4 comments about OPPO DV-983H 1080p Universal Up-Converting DVD Player with SACD and DVD-Audio.

1. I had the Oppo 981 and I thought that was good. This player is as advertised, the picture quality is outstanding. Very good zoom functions for non-anamorphic DVDs.



2. Pros: Excellent picture quality, quick operation response, and great audio.
   Cons: Costs more than other DVD players, but well worth it if you have a good collection of DVD.
   Summary: The ultimate DVD player for DVD collectors.
   
   My trusted Panasonic RP-82 with SDI modification stopped working. In searching for the best DVD player to replace it for my theater room and a new one for the bedroom, I read many reviews and compared a lot of products. I even bought and returned several players, some several times more expensive than the OPPO DV-983H. In the end, I settled for not one, but two DV-983H and are very happy.
   
   During my research, I read reviews on CNet, Stereophile, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, and several other places. The reviewers all have nothing but positive words for the OPPO DV-983H. Real user experience from discussions on avsforum.com also appears to be very positive. There is a shoot-out article on the online magazine Playback, in which the DV-983H scored the highest among Cambridge Audio, Marantz, Denon and Yamaha.
   
   My surprise came when I called OPPO to order the players. They were out of stock. I was put on their waitlist for two weeks and then received an email to place my order. At that time the player was not available on amazon.com. By the way, the guys answering the phone at OPPO seem to know what they are doing. They answered my questions about matching with my other devices and explained what would be the best setup to me.
   
   Once the players arrived, one went into the theater room. There it was matched to a Panasonic PT-AE2000U 1080p projector and a Yamaha RX-V3800BL A/V receiver. The audio and video connection was over a single HDMI cable. Everything worked beautifully. The image on my 103-inch screen was stunning. I could see details that I've not seen before. The surround sound was also amazingly clear and enveloping. As a DVD collector, I apprecaite it most that older movies discs from my collection worked really well in the OPPO player. The black and white films were shown with proper level of black, white and gray. With some other players I tried, I could see a green or purple outline around the B/W figures and it was very annoying.
   
   The other unit went to my bedroom setup with a new Sony Bravia Z-Series KDL-40Z4100/B 40-Inch 1080p TV. Again this was the perfect match. The picture is first class. My bedroom set also has a pair of NuForce S-1 speakers driven by their unique Icon amplifier. When I'm not watching a movie, CD played through this player and the NuForce set sounds like from a really high-end system. Next I need to buy some SACD discs to try. The DV-983H can play SACD and I've read good reviews about that.
   
   Overall, I am extremely happy with the two OPPO players. Considering how much money I've spent on buying my collection of DVD discs, the cost of the players is totally justified. With these players in my setup, I can wait a year or so until the Blu-ray players are mature and stable enough and the cost of Blu-ray discs comes down before I start buying movies in Blu-ray.



3. I already have HD DVD and Blu Ray players in my rack but I wanted something that would get the best quality from my collection of SD DVDs. The Toshiba A35 is no slouch at upconverting SDs but I knew I could get better. I tried the new Toshiba XD-E500 for a couple weeks and it did, in fact, beat the A35 for image quality but it had it's own issues.
   
   I finally ordered the Oppo 983 from Amazon a couple weeks ago and have used it for a little over a week. All I can say is; the XDE has now been returned and I've fallen in love with my SD DVDs again, all because of the Oppo 983.
   
   Image quality is, in fact, the best I've ever seen from my SD DVDs. Colors are deeper and more accurate but never bleed, edges are sharp but there is no ringing or edge artifacts and even poor DVDs somehow are clearer and sharper. A good transfer, like Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, is VERY close to HD, with razor-sharp edges and bright colors with absolutely no bleeding. My wife walked into the room while it was playing and thought I'd replaced our SD copy with HD.
   
   But that's not all. I picked up a couple PAL, region two disks, just to see how the 983 handled them since the XD-E500 did not do well. The Oppo was as rock-solid and beautiful as when playing region one disks. Perfection!
   
   I have some old DVDs of TV shows I recorded (badly, I guess.) Neither of the HD players and an older Samsung player would play these disks entirely. They would go crazy pixelating and lockup halfway into the show. The 983 plays them all without a hickup! I've played most of them and it's rock-steady. Says something about the accuracy of the lasers?
   
