Recommended Portable DVD Players for air travel

[stephen11]

Hi, can anyone recommend a portable DVD player to take on the plane . Our DGD (1-year old) loves Dora, and we were thinking a few Dora or Sesame Street videos for the plane trip might be terrific. We have no experience in portable DVD players and are not sure just what to buy... would appreciate any help you can offer.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[MichiganMommy]

We have a really old (5 years old?) Eddie Bauer 7" portable dvd player. DH bought it when they 1st became affordable. Anyhow, the battery pack is external and it clips onto the back of the dvd player. This is a poor design because the battery doesn't stay on and when it pulls off it can pull the cord out shutting everything down. They might not even make this style anymore, but I would try to get one with an internal battery (like a laptop computer).

BTW, last year we bought a laptop computer mostly for travel. We use it for DVDs, games, and we can transfer Tivo recordings to it and watch them on the road. It's heavier to carry, but we all use it when we are traveling.

 

[tinkandpan]

WE used to have an old Minetek and it suited us fine. Now that we have two kids we actually take two (don't ask) and I wound up buying a sony one. I love it. The screen swivels, it is pretty light and most importantly- the battery is one of the longest ones out there, lasts for almost 5 hours as opposed to the two or three from the other ones out there in the price range. I bought it on an amazon (not sure if i can post a link)

 

[tinkandpan]

WE used to have an old Minetek and it suited us fine. Now that we have two kids we actually take two (don't ask) and I wound up buying a sony one. I love it. The screen swivels, it is pretty light and most importantly- the battery is one of the longest ones out there, lasts for almost 5 hours as opposed to the two or three from the other ones out there in the price range. I bought it on an amazon (not sure if i can post a link)

 

[all4fun]

We have THIS Zenith 7" portable DVD player with flip screen. Haven't had any problems with it. I would highly recommend getting one with a swivel and flip screen, because you can turn the screen around so the buttons are behind the screen, out of your LO's view. When ds was that age, he loved to push the buttons! Also, if your LO won't wear headphones (which at this age, they are more likely to just destroy them LOL) just turn the volume ALL the way down. She probably won't have any problem watching the show w/no volume (my ds didn't anyway) and this way Dora won't be annoying other passengers (this has been a hot topic before on this board, so I just thought I should mention it!).

Also, another feature you will want is dual headphone ports, just in case you have more than one viewer at some point. You may not use it on this trip but you might in the future.

hth!

 

[MichiganMommy]

Dual headphone ports would be a good feature. We use a splitter and that works ok for car rides, but on the plane the background noise is so loud that even on max volume it isn't loud enough.

 

[Tribe0701]

Check out the battery life, ours only lasts for about 2 -2 1/2 hours, then we have to find a plug on our layover to recharge it. If your flight is longer than 3 hours this could be a major problem. Also, PLEASE use the headphones! I sat behind a family that watched a movie without headphones and it was really hard to read, relax, or sleep.

 

[juliana_sd]

We have a cheap Coby that's about 3-4 years old (and I only paid $100 back then). It does have the dual headphone ports which is very handy. I do wish it had longer battery life. But it's served us well! It is so much lighter and easier to fit on the tray table on the plane than a laptop would be.

I was thinking about getting something like this to be able to run it longer.

 

[all4fun]

Speaking of headphones, I actually just bought these GE Flexible headphones for my 4yr old to use (@ Target, $10). They fit him very well and I like that they are meant to be bent out of shape because I know he won't be gentle with them. I think they would even fit a younger kiddo pretty good (providing they will keep them on). Just thought I'd mention it.

 

[stephen11]

Thank you all for your great responses... I was wondering about earphones/headsets vs. low volume too. Not sure she will keep a headset on, but just the pictures on low volume will keep her occupied for a little while. The flight is only 2.5 hours.

We will try to find a decent one with long-lasting battery.

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[honeyb4]

we have a portable dvd but have moved onto something even easier and user friendly- a video ipod. We can download tons of tv shows and movies for our kids (not to mention adult movies and music) and they can hold it themselves. they make rubber cases for them with huge handles especially designed for kids. this way we dont have to worry about bringing dvds or running out of things (we literally have over 50 things for them to watch.) you can also buy an adapter that allows it run off of regular aa batteries for when the internal dies.