Customer Reviews

iLuv i1166 8.9 Inch Portable Multimedia/DVD Player with Dock for iPod

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

 

 

I've been closely tracking this item ever since it was announced back at CES earlier in the year and I was fortunate enough to get one of the first shipments that came out. Here's a brief look at some of my pros and cons with the item.

Previously I had bought a Philips Model: DCP850/37 DVD/iPod portable player and was very happy with it. Albeit the screen was only 7 inch, but it was relatively portable and fairly light and easy to use. Unfortunately it did not support the later generation 160 GB iPod classic, where I store most of my videos (I could only use my 60 GB ipod for the Philips) so I decided to upgrade to the iLuv i1166.

My initial impressions are the following:
The look of the iLuv 1166 is superior of the Philips. It has a nice, sleek black frame with a very nice large 9" widescreen panel on the face of the gadget. Unlike the Philips, which has the screen on the inside of the clamshell design, the iLuv's screen is on the outside, with a little stand to support it on the other side. When you open the iLuv clamshell, that is where the DVD drive and the iPod cradle is. Like most other ipod/dvd hybrids, there are different adapters you can use for your nano, ipod, itouch or iphone. One definite plus of this item is that it supports many of the current gen ipods, which was lacking in the previous model (i1155) and the other philips players. So if you're like me and you have the 160 GB classic, this is the player for you.

I was only able to test the gadget with my ipod and a test DVD. It is very easy to operate (either via remote control or the menu buttons next to the screen) and the menu options are quite simple. The menus are easy to read and it's quite nice to have a battery indicator which gives you a heads up that you're going to run of of juice soon.

The picture quality was quite nice. I ran a DVD video and also ran movies, music videos and tv shows from my ipod. The image is crisp and the 9" large screen is definitely a plus. I have yet to test the SD inputs though. But from my experience there is definitely a noticeable improvement in terms of image quality from my philips player.

There are also 2 headphone jacks that allows multiple people to watch the same video. The battery took me approximately 3 hours to charge in the first run and I ran 2 movies to drain it out as a test. After running it for about 3 hours (before falling asleep) I noticed it was working fine, so that's definitely good (vs a roughly 2.5 hour play time with my philips).

I did have a few gripes that kept me from giving this 5 stars though. First, there is an annoying lack of a chapter search for the ipod movies. So if you're watching a 2 hour movie and want to fast forward, it ain't gonna happen. That's sort of annoying if you want to try and speed through 2 movies on a long trip.

EDIT: (I switched up a few movies to test and found that the chapter search worked on one or two of the 6 I tried out. Not sure why this happened and seemed like the rewind function worked more than the fast forward. Not sure if this is another glitch like what I saw with the ipod videos, which I addressed below)

I also noticed a strange glitch in which for some reason the menu on the ipod wasn't able to read my music videos in sequential order. Say if you had multiple videos of Michael Jackson in 1 category, for some reason I couldn't access MJ's videos in the order I have it on my ipod. Rather, every time I open up one category, every single video in my ipod appears on the list regardless of category. Again, annoying but doesn't impact the performance of the item.

Also there is no video out option (one plus of my philips was that it had a video out that i could connect to my tv). Not a deal breaker for me, but it is a bit irritating for those of you who want to use the DVD option for say, an extended stay at a hotel or at your other home and don't have a DVD there.

If you're a gadget freak like me, I think you'll enjoy the item. I also recommend purchasing a cover for this item (I ordered mine from the iLuv/jwin site) as the screen seems very easy to scratch given its location on the outside of the clamshell design.