   Another feature is SACDs and DV Audio. I have some SACDs that I played with my old Samsung through five channel analog and they sounded fine. With the 983 I can play them seven channel through HDMI and the audio is superb!
   
   A lot of guys are putting off buying this player, waiting for Oppo's Blu Ray player next spring. My advise is; don't wait! Buy the 983 for SDs and one of the excellent Blu Ray players availble right now. Mine is the Panasonic BD30 and, coupled to my Onkyo 805 receiver, it's beautiful. And, the pair still costs less than the Oppo Blu Ray player when it's released.
   
   Frankly, I'm a tightwad when It comes to buying electronics but for me anyway, the 983 is a bargain. When Oppo calls this their Flagship player they aren't kidding. For SD DVDs it's near perfection, clearly a reference player. You can read all the terrific reviews (and, there are many) and Secret's review that gives the player a perfect 100 score, the only player to ever get 100 but, in the end, the proof is in the watching and in the listening. Both Oppo and Amazon allow a 30-day trial period. There's no reason NOT to audition it.
   
   Believe me....you'll keep it!
   
   arkiedan



4. The Oppo DV-983H has performed as advertised. I have a large DVD library and some SACD's. The Oppo out of the box is working as advertised and reviewed. I am happy with my choice and can recommend this product to anyone, who like me has an existing DVD library, wants to add to it, and does not want to start over purchasing or renting Blu-rays.

3 comments about Toshiba DVR660 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder with Built in Tuner.

1. If you read the specifications for this machine it appears to be a dream and it does appear to have all the features specified and some very cool features not well documented. One would expect the latest and greatest to be the most forward looking, with this expectation I was surprised at what I have come to expect as standard features to be missing or retro.
   * Even though DVD+RW is the superior technology, all the "better" recording features are only supported by DVD-RW! For example, 16:9 aspect ratios, scene delete, combine titles, etc. To me this alone warrants the loss of a rating star.
   * The recording of HDTV programs will become a mandatory ability in February of 2009. I recorded several HD programs on DVD+RW media and played them back, at the six hour speed, they were so badly pixilated as to be nearly unwatchable (probably too much up and down converting). When I recorded NTSC (normal until 2/2009) TV the recording were no better nor worse than on machines without ATSC/QAM receivers. This needed to be much better than it is.
   * My last three recorders have all been Panasonic's not by conscious choice or loyalty, but rather more as coincidence and superior ratings, at the time. I expect that when I define a program to record I can name the recording (on the DVD side) so that I know what is on the disk. This is not available on this machine. After you record you can label what you have recorded, this is exactly backwards from my expectations.
   * VCR output is analog ONLY on RCA pin-outs not even via s-video, let alone HDMI! The TV signal continues to play out of the HDMI while the video plays. This has additional ramifications for dubbing or cross-recording below.
   
   Perhaps the single most confusing and frustrating thing about this machine is setting the timer (programmed recording). I have been programming VCRs/DVD recorders for 30+ years and I have been a computer programmer for the bulk of this time too, so I am not easily confused by setting up a recorder and scheduling a program for recording. Besides the retro programming features above you will very likely lose or fail in your initial scheduled recording efforts. You will see an E40 error reported for the failure, unhelpfully meaning overlapping recording or recording did not start on time. What has happened is you did not press the "timer set" button, unobviously located in the middle of the last row of the remote! If you press the "red on/off button", on the remote, no recordings will be made (thus making it nearly impossible to use a universal remote on this machine as the "timer set" will probably not be defined). The unit MUST be TURNED OFF using the "timer set" button or NOTHING will be RECORDED!!! This has been so confusing I redundantly record on another device to insure I get the program. This warrants at minimum the loss of at least one rating star perhaps two. A recorder should never let you miss a recording (when properly programmed) except for a very good reason, e.g. disk full or overlapping programs. This one lets you miss all of them for silly illogical reasons.
   
