DVD player recommecdations
 

I need to get a portable DVD player, any recommendations? (I don't need a laptop when travelling and prefer something smaller/lighter) any suggestions would be very helpful

ECOST has the Panasonic LA95 for a little over $500 in the countdown area. The screen is 9 inches and very bright and clear.

I'll never use another portable DVD player again... I got the Fujitsu P2120 subnotebook and it's SO much better in a package that's about the same size and weight as a portable DVD+battery. The large battery is good enough for about 3 hours so I carry two if I know I'll be on a long flight without in-seat power and the screen is GORGEOUS... bigger and better than almost all portable DVDs I've seen. Then, when I get where I'm going, I have a full function wireless notebook with everything I need.

[This message has been edited by kanebear (edited 04-29-2003).]

I presume this is not an option?

http://www.inmotionpictures.com/

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I considered them, but they charge $15 a day for the rental so it wouldn't take long to end up paying out as much as you would to actually buy something plus you have to put down a $225 deposit on the DVD player you rent. All in all it's not an option for me - maybe if I traveled every once in a while but not with my schedule.

After all the research I have it narrowed down to the Toshiba SD P200, but if the above is the about same size I may reconsider, will check it out, Thanks http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

IMHO a Notebook PC no matter how small will ever compare to the convenience and functionality of a portable DVD player. A dedicated DVD player has all the necessary buttons in one place, no need to hunt around for the keyboard equivalents of frequently used buttons. Try fast-forwarding to a particular scene on a PC, it wil inevitably be hit-or-miss, trial-and-error. Or say you want to pause the DVD and resume later. Yes, the DVD software will have this feature but it's not as seamless as on a dedicated DVD player. Now if you're one of those people who can sit through a whole movie without futzing about with the various buttons (FF, Next Chapter, Pause, Subtitle, Scene-by-scene, etc.), then maybe a Notebook PC alone will suffice. It hasn't for me so, horrors!, I bring both my 12-inch iBook AND my 7-inch Panasonic DVD player with me on long-haul trips.

I carry both a small laptop and my Panasonic DVD-LV70 portable DVD player...the LV-70 gets great battery life, and lets you turn the screen off when you're listening to audio CD's -- great in the hotel room at night when the glow of a laptop screen would keep you awake.

Personally I am in the notebook "camp" but I did notice that my local costco (Clifton, NJ) had a Audiovox 7" for about $329

Keba

WEll, my recently lost panasonic has put me back in the market.

As to the laptop vs. DVD player, dedicated DVD is better because:

-No starting up a laptop to view, just turn on and go.

-Dont need to pull down tray table to view, and the player does not get hot in your lap the way a laptop does.

-Up to 6.5 hour battery (with a dimmed screen) means two full length feature movies on a transcon even with no empower.

-As mentioned, ease of control for scene selection, ff, rwind and pausing.

-Can have open and view on the side of a FC meal tray...no need to interrupt the movie to eat.

I could go on and on.

I was very happy with the panasonic, so WOULD probably go with the Panasonic DVD-LA95 Portable DVD Player but am tempted by the higher-rated Toshiba SD-P2000.

However, I am intrigued by the sub-compact notebooks, which have similar to above except on the quick startup and about half the battery life. But with a high capacity spare battery, I'm going to follow the meatman and order a Fujitsu P2120...this will also put me finally into the WiFi world, which I've been putting off.

$1856 with the high capacity installed and the extra high capacity battery...

Just don't lose it!

Ouch... http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

Koko, if you find yourself needing a speed boost, you can swap the hard drive for a faster model and not lose much battery life at all. Actually, your battery life will probably be longer than mine anyway. I needed a faster write speed so I rigged a Dell 24x CD writer/DVD reader to fit in the Fujitsu carrier and also replaced the 4200RPM hard drive with a 5400 RPM model. Probably cut down my battery life but I got what I needed http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif One other tip, MAX OUT THE MEMORY! Order it with 384MB. Trust me, you'll miss the extra 128MB if you don't get it and I don't think the memory upgrade is available after the fact.

Yeah, I got pretty much all the bells and whistles except the battery booster that goes in the drive slot. I'll let you know what I think...

So fujistsu and I are starting off on the wrong foot.

I have a couple transcons this weekend and made it clear when I bought the sucker on the 9th that it would be here by 5/16 (I dont find a week unreasonable for delivery...Gateway say they can deliver 3 days after ordering).

Called today to make sure and they say it will arrive on 5/19, after I am already in LA.

What this GUARANTEES is that there will be no EMpower on my flights http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/frown.gif...