Thanks again!! Ok, gonna pick one up. Yeah, this is my X-Mas present from my wife, but she absolutely refused to pay $500+ for something I wouldn't use too much. I tried convincing her that a new notebook computer I would use more b/c I could do some work on the plane as well as watch a DVD, but she was having none of it.
BTW, did you buy an extra battery for it?
11-20-03, 09:26 AM
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I never got around to buying an extra battery for it. It would be good to have an extra one on hand. I thought about a laptop too, but I didn't want to haul a laptop around just for watching DVDs. This thing is very thin without the battery.
Enjoy it!
Thong
Enjoy it!
Thong
