Kube

a good product? I'll get the specs tomorrow and post them. I think its called Microvision...7 inches...

Kube

Mintek Portable DVD Player with 7" TFT Display, 2.5-Hour Lithium-Ion Battery and Remote
Model: DVD-1710

PRODUCT FEATURES
Plays DVDs, CD-R/RWs, MP3-CDs and Kodak Picture CDs

7" widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, just like in the theater

TFT (thin-film transfer) screen for impressive clarity

Full-function credit-card-sized remote

A/V outputs for connection to a TV

Optical digital output for connection to home theater receivers

Headphone outputs

Includes AC adapter/charger

10-bit/96kHz video digital-to-analog converter

24-bit/192kHz audio digital-to-analog converter

Movie_Man

I came over here to ask/search for the exact same question. Most portables under $500 have a much smaller screen, so this is very interesting. I won't be using it much, pretty much just for car & plane trips. It looks like this brand is a Best Buy exclusive.
Any thoughts? Anyone??

Here's the link
http://www.bestbuy.com/Detail.asp?m=...at=&e=11101873

Kube

Additional batteries are $99.99 and last from 120-360minutes.

The lithium battery that comes with the player lasts 2.5 hours.

heavywear

I bought one and returned it 2 days later. was happy with the picture (VERY bright and crisp!) but the unit kept "pausing" during playback in the car. like it was catchng up with itself or something. resumed playing but I thought if I'm having problems already I'd just take it back...

Kube

Were you driving and playing at the same time? Could the bump of the car on the road have done that?

Movie_Man

I went to go look at one at Best Buy last night. They had a demo disc running with a bunch of short film clips. The picture itself looked pretty good, but the odd thing was that regardless of the mode I was in (full, expand, 4:3), the sides were chopped off. When there was text on the screen, both the left & right side were cut off. I'm not talking about a slight overscan or anything, but there was a surprising amount of picture missing. I don't know what to blame that on.
Anyhow, they were out of stock and issuing rainchecks, so I took one figuring this would give me more time to decide if I want it or not.

heavywear

Kube, I was driving but road was smooth. In fact I hit a few big bumps and it didnt skip. it was the player itself. and heck - if I cant drive around with a portable dvd player who wants it, right?

Kube

Movie_man...how did you know the sides were cut off? Was it a pic with subtitles and that made it obvious?

heavywear...indeed!

Movie_Man

Because of 3 things:
1) At the bottom of each film clip was a credit. ie: "Monster's Inc - courtesy Disney", but it would only say "nster's Inc - courtesy Disney"

2) Between clips were big colorful letters saying something to the effect of:
Big
Bright
Screen

but only said:
ig
right
creen

This phenomenon was apparent on both the left & right sides.

3) The other players there were running the same demo disc and looked fine. I tried playing with the settings, guessing maybe it was set in the software to only show full frame. Would have been nice if someone at Best Buy was actually helpful, or if I could have at least seen a manual.

Kube

Movie...thanks for the report.

Does anyone think there will be similarly priced portable DVD players during Christmas time?

Why can't Sony or some other name make these cheaper players?

consoleman

I was thinking about getting one from Walmart.com priced at $197.64. Albeit that it only has a 4 inch screen and it's not exactly a well-known brand name (Initial, manufactured by Shinco), but for the price, it looks like a nice machine.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...62055%3A105702

Maybe for Christmas, I might pick one of these up.

m0nkeybutler

Got one last week. Had lots of problems. It kept freezing or getting lost. I was going to return it but decided to try again and my replacement is PERFECT! I used it in my truck and did a test run on some really bumpy roads and it did great. It skipped only when i hit a speed bump too fast (or was that a dog?). Your problem may have been a defective unit.

Anyway, heres my review.

Pro:
Price - GREAT. Considering its a huge 7" screen, its not as fat as those apex or initial sub $300 machines and it great looks then its a sweet price.
Screen - Compared to the $600+ machines next to this at BB then it definitely can hold its own
Looks - Unlike the Apex PD100 i tried then this is 100x better. It has controls ON the unit so you arent completely dependent on the remote. When its closed then it looks really nice and without the battery its very thin. With the battery though its a bit thicker but not too bad
Remote - Unlike the Apex, this remote works. Its very basic but it does its job. I put velco on it and on the unit so that i can easily attach it to the player and not lose it

Con:
DVD Compatibility - First one had many compatibility problems with multiple menu disks. Beauty and the Beast Disk 2, Schoolhouse Rock Disk 2, Shrek Disk 2 all crashed during menu operation. The replacement unit has zero problems and im very happy now.
Battery - It seems to go around 3hours. The odd thing is that a 3hr battery takes about 5hrs to charge.

Plus its $349 this week with 12months no interest if you use the BB card. According to Fatwallet then many BB's have mailers with a 10% discount until the 31st. In LA then the coupon doesnt exist but its out there if you're lucky...

Movie_Man

m0nkeybutler, thanks for the review. I guess I will pick one up, but avoid getting it online so I can easily exchange it if I get a bum unit.

nycdude

I just broke down and got one. They also have a coupon for $25 gift card in the mail if I opened a BB CC and spend over $100.
I got 12 months to pay this off at least.

I hope it works good.

Also, is it true that the TFT screen after 2 years go bad or is it a sales tactic for me to purchase extented warranty. Any thoughts on that???

LMK

Kube

nyc...is that a deal that's valid at all Best Buys?

m0nkeybutler

Hey NYCdude. Did you get the 10% off coupon? According to a thread on fatwallet then the manhattan/chelsea store then they have them at the checkout counter.

As for the screen. Im not sure about the 2yr theory but i do know that the battery will die out on you in that amount of time. i went for the 4yr warranty because its a portable new-technology device made by a generic company so im sure i'll be cashing in on it at some point. If anything it will get me a new battery in 2 or 3 years...

Kube

What's the warranty? How much and how does it work? When the device dies in 2 years then Best Buy replaces it? with a newer different device or similar value/quality?

Blade

Are you sure the warranty covers the battery? I remember some recent extended warranty I was considering didn't cover the battery (can't remember what the device was anymore, but I remember thinking it was pretty smart for them to not cover battery problems).

-David

nycdude

Not sure if the $25 gift card is for all BB but it was at the Chelsea store.

Also, I did not see any of the 10% off coupon. Only thing I saw that was 10% was all open box merchandise.

I opened it up and checked it out. The picture does look pretty good, especially for the price and size. The remote is pretty functional.

It looks like a pretty good buy compared to the other comparable models I see out there. I wonder about the 4 yr warranty and if I should consider it.

I rode on the bus with it to Port Authority from NJ with the occasional bumps and it seems pretty stable.

m0nkeybutler

From past experience (cellphones, laptop and pocket pc)and according to the salesjerk (which means absolutely nothing) then it does cover the battery. Nothing is specified in the paperwork so its possible that they may give a hassle when exchange time does come up. Their inconsistancy with what is covered and what isnt varies from store to store and thats exactly why i never recommend the extended warranty to others. But personally extended warranties ALWAYS pay off in the end.

The extended warranty on this unit is $79 for 4 years. Its pretty steep but since im buying on the BB card with the 12mo no interest then its not too bad.

Movie_Man

I'm planning on getting the extended warranty - generic brand and some people here have mentioned problems with it. Supposedly, after if falls apart in 2-3 years, Best Buy will replace it with something comparable assuming this model will be replaced with something better.
According to the website, batteries ARE covered for items such as notebooks, & cell phones. I would presume this would come under the same category.

There's also an ad in today's LA Times sports section for 10% using your Best Buy card. The fine print says discount taken from regular price, but I've heard stories that this policy being a 50/50 crapshoot. That would bring the price of this down to $315.

m0nkeybutler

I went in with just my reciept and the guy gave me the 10% discount. He had to return the item and then repurchase it but in the end i only paid $315. BTW, im in LA too and they were just giving away the coupons at the door. So if you can get it then 315 is a great price for a nice dvd.

bfrank

I got the 5.8 initial (shinco) from walmart for $299. It rocks. I got a four hour extra battery for $35 in Hong Kong (shinsonic) Total 7 hours!

It plays jpgs and displays file structure of computer cds.

But it has a smaller screen the the Mintex. But was $50 ($100 when I got it) less.

Carlos Villa 3

I've purchased my 1710 at Best Buy a few months ago and think it's great for the price. The reason the picture was probably chopped off is that the 1710 has a ZOOM feature and this had probably been enabled.

You will have problems with discs if they are not absolutely clean. Make sure to remove all dust and fingerprints and this will probably solve most of your disc problems. Found this out through experience.

Where's a good source for spare batteries for the 1710?