In summary:
Pros:
1. Cool, sleek design
2. Works with most ipods/iphones including current gen
3. Decent battery life
4. Huge screen, great image quality
5. Great variety of inputs (dvd, ipod, sd, usb, multiple headphones)
6. Can play in car with car adapter
7. Easy to use menu, remote control

Cons:
1. No video out option
2. No chapter search for ipod movies/tv shows
3. Kind of heavy
4. Screen location makes it potentially easy to scratch/damage
5. Gitchy menu at times (at least for me)
6. Speakers not exactly useful (tinny and not really good for playback)

But net net, it's a pretty neat item on the go

EDIT: So on extended use during a recent vacation ... I would like to add the following notes:

1. After taking extraordinary efforts to keep the screen protected (I bought a cover from jwin), I still noticed surface scratches upon repeat uses. This despite being very careful in placing the item carefully in the storage case. I also didn't drop the unit and didn't scratch it during usage so not sure where they came from but just wanted to offer a heads up about the potential for easy screen scratches.

2. I noticed the battery life was about 3 to 3.5 hours when it was used with the ipod for movies. That seemed a bit shorter than what was advertised, though I did have the crank up the volume substantially at times since it seemed somewhat low for certain movies or clips. I didn't have the brightness cranked up, but perhaps the volume at max at certain times (I was using headphones) may have contributed to the shorter battery life.

3. Video quality is excellent and having a widescreen does make the experience a lot better!

4. I tested the unit with an SD card, and it functioned just fine. Given the design, it can also serve as a nice picture frame of sorts, albeit a big clunky frame. I noticed that the slideshow of the pics also moved somewhat slow. Nonetheless plugging an SD card to view pictures were relatively easy and painless.

Item feels very cheaply made and came out of the box with a cosmetic defect. Screen attracts dust and dirt like a magnet and if you even breathe on the screen it scratches. If you turn the screen even a little it becomes difficult to see and the quality is lousy unless you look at the screen dead on. Player can't recognize SDHC cards so the biggest card that can go in there is a 2GB card. That will hold one whole movie (written with sarcasm) so what's the freakin' point of the SD card slot. And, if you have updated your 2nd generation iPod touch to version 3 software it is not recognized by the device. You would think that a device that was the innovation of the year for 2009 would have been designed by individuals who were more forward thinking.

My advice is to save your money and don't buy this. That is unless all the other electronics you own are from the early 2000's. Then you should be OK.

This product is almost there and I like it a whole lot it plays the dvd's, almost all ipods and ipod touch including the videos on your iphone and can be used as a picture viewer with an SD card or USB Drive. So for software it has it all, now for the Cons no video output, sound could be louder coming out of speakers, should have had a matte finish instead of the shiny surface because it shows to many fingerprints, the screen scratches easily and should at least come with a screen protector and the build quality seems flimsy so don't drop it cause I don't think it could take not even 1 fall and product is a little on the heavy side so basically for the price they could have put a little more work in to it but the product is definitely usable as long as you are careful. I think the next generation of this will be a great improvement because so far each one has been better than the last.

this product although it has some great PRO's it also at the same time has many CON's it seems that it's design and construction were somehow rushed into production

you know how these companies are when a NEW (other companies') product comes out, they all wanna be first to address the new technology (IE the IPHONE)
anyway. here we go

PROS
1 - it has the largest screen of all DVD players 9"
2 - it has a nice remote control (most don't have remote)
3 - it accepts and plays movies from IPOD/IPHONE
4 - it accepts and plays movies from both USB and SD card

CONS
1 - you can't flip the screen when you turn it off to protect it (it opens and closes to protect the DVD and the IPOD/IPHONE
2 - the screen is very sensitive and subject to scratches, a finger nail will leave a mark
3 - the remote seems to have more functions than the onboard buttons perform
4 - there is no menu feature when you have multiple movies on a USB or SD card, no fast forward or jump either
5 - the SD card slot only accepts up to a 2GB SD card (not HD compatible)
6 - the IPOD menu's from the screen are so plain and slow reacting, not to mention hard to navigate
7 - it only accepts a SINGLE format (DIVX) on the SD and USB movie inputs, and no where is it noted
what format and video encoding to use (i had to spend 3 days trying to figure this thing out)
8 - the tech support is CRAP, the people who reply back to you don't even know what this product is. ALL they do is
read to you from the supplied manual (and it's crap too)

in my opinion wait for a better model to come out
JWIN is not the best of companies to create technology

my built in ALPINE DVD head unit does more than this. I did pay $1000 for it though

