Portable DVD players - recommendations???

[Wishing on a star]

The idea of having a portable DVD player for DS (and DH) has just begun to catch my attention. I know a lot of people have them already, so I would appreciate any recommendations or tips!

I have noticed these models....

The Samsung 10" gets good ratings, especially for viewing at an angle... very expensive, but I see special prices as low as $399.00 (does not come with a car adapter, but I heard that someone has used their regular adapter and it does work???) The picture can be flipped (upside down) for if the unit is hanging in the car for viewing.

The Memorex 7" looks sharp, but do not know a lot about it yet. We have one Memorex regular DVD player here at home. It is nice! But, all the menus and controls are not really user-friendly.

I would want at least a 7" screen. Couldn't watch Disney movies on anything less!!!

TIA

 

[Nebsky]

I have the Panasonic LA95.
9 Inch screen, remote control a/c adapter and jacks to plug into the tv at home or hotel.

We used it on the drive to WDW in March and it worked fantastic.
I bought a airplane/car adapter so that it would run in the car without the battery. Regarding the adapters, make sure you buy a good one. I tried to get the ones they sell at radio shack/bestbuy, etc but they would not power it. The one I got is a copy version of the Panasonic one. Panasonic one is 149. I got this one for 34.00 on ebay from a vendor. It was brand new, never used. It was for the Panasonic LA95.

Also bought a FM broadcaster for it. Simply plut it into the headphone outlet and set it to a radio station to broadcast to. Dial your radio to that number (88.1, 88.3, 88.5, 88.7) and you have it through your car radio. They also make a tape player that does it to, but our car has a cd player in it.

The thing cost 699.00 with a 75.00 rebate. It brought it down to 624.00. A month later I saw it on sale at Circuit City (where I originally purchased it) for 524.00. They gave me the difference plus 10%. Do a search on ebay for one. You might be able to do better.

The screen is clear, has good sound through the regular internal speakers. Hook up some headphones or do the car adapter thing like I mentioned and it is amazing.

I paid the higher price because I want quality. I could have gotten an 8 inch mytex or initial dvd player, but I heard they overheat and skip alot. I did a lot of research on them and decided to spend the money and go with the Panasonic because they are a leader in small electronics, etc

Your right, you dont want anything less than 7 inches to view movies on. Also, with the panasonic one that I purchased, it was mounted on the arm rest between the two front seats. There was no problem sitting in the back seat leaning up against the door and watching. (MAke sure door is locked though... )
You can see from that angle without a problem.

The only problem with the 10inch Samsung is that most portable cases only hold a 9inch one. I bought a Targa Case and mine just fits. This case has a holder for the unit so that you can mount between seats, strap to console, etc. The case holds 24 movies, plus all the cords with no problems.

Good luck in your decision. If I can be of any help, just let me know.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

I bought a 7" Panasonic at Best Buy for $249, a few months ago. I just saw them for $199...figures We haven't tried it out yet, on a trip, but it worked fine at home. We'll take it with us next week.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Thanks for the input!

I just noticed the Panasonics after I posted this message the other day, and they do look great. That may be the one I will try...

 

[susy]

Ours is great! Just saw an advertisement for Kmart. It's on sale for 179.00. It's wonderful and I can't imagine why you would need to spend more. The picture is great and it comes with Ac adaptor, battery, car adaptor and you can hook it up to the tv.

We have used it a the doctor' office, waiting for our car to be serviced, at the airport, in our hotel room and in the car. It's the best $200 we ever spent.