LG DP885 8.5-Inch Portable DVD Player

• 8.5" Portable DVD player with LCD swivel screen
• USB Media host for digital music & photos & videos
• Audio/Video inout & out put for flexible viewing on the go
• High fidelity audio output from stereo speakers or twin earphone jacks
• Includes remote control

I have both this unit the LG DP885 and the Sony FX820, so this is comparing these 2 units and bringing out the strengths / weaknesses of both. This is not so much of a technical review, but more from a functional point of view.

Exterior

With regard to the LG DP885, the screen and finish are great...from the shiny red top to the gloss black finish on the body housing, it's an attactive unit. On the Sony, the finish is more of a satin finish, so as some reviewers have noted, fingerprints are less obvious on the Sony than on the LG. As far as the overall shape, the LG has a silver chrome lip that aids you in opening the lid whereas on the Sony, you stick your fingers in between the lid and body to open it up. As far as the overall shape, the LG has the shape more like a laptop with angular/sharper edges on the bottom sides, etc whereas the Sony has more of a rounded edge form and seems a little more portable and rugged and less prone to mars and scratches.

Controls

Controls on the LG are intuitive and straight forward. The mode button allows you to switch between viewing a DVD to a different AV source or reading from a flash drive. Being able to review pictures (or mpg files) stored on a flash drive is a great way to review pictures/movie clips and is a huge plus that few portable DVD players have right now. Sure you can burn pics to a dvd and view them, but it's much simpler to copy something to a flash drive and plug it in to the USB. I also copied an audio book on CD to a flash drive to see what would happen and it also played just fine. Then you can turn the screen off and just listen to an audio book (or just drop the CD in the player, but wanted to see if it would play off of a USB flash.) Volume setting on the LG is by way of a thumbwheel on the right side whereas on the Sony, the volume control is on the screen lid. Although both have remotes, if you don't use the remote (depending on the setting, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't), I prefer the thumbwheel than sticking my finger on the screen that I'm watching and pushing the volume control button (separate + button for up volume, button for down volume)

Mode, Display, setup, brightness, power, menu, LCD (4:3 or 16:9) are on the body housing vs similar functions on the Sony are all accessed by buttons just below the viewing screen. As mentioned before, I personally don't like to push buttons on the screen lid since the screen moves around each time you push a button on the Sony (if not using the remote).

Picture quality

The picture quality is better in a number of ways on the LG than on the Sony and recommend that you view both side by side at the store to see for yourself. With the Sony (although initially the colors look deeper and richer) I have to tilt the screen so that I'm looking directly in front to see the best resolution. I don't find that with the LG. The LG's picture quality is sharp and crisp whereas on the Sony, I have to have the screen tilted at its "optimal angle" in order to get a good resolution / quality. In adjusting the brightness on the Sony, although you can adjust the brightness, contrast, color etc, for me it either blows out the lighter sections (too much contrast) or you lose picture detail in the blacks...On the LG, I find the picture to be very clean without playing with the adjustments.

Sound quality

The sound quality on either unit is what it is...depending on whether you're viewing a DVD at home or in the car or on the train, headphones/earbuds, or good quality computer speakers are recommended. When viewing a DVD at home, I have the unit connected to Bose speakers (Companion 3) and the sound quality is like a mini home theater unit, so in reality I never listen to either unit through their provided speakers and the audio is either through earbuds while on the train or through good quality home computer speakers.

Screen Precaution

On both units, the LG and Sony are designed where you can flip the screen around and lay the screen flat on the body housing making it a tablet design. On both units, this is a critical point. With both units you can only turn the lid 180 degrees IN ONE DIRECTION ONLY and return back to its original position from the direction you started. In other words on the LG, flip the screen to vertical and rotate clockwise 180 degrees then lay it down flat on the unit. To put it back, it must be rotated back COUNTERCLOCKWISE to return it to its original position. If you rotate the screen in the wrong direction, you run the risk of breaking the screen unit!!! On the LG, the screen feels a bit more wobbly than on the Sony. Even when lifting the lid, on the LG the screen torques quite a bit if you lift it from any point other than center and feels like you're going to snap the screen off from the body housing. On the Sony, you will still lift the screen from the center, but it has a more solid feel but this is a weak joint (on both units) and you will need to be careful. If you're getting either unit for kids, I would either tell them to be very careful, or do it for them (such as when they're viewing in a car setting)

So as far as what I use...if I'm traveling, I bring the Sony since I don't care as much about the picture in that kind of setting. If I'm at my desk (I don't watch movies on the computer too noisy) and not watching on the home theater downstairs, I'm watching on the LG because of the better picture quality and I find myself watching more movies lately on the LG than on the regular home theater. So for you, decide how you're going to use it most and hope this helps a bit.

Buy LG DP885 8.5-Inch Portable DVD Player Now

I purchase this red and black glassy LG DP885 8.5inc portable dvd player on Oct 7th 2008 from Amzon's one of market place store. It started from first few days, dvd player was picky and some can play, some not, even bought from store. However it was played most of dvd so I kept but 2 moth ago they start not playing anymore. It just making mechanical noise and showing "disc error" for any dvd. I check LG web site customer service and input information but they are not return. It's already 3days. It is very bad customer service so I would not buying any more LG products. If customer service is bad why you buy products from them? It is always "customer service is important" point to decided purchase products.

Up date Information: Called customer service and said I have to pay $60 labor fee. Warranty is only cover parts.

DVD player I paid $169. There is more cheaper and better dvd player exist. I'm regret I did purchase this product.

Up date 10/12/09

I called customer service and they said they send information for return and it was never arrived. Customer service is really bad in this company. I would not buy product from LG anymore. If the cutomer service nto taking care, why you buy??

I use online repair page and send information twice, not reponded at all.

Bad customer service is not worth to buy product...even price is cheaper than anywhere.

Read Best Reviews of LG DP885 8.5-Inch Portable DVD Player Here

My mother bought me this player for Christmas 2008 and after about 3-4 uses, the screen went almost completely white. You could see some of the picture (like outlines of people's bodies and some words), but basically nothing in the DVD you are playing is visible. I thought that maybe it was just the brightness or contrast, but unfortunately it was not. My mother spoke with LG and like another reviewer, she got the run around as well. At first they said they could fix it for $35, and like the other reviewer said they would send a shipping label. My mom tried talking to someone else with LG who said they didn't do repairs at all! However, they would send us another product for $69!!! I don't think so. Basically, LG got their money and I got a faulty product and have to live with it. I also checked the Better Business Bureau to see their F rating. I won't be buying any LG products in the near future. I only rated this product with a one star b/c I couldn't post my review with zero stars.

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Bought this for the kids. Screen went blank after 5 months. Called LG Cust. Service. They said item was discontinued, & they'd send pre-paid shipping label for return for refund. 4 weeks later still no label. Afraid to ship back because I'll never receive refund. Spoke to CS reps. & even a CS manager no good. I'm glad this is the only LG product I ever bought, and never dished out major $$$ on other products. I would not buy anything from this manufacturer. If they can't properly handle a simple DVD player issue, imagine your big-screen TV!!!

By the way, I checked out lg electronics on the BBB, and they have a "C" grade for customer service and an "F" for their corporate headquarters. So I'd like to change the rating to 0 stars!

.I just purchased this unit, and I am very happy with the movie quality, sharp and crisp. The sound is excellent, specially if you use IPod buds. Tried to see pictures using the USB port, but they showed very grainy and slow. Is also heavy compared with others in the market, which makes it kind of cumbersome to carry in a purse when on a trip. But I must say it is very pretty.