I recieved my iLuv yesterday. I immediately plugged it in so to charge the battery. As most of the guys I know, I used it 1st then read the instructions. This puppy is a dream come true. It played the movies in my 160GB iPod classic flawlessly. As far as the sound goes, this is the only flaw in the ointment. I plugged it in to my Bose Portable iPod dock. Hence, the sound is awesome. This is truly a match made in heaven. The screen is quite BIG. I got on line and ordered a screen saver from iLuv. This is an inexpensive must have. I screamed thru the play lists very easily and as I aid before the sound is fantastic. The remote is handy and very useful indeed. All in all, this was a gr8 purchase and it works very well. It's a keeper. I have also found the screen to be quite good for viewing the movies on my iPod. It's larger then I imagined. The color is very good and the entire viewing experience is a gr8 one on this terrific new toy..

Danny-N-Oregon

I have been dealing with an incorrect code for 2 weeks now so I can register my i1166 to play the DivX movies I have purchased and can play on PS3, computer, and older Toshiba DVD portable device. iLuv has been very slow to respond to my message on Expree Customer Support site and finally after 2 weeks just called me to discuss. It is very obvious they do not know how DivX works and after explaining the fact that it is not the issue of playing the movies it is the issue that the registration code they provide in the machine is wrong and DivX will not accept, I was informed they would look into it. I would be very cautious about purchasing anything from iLuv as customer service is obviously inadequate for the products they sell.

Item looks great. However, it only plays a DVD for about 40 minutes and quits, even when running on the power supply. I am concerned about the plastic stand and the flip down cover for the headphones and power supply on how long they will hold up, they are made of plastic. Overall, not happy at this time

Pros: Works with my iPhone 4 for music & video (but you must remove phone cover to make it fit inside unit) - Good picture quality on DVD / DIVX / iPhone m4v - BIG screen - supports large capacity USB flash drives (good for video) - kickstand - 2 headphone outs - adequate volume thru speakers - looks cool

Cons: Only supports up to 2 GB SD card (useless for video) - no video out (forget about hooking it up to the motel TV) - screen is subject to scratching since it's always exposed

With a few caveats, I'm satisfied with the unit. I'm not happy that when I went to the website provided with the manual to order the soft-case that was offered for this device that would have helped protect the screen, I was informed that the case was no longer available. Makes me feel like the iLuv I bought is "day-old bread". Oh, well. I'll find something else to put it in.

Overall I like the player, but the one that I recieved the onboard battery does not work. the charging light goes from red to green very quickly but does not work unless pluged in. Also Amazon is not the cheapest place to buy eighter Walmart.com has it cheaper and easyer to return. Overall I would buy again just because I like that it protects and plays my ipod touch with no issues.iLuv i1166 8.9 Inch Portable Multimedia/DVD Player with Dock for iPod

We bought this DVD player in order to keep our daughter from going crazy on car trips. We settled on this player because it was one of the few DVD players that displayed video from media other than DVDs. As other reviewers have pointed out, it is almost impossible to change the DVD when it is strapped onto a headrest. So, I ripped all of our movies and uploaded them to our 2nd generation IPOD touch. The interface is simple, the movies will play one after another, and you don't have to sit through menus and previews (ripped with AnyDVD and converted for IPOD with Handbreak).

The player worked fine until we pressed stop and turned off the car. When we returned and tried to resume the movie, the screen flashed the iLUV splash screen and went blank; we could no longer watch anything from the IPOD until the IPOD was rebooted. DVDs will resume with no problem, but not the IPOD. We have discovered that if you use the power switch to turn off the unit (instead of pressing stop or power from the remote) when you are finished watching, the IPOD video will resume with no problems.

We are very happy with this player overall. My only complaint at this time is that we have not found a great product to secure it in the car. We are currently using the "Car Headrest Mount for Swivel & Flip Style Portable DVD Player-9 Inch" and it is meh.