Portable DVD players

[shopping4my3son]

Does anyone have a portable dvd player? I was thinking of getting one for the kids to use in the house. We have a built in one in the van and rarely use it. I've seen some in the ads for around $50.

 

Are they durable?

 

Easy to use?

 

Thanks

[Brad]

The cheaper ones in BF ads tend to be bulkier, have lower battery life and just not made as well as some of the better ones.

 

I'd suggest looking up reviews on any models you are considering to see what people have to say. If they'll be using it a lot, you might want one that'll hold up more. If it's just a once-in-a-while thing, a cheaper one would probably be fine.

[starbeck96]

We have always bought the portable DVD players on BF for our kids. We bought two when my boys were 7, they are now 13. One of them still works and the other worked until it got stepped on..lol. My daughter got one last year. She was 4. She watches it nearly every night to go to sleep with. It is still working great! It is Philips Brand.

[SuggaD]

Brad is right. Check the reviews and spend a little extra to get a quality one. DD got one of the BF ones for Christmas when she was younger and it died within a year or 2. Her aunt bought her a good brand one several years ago and it is going strong 4 years later.

[peppysfireball]

My sons cheap coby from walmart lasted about 2 years. He bought it himself on black friday. I would never have bought an inferior brand. So last year I spent 150 on amazon for a sony that has a 7 hour battery and a swivel screen. He loves it . Much better quality. The first one only had a 1-2 hour battery.

[financebrat]

My dad bought my DD(6) a cheap Coby one on BF about 5 years ago and it was used daily in our playroom and occasionally in the car. It lasted for 4 years until DD(3) decided to throw it across the room! I'm going to buy the one in Targets BF ad this year. Since for us it will be plugged in, battery life isn't an issue and that one has a larger screen which looks nice. Bulkier might be better too since it might withstand another throw by my toddler. DD(6) knew how to work all the controls on it I think since she was 4.

[happyfrog]

i bought ours off amazon a couple/few years ago just during the year - no special time really - just a need at the time - it's even a coby v*zon brand. paid around $60 each for htem - we have three now.

 

one of my kids stepped on one of them in the van getting out of her seat and broke the door off - the door that covers the dvd - but it still works fine - we just lay the cover on top once the dvd is inserted. (keep meaning to dig out the hello kitty duct tape and stick a piece on there to keep the door from falling off the player when it's flipped upside down)

 

we bought them because we have so many medical appts that are a good long distance away and it keeps the kids quiet and happy - esp when there's a large supply of 'new' dvds to watch - namely library borrows (FREE!).

 

i've been watching the black friday ads for the dvd players but haven't thought the prices were all that special - they're a wee bit cheaper than amazon price but not by much.

 

if i were going to buy another one, (and i have been considering it),

 

i'd look for battery life (the current players i have last about 2 ish hours. give or take a bit on that.) They do charge quickly though - and can be played whilst charging - (get a car inverter - best dohickey EVER for families with kids and electronics)

 

and possibly even remote free. we lost one of the remotes a couple years ago. the players work w//o remote, but it's a bit of a hassle - hard to get past teh junk on dvds w/o the remote.

 

i did see those dual screen dvd players for cars - what's nice about them is that they can play independently - because reality - the kids are not going to want to watch the same thing at the same time all the time. sometimes, yeah, but one child might want to watch dora and the other two bakugan. just sayin'. . .

 

if you have more than 2 kids, 2 screens/2 dvds is gonna end up with some fights. we had one dvd player for a long while - that worked well - all had to share, but we couldn't go from one to two, (we have three kids close in age). we had to go from one to three players to avoid any discord. 'cause when one is driving down the highway, it's not the time to deal wtih kids fighting over the player. . . i believe in teaching the kids about sharing, etc on non moving ground.

 

anyways,

 

in summary:

 

i would look at:

 

battery power (perhaps lean towards LED screen!)

remote - possibly remote free

charging method - wall plug (preferred! - will offer more options for use) vs car cig lighter plug

 

hth in some way.

[pretweety7]

Just my thought, I bought the RCA one from Target the day after thanksgiving sale, a few years back and it worked GREAT for $49. My mom actually got it and watched at least 1-2 movies on it a day and it lasted for about 2 years. Now take into consideration these things are built to play every once in a while not like an everyday thing.

[shopping4my3son]

Thanks everyone. This is going to be a gift for my 5 year old and I wasn't sure if he was to young for one. Time to look into reviews.

[jellybean051901]

I saw one in the Kmart T-day ad for $49. We have bought a couple of these BF DVD players and they have worked well for us. One is about 4 years old. the other lasted about 4 years also but it was used everyday by DD7