Portable DVD
Mobile movies and more
Road trips can be great fun, but sometimes long drives can also be incredibly tedious. A great solution to boredom on the open road -- so long as you're not driving, of course! -- is the portable DVD player, a device built solely for displaying discs on a 7- to 10-inch screen.
While there are several ways to take movies on long adventures away from home, including portable media players and laptops, the most affordable and convenient option may be the portable DVD player. Combined with a set of headphones, a portable DVD player can help one forget the tedium of long trips on buses, trains and planes, and can keep little ones busy and quiet for an extended period of time. That makes this device useful for just about anyone, young or old. Here are some of the important factors to consider when shopping for a portable DVD player.
Considering Size and Weight
The first thing you will want to consider when perusing different portable DVD players is their size and weight. Screens range from about 7 to 10 inches in diameter. Surprisingly, weight doesn’t always reflect the size of the screen; in fact, it’s the battery option that will ultimately determine how much your device weighs you down. A rechargeable battery pack is included with some portable DVD players, and while this can reduce future costs associated with new batteries, these packs tend to weigh much more than a few AAs. Keep that in mind.
What Kind of Discs Are Supported?
Second, you will want to know what disc formats the player supports. Since many people use rewritable discs today to store their media, it will be important to make sure a device has DVD-R playback functionality. Note that most portable DVD players are capable of playing music CDs, meaning you can enjoy your tunes on the road, too.
In the audio department, most portable DVD players use an RCA stereo output, meaning emitted sound is two-channel. Devices may also employ S-Video cables to achieve this level of audio. Increasingly, there are portable DVD players that mimic surround sound by enhancing a disc’s audio capabilities. If you’re an audiophile, this feature may be worth the additional cost.
