Portable DVD players..advice wanted.

[DisFam95]

I figured the family board would be a good spot to post this

We're in the market for a portable DVD player for our upcoming trip. Was wondering what brands are best and what features to be looking for. My bro says Panasonic and Phillips for DVD players.

Also what size screen do you like? The 7" seems so small, not many 8" that I like, Panasonic now only makes 9" but that seems so big to me but may be better w/ 2 kids trying to share.

I've heard too many neg about some of the off brands like the screens loking dark after 6mo or so etc.

Thanks for any input good or bad

 

[QueenGoblin]

DD (3) got one as a gift about a year ago and it has been a lifesaver on long car rides. I'm not sure what brand it is, but it was bought at Toys R Us and it is pink with the Disney Princesses on it. I think they had a "boy" version too.`It has a very small screen but the picture is good and DD never complains. The unit itself is small and sturdy and very easy for my DD to hold and use by herself. The battery lasts for hours with a full charge. It would probably be too small for your children to share but you might compare $ and see if it might be worth it to buy two small units like this one. DD loves having control over what movie she is watching and likes to be able to skip around the movie, watch her favorite parts over and over, etc.
Everytime we take a trip with it my DH and I whine about the fact that we didn't have one when we grew up. It makes those long car trips more bearable for the little guys who can't settle in with a good novel yet.

 

[bama-mom]

Sam's club has a good deal on a 8" Polaroid portable dvd player right now. It has shock protection and a bag for the player to hang it on a headrest for hands-free viewing, a remote , a 3 hour battery pack, and a car adapter. We used it for the first time last week for dd(3) and were very pleased with it. I think it was $139

 

[hoosiergirl7]

Our portable DVD player is a Polaroid. I bought it for DH for Christmas 2 yrs ago. He was traveling a lot for work then and knew he needed something to keep him occupied on the plane as well as in the evenings when he was done with work. We use it now with our 2 yr old when we're on long car trips. It's great. The only drawback about ours is that it's not the kind that you can hang on the back of the headrest. It's like a mini laptop and sits nicely in DS's lap or I'll sit in the backseat with him and hold it. We'll also use it at night sometimes when we want to watch movies in bed. We can either put it between the 2 of us and watch or we can plug it into our TV and watch it through the TV. Eventually, we will either buy a vehicle that has a permanent DVD player in it or buy a DVD player where the screens can be mounted on the headrests.

Apr 1986 - off-site
Sept 2002 - POR
Sept 2006 - off-site

 

[Lisa_Belle]

DD (3) got one as a gift about a year ago and it has been a lifesaver on long car rides. I'm not sure what brand it is, but it was bought at Toys R Us and it is pink with the Disney Princesses on it. I think they had a "boy" version too.`It has a very small screen but the picture is good and DD never complains. The unit itself is small and sturdy and very easy for my DD to hold and use by herself. The battery lasts for hours with a full charge. It would probably be too small for your children to share but you might compare $ and see if it might be worth it to buy two small units like this one. DD loves having control over what movie she is watching and likes to be able to skip around the movie, watch her favorite parts over and over, etc.
Everytime we take a trip with it my DH and I whine about the fact that we didn't have one when we grew up. It makes those long car trips more bearable for the little guys who can't settle in with a good novel yet.

DO NOT BUY THIS ONE!!!!

This Disney personal DVD players have been recalled because the battery can overhead and burst, causing a burn hazard.
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06139.html

I bought our personal DVD player a couple of years ago and checked Consumer Reports. At the time, Minkek was rated high, and Kohl's happened to have them on sale. So, check your CR, then find out who has the best price.

 

[lg3]

We have the Panasonic DVD/CD player, model LS90, and have been very happy with it. Believe me, 9" is NOT too small for the screen, especially as you say you have two sharing it. We used to have a Sony, but I broke it . We really liked it, but they no longer made it. We have had the Panansonic about 5 months now and have taken it on many plane and car trips with no problems. It has a 6 hour playback time, which helps a lot. Just don't forget the charger to recharge on your trip if need be.

 

[DisFam95]

lg3: I was looking a the new Panasonic model (LS91) and the picture looked very 'pixelated'. You could see the square-ish shape to the images. I like the 9" but the picture quality I saw at the store was horrible. Any image problem w/ yours?

Costco is having a Toshiba 8" on sale this Friday so I may be getting that one since that Panasonic screen looked so crummy.

Thanks everyone. I'm sure the kids will love whatever we have right

 

[Tantor]

We have the Panasonic 7" and have no complaints.

 

[crisi]

We have an older one, but we aren't taking it on the next trip. The next trip we will be using a Video iPod and a PSP - my daughter with the video iPod and my son will use the PSP. The electronics belong to the grown ups but will be loaned out to the kids. We've discovered the big DVD player has been great, but its really a pain to haul around - I'd get one that is light and small if we were rebuying.

 

[momimouse27]

I just saw what I thought was a good deal the other day at Target and am thinking of getting one. Its a Sony, I beleive 7" screen. I comes in three different colors and you get a color matching DVD case with it. It was $139 I think which is an awesome price.

 

[Mom of 3]

From what I understand if you want to watch one in the vehicle get one designed for vehicles as portable/handheld ones will skip when you go over bumps and stuff.

We bought the one from Target (forget the brand) but it comes with 2 screens with the actual player attached to the back of one of the screens. I like this because it keeps it up out the way. It has been working great.

First we bought another brand (Mitsubushi ??) that Target had that 2 screens and 2 players. We kept the player up front but it was always in the way. The player broke after 4 weeks so the whole thing got returned to Target.

 

[QueenGoblin]

DO NOT BUY THIS ONE!!!!

This Disney personal DVD players have been recalled because the battery can overhead and burst, causing a burn hazard.
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06139.html

Thanks for the heads up! If anyone else already has one you can follow the link Lisa_Belle provided and you will get to a website where you can order a free repair kit with a new battery pack. You just need to supply the serial number on the unit. They claim the repair kit will arrive in 5-7 days via Fed Ex Ground. I hope so, since we are leaving on the 16th and I was counting on having this for the Auto Train ride!

I still like the size and style of this unit. It is very easy for DD (3) to hold and use. I am sure there are others on the market like it.

Happy Shopping.

 

[carl59]

Have a Samsung L100. It's almost 6 years old never had a problem with the player, the battery does not hold a charger as long as it did when new. But I still can watch a movie on the plane trip to WDW (2 1/2 hours). I am looking onto a new battery for longer trips.