   Suppose you record "The Soup" every Friday on E!, but in between you wish to watch an episode of HBO's Rome on a DVD. Well if you press the power button (red on/off button) you will not be able to access the DVD player. It is locked for recording on Friday. The only way to access it is to press the ... you guessed it, the "timer set" button. Of course doing that kills all the programmed recordings, so you better remember to press it again or you will lose the ability to record all future programmed recordings (i.e. miss The Soup until you press the "timer set" button)! Pressing the more obvious red on/off button is not going to fix it, but only yield an e40 error.
   
   I expect that the latest machines would have superior image processing. Sadly it is no better than a $50 Sam's Club special, when I visually compare the two on the same "passage" of a program. Obviously without an S-video out for any video tapes, a player with S-video will look better.
   
   My primary purpose in purchasing this machine was to cross copy/dub family videos. Recording at various speeds does seem to be clean and as good as can be expected. I was very concerned that there is no way adjust the tracking on video tapes however this seems to be pretty smart and appears to be constantly adjusting for the best setting. It has worked on all the videos I have tested so far. However if you have the DVD on an HDMI or S-video connection you will need to switch back and forth between two outputs on your TV to see and cue your video then switch to the other side to set up and start the dubbing process! There is, of course, the usual problem of playing DVD+/-RW on a PC the only reliable player I have found for this problem is VLC media player portable, a freeware player.
   
   A cool feature is the ability to watch what you are recording with DVD-RW, and have it keep track of where you are.
   
   In short this looks like it might be a pretty good dubbing/cross recording video machine but as a general purpose family room player I think there are cheaper and better choices on the market today.



2. So far this has been a great product. Set-up is easy and I have not had any problems putting old VHS recordings onto DVD. I think this is a great product.



3. We purchased the Toshiba D-VR660 5 days ago and it has failed to timer record on 3 occasions. We have followed all of the programming instructions including the "timer set" feature which we are familiar with from our old Pioneer DVD recorder. On the occasions when the timer recording failed, the recorder's channel was still set at the previously recorded channel. We are not sure if the tuner failed to change the channel or if the machine shut itself off before the next timer recording began. We have not yet been able to catch the machine at the moment the failed recordings were to begin and there has been no message to explain the failure. The rest of the Toshiba's functions appear to work as promised except that DVDs recorded on our old Pioneer appear washed out when played on the Toshiba. We have yet to try to dub VHS tapes to DVD. We are not sure if we are keeping this unit as we purchased it for the timer recording feature.

4 comments about Panasonic DMR-EA38VK Tunerless 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder.

1. I purchased this product because my older model Panasonic just bit the dust. I was reluctant to purchase another Panasonic because the other model lasted just over a year. But Consumer Reports rated some other Panasonic models very highly so I thought maybe it was just a fluke that my older model died so soon.
   Aother reason that I bought another Panasonic was because I didn't want to have to learn an entire new system for recording. I record a LOT of movies on DVD so I wanted to replace my broken model post haste.
   That being said, I have a few comments about the "new and improved" model.
   My older model Panasonic was the DMR-ES45V, this new model is almost identical with the exception of the HDMI interface. Here are some functions the older model had, that was NOT carried over to the new model:
   Title Name Save - On the older model you could enter a title name and save it to memory on the unit. This feature was very handy if you burned several episodes of a program of the same name OR if you wanted the title name and the DVD name to be the same. It saved having to re-type the same title over again.
   Title Name PReview - You used to be able to preview the title name as you typed so you could see how it would look in the title window on the finalized disc. This was a cool feature because if you just type the title in, it can (and usually does) cut words off half way through and continue on the next line. Not having this feature makes the title harder to read, and it looks cheesy.
   Some new features include:
   Cable box control - This feature will allow the DVD/VHS recorder to control the cable box by changing it to the appropriate channel for a scheduled recording.
   Chapter preview - On the older model the chapters were not organized until AFTER the disc was recorded and finalized. Now you can preview the chapters beforehand.
   Quick start - This feature allows you the option of turning the unit on faster by remaining in kind of a "stand by" mode, OR saving power with slower start up
   Faster disc finalization.
   No need to pre-format a disc before recording.
   I know there are some other new features, but I have not had a chance to explore all of them.
   
   FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS: Overall this unit is not very difficult to use. I know I was recording soon after scanning the instructions, and learned the advanced features after using the unit for a few days. It is VERY easy to use for straight forward recording to DVD from VHS, Camcorder, cable box, etc. Setup is VERY easy.
   The remote is supposed to control your TV and cable box, but this is a worthless feature. To controll the TV you have to press the RETURN key while holding down the TV Power key. To switch to the controlling the cable box you need to press the RETURN key while holding down the channel UP key. Sounds simple, but switching between the two either turns the TV/cable box on/off or changes the the channel on the TV/cable box unexpectedly. And after all this the only TV/cable box functions offered on the remote are channel change and volume control! So plan on using seperate remotes.
   Other than that I like the unit, just hope that this one last longer than the last one did!
   Ken



2. I bought this model (DMR-EA38VK) about a month ago. It has a beautiful picture on a CRT type television. (Don't know about flat panels 'cuz I don't have one). I've burned DVD+R DL discs, DVD-R & DVD-RW. All work great in my other DVD player. I have one issue though. The DVD+R DL won't play on Windows Media Player or Media Center. I can see the menu but when I click play nothing happens. The -R & -RW discs work fine. I tried it using several other computer media players & they all work fine (Nero Showtime, Power DVD & GOM Player). I did a search on the web for this issue, but it seems like so far there is nothing.
   
   Still over-all I'm pretty happy with my DMR-EA38VK & give it 4 1/2 stars (outta 5)



3. Having used a Panasonic DVD recorder for 5 years, I wanted to upgrade to a DVD/VHS all in one recorder. I have had excellent use of my old DVD recorder so it was a no brainer to go with Panasonic again. Still easy to use and of course the picture and sound are tops. Watching old tapes & Dvd's recorded on my old machine come out even better then before. I spoke with Panasonic years ago when I got my first DVD recorder and they suggest not only their blank DVD's but also Sony and TDK. You can always get a good buy on the Sony blanks. If you want an excellent recorder/player without a tuner,this is the way to go especially if you get your TV reception through a DVR.



4. This product would be great if it were able to copy all VHS tapes. This product will record VHS tapes that do not have Macrovision VCR Tape Copy Protection. However, the tapes which do have Macrovision VCR Tape Copy Protection will not copy.
   
   I was unaware of this issue when I purchased this product. To work around the Macrovision protection, you must purchase what is called a video stabilizer. This will remove the Macrovision copy protection signal from the video stream so that it can be recorded.
   
   The setup I have arranged takes advantage of a VHS player connecting to the video stabilizer, which then connects to the recorder. However, with this setup, you must set the amount of time the VHS tape plays.
   
   Here is how it is connected:
   
   VHS Player Video cable (yellow cable) -> Video stabilizer -> Recorder
   VHS Player Audio cables (red and white) -> Video stabilizer -> Recorder
   
   Alternatively, you can use S-Video instead.
   VHS Player S-Video cable -> Video stabilizer -> Recorder
   
   There are probably better solutions for converting VHS tapes to DVDs, so I recommend you look elsewhere.

5 comments about Toshiba SD-V295 Tunerless DVD VCR Combo Player.

1. I bought this unit mainly for the VCR, and it works fine. The lack of a tuner actually is a benefit in my case because (for some unknown reason) the tuner of my previous VCR conflicted with my cable box, causing a snowy picture and poor quality recording.
   I also use the DVD player to play music CD's I've created on my computer.
   This was just what I was looking for at a very good price.



2. I bought this as a backup for my current VCR which also happens to be a Toshiba combo that I bought almost 3 years ago. (which by the way still works great) This new unit has all the functionality you will need to playback your pre recorded tapes and make new recordings as long as you have some sort of outboard cable box/tuner. The DVD player section is fine. No HDMI connection, but the component video jacks display a good quality picture. I would say my only real complaint would be that Toshiba is still using the very small remote that they have used for the last 3 years on these combos units they make. NO biggie though. It works but if it really bothers you just buy an inexpensive universal remote that has buttons more to your liking.
   
