Customer Reviews

Philips PET710 7-Inch Widescreen Portable DVD Player

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I was originally looking at two other models of 7" portable DVD player, the Samsung DVD-L75 and the Toshiba SD-P1600. After looking at both at a local Best Buy store, I was dissapointed by their lack-luster (literally!) LCD screen. But thinking that there was no better choice available around the same price range, I still bought the Samsung since it was lighter in weight than the Toshiba and had a better button layout.

When I got the Samsung L75 home, I was further put off by the inconvenient way to adjust the aspect ratio on it (I don't like images from my TV show DVDs being horizontally stretched out to fill the widescreen) - you have to get in layers of menus to do it, and it doesn't remember your preference for the next disc. The final straw was that it also randomly stops (not just skips) in the middle of a show, so I returned the Samsung L75... and am SO GLAD that I did! Because the next thing I found was this little gem of a Philips PET710, which is MUCH better in many ways.

Pros of the Philips PET710:
- best LCD screen amoung competitions
- very good (and loud) speakers for the size
- brushed aluminum casing, not cheap plastic
- good user interface design (button layout and menu navigation)
- can be made region-free (more on this below)

Cons of the Philips PET710:
- no AV input ports (for gaming/digital camera/iPod/etc.)
- loud spin-up noise when loading a disc
- battery life is adequate, but not as long as I'd like

And here's the hack to turn the PET710 into a region-free DVD player:
1. power on
2. open the DVD tray cover
from remote control:
3. press "setup"
4. navigate to the "preferences" page
5. press "OK"
6. key in "2" "5" "2" "3" "1" "5"
7. press the left arrow
8. press the down arrow
9. press "0" when region code is displayed
10. press "setup" again to exit

I can confirm that this model works with home made DVD+R, DVD-R (although the "-" formats are not listed as compatible), VCD, SVCD (but doesn't seem to support SVCD subtitles), and MP3 CD. Have not tried DVD+RW or DVD-RW discs but they probably will work as well. Aside from being region free, it can also play both NTSC and PAL formats on its own LCD screen (but does not seem to be able to do conversions say if you want to play a European PAL DVD in the player and output to your North American NTSC TV set).

[Added 12/6: In response to another reviewer's comment on the screen being "not a true 16:9" - it definitely is! You only need to take out a ruler to verify this. The actual LCD screen on this player measures 154 mm by 87 mm, which is compliant to the 16:9 ratio. The top and bottom filler black bands do still show up on some movies, because some movies are filmed in the 2.35:1 ratio, an "ultra-widescreen" if you will.]

This is a good portable DVD player for the mony, but it does have some negative points that you should be aware of. It has good build quality that seems quite sturdy, unlinke a lot of other portable DVD players out there. The video and audio quality is excellent. It plays all kinds of DVDs (including ones from other countries if you use the multi region code as described in other reviews).

The only reason I'm not giving it a great rating is because there are some real negatives:

-No AV inputs. You cannot connect your digital camera to display your photos, nor can you connect a video game system to this DVD player. Most all other brands do have this functionality, so Phillips needs to get with it.

-I wish the battery didn't protrude out the back of the unit (it should be under the player instead).

-No resume function. You will lose your place if you stop a DVD movie while watching it and turn the player off.

-Very loud spinning noise. This player is annoying loud when spinning the DVD.

This Phillips seems like a solid player that will last beyond what you would expect for the price, but you should be aware of the negatives. If you cannot get beyond these negatives, I would recommend going with a Toshiba which has all the features the Phillips is lacking, although is probably not quite as good in terms of display and build quality.

UPDATE 5/20/2011
I junked this unit today. While the player itself still worked, the monitor portion gave out. A DVD player with sound but no picture is pointless. The funny thing is that I think I paid $250+ for this item in 2007. Today a similar unit is under $100. The way of technology...

ORIGINAL REVIEW 3/16/2007
If you are looking for portable DVD player that is durable and offers great picture and audio quality, and plays any DVD you can find, this is it.

I'll get the flaws out of the way first...
As other reviews mentioned, the battery is a little clunky in design, and the DVD player doesn't integrate with several devices. The other small complaint I have is that the fast forward function does not work well with burned or homemade DVDs. But this may be the fault of the DVD and not the player. The skip and rewind functions work fine, however, so sometimes I will circumvent this problem by skipping forward one scene and rewinding instead of fast forwarding. I don't have this problem with regular DVDs.

