Sony DVP-FX700 7-Inch Portable DVD Player

• 7-inch TFT LCD screen with 16:9 aspect ratio to match the dimensions of your favorite movies
• Includes built-in stereo speakers with simulated surround sound
• Dolby Digital and DTS passthrough with optical digital-audio output
• Rechargeable battery with 3-hour playback ensures uninterrupted viewings of 1 to 2 movies
• Includes remote control, AC power adapter

I bought this unit 3 weeks ago from Best Buy. I had previously purchased a Mintek 1710 (7 inch screen) from Best Buy in August 2002. The Mintek had a sharp picture but its build quality and its battery were exceedingly poor. I had two Mintek's go bad on me until Best Buy simply asked me to apply my initial investment towards any new DVD player.

Next, I acquired a Toshiba SD-P2500 with an 8.9 inch sceen. This unit has fine build quality and the sound is superb. However, after 2 days of fiddling with its controls, I could never get a good picture in lowlight scenes. The blacks were too milky. I watched the DVD of TWISTER and was really disappointed with the experience. Finally, I took it back to Best Buy and got the Sony.

The Sony is a beautiful unit with a 7 inch screen. It lacks the progressive scan feature (no use on the built-in screen) of the Toshiba and the component video outputs it does have an S video out. The sound from the tiny speakers is nearly as good as the Toshiba. However, this unit has the finest build quality (quite unlike the Mintek which would get dented with the slightest bump) of all the portable DVD players that I have seen. It is made in Korea and not China (not sure if that has anything to do with it).

The picture quality is simply superb with deep blacks. It has two buttons right on the LCD that allow you to adjust the brightness and contrast very convenient. I also love the tiny blue LCD display that gives you information on the track number etc. So far the battery appears to perform well. It has only one headphone out unlike the Toshiba (which had two) but this can be rectified with a $5 split cord from Radio Shack if you need it. I have had no problems with DVD's slipping in my car over road bumps. The manual is well written as you might expect from Sony.

I must confess that I miss the 8.9 inch screen of the Toshiba and also the ability of the Mintek to play PAL DVD's. (Neither the Toshiba or the Sony will play PAL DVD's).

Finally, I would highly recommend that one get a product replacement plan with these players. Although, I am so far very happy with the Sony, I just have a feeling that portable DVD players are still not quite robust enough for the use that our children subject them to in the course of travel.

Buy Sony DVP-FX700 7-Inch Portable DVD Player Now

I compared the Sony with other available units costing half as much or less and bought the Sony based on picture quality alone. I figured the Sony would be worth the additional cash. Well, I was wrong. The price has been steadily dropping since I bought it so if you really want it, I suggest waiting.

Picture quality is good, but the resolution isn't anything spectacular. I'd never seen the specs listed anywhere but the owner's manual says it's 234x480. If you try to view JPEGs from a CD, it becomes painfully obvious the resolution isn't up to the task. DVD's look pretty good though and ultimately that's what this thing is for.

I'm content with the picture quality for DVDs but I am disappointed with this player's feature set. First, you absolutely can NOT fast forward without the remote control. I'd read that on someone else's review and couldn't believe it...well BELIEVE it. It's absurd that Sony left that feature off the console. You can fast forward with the remote but the console only allows you to skip chapters. This becomes incredibly annoying when watching a DVD like Sex and the City where chapters are entire episodes. Want to skip the opening credits of each episode? too bad, unless you have the remote. The remote control is nice, but why should I have to lug that around to accomplish a basic feature?

Second, most home DVD players today will remember where you left off on a certain number of DVDs so you can resume later without having to skip forward to where you were. Unfortunately, this DVD player doesn't have that feature as it remembers nothing once the DVD is removed or the unit is powered down.

Also, the headphone volume is weak and further weakened by a headphone splitter which is necessary for two headphones because Sony only provides one headphone jack. On a recent flight, I had to unplug the headphones and listen with the speakers because the max volume was too low for two sets of headphones. I'll concede however that a good pair of noise canceling headphones would solve this problem.

One other thing, not only does this unit not come with a car adapter, Sony does NOT make one for it! The $10-20 adapters at Circuit City/Radio Shack do NOT work. Come on Sony, what a joke!

Battery life is on par with compeition (2.5-3hrs). Recharge time is a respectable 2.5 hours, but you can NOT use the player while recharging.

Overall, picture quality and construction are better than the competition, but this is far from the perfect player. My recommendation would be to wait for the price to continue dropping or better yet, wait for the next generation of portable DVD players. They are bound to get cheaper/better than this.

Read Best Reviews of Sony DVP-FX700 7-Inch Portable DVD Player Here

This is one sleek sexy little gadget with a tremendously beautiful screen. With excellent sound, its a perfect tool for those long car/plane trips so you can watch those big screen blockbusters anytime,anyplace without losing anything. Its also perfect for use as your home DVD player as it hooks up easy to your home TV. It has a good battery life so you could watch almost any movie and then watch the extras on just one charge (which is about 3 hours so it would be hard to watch the Lord of the Rings extended versions and the extras too lol). But as i watch Spider-Man on it right now it is just an amazing little thing.

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as noted in other reviews, maximum volume is not loud enough when using this player on an airplane with inexpensive noise-cancelling headphones. Based on a prior review and recommendation, I bought the Boostaroo amplifier from cyberguys.com for about $30 including shipping. While I haven't used the amplifier in the air yet, it clearly does amplify volume with no discernable loss of sound quality. This product makes a major disappointment in the sony dvd player disappear.

Thank you "electronics fan" for the tip.

I purchased a Sony portable DVD player this time last year. Big mistake. It stopped working shortly after the 90 day warranty and Sony would do nothing but let me pay them for a repair/exchange. So I paid for an exchange + Shipping. Then the replacement they sent (same model) would not even turn on. Then they offer to let me pay to send that one back too (months have transpired because they do not send a replacement until they have logged in and assessed the one you send back). Meanwhile, I still have nothing. Sony charge me $500 for a lemon product and will not stand behind it. I will never purchase a Sony product again.