   The cosmetics on this combo are very pleasing. Build quality seems good for the price and it really does look nice. Only thing I don't know yet is if it will last. Only time will tell, but my last unit is almost identical and has lasted 3 years.



3. This unit outputs blurred and faintly colored video in both vcr and dvd modes, had to return back for a full refund. My 10 year old Mitsubishi that this was supposed to replace was outputting perfect picture on the same setup. Highly unrecommended, what a disappointment in Toshiba.



4. I had bought this DVD/VCR in Feb 08, @ HH GREGG/ to replace the one my parents got me when I was 12 years old! (13 years ago) My sister had a Toshiba and she said it was a good product. So I bought it and I regret it! I have had to throw away at least 10 of my tapes because this product has messed them up! I am not sure exactly what happened that would make it do that! Also when I try to tape my shows on the VCR and watch them the next day the tape jumps and there are lines that look like it is trying to track the tape by itself when I had just bought the tape! And you can't hear anything from all the noise! I looked over the manual to make sure all hook ups were donr right and they are! I had my cable box checked and there is nothing wrong with it! I am really really upset with this! I really do NOT like this product! I am stuck with it the warranty is out and I am not gonna pay out more money to have it fixed when Toshiba should learn how to make GOOD products! I do not reccommend this product!



5. Toshiba SD-V295 Tunerless DVD VCR Combo Player.
   I have never been so disgusted with the setup of this machine. After a month, sometimes it will tape and sometimes not. All the wires are hooked properly, but yet it seems to have a mind of its own. I do not recommend this product.

5 comments about Sony RDR-VX560 1080p Tunerless DVD Recorder/VHS Combo Player.

1. I have owned this product for 24 hours and cannot get it to properly record from a Cable settop box. My first attempt resulted in 10 seconds of video and a couple hours of audio. Discussed with Sony support but no resolution. Next two attempt using the timer resulted in 25 minutes of recorded audio and video, then the recorder powered off and failed to complete the program as specified. Have not been able to contact customer support since then.



2. I have now been trying for 24 hours to produce my first VHS tape to DVD transfer. I was FINALLY able to get the transfer to work (Sony's instructions are less than complete) and then completed the tedious task of typing in each chapter title using the point-and-select process using the remote and then after FINALIZING per Sony's instructions so that the DVD would play on other players discovered that it would NOT play on either my other Sony player or my other Toshiba player making the entire process a complete waste of time and money! It should NOT be this difficult to perform this simple task!



3. Do not buy a Sony. The dratted things break within 6 months and then Sony willl not repair the unit free of charge even though it is under warranty. The customer service is HORRENDOUS.



4. I bought this recorder unit from a local and trusted electronics store after spotting it on sale. Dubbing old VHS recordings of my family to DVD media has been on my list of to do's for a long time. So for $100.00 it looked like a sparkling deal especially from a good name such as Sony.
   BIG MISTAKE..
   
   After hours of doodling around with spotty directions and failing to record/dub VHS to DVD Media, I gave up to contact Sony. I am still no where and no resolution in site.
   
   Tonight I decided to check if others have had problems like this and found a great percentage at Amazon. I regret not checking here first. So if your considering this unit.. Reconsider Now..



5. The Best sony Product that I purchase at amazon.com. While reading the reviews I was very confused as to what I would get.How well it would work for me. But I was blowed away again. Being able to easily transfer my videos to dvds.Bravo Sony.

5 comments about Sharp Aquos BDHP20U 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player.

1. After reading some slightly negative reviews, I think it will be unfair if I don't write mine.
   
   I have owned my Sharp for almost 6 months now. Have run the newest BDs available, just yesterday I watched 'vantage point', awesome picture and sound. Loading is pretty fast too, I would say less than 40 secs. Have never faced a single problem whatsoever. Sharp just posted a new firmware but I won't load it unless I see any probs with my existing one. I did play 'Jumper' and I did not have any problem.
   
   Call me lucky or whatever, I would blindly go for another Sharp BD player if I had to make a decision.



2. The player as a player for movies is very good. However, if you are making your own videos and burning them to BD-R disks, this system does not play. I have spent hundreds of dollars trying to get disks to play without any luck. I have the latest firmware and still no luck.



3. I bought my BDHP20U in Feb 2008 and it worked OK, if almost glacially slow (minutes to power on, roughly a minute just to open the [empty] tray) until July when, following one of Sharp's software updates (two previous worked great) the machine would no longer power on. Sharp apparently has quite a bit of experience with this kind of thing (not necessarily comforting) and quickly emailed me a link to a FedEx page with shipping labels -- unfortunately they sent it on Wednesday evening (while I was out), and it expired at midnight /the same day/! So it ended up taking TWO WEEKS to explain that I needed replacement shipping labels. Then things went quickly, but they shiped it back to the wrong address and it took three extra days to get it from FedEx.
   
   After all that fun, it worked fine for a few weeks, then one night after watching a movie, it powered down when I asked it to eject the disc I'd just viewed. And it won't power on again. I'm not looking forward to repeating the repair cycle again, especially since it now seems likely I will be doing this every month from now on (if not more often).
   
   It is a good thing that the price on this is coming down, because it certainly isn't worth the $362.49 it cost when I bought it. In fact, I expect to buy another BluRay player (from anyone but Sharp) as soon as I can afford one.



4. If you only plan to watch movies on Blu-ray then you'll probably be fine, but if you plan to watch TV shows on Blu-ray, like Heroes or Mad Men, forget about it, you'll get so frustrated you'll feel like destroying the player. :( The player is also very finicky, i.e. don't push eject without stopping the disc first. If you do, you'll have to hard reset the machine. Something I've done many dozens of times in the past few months I've owned this. My advise, pony up the extra dough and get a Sony, you'll thank me later.



5. This review is for the BD-HP20X which is essentially the same as the HP20U (takes the same firmware) but is the localised Australian variant. I took a plunge on this player after seeing it advertised for an irresistibly low price through an internet mail-order vendor.
   
   Here are a few words about my experiences with this player so far (applies to the latest firmware revision which I downloaded and installed via USB memory stick) -
   
   * I'm using the Sharp's analog 5.1 audio outputs (onboard decoder) as my Yamaha AV receiver is an older one that lacks HDMI and support for newer sound formats. The analog sound quality is quite adequate for movies although I wouldn't really recommend it for serious music listening - the DACs are ordinary sounding and markedly inferior to those you would find in any decent standalone AV receiver. But for movie viewing the analog output certainly suffices.
   
   * Blu-ray playback is excellent - the picture quality is stunning and of course a major improvement over DVD. The only thing I noticed is there will sometimes be a tiny pause in playback when the blu-ray disc is first started, but after this initial hesitation playback will be perfectly smooth.
   
   * I like how the front panel display can be completely shut off during playback of a disc, to avoid any distractions in a darkened room. Just press the "LIGHT" button on the remote control toggles the display off...
   
   * I hooked up this player to a Samsung 32" Series 4 LCD TV which automatically detected the Sharp player as an "Anynet+" device over HDMI. And when you switch the source to the Sharp player through the Samsung TV, the Sharp player springs to life automatically! This came as a rather pleasant surprise.
   
   * Sometimes I noticed a strange behaviour, where the Sharp player resumes from standby and fails to recognize a previously loaded blu-ray disc, displaying the message "incompatible disc" (this happened to a disc that had been loaded and recognized okay before). Ejecting and reinserting the disc resolved this problem.
   
   * I haven't thoroughly tested playback of regular DVDs, but the unit definitely does upscaling via HDMI to your TV
   
   * CD playback is terrible! There are constant audible glitches (clicks) during CD playback, and this happens even with commercially-pressed CDs. This totally ruins the listening experience, needless to say. I imagine the problem would be even worse with CD-Rs you burned yourself. It's as if the CD functionality was tacked on as an afterthought with zero attention paid to quality control and testing.
   
   In conclusion - I can recommend the Sharp for anybody seeking an affordable blu-ray player. The inclusion of analog 5.1 outputs is a boon for those like myself with older AV receivers. Just realize that the onboard DACs are far from audiophile quality. Obviously, this won't be an issue if you stick to the digital audio outputs.
   
   And you can completely forget about playing audio CDs with this unit.