But the pluses are numerous...this unit is durable, nice looking, super-easy to use (a 3 year old could figure it out in 10 minutes), and comes with both AV and car adapters, as well as a mini remote.

The weight of the unit is very reasonable. I carry it around with me a lot.

Another big bonus is the extended battery life above and beyond the manufacturer guarantee. I can usually get at least 3 hours of use on one battery charge. The battery appears to fully recharge in less than 2 hours. Another reviewer provided helpful advice about purchasing extra batteries direct from Phillips at a pretty reasonable price.

Another big plus is that this DVD player appears to play any and all DVDs. It plays DVDs in any format I have tried, including burned DVDs and PC-edited home movies. It has played DVDs that my other DVD players have rejected (including my Panasonic DVD Recorder/VCR combo that I paid $300+ for). I can't say if it plays DVDs from other regions (like Europe or Japan).

But the biggest plus to me is the picture and audio quality. On a 9" screen, picture quality really counts.

I wish I could give this unit 4 1/2 stars. It's perfect except for a few flaws noted above. If you're ok with those, this unit is perfect for you.

I debated getting the similar Polariod 7" player, before finally settling on this Philips model...glad I got this one.

It feels very sturdy, the case is made of metal rather than plastic. The picture is beautiful, easy to view from all angles, and the built-in speakers work fine (however, I use headphones for use in the car/plane rather than jacking up the volume...it includes TWO built-in headphone jacks...very nice). There is a surround sound option which is quite effective.

The battery life absolutely blows me away, especially considering the smallish size; the package stated 2.5 hours, but it lasted almost 4 continous hours on our first use! I don't know how to explain this; maybe it's a first time use anomally...we'll see. Regardless, I would buy this unit again in a heart beat...Great value!

BTW, if you want spare batteries (Philips OEM, rather than 3rd party batteries) you need to call Philips via their Customer Service number on their website (I searched the web high & low, nobody sells these Philips OEM batteries). I just purchased 2 more batteries from Philips for a total of $45 (including tax & shipping)...what a steal.

We have been using this DVD player intensively for about a month.

For the price you get a very decent and sturdy DVD player, with a relatively sharp screen (I've seen better ones though) and very good sound quality. In my case, the fully-charged battery last for almost 3 hours. As an example, my son was able to watch Finding Nemo and Toy Story II without the need of recharging.

Controls are very easy and intuitive and it also comes with a remote control with a decent range (I tried from about 9ft-3mts and still worked).

Another plus I can see is the fact that you are able to switch from regions and easily play DVDs purchased in other countries.

The only downside I found is that the power adaptor is only meant for 110 volts so if plan to take it with you to a country with different electricity parameters (i.e. any in Europe) you better think about buying another transformer. Having said that, you always have the choice to charge it via the car cigarette plug, this is what we did in our recent trip to France.

Would I buy it again? yes!

I bought this portable DVD player for my two sons (ages 4 and 1 ½) for long car trips and plane rides, and I highly recommend this device for any parent who wishes to keep their sanity when traveling.

The DVD controls are simple enough for my four-year-old to operate, the screen resolution is quite adequate when you consider the price, and the sound is of acceptable quality. You can hear the audio with no problems or distortion in a car, and the two audio jacks allow for two sets of earphones on a plane. Most importantly, this DVD player is able to withstand a lot of abuse - falls, spills, food, etc. And it keeps on working.

The package comes with a car adaptor, which is useful for long car trips. However, if you're going to take a long flight you'll need more than one battery since the batter that comes with the product only lasts about 2 to 2 ½ hours.

I did a lot of research on portable DVD players, using the internet and every magazine I could find. Like pretty much every one else, I hoped to find a decent one for around a hundred dollars. They don't exist yet, but eventually I'm sure they will. I paid $149.82 at WalMart. Many machines at twice that price don't have the picture quality or features of this machine. The case is not plastic, like all the others in this price range or even higher. The case is brushed aluminum and very, very nice. The cases of all the other 7" models I looked at, were all larger than this one. It's very compact. Mine was manufactured Sept. of 2005 and is not "noisey" as some reviews have mentioned. It's very quiet. Screen brightness and contrast are adjustable, an important feature. Controls are easy to use and well marked. Two headphone inputs are supplied along with other input outputs. You can tell very quickly that this is a quality product. Don't make a mistake and buy something else. You will not be disappointed. It's a fantastic machine.

