Customer Reviews

Magnavox MPD720 7-Inch Portable DVD Player

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I researched and researched portable DVD players prior to going on a 6 week long driving trip to the midwest from my home in the northeast. I ended up deciding on this one, and boy, am I happy I did.

The initial car ride was a 17 hour drive from NH to IL. The player started getting used halfway through the first day, and saved my sanity (I have 2 1/2 year old twins...)I never once had any problems with it in the car, and even my tech-shy mom, riding with me, could figure out how to work the machine.

Once in IL, I also made separate drives to both my in-laws' houses - 3 hour and 9 hour drives, respectively. The player, again, worked beautifully. Not one skip, not one overheat, nothing.

My parents also do not have a DVD player at their house, so we used it a lot out of the car and on their TV. It's easy to hook up. The quality is probably not what we have here at home - my husband is a tech junkie and we have pretty high-end home equipment - but it was certainly quite good.

Just got home this past week, using the player again in the car the whole way back home, and again, not one single issue.

I'll admit that I haven't used the battery very much at all - we plugged into the power for both car and home use, but I was able to watch one full movie on the battery at some point, so it's got at least that much juice.

Just a couple of small things to be aware of - the case that is included doesn't have much in the way of support if you are trying to hang the player between the front two seats in a van, in order for second row bucket seats to both be able to see it. We rigged the two hanging straps together and supported the player a little bit more by resting a purse on a cooler underneath it. Also, there doesn't seem to be a way to add an extra screen later.

It's loaded with some fun extras like DTS and surround sound capability, if you can hook up to a receiver that handles that kind of sound. The internal speakers were loud enough for us, though it did seem to vary a bit with different movies.

All in all, a wonderful purchase that I'm SO glad that I made!

I have the MPD720 and the Mintek 1770 side by side and they are sourced from the same manufacturer (as another reviewer noted). The software is identical (uses same IR remote codes) and the lithium ion batteries are identically rated (mAh). Build quality is also equivalent. This unit does NOT have s-video support as listed, so beware! (the 1770 does). The Magnavox only comes with a 90 day parts/labor warranty; the Mintek 1770 has a 90 day labor, 1 year parts warranty. Save yourself the Magnavox $ premium and get the Mintek.

I normally do allot of research before purchasing electronics but was under pressure due to a hurricane about to pass our way. My neighborhood almost always loses power, even during small storms, so I knew it would be inevitable with at least 50 mph sustained winds on the way. I stopped by Walmart to check out anything that might keep me entertained through hours without electricity and settled on the Magnavox MPD720. All I can say is, "thank goodness for this little wonder". It performed without a hitch right out of the box, was easy to use, (even in the dark) for hours. I had three people camped out on the sofa with the MPD720 placed on the coffee table several feet away and all were amazed at its clear picture and sound. Luckily I had also purchaed an extra battery pak for more hours and we were able to watch 3 movies, which may not seem like much, but they were long movies "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" were two of them, so I can honestly say battery life was exceptional.

In my opinion, this Player (MPD 720) is the very best Portable DVD Player on the market. The 7" screen is crystal clear and can be viewed very comfortably from 5 feet away. The speakers although lacking bass, are the best quality for any 7" player. If you arent satisfied with the speakers buy some portable ones at radio shack for $10-$20 and you'll have more sound than you need for a car, train or airplane ride. The unit seems to be very durable and it has never freezed or skipped while I have used it. It is extremely portable and user friendly. Since it comes with a battery, remote, car adapter and carrying case it is the best deal out there at $275.00. The case is awesome, it easily attatches to a car seat, has room for your unit, battery, charger, adapter wires, remote, headphones (not included) and 5-10 DVD's in sleeves. The case fits all that and still only weighs about 4lbs and is only 12" by 12". A flawless design by magnavox. With a product this perfect you have to look hard for flaws and I found 3. 1)The LCD screen has more resistence than you'd think to open it(not a big deal). 2)The buttons on the unit can't be tapped to work, you have to push down and hold them for a second. 3)When the unit is first loading/stopping a DVD it run's kind of loud but soon disappears once the movie starts. Other than that this unit is perfect. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

I have had the Magnavox MPD720 for about a month now and it hasn't skipped a beat. Unlike some players it doesn't go into convulsions when you "dance" on the keys but takes you last entry and does it. I had a CyberHome unit that I bought in November at Wal-Mart and July 2nd it crashed and burned when it was most needed. Good ol' Wally World refunded my money (I had paid $248 for it, although it is now less than $200) with no questions ask. Yes I did have the receipt. The lady took me back to the electronics dept and I picked out the MPD720 without checking the reviews on line but from what I read I made a good decision.

