Portable DVD players

[Fishman Dan]

Anyone have any idea about these things? Ideally I want to have one that's a little versatile so it can be slung around the passenger seat for my daughter to watch in the back. I've seen some that sit in a bag, and then you've got cables from arsehole to breakfast - I hate cables!!

I just saw an LG one that has a screen that swivels and folds back on itself. Looked good, but the picture quality was shite.

It would also be good for it to have inputs - USB would be good, or RCA plugs and I get the adapter for the iPhone and I can keep a library with me at all times.

[BrisVegas]

haven't you heard of "I spy" ya lazy bugger?

[Bruce]

I got some cheap ones for my kids at less that $100 each.

No flip top lid. Has a battery in it that lasts for about 2 hours as well as a mains and car charger plug. Headphone out as well as small barely adequate speakers.

They came with a sort of suspension bag thing that hands from the back of a car headrest.

[Fishman Dan]

haven't you heard of "I spy" ya lazy bugger?

That's so 70's! Besides, "I Spy" only goes for so long when playing with a 20 month old ;)

[Sydney Hacker]

Absolute god send for parents on a long car trip !

We drove to Qld earlier this year with the 2 yr old in the back, we hardly heard a peep out of him while his shows were playing.

The only annoying thing I found was you couldn't put the radio or anything on due to the noises competing against each other (bearing in mind the 2 yr old wasn't going to wear earplugs for an extended period). That pretty much leaves you talking to the wife for something to distract you....

[Tongueboy]

talking to the wife.....yewwww

[AndyP]

A couple of years ago, I got a cheapy Soniq player for $99, then paid $30 for an extended 2 year warranty to make it 3 years. It has broken down once and replaced, but I didn't want to change models because this one plays divX format (although it was not stated as a selling poing).

[Fishman Dan]

I hate those selling poing's.

The problem I see with some of these things is that the screen is garbage. The resolution is so bad, and you can see horizontal lines across them in the menu screens? Is that the case with all of them, but they go away during play-back?

Syd-Hacker - 8 hours door to door without a child to the farm, so I'm trying to be pro-active here! By the way - well done on your Monthly Medal win last weekend!

[AndyP]

I hate those selling poing's.

The problem I see with some of these things is that the screen is garbage. The resolution is so bad, and you can see horizontal lines across them in the menu screens? Is that the case with all of them, but they go away during play-back?

Syd-Hacker - 8 hours door to door without a child to the farm, so I'm trying to be pro-active here! By the way - well done on your Monthly Medal win last weekend!
I don't know about the resolution, it's only the kid's watching it. We feed it through the TV at the outlaws sometimes too.

[Sydney Hacker]

I hate those selling poing's.

The problem I see with some of these things is that the screen is garbage. The resolution is so bad, and you can see horizontal lines across them in the menu screens? Is that the case with all of them, but they go away during play-back?

Syd-Hacker - 8 hours door to door without a child to the farm, so I'm trying to be pro-active here! By the way - well done on your Monthly Medal win last weekend!

I am in the same boat as AP, it is only the kid watching it so resolution is not a big issue for me... so long as it has bright colours and the wiggles singing crap songs it seems to hold his attention !

8 hours straight ain't going to happen with a kid... We found Macca's play areas a great spot to stop, there is a pretty good one just south (I think) of Taree, which might be a good spot to stop to break up your trip.

Thanks in regards to the medal, it was a funny day. I had 3 over, which I am happy enough with, but also left a quite a few of shots out there.

[markTHEblake]

Here is the perfect thing for ya

http://notebook.mynoxil.com/img_data_nb/Apple_:_MacBook_Pro_15-inch,2.4GHz_666.jpg

[Fishman Dan]

SH - When we do the Casino trip we leave at 5'ish, make it to the Heatherbrae Macca's (just the other side of Newcastle) around 7'ish.... have a nibble and she runs around for 30-45 minutes, and then we pile into the car and put the foot down! On the way back we aim for Kempsey Macca's (not quite 1/2 way home) before stopping.

It will be a different story when all of the new highway is finished, probably take 30-60 minutes off the trip.

Blake - you think I'd leave such a beautiful piece of technology around a toddlers grubby fingers?!

[sms316]

Get a strap to tie it on the back of the front seats. Kids have a habit of spilling juice on these things if they have them in their lap.

Do laptops have car chargers?

[Sydney Hacker]

The one we have came with a bag to hang it over the seat in front, which is great so then if the kid falls asleep they don't drop the player.

[Fishman Dan]

I guess the next question is where's the best place to find these things? I went to a Dick Smith Powerhouse yesterday - they had 1 x LG, and the rest were DSE crap. I'm hoping to find everything in the one place (player, bag, cables etc).

[AndyP]

JB Hi-fi, WoW Sight & Sound.

[markTHEblake]

Blake - you think I'd leave such a beautiful piece of technology around a toddlers grubby fingers?!

Toddlers? gee, dont they fall asleep the second you get on the road, mine did. Mind you, so did the missus, which is why i prefer to do the driving.

[Fishman Dan]

JB Hi-fi, WoW Sight & Sound.

JB's had a Soniq complete package for $179, but also had a Toshiba and a Panasonic for $300'ish - the benefit of the latter two is the battery life, advertised at 5-6 hours. Problem I could see is the lack of USB port, but considering the part-time use I could always burn shows to a DVD for in-car purposes.

A strap for the car headrest and car charger seems to be the norm these days.

[BrisVegas]

just had a look at a few of these things. The el-cheapo DGTec players actually playback Divx files and have USB input. I took a memory stick with me and they worked fine.

http://www.dgtec.com.au/arbitrage/pages/172 ~ $109 single screen
http://www.dgtec.com.au/arbitrage/pages/171 ~ $249 dual screen

[AndyP]

http://www.dgtec.com.au/arbitrage/pages/172 ~ $109 single screen
http://www.dgtec.com.au/arbitrage/pages/171 ~ $249 dual screen
Surely you're better off buying two single screens, and if the same movie needs to be on both just have two memory sticks.

[BrisVegas]

yeah, there are pluses and minuses with both setups.

[poidda]

Strange that no one has told you to buy a mac yet.

[BrisVegas]

didn't blakey put up a pic of one earlier.

[poidda]

didn't blakey put up a pic of one earlier.
true dat. my bad.

[markTHEblake]

make sure you test with xvid files rather than Divx, some of the chipsets dont deal with xvid very well and the images are 'jumpy' as if some frames are missing.

if i watch something jumping like that it makes my head spin, i imagine the effect might be worse in a car.

[BrisVegas]

make sure you test with xvid files rather than Divx, some of the chipsets dont deal with xvid very well and the images are 'jumpy' as if some frames are missing.

but I don't have any xvid files.... :?

[markTHEblake]

most of the ones downloaded off the internet are Xvid, but we almost always assume they are Divx.

[BrisVegas]

the ones i got played ok. they are blah.avi files

[BrisVegas]

bought a cheapie dual screen setup for the car last night.
https://shop.1wow.com.au/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=107&idproduct=4278

Goes well, so far.... Plays .avi movies from usb stick, which was the main criteria. The volume is quite reasonable too, so no need to play thru the car stereo.

I'll be surprised if they last 12 months though!

[BrisWesty]

Absolute godsend. Got a run out double screen Sansui from K-Mart for $199 before Christmas last year for a drive from Brisbane to Ballarat and back again. Looked after the kids a treat. Made sure we interspersed it with reading time and music time so they didn't get squarer eyes than they normally had.