I'm a picky consumer with regards to electronics.

This is the 3rd player I purchased - returned 2 and kept this one. One of the players I returned was the Kawasaki 9" player - decided I'd rather sacrafice larger screen for quality. Using the Kawasaki for a week before returning it - I felt it woudl break within a year b/c DVD casing didn't snapped awkwardly into position and the locking mechanism for screen to base snapped into place placing a sheering force on the hinge and screen everytime you opened and closed the unit

My opinion is that these portable DVD player mfr's have for the most part focused totally on keeping them cheap to manufacture and it's getting harder to find a quality product that will give you a good life of use. I settled on the Phillips over the other 2 b/c of the way the Philips was designed / manufactured it felt like a real electronic component rather than a cheap portable plastic player that didn't fit together well.

* Volume - It has the loudest volume compared to about 10 other 7" DVD players I was looking at in this sized screen. The Kawasaki 10" had a slightly louder volume - but not by much. The quality of sound is also a bit nicer than most of it's competitors which feature brassy sound to them. It's still a portable DVD player though - and don't expect a hi fi system out of the player.

* picture screen - it's very sharp and can be viewed from any side angles and lower - loses some quality when viewed from a sharp angle above the screen - but you can adjust the screen to compensate against that.

* The machine is definitely mechanicly a bit louder than others when starting up and skipping from track to track - but I was aware of it when I purchased the machine so it doesn't bother me.

* Remote - is typical credit card style - had all the features you could need including digital zoom - display keys - etc.

* Controls - more versatile and user friendly ( intuitive ) than many of it's competitors in the 7" units. I never felt like they were trying to pack too many menus into one button and it was easy to access all the features like wide / regular screen viewing / picture adjustments / sound choice without any deep thinking.

* screen and base are held securely together with a pretty strong magnet. Strong enough to firmly hold the machine closed shut - but not so much that it would be difficult to open. I really liked this.

* Casing of the portable DVD unit still has plastic - but it's coated with a sheet of brushed aluminum on the outside which gives it a durabilty and fit that's very nice. The DVD door fits perfectly and soothely locks into place and the release button opens the door nicely - you will never feel like you have a chinsy player with this unit - very well engineered.

I'd recommend purchasing this unit over most others - and am very happy with this purchase. I expect it to last for a good long time without troubles - If I have any problems I'll be sure to update this review. So far I've watched about 20 DVD's with it to date.

re: battery life - No opinions - It wasn't a feature that was going to be used in my application - so I haven't used the battery yet - but I did notice walmart sells a 3 hour battery for this unit if you ever need a spare.

Jake

I researched the net for a long time looking for a decent portable DVD player. My requirements were reliablility, good sound, sharp picture and decent price. I purchased the PET710 after reading the favorable remarks at Amazon. I've had the player for about a year now and it works flawlessly for the most part. The only thing I wish is that it had better sound quality but apparently most portable units are thin sounding due to the small size. This is a reliable unit and is a pleasure to use. Battery seems to hold charge for more than sufficient time. Recommended.

I just got this today and so far so good. It plays movies as well as I expected, and the sound is phenomal. The quality is really good, and the controls are easy to navigate. I was really impressed with the ease of use. I was watching a DVD about half an hour after getting it. I actually read through the manual after I'd played around with it and didn't learn anything new.

UPDATE:

We took this on a two week cross country trip with us, and it's a great little player. It does spin the DVD loudly, but it's not really a bother to me. The battery life is good, lasting about three and a half hours, and easily recharged in the car. The two headphone jacks are a life saver especially with two children wanting to watch the same movie at the same time. Cut down on arguments. It has a nice strong magnent to hold the two halves together and operates well.

The only two drawbacks that I see are:

1. The brightness. It's a really bright screen even with the brightness level turned all the way down, it's not a huge problem, just makes it harder to see.

2. No playback option. You cannot resume where you left off if you turn the player off. However if you just push "stop" and do not turn the player completely off, you will resume where you left off.

Overall very good investment and I'd recommend it to others. Spend the little bit of extra money, you'll be happy you did.