Who here owns a portable DVD player?

[cardaway]

Best advice I've gotten as far as portable DVD players go was from a salesman at Sears. Buy the cheapest brand you can find (with the features you want) and buy the extended warranty.The expensive ones have just as many problems as the cheap ones.

You just made the guy at Sears very happy. They make a mint of those and the opposite is true about the quality of LCD displays. The key piece in a portable DVD player is the LCD. There is definately a difference and most problems with LCD's occur in the first three months of use.

 

[nowellsl]

You just made the guy at Sears very happy. They make a mint of those and the opposite is true about the quality of LCD displays. The key piece in a portable DVD player is the LCD. There is definately a difference and most problems with LCD's occur in the first three months of use.

How do you tell which LCD screen is better quality? Is it the price? Are you talking about the quality of the actual picture or the amount of problems with the LCD which determines the quality?

Also I figured if he were trying to make a lot of money he would be pushing the high priced models. (I wasn't buying at the time, just looking).

 

[cardaway]

How do you tell which LCD screen is better quality? Is it the price? Are you talking about the quality of the picture or the amount of problems with the LCD?

The price is reflective of the quality of the components and testing the raw display goes through before it's sold to the customer. The customer in this case being the manufacturer that installs the display into their device.

Typically the lower cost displays go through little or no testing. Whether or not the manufacturer tests them also comes into play.

Beyond the raw display itself you have other components that control what you see on the screen. Those have different levels of quality and workmanship as well. And once again, the cost of testing of sub-components factors in the final price.

My companies devices use the same displays as portable DVD players. We test the display function completely before sending it out to the customer. If the display fails it makes it very hard to use the device (heart monitor/defibrillator). We had to change suppliers earlier this year because we were getting so many bad raw displays.

Because of our testing we rarely ever see a bad display in the field. On the other hand, you see lots of reports of bad displays in portable DVD players and notebook computers, basically because of the lack of testing or the decision to use cheaper components.

The quality of the image is important, but most displays of the same size have the same resolution. In those cases you pay a higher price for larger size and higher resolution. Higher price based on specs, before quality is factored in.

 

[nowellsl]

Because of our testing we rarely ever see a bad display in the field. On the other hand, you see lots of reports of bad displays in portable DVD players and notebook computers, basically because of the lack of testing or the decision to use cheaper components.

I'm sure this is why he said to buy the extended warranty! Thanks for the info!

 

[cardaway]

I'm sure this is why he said to buy the extended warranty! Thanks for the info!

Not at all. As I explained, most failures of these devices are things not tested for or are the result of bad workmanship. They exhibit themselves within the first three months. Once they get past the first three months they usually will keep working as long as the user doesn't abuse them.

Extended warrantees are a cash cow for the people selling them. Simple logic says they wouldn't offer them if it was causing a loss, which means they are not having to replace many units during the extended period. Pure profit.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

We have bought two Poloroids. The first one quit working after about 4 or 5 months.

For some reason I thought buying another Poloroid would be a good thing because then we would have 2 batteries. The 2nd Poloroid didn't even last 90 days, I think DH is still in some kind of warranty run around with them.

My kids are getting the Wal Mart Black Friday specials for Christmas. We'll see how long they last.

 

[nowellsl]

Not at all. As I explained, most failures of these devices are things not tested for or are the result of bad workmanship. They exhibit themselves within the first three months. Once they get past the first three months they usually will keep working as long as the user doesn't abuse them.

Extended warrantees are a cash cow for the people selling them. Simple logic says they wouldn't offer them if it was causing a loss, which means they are not having to replace many units during the extended period. Pure profit.

I don't think my daughter would agree - she's on her third ipod. Thank goodness she got the extended warranty!
I would agree with you for most things - small expensive electronics are the exception as far as I'm concerned!

 

[cardaway]

I don't think my daughter would agree - she's on her third ipod. Thank goodness she got the extended warranty!
I would agree with you for most things - small expensive electronics are the exception as far as I'm concerned!

3 ipods in the short time ipods have been around? How short is the normal warranty?

Is it possible that it's not as much of an extended time warranty as it is extended coverage. Basically ipod insurance which allows you to get a new one if you break it? What goes bad on an ipod that has no moving parts?

 

[Toby'sFriend]

if it is the iPOD mini - the battery.

The extended warranty is about the cost of the new battery, which most of them needed replaced after one year. I don't know how the newer models are doing.

I bought the extended warranty on DS's iPOD mini -- he has turned one in because for a new battery and one in because the little wheel that you click was acting funky.

 

[nowellsl]

3 ipods in the short time ipods have been around? How short is the normal warranty?

Is it possible that it's not as much of an extended time warranty as it is extended coverage. Basically ipod insurance which allows you to get a new one if you break it? What goes bad on an ipod that has no moving parts?

Hers is the mini also. The first one was the first kind that came out (internal battery problem) the second one just died (major malfunction according to them) - not sure the problem. The third one she got was the redesigned one after the prices went down and she actually got a brand new one and a $40.00 gift card to make up for the difference in price. I'm not sure if it's extended warranty or coverage? It's whatever they sell you at Best Buy.

 

[r3ngels]

We have a poloriad, it is my DD 9, very responsible with it and it only lasted 11 months... it wasn't the cheapest out there.

Now we are going to buy the cheapest we can... I still want at least a 7 inch screen but I won't be paying too much for another one.

Off the topic but how do you clean one?

 

[cardaway]

Ah, a battery issue. Once again I can relate to the products we build. Rechargeable battery technology has a lot of issues.

Now the entended warranty issue makes sense given the battery. Rear projection and plasma TV's have a similar issue. The light goes about the time the staddard warranty runs out and the cost of the extended warranty is about the same price and the replacement part.

It's a wash because of the price issue, but you are still not really getting coverage for something that broke, it's something that wore out. Hence my extended coverage point. It's like a warranty on a car that doesn't include replacement of brake pads. You can get deals where they will swap brake pads as long as you own the car, but I wouldn't call that a warranty.

You can't go wrong when it's the same price and there is a known wear issue. I'd buy it in that case too.

 

[cardaway]

Off the topic but how do you clean one?

Which part needs cleaning?

 

[r3ngels]

I am not sure but the poloriad people said have we tried cleaning it really good.

 

[cardaway]

I am not sure but the poloriad people said have we tried cleaning it really good.

They may have been asking if you had cleaned the lens. If something gets on the lens it can cause skippingor even not play at all.

You can buy lens cleaners, but it just as easy to use a camera lens brush on the laser lens.

 

[r3ngels]

Boy... you know your stuff. The player says no disc, when there is a disc in the player so maybe cleaning it will help.

Thanks.