Hey y’all. I’m hoping the super-informed people of this good forum can help me out and recommend a good portable DVD player for the kids on vacations and me on business trips. Thanks.
I have a Polaroid (forget the model # but it retailed for $149) that I’m very happy with. Easy to use, light weight, 3-4 hours per battery charge, and not a lot of extra bells and whistles that up the price. One consideration is screen size. Since I use mine to play school lectures, the screen size wasn’t my prime concern (mine has a 7 inch screen). The bigger screen models (8 inch screen) cost more but may be worth it for viewing movies. Whatever you end up with, get a good case because heat, humidity and dust are what kills a DVD player.
I got a Kawasaki (not made by them, they just put their name on it) 10 inch player for $169 last November. Until two weeks ago (when I got my laptop), that was my entire entertainment center. No problems. Two headphone jacks. Remote (though it doesn’t control volume). Battery that lasts about 3 hours. Car and wall adapters. The only thing it didn’t come with was a carrying case. Definitely go with the widescreen models. Imagine a small 7 inch standard aspect ratio screen with a widescreen movie on it… Talk about a small image.
I’ve seen at Costco and Sam’s Club a unit that fits into a backpack sort of thing that has two screens, each with a headphone jack. Runs about $350, I think. 7 inch screens. Might be the ticket.
We had a cheapo Mintek that we got at costco. It gave up the ghost pretty quickly and was returned. We then bought a Panasonic which has been working well, but was much higher priced. If it’s for the kids and travel, this is one of the few times that an extended warranty might be worth it.
Get the Samsung with the 10" screen - awesome. You can often finds good deals on one on e-bay (new ones). Costs a little more than the el cheapos, but looks (and sounds) awesome! Only 1 inch thick even though the screen is 10" Had a Mintek before and it actually looked fine, but had difficulty in reading certain DVDs which was a real pain. Had a toshiba one that broke (mostly the kids fault).