Customer Reviews

Insignia 10,2 16:9 Widescreen TFT Portable DVD Player with Swivel Screen

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I received the Insignia IS-PDVD10 to replace my 8.4" Kawasaki unit, which lasted me about 5 months. I wasn't expecting a whole lot from the Insignia brand, but I have been pleasantly surprised by it thus far.

I found the build quality to be much better than I had expected and far better than my prior Kawasaki player. The satin black finish gives the player a more refined look. And while it may not be a feature worthy of the specs sheet, I was very happy with the player's use of magnets to hold the player shut, it makes the unit much more solid and adds to its build quality and class.

Pros:
From a functionality stand point there are many good things to report about this player. One is that the wide 10.2" screen is among the largest you can get in a portable DVD player. Also the way the battery has been integrated into the form of the player allows you to leave the battery attached to the player at all times without it being in the way. The battery charging system for the battery is also integrated into the player so any time you have the AC adapter connected to the unit, it will automatically recharge. The included remote is very well featured despite a lack of volume control. The player is also able to play back a very wide range of media formats, including MP3 / WMA / VCD / SVCD / MPG and of course DVD. The unit is easy to use and the controls are intuitive with most all necessary controls readily available on the unit. But to me the most important feature is the swivel screen, which allows for better viewing when in a tight area such as the tray table in an airplane.

Cons:
There are a few nagging details that do detract from the unit. One is that the built in speakers and amplifier are of fairly poor quality. The volume is controlled by a rotary dial on the side of the unit; this is why it isn't possible to adjust the volume from the remote. Some people will be upset that it does not include headphones, though if Insignia had included headphones they would have no doubt been of inferior quality and I wouldn't bother using them. The image quality is a little less than I would prefer, however this player is not intended to be used as an everyday player and a concession should be made for that fact. Upon initial spin up of a disc the player sounds like a line trimmer, though this sound goes away once it begins playback and is never heard again. The buttons on the unit itself can be fairly unresponsive and I sometimes have to press them twice before it will respond. All of these are very minor concerns and don't weigh heavily in my opinion of the player.

There are a few other concerns that I believe are more pressing. One is that when the screen is swiveled around, the only button controls that are usable are Play, Pause, Stop, Next, and Prev. I would very much like to see the direction pad and enter buttons available when the screen is turned around. Another concern is the lack of a battery level indicator. Though the largest problem I have found is that I routinely experience a screen flutter that normally will occur after I change the screens aspect ratio or makes some other change that involves how the player outputs to its screen. The flutter usually only lasts a few seconds, though it could worsen with time.

Overall:
Overall, I am quite pleased with this player. Its build quality is much higher than what I expected and the swivel screen makes it very user friendly in areas where such a large screen would typically be a liability. Aside from a few nagging details it is a fine player that I would recommend to anyone looking at getting a player of this screen size.


In addition:
I wanted to add in responce to the first review, that I have never experienced any compatibility concerns with recordable media. The player has seemlessly played back all DVD-R, DVD+R, and Dual Layer DVD+Rs that I have attempted to play in it.

I was worried about what the first reviewer wrote. But, I bought the unit anyway. I haven't had any problems with disks I have burned. The screen looks very nice. Well worth the price.

I bought this unit from my local Best Buy and ended up returning it a week later. It was a great little machine but the only flaw (which was a big one for me [never travel with originals, leave them at home]) was that every time I played a movie backed up to a DVD+R disc it would play fine until the climax of the film. Then it would start to freeze, skip, and sputter. It did this on EVERY DVD+R movie I played in it. Now I'm searching for a similar machine that actually works as it is supposed to. It's a great unit if you never need to play DVD media backed up from a computer's DVD burner.

I was hesitant on buying a brand that hasn't been out very long. I took a chance and don't regret it at all! Great DVD player. It plays burnt DVDs and regular DVDs from the stores. If the movie doesn't load right away due to the new encryption codes (so people can't copy the movies), try clicking the top menu or menu button while loading. Also make sure the DVD is clean. It only plays clean DVDs. There is no skipping. The sound and picture quality are good. If you are looking for a bigger screen and not wanting to pay alot more money, this is the DVD player for you.

Wow, I never knew I got such a good player! I was just 12 when I got this player and had like 200 bucks, looking for a nice 10 inch.I saw this and got it.I didnt know it is one of the best on the market! And its price got higher! Mybe i got mine on sale for $200.Ok so now to the review part.

First of all, this playa is cool.When you close it , it uses magnets to keep both sides of the player together.You can swivil the creen for best vewiwing positions.You can even make it flat so its like a note pad.You just swivil it untill the screen it back wards and close it, and the magnets keep it together! The quality is AWSOME! And of course, this baby is a 10 inch, the size of a very small HOME TV!!! Its got a layout of buttons that are silver for good looks and the material the player is made of is like some smooth plastic, very comfortable.But if you have sweaty or wet hands the plastic "Smears" for some reason its wierd, but you can always rub it off.

In all its a fantastic player and i reccomend it!

I bought this unit to entertain my child on a trip. She went through a couple dozens movies in a week and it worked flawlessly. I played recorded video's and store bought movies, even a couple cd's. The picture is very nice even compared to much higher priced portables. The only thing I found that I don't like is it is very loud when it spins up a disk, but that goes away.

This is a nice little portable DVD player available at Best Buy. It has good screen resolution within its limitations. The audio sound was crisp. The accessories are useful. I recommend it highly!

insignia pdvd10. just bought it at best buy. great player. disregard all the negatives in other reviews-didnt experience them at all, but one. vehicle power cord is really short(2 feet? ) and you're gonna need an extension. otherwise video and sound quality are great, and spillproof design seems smart for kids. waiting to see how it holds up over time, but build quality looks very good and it has long 1 year warranty.

The item is wonderful & I'm sure small dvd players fans will love it. I got it delivered on time. I recommend my relatives & friends to buy the products from Amazon.com. Keep up yr good work. Thks.

I have to say this about this great portable dvd player. There are many reasons to get a portable DVD player, and you need to decide which is good for you. This is what happened to me.

Its spring, and I drive most of the week on long trips, plus stay in hotel rooms during the week. I cannot take dvd players, game systems, etc to the hotel rooms because they have special TV's which make you use THEIR services. So I needed a portable DVD player which I can watch in the room, PLUS listen to in the car.

I went to Best buy and looked about and bought a Zenith 7' cheap player first. Great little thing, but I quickly noticed the sound volume was horrible. In the car, with the windows up and at max volume, I could barely hear the DVD/CD's. Horrible. So I took it back to Best Buy with my headphones and tested out all the portable DVD players. Sony, LC?, Zenith, Insignia, and a few others.

By far, the Insignia Portable DVD players were vastly superior in sound quality. At low volume, the Insignia 8-10 screen players were better than the others at max volume while wearing headphones. No contest. Not even close. Speakers were ok, but with headphones, easily 10x better than the others. So I got the 10.2 screen insignia, and haven't been happier. It cost me about 160 bucks at Best buy, a higher price than the $100 dollar cheaper players, but the vast sound improvement was worth it.

So, for my needs, the Insignia filled them out perfectly. Great sound, good picture. Great sound in the car, in the room, and even with lots of background noise. If you are looking for a Portable DVD player that won't require you to buy expensive headphones/amplifiers in order to hear them, this one will be the one for you.

Picture? Buy this one
Headphones? Buy this one!
Speakers? maybe not this one. Good speakers, but other brands have superior basic speaker quality. But no one beats Insignia for headphone volume.