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Polaroid 7" Widescreen Portable DVD Player - PDV-0700

Polaroid 7" Widescreen Portable DVD Player - PDV-0700

List Price:
Your Price: $189.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Returned because of poor quality
Review: After only one week we had problems getting the unit to play both cds and dvds so I returned.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: great so far.
Review: haven't put it through a full test yet but its worked so far. one question is it a ture widescreen? how do you get it to do it? i'm currently using zoom which leads me to another question, how do i get it to take off the thing showing me its on zoom? i have searched high and low for a player that is affordable and still has inputs. this was my pick.

next day update: called customer support about the zoom thing. they claim its only for jpegs so tough if you want to watch a movie with it. its not a true widescreen, so it letter boxes. it was advertised on best buy's website as a widescreen, box and others don't really say so. i ask the cs if it is she doesn't know. i tried to convince her that if it was a widescreen, then it wouldn't letterbox a widescreen movie. went into why it letterboxes and aspect ratios but all she could say is the player is playing what the dvd tells it too. but its not too bad, it probably looses about a quarter inch on top and bottom. so its still quite a good sized picture. i was going to buy a mintek 5" for 120 before i saw it play lotr at the store. it was literally about a 1 inch tall video, the rest letterboxed. so i think i might still keep it, its cheaper than the alternatives and i think i can live with it not being widescreen.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Recommanded buy for PDV-0700
Review: Hopefully, this is the last time to edit this report. As I spend more time with this machine, the more I am impressed with it. Therefore, the rating is changed from a 4 to a 5 stars. There are few good reasons to pick this portable DVD player over others. First, let's talk about the good points. All DVD players made in China are actually made to view DVD's from all regions. They use programmable software to make it region specific. Polaroid is no exception. To make it region-free, all you have to do is to press Setup on the remote and advance to "Preferences". Then, you simply enter "1379" and then use the arrow keys to change to Region "0" and press enter. (This is confirmed in the online manual). Potentially, you can do the same with other brands from China but the code may not be availabe at present. Those from Japan with big names, such as Sony, Panasonic, etc., are truly regional specific except for the older models. They cannot be "hecked" except with powerful software on a dvd or one actually has to open the case and remove the "chip". There is always a risk of rendering the machine less functional or not usable. Seven inches screen is a must. Don't settle for anything less or you will have eye strain. The Polaroid screen has a very wide angle so having 2 or 3 people watching at the same time is not a problem. The quality is impressive after adusting the contrast, color and brightness. A larger screen gives you a better view but will likely drain out the battery much faster. For the Polaroid PDV-0700, it will up to 4 hours starting new, enough to watch one long or two short movies with the build-in speakers at normal volume. It will be frustrating if you have a bigger screen but the battery pack only last less than 2 hours. The PDV-0700 comes with almost everying you need. The AC adapter works for 110 to 240 volts. A car adapter is included, along with AV cable for both output and input. You have to buy you own earjacks. It also plays VCD's. So far, I have not tried any othe format except DVD and VCD. You have to set the unit to Region 0 to play VCD. At one time, I connected the machine to a 47" big screen TV to play a region 2 dvd in Pal format. It worked great and the video output is excellent. Of course, it does not have progressