I am considering getting a portable DVD player, but was wondering if I would be just better off getting a Laptop w/DVD and have all the extra functions of a computer.

My main question is, can a laptop do anamorphic squeeze to get the maximum resolution out of enhanced DVD's or am I forced to I lose out a bit in resolution?

Anybody have any suggestions in this area or recommendations? Thanks.

From one desi to another ;)

Get the DVD player on your computer. I think you'll find other uses out of your computer. ;)

definitly makes more sense to put a dvd in the laptop, rather then spending the money on a portable dvd player

I'd go with the computer. bigger screen. I know it's progressive scan and I think it'll do anamorphic as well.

Not quite as portable (unless you buy the new Mac Titianium G4...of course, I don't buy Mac, but you might).

Yeah, you're almost guaranteed to get a bigger and better picture with a laptop.

one thing to consider re a laptop is battery life. i can't get thru an entire movie on a single battery w/ either of my laptops :-(

An answer of a different flavor. I travel quite a bit for work, and so carry a laptop wherever I go. But...I purchased a portable DVD player (Pioneer LC-10) The battery lasts 3.5 to over 4 hours, well more than your standard flight. It is true 16x9 format with a crystal clear picture. It is MUCH smaller. I don't know about the rest of you, but how many times were you on the plane with your notebook on the tray only to have the bozo in front put their seat back all the way down. There isn't much room left over for your notebook is there? In fact most times you have to angle the screen to such a severe degree, that its hard to see the thing. My DVD player is about 5"x9", it fits anywhere. When I get into the hotel room, I simply plug in the cables that come with it to the TV in the hotel room, and viola, in seconds I have a large screen display. And it comes with a remote so you don't have to get out of bed to change, fast forward, etc. etc. Recently drove my son and his new wife from Colorado to Boston, sat this puppy in thier laps, and watched movies across the country. Notebook computers have a use, but so too do portable DVD players. Instead of purchasing a DVD player for your HT system, why didn't everybody just buy a notebook and plug it into their set whenever thay wanted to watch a movie and then uplug it for computing? Wouldn't that argument work anywhere? I love my portable DVD player and suggest that there are arguments for purchasing one, the last being. I purchased a 65", 16x9, HDTV because I got tired of seeing the large bars on the top and bottom of my 50" 4:3. I just couldn't see watching a movie on my computer and seeing black bars on its small screen.

TomD

well theres your answer

if you have more money then you know what to do with.. go with the portable dvd player..

if not, go with the dvd rom for your laptop, and just buy an extra battery or two

twikoff

It seems that every time I post a reply, opinion or ask a question I get some smart ass response from some asshle like you. I realize that with this response, I am getting banned, but you know what? Big deal. This site has too much sarcasm, tongue in cheek BS responses, like yours. Not everybody who buys some piece of HT equipment that you don't agree with has "more money than they know what to do with." Have you posted the same condensending BS reponse to people who purchase High End Seperates? Does everybody who purchased a Pioneer Elite Pro instead of a Toshiba fall under your "has more money than they know what to do with definition? I haven't visited this site in months, now I remember why. F***ing kids like you.

Moderator, perhaps you don't care, but haven't you noticed that quite a few of the people who first started visiting this site have stopped? This is the reason. Oh, by the way, I would argue that the ones who left are the ones with the money who would support your sponsors etc. In other words, adults, not kids.

You don't see this kind of SH** on other sites.

No one need bother responding, I won't be back.



I AM OUT.

Well, thanks for all of your replies, it was helpful. I have decided to get a laptop w/DVD. Thanks again.

tdamico,

if you really get a response that you dont like, to every thread you post. then obviously Im not the only one that doesnt agree with your reply. we are not talking about your normal high end equipment discussion here, we are talking about the difference between a laptop dvd rom and a portable dvd system. I believe most of us give advice that reflects our own opinions. this is normal human nature, and its up to each person to sift through the replies and pick which ones they believe are valid. My point was just that for most people, the extra expense is not nearly worth the minor improvement in quality.. of course on the same note, the laptop will probably have better image quality, if you dont mind using a software player. Now I understand that your extra couple months makes you special, and that you can make blanket remarks about everyone else. just turn your nose up and leave.. see if anyone actually notices.

tdamico, sorry to see you go. You gave a good response, a lot of what I would have said. However, your reaction to a flip comment was overboard.

twickoff, if the issue is only one or the other, than I might say go with a laptop...but it's not so simple. And I know a lot of people without extraordinary incomes that own both.

Even if you do go the route of a DVD player laptop, I would make some suggestions:

1. Extra batteries. Most laptops eat them up and it sucks to be in the middle of the movie and have no more juice.

2. A/V outputs. A portable DVD can output various A/V including digital sound and S-Video. This works well for use as a secondary (or even primary) player at home. It also means you can plug your player into a Hotel TV. Something I REALLY wish my laptop DVD could do. It's tough to have the entire family gather around the laptop LCD to watch a movie.

3. Make sure you get enough processing power. A slower cpu will not work well for DVD on a laptop. Don't overload your start menu with crap either or you will be getting choppy play.

Well, I went with a Sony Vaio Pentium III, 15" screen, 750 MHz, 128MB RAM, 8x DVD and it does have a video out so I can connect to a TV if I want. I also did get an extra battery. The nice thing about the sony, is you can swap out the floppy and have two batteries at the same time in the unit, so it will play continously without any battery change interruptions for 5-7 hrs. Can't wait until it arrives.

DVD-Desi, do you know if that model also has a firewire connection? I am not a big fan of Sony laptops, but they do seem to have all the features I am looking for.

DO you mind mentioning what you paid for it? Sounds like a very nice system.

RandyC,

Ya, it does has a firewire connection built into the unit, which is what I was looking for along with the extended battery life which is key for watching movies. I did some searching around and got it for $2343 total. That included the extra battery and 2day air shipping. Got it from JandR.

I travel with a laptop and a portable DVD player. While the screen on the laptop is bigger, the picture on the portable is brighter and has much better colors. When you are sitting in a plane the screen is so close that the bigger picture on the laptop is not needed and the overall larger size of the laptop can be cumbersome.

Maybe a less expensive laptop, without the faster processor, memory and DVD drive required to play DVDs and a portable DVD player would be an option.

If you go with a laptop remember that the battery time that the laptops report is for "standard usage". Laptops use hardware and software tools to minimize battery usage and when test are done to determine battery life they use these standard usage mixes. Playing a DVD keeps the DVD drive and the processor running at full speed and could easily reduce the battery life by 1/2 or more compared to the reported battery life. One thing you can do is get an auto/plane adapter. Most planes have 12 volt plugs at the seat and using one of the adapters you do not have to worry about battery life.

Also, you might want to try noise canceling headphones.

Mike