- Enjoy the gaming feature with the portable PD703 DVD player. Let your kids have fun with wireless game controller.
- Comes with wireless game pad and 10 pre-loaded games. Movies and games travel with you
- Play your movies, music and photos on the go
- Game-ready for extra fun with 7" TFT color LCD display for high quality viewing.
- Extra touches for your convenience upto 2.5 hours of playback with a rechargeable battery.
- Wireless game pad for hassle-free fun. Games CD provided for instant fun
The first test run for this unit was a 2-hour car trip, and I thought it would be a good way to check out the portability (size and weight), as well as battery length and the car power cord. On a full charge, I would say that the battery lasted about the stated 2-hour duration. My kids watched The Polar Express, which is approximately 100 minutes long, and we did not have to plug it in during the movie.
When it came time to plug the player in, a message on-screen informed us that the battery will not charge while the player is on, which is unfortunate. It would be nice for the battery to be charged, even if it is a little, while the player is being used, but at least the notification was there to let us know what was happening.
From a portability standpoint, this 7" player is more portable than our 10" unit. Its smaller dimensions made it easier to take a long, and its lighter weight made it less cumbersome to carry, but I had issues with the quality of the screen (which I'll elaborate on shortly).
With any portable device, durability is a factor. No matter how gently you treat your devices, gravity happens and they end up falling to the floor or ground once in a while. This happened while it was on a table and plugged in. Someone walked into the power cord and the player went flying while it was playing a disc, falling onto a wood floor. Fortunately, the player was not damaged in any visible way, and it still plays discs just fine.
Audio quality is fine on this unit. There are stereo speakers, but they are so close together, that little separation is going to be evident during playback. A simple dial volume control provides plenty of volume range to overcome room noise and road noise, without being tinny or distorted.
The aspect of this player that I was most disappointed in was the quality of the screen. As soon as you power it up, you get an indication of the low quality of the screen from the first message that appears. The menu text is pixelated, which left me hoping that it was just because of the text used for the menus.
Unfortunately, I noticed the low quality of the screen while playing back DVD's as well. DVD menu text is fuzzy and poorly defined. I've uploaded photos of the DVD menu for The Polar Express to demonstrate what I'm referring to. Those photos are unresized, unretouched photographs taken with a Canon SX110IS 9MP camera at a distance of approximately 9" from the screen with no zoom applied. There is a distinct lack of detail in the displayed image that is noticeable when compared with the 10" Memorex unit. There is also more overscan on the Philips display than on the Memorex. If I had to estimate, I would say perhaps about 10 pixels.
Comparing this player's 7" screen to a player with a 10" screen may seem unfair at first glance, but given that the resolution of the source is the same, a 7" screen should look better than a 10" screen with the same resolution. The pixels on the smaller screen should be closer together, making the pixels per inch value greater. In contrast, the pixels on the Philips display are very distinct, giving the image the effect of looking through a screen door. You can see this in the sample photos as well.
Given the large quality difference, I would assume that the Philips model does not have a screen capable of the full 720x480 pixel resolution of the DVD format. If I had to guess, I would say that half that resolution might be about right.
Does the screen quality matter during actual viewing? After all, it's one thing to see it during a brief visit to the DVD's menu system, but the issue is only significant if it's noticeable during movie playback. Fortunately, it's not all that noticeable for casual viewing, especially if you are doing so while it is on your lap or strapped to the back of the seat in front of you.
I asked my kids to try out the games disc and the battery-operated controller, and they played with it for a little while, but the games are quite basic, and I don't think they would hold their interest very long compared to those available on an iPod Touch.
On a packaging note, I echo the comments of other reviewers about the sticky adhesive used on the disc lid. It's nearly impossible to remove, and causes the clamshell lid of the display to stick to the lid of the drive bay. That should be an easy fix, but it's surprising that no one at Philips noticed this before the product hit full-scale manufacturing.
Overall, how does this player stack up? Against, the 10" Memorex, not very well in the picture quality department, but it is lighter and smaller. For casual portable use, it's decent enough. The kids preferred the 10" screen over the 7" because it was bigger, and therefore easier to see. This player would be a slam dunk if it were $50, but at $100, I suggest evaluating other alternatives before making a purchase.
