Portable DVD Player – How to choose the right one?
The market is flooded with portable DVD players and the prices of many of them are so low that it is unbelievable. Choosing a DVD player that suits your requirement is a tough task. The technical jargon the manufacturers use are most often misleading and confusing. Here are a few guidelines to narrow the search and zoom in on the perfect DVD player.
Screen size: The size of the screen varies from 2.5 inches to as much as 15 inches. As the price is proportional to the screen size, take a decision so that it suits your requirement. A 7-inch screen is the most popular size among buyers. The price of the popular brands for a 7-inch model comes in the range of 200 to 400 dollars.
Video quality: This is very important in giving you satisfaction with the product. Buying a portable DVD player without checking on the quality of the video is nothing but foolish. While checking out this point, one point to remember is that the resolution of the DVD player is different from the resolution of the screen. Manufacturers make tall claims about the resolution of the DVD player, but this doesn’t mean the video quality is good enough. Only if the screen resolution matches that of the high-resolution DVD player, the video quality will be good.
Most of the small 7-inch models have low resolution, which gives a hazy image. The bigger the screen size and price, better will be the resolution. It will be able to reproduce all the details of a DVD.
Display details: Depending on the purpose for which the DVD player is used, ensure the suitability of display details. This includes the viewing angle for in-car entertainment or brightness control for outdoor viewing. When the DVD player is used outdoors, the display should be bright enough for comfortable viewing in sunlight. Inside a car, it is important to have provisions for adjusting the angle of the screen both vertically and horizontally.
Design: Basically, there are two models of portable DVD players – tablet model and flip-up screen. Tablet model has the screen and speakers in the front and a slide-in disc tray on the side of the device. Flip-up is more like a laptop with screen on one-half and the controls and disc tray forming the other half. Each has its own pluses and minuses. Flip-up gives more protection to the screen. However, in many flip-ups, the speaker is located at the base, which hampers the experience. Choose one that is perfect for you.
Battery life: Normal DVD player batteries last for two to three hours of viewing. If you are mobile for longer periods, look out for one with longer battery life. However, bigger and heavier batteries ruin the appearance of the player. While checking this point, see how the player looks like with and without battery. Instead of going for bigger battery, you may keep a spare battery as a backup.
Format versatility: Make sure that the player supports all formats that you want it to handle. This can reduce the number of supporting devices you have to carry along with it. Some DVD players can play MP3 and WMA tracks, handle DVD-R and DVD-RW, display JPEG images from a disc or a card slot and even tune in TV signals.
Ensure that the DVD player has at least one A/V output for connecting it to a TV. A headphone jack is necessary, while two is ideal. If the player supports wireless headphones, even better.
After deciding on a budget and checking out all these points, the decision-making will be a cakewalk for you. The perfect portable DVD player is ready to entertain you.
