wordtoyamotha

I've searched this forum and answered a lot of my questions regarding portable players but here's my dilema:

I'm planning on an extended stay in New Zealand in the near future and would like to purchase a portable dvd player so I can bring my collection with me and watch while I travel. My questions are:

What sort of power adapter/power converter hookup do I need (I believe NZ uses a different power setting)?

Are there any region free portable players that would hook up to the TV's there?

Are there any other problems I'd have using, say the Samsung L100, or another model found in America?

Thanks, I figured if anyone knew the answers to these questions it would be someone who visits this board.

wordtoyamotha

Anyone??

Blade

Beyond the power and video standard, there should be no problem using a US designed portable DVD player. Although you obviously won't be able to buy new DVDs while you're there.

You're right about needing a power converter to go from US to NZ voltage. I can't give you any recommendations, but a quick search online should find you what you're looking for. Or you might check with some of your local electronics stores. Also, multipurpose department stores like Sears, KMart and Walmart might have it too.

I think many TVs in NZ can accept an NTSC signal with little problem, but there's no guarantee that that's what you'll get. Unfortunately, NTSC to PAL video signal converters aren't really that cheap.

You might be better off just using the portable DVD player for viewing.

I have the Samsung L100. I thought I read something about the powersupply being able to handle different voltages...I'll check it tonight and let you know.

-David

wordtoyamotha

Thanks David. How's the portable Samsung? I'm considering either that one or the Toshiba P2000.

young

i think both those are decent players.

i bought a no-name brand from a hk vendor - http://www.goldenshop.com.hk/AI-trad/DVD/dvd1710.htm

it's decent but by no means an excellent player - has trouble w/ some movies. once in a while, the dvd just spins until i do a hard reset. but it was cheap and it is multiregional. pal/ntsc conversion, etc. i was able to see hongkong legends dvds from england w/ it.

prices for the portable dvd players seem to be dropping fast. next time, i'd get a name brand like toshiba, samsung, etc.

Blade

FYI, I posted my thoughts about the Toshiba P2000 in another thread in here. I was able to play around with an in store demo.

I plan on writing up a long in depth review of the Samsung soon.

In short, I really like it, but it has some important (to some) design flaws: It will always strech non anamorphic material. So any 4:3 content (like most TV series), or letterbox but not anamorphic titles (like Volcano or Titanic) will not display in their proper shape on the LCD screen. I just found out that most anime seems to be in the 4:3 aspect ratio, so I'm a little bummed by that. However, at least in my case, I have no shortage of anamorphic DVDs, and it does output non anamorphic content to a TV properly, so not a deal breaker for me.

It also doesn't remember where you were in the movie once the power is turned off. Not sure how other DVDs handle this, but I find this a little irritating, especially when you're working on battery power, and having to sit through all the forced FBI warnings, and watching menu screens load up.

The accessories are a little pricey too. The long life battery isn't out yet, and the regular 2 hour battery costs almost $160. If I understood them correctly, the transformer costs about $115 (which doesn't include the $18 for the cord to plug the transformer into an A/C outlet).... On the other hand, the DVD has optical digital out that uses any standard optical cable.

Pros: the DVD comes with it's own fairly nice case. I put DVDs in CD jewel cases and can fit two in the case with the player and the remote.

It's also pretty light. Often times, I'll just hold it in my palm with my fingers holding on to the back where the battery sticks out to steady things and watch it that way.

The audio from the speakers has been more than adequate so far, but mostly I've been sitting in my car with the windows open while my wife's shopping in the mall, so I haven't tried it in very noisy places yet. Also haven't tried it with headphones yet.

The screen is just beautiful. And big. Easily this player's best feature.

The memory stick feature is very cool, but a little slow to respond. I need to work with the photo display capabilities a bit more as I'm not sure I'm using it correctly.

FYI, here's what the manual says about the power supply: "The supplied AC adapter is compatible with 50/60Hz electrical system (110V-240V range)." The power cord is a three pronged plug.

If you get one of these and it has a yellow sticker on it, go to the DVD section of Samsung's website and fill out their survey to get a free DVD. I wasn't eligible for that.

A few more words, I emailed their tech support with some questions and received a response back the next business day. The response, however, was to call their Cust. Service line. I did that and they were quick to answer (and on a Monday morning too) and were also pleasant enough, as well as knowledgable. I also talked to their parts dealer (J & J International) and they were also fairly quick to pick up the phone and seemed nice enough. The long life battery isn't available yet by the way...Cust. Serv. said "no set date", and parts said 2-3 weeks.

I'll try to do my full review soon. Too much work lately.

FYI, if you really plan to use this on the road (or at least away from A/C power) you might want to look at amazon.com's page on the Toshiba 2000. The battery is as big as the player itself and essentially serves as a second base to the player. It's a bit bulky to use as a true portable (according to reports from someone who used it on an airplane trip and returned the Toshiba for the Samsung). I really want to get the long life battery though. I do wonder what the recharge time will be on it, though...the current battery takes over 3 hours to fully charge. But I've been getting over 2 hours from it, so it's worked well so far.

More later.

-David

bfrank

You wont need a converter. Most work on 12-15V and have a transformer built in the charger/plug. Most transformers work from 100 to 220 which covers most of the world. You may need a plug adapter but that should be it. I have used mine in Honk Kong and China no problems.