5 comments about Coby TF-DVD7050 7-Inch TFT Portable Tablet-Style Portable DVD Player.

1. I bought this to replace the DVD player my kids use in the car. They watched a movie at home and it worked great. We were ALL excited it had two sets of headphones. They used it in the car to watch one movie and it worked fine. Then they went to watch another movie and it stopped playing about 10 minutes into the movie. The screen just froze and nothing would work. We changed DVDs and it gave an error message of "Wrong disc". We tried disc after disc and it never worked again. I was going to get the same player again, b/c I really liked it, but upone further reflection, I think I won't buy this one again.



2. I have bought this player back in March for my 3 y.o.
   I was satisfied with it at first. It fits nice in the car.
   We only used the product few times.
   The DVD will spin the disc for the a minute or two and then display "Wrong Disc" message. After a while the DVD screen flashes and then goes dark. I have called the COBY and ask then to repair it. The said it is out of 90 days warranty and I have to take it to the local repair shop. Which will cost me the same money as a player.
   The customer service was rude. I told then that I am not going to buy anything else from them they did not care.



3. I was hesitant after reading some of the not so favorable reviews on this product, but I went ahead and purchased it anyway. Boy, I am sure glad I did!!! It was a lifesaver on our 1,000 mi trip to MT this summer!!! Our 2 year old daughter was tickled pink that she could watch her favorite videos in the car. We didn't play it constantly, but gave it a pretty good workout. No problems whatsoever! Comes with all the accessories you'll need in a travelling DVD player.



4. I wonder if these players were good in 2005, but now they're just plain old and don't work anymore. This is 2008! I ordered one and it arrived defective -- no audio. The picture was fine, but no sound anywhere. I ordered a new one and this one had no picture! Unbelievable! Needless to say, I will not be ordering another replacement for this one, I'm finding a different model and brand. Too much work on my part for junky products.



5. We bought this and initially loved it. Then a few months passed and we discovered what a piece of junk it was. Sure it comes with a lot of great stuff and it's well priced, but you get what you pay for with this player. We bought the replacement plan and I guess it's good we did because after a few months when the first one wouldn't play anymore, we sent it back and received another one. This one pooped out in a different way, but led to the same result--no longer usable. We had to pay for the shipping to send in the player and we had to re-buy the player from amazon and then be reimbursed. So I suppose we got our moneys worth (?), but now a year or so later and $100 plus the warranty later, we are back where we started--no portable DVD player. Buy at your own risk and don't trust a review from someone who has had it a couple of days. We'll definitely be buying something different this time around.

5 comments about Coby Electronics TF-DVD7006 7-Inch Widescreen TFT Portable DVD Player.

1. I am very satified with this product - I like it's sleak look - the functions are terrific - the sound and clarity are excellent.



2. This is a basic player - good for kids and affordable. I only had it for 1 month before my car was stolen along with this DVD player.
   ~Christi~



3. I got this for my mom so that she can watch DVD while she's on the road. It only lasted about roughly 6 months. It stopped reading the disc correctly. It'd indicated that the disc as "invalid disc".



4. So far I'm very satisfied with its performance. The video and audio is very clear. Other than watching of DVD movies, I haven't tried to use other of its capabilities, like MP3.
   The only downside is the 2hr battery life. But I would have purchased it even if it had no batteries at all. I'd be satisfied just using the electrical cord.



5. when we recieved this product and played a DVD in it skipped alot. We sent it back and got a refund. I don't think this product was very good.

5 comments about Samsung DVD-F1080 1080p Upconverting Compact DVD Player.

1. Don't let this size or price of this DVD player fool you. It is a superior product to all its larger, more expensive competitors. The picture is outstanding, and it is easy to use. We bought it for vacations in our Airstream but like it so much we might buy another for our home.



2. The picture is definitely not HD, but is much better than a normal DVD. Had a little trouble during set up with my Hitachi 42" plasma and a few audio problems but have worked around. Plays most of the downloaded CD's, AVI's etc from my Mac computer. The unit should serve me well, especially for older DVD's until I upgrade to Blue Ray. The unit is well worth the money.