So far it has done fine. I have three gripes that are minor; 1. The case is to darn small. With all accessories stuffed inside it is tight as a drum. No room for headphones, or anything else. I put it in an old laptop bag with the unit inside the original case and all is well. 2. For the life of me I can't find a way to see how much battery is left. With a battery life like I'm getting, well in excess of 3 hours on a charge it doesn't really matter. 3. Internal speakers leave a lot to be desired, low volume on some movies, so low if any other noise is around the sound is covered up. Plug in a set of small headphones and it comes alive.

The quality of the video is much better than the Cyberhome. I'm lucky to have rid myself of that piece of junk... with all the reviews on it rating it super low. Thanks Wal-Mart!

One other thing, I believe Magnavox could have a longer warranty. The CyberJunk rig had a year (thank God), Magnavox has only 90 days, they could do better.

We have had this DVD player for 4 months and have been very happy with it. We bought it to get our kids (2 and 5 years old) through a long plane ride and it did the trick. Since our plane ride was over 5 hours, we called Magnavox and ordered an extra battery (around $55 with shipping). The player is sturdy and lightweight--perfect for travel. We have since used the player a lot and have had no problems. The picture is good and the sound is adequate for a portable player, and our experience is that the battery lasts for over 3 hours. If you are thinking of buying this to use on a plane, I would recommend bringing along a short bungee cord (available at Home Depot). We had some bad turbulence for part of the flight and the bungee cord kept the player secured safely to the tray.

Well, we finally buried the old girl. Thats right...our magnavox just departed for dvd heaven for a well deserved rest.
Why am I giving it 5 stars? because of the horrific abuse it took over the last 18 months before finally giving up the ghost.
My 4 year old has beaten the living cannoli out of this thing...Im talking oatmeal, massive sippy cup spillage, greasy fingers, multiple dives down he stairs, cross country car trips, grape jelly soaked dvd's and random frustrated button pushing.
The picture remained GREAT.
It played WHATEVER scratched remnents she jammed in there.
The sound was terrific...And it played for HOURS.
I was amazed it lasted as long as it did.
Thi is PERFECT for a toddler.

I bought this DVD player and car kit from WalMart. I used it on a weekend road trip to keep my boys occupied. It was noisy, tracked poorly, skipped every few minutes, and by the last half hour of the movie it wouldn't play at all. I tried playing about 6 different DVDs with this-- all with the same result. 2 of the DVDs couldn't even be read. It seemed cheaply made and you had to STUFF HARD to get everything into the bag it came with, so there was no room for additional DVDs. I immediately returned this player and bought an Audiovox D1708 from QVC. It's quiet, feels solid and has played all the DVDs perfectly that the Magnavox wouldn't. There's even room in the bag for a couple of DVDs.

I bought this mainly for my 18 month old son who loves to watch Elmo DVD movies. After doing an extensive research on brand, price, accessories and comments, I decided to go with this DVD Player. NO COMPLAINTS HERE...I always go for branded names - since these companies work hard to get to where they are right now. I am very hard to please but this DVD Player pleases my son and I BIG TIME...

After reading good reviews for this on Amazon.com, I purchased it February 2005. Now I am seeing the more critical reviews from the period after my purchase. The criticism is justified. Within the first 90 days, the Magnavox MPD720 was no longer playing despite no abuse - usually played from my nightstand. I sent it back to the manufacturer who replaced it. Recently I began to hear the dreaded grinding and see the now familiar mid-scene pause - it has stopped loading. So within a year, two machines failed.

I did not feel the volume was adequate from the beginning. The battery did work well on a vacation last year; however, it protrudes in such a way as to make the unit not fit in the case when used to hold it in position in a car.

Yesterday I purchased a Philips portable dvd player which was recommended on this site. It is the same company as the Magnavox, but the model looks like a completely different product so I can only hope. I do not have the budget to replace it annually.

The best reviews are not the ones from people who have just turned on the machine or are quoting the product sheet, but who have had some time to see how the machine works over time.

Thanks to others who took the time to analyze what they do and don't like about their portable dvd players. Without these informed comments, we are buying blind.