Buy Philips PD703/37 7-Inch LCD Portable DVD Player with Wireless Game Controller, Black Now
I must admit that acquiring a portable DVD had never crossed my mind but I was offered the Philips PD703 for review and decided it was worth a shot. Impressions follow.The Philips PD703 has a 7" LCD screen and comes with a wireless game controller that assumes the end user is familiar with its operation (i.e., it has no instructions), a DVD containing a number of games (the instructions for which, unlike the excellent instruction booklet for the unit itself, are provided both in hard copy and on disk in a truly execrable attempt at English), and--I was truly appalled to discover--the means of attaching the unit proper to the back seat of an automobile--what on earth happened to kids looking out the window, listening to the radio, and/or talking to each other and their parents?! ("I see something...green," anyone?) It's no wonder we're in trouble if a ride in the car without some sort of video pacification is impossible, But I digress.
DVD playback, with regard to both video and audio, is surprisingly good. I played both an "Academy standard" and an anamorphic widescreen disk to test the setup: if left on the standard setting, the widescreen disk's image plays in the correct format but doesn't fill the screen and is somewhat vertically compressed as well, hence manual setup is necessary for each title unless your disks are all of similar AR. Setting up and operating the Philips PD703 is very easy.
The games are cute but ultimately dumb. The stickers on the unit REALLY stick; I still haven't decided how to go about trying to remove the residue mine left (some of it on the border near the screen). The battery is rated to last 2.5 hours which I feel is rather short--perhaps they based it on the perceived attention spans of the backseat passengers who comprise part of the target customer base.
Bottom line: for what this is, it seems okay. I used to be a huge fan of Philips--a Dutch company who have never been properly credited for their innovations over the years--I only wish their manufacturing base was still in the Netherlands. I'm not really sure, in these days of inexpensive laptops, why someone would really need this but for those who do, this one seems just fine.As a relatively new parent with family in some far-flung destinations, it was nice to acquire a portable DVD player for those upcoming car trips. The Philips PD703/37 7 inch LCD portable player is extremely lightweight and travels well. I thought the sound and picture quality were very good, considering that it is not a large screen. I had no problem playing a variety of DVDs or navigating through the menus and buttons no the unit itself. The instructions for the device are very well-written.
However, the "extras" the video games are a bit ludicrous, and so is the set of game descriptions for each of the ten games included which read as if they were translated from a foreign language into English by someone who doesn't speak English. While they somewhat defined the intent of each game, the player must figure out how to play it and the battery life for the controller was next to nil. The battery life for the DVD player averaged between 2 to 2 1/2 hours perfect for shorter jaunts, but maybe not so for the longer hauls since the battery won't charge while the unit is playing. All in all, the Philips PD703/37 is a great compact portable DVD player for those "just in case" or "last resort" moments.
Want Philips PD703/37 7-Inch LCD Portable DVD Player with Wireless Game Controller, Black Discount?
Very good quality playback and the added versatility of being able to strap it to the back of a car seat makes this device a very good buy. If all you need (or want) is a small DVD player this is highly recommended.The games that are loaded on it are pretty lame and you have to figure out how to use the game controller, so don't buy it for that part.
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Over all I love this item. I bought it to replace an old portable dvd player we had for our car. I had to rush to purchase it when taking a 12 hour road trip to Disney World. But I had already did extensive research on a new dvd just in case our old one died. The battery lasts around 2 and half hours. The games are simple and took my daughter (3 1/2 years old) a few weeks to learn the games and use the control (you only use half the buttons on the controler when playing the games) with me coaching her.Only two draw backs:
1. The thin vehicle power adapter cable. (may break after a while) but that is common for portable dvd players to have thin cables.
2. Which is a big draw back for me is the fact you can't charge up the battery unless you turn off the dvd player. Would be better if its just charges the battery like a laptop computer so when you do turn off the power the player continues to run. (like when you are pumping gas, etc) This would also help for those vehicles with only 1 power outlet which they can switch electronic items out without fear of losing a movie or a game if not fully charged.
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