3. I actually like this better than the one that came with my home theater system. it has a 64x fast forward which is so nice and fast when you want to get back to a place. the upconverting is impressive and the size is a real plus for small spaces.



4. First of all, the DVD player has no external display, but I guess that's my fault for not noticing it. Second are the buttons on the outside of it that are not really buttons but small, touch-sensitive panels of some type. When you handle the DVD player you end up hitting buttons inadvertently because you can't feel them and they are in the way. It's very hard not to hit them. The reason I'm handling the player all the time is because the coaxial digital output cuts out a lot. No, it's not my cable or my receiver, as I have switched those out to test, it's the player. I'll be watching a movie, then the sound will cut out and I will check the cable and end up ejecting the disc, losing my place in the movie. To get the problem looked at by Samsung, I will have to pay to send it in to them, because they have no local repair centers, so their screw-up of sending me a defective product will cost me money and hassle. I haven't had time to send it in yet and it's really irritating that I have to do that and pay for it on top of it. Oh, but they are gracious enough to pay for the shipping to send it back to me. How kind of them. The other annoying thing is that the HDMI output does not support 5.1 surround, so if you thought you were going to use HDMI to send 5.1 audio and route video through your HDMI-compatible home theater receiver, forget it! What good is HDMI's ability to carry both audio and video if the shortcomings of equipment don't ever allow you to use it that way?



5. Be aware - you will not benefit from the upconverting feature of this unit unless you connect it to an HD TV with an HDMI cable. My Samsung HD TV has only one HDMI input which I am using for my satelite box so I had to connect the F1080 with component cable. This limits my resolution to 480i (standard definition). Having said that, the DVD player provides a high quality digital, progressive scan SD picture. I did some noodling in my DVD and TV picture menus and am satisfied with the picture quality I was able to achieve. I find the remote to be refreshingly simple (it doesn't have 10,000 little buttons to deal with in the dark) and the player responds to remote commands with a slight (but not really annoying) delay. The player is a handsome piece of equipment, and small enough for very limited spaces.

5 comments about Philips DCP951/37 9-Inch Portable DVD Player with Ipod Docking.

1. I have an iPod classic with 80 GB. I carry my music and a lot of movies with me to watch during my commute on a busy subway system. I wanted a bigger screen to watch my iPod movies. This thing has adapters for virtually all formats. I am going to throw out the others but am keeping the iPod classic and touch/iPhone ones. The built in speakers are not very good quality. The headphones produce good iPod sound pass through.
   
   I am a bit disappointed at the SD card format support. The SD card can only have MP3 sound files or JPEG pictures. This thing also supports DivX. I am not sure how this works. I am not interested either. MPG4 movie does not play. I was planning to use this card feature some times.
   
   The DVD is OK type. The DVD door is extremely flimsy. Mine is already showing signs of wear after one week! The battery drains a little faster when running the DVD drive to watch movies. I am planning to take my movies mostly on the iPod.
   
   Flimsy design, poor video image quality, and no battery gauge that is why 3 stars. I am otherwise very happy and would recommend this product.



2. I dont know what some of the other reviewers are having problems with..? Maybe they got a lemon because mine works PERFECT and has awesome features. It doesnt feel cheap and looks really sleek. I want to buy another for a family member! I think this is a great buy and I recommend this product!



3. Pro : Cheap for 9" screen, all region-able good for traveling to other country. Use as spare TV monitor at home, can read memory cards to display photos
   
   Con : On/Off and Volume not controllable by remote, short battery life, lousy speakers (AM/FM radio quality), shining black plastic surface scratches easily, thick.
   
   No comment/not used : I-pod capability



4. Works well with my video I-Pod and is a handy small size with a larger screen than many portable DVD players. The stand and DVD door are a little flimsy but as long as you treat it with the appropriate respect that any electronic item should be treated it is not a problem. Might not be good for younger children who might be a little too rough on it for the DVD door. The sound is good for a portable device and the picture quality is excellent. All in all it is a good player for the cost and is very handy if you like to enjoy DVDs or IPOD videos on the go.



5. This product is great! You can play DVD's and TV and Movies from you Ipod. Great for bringing on long trips for kids. Great to bring with you to work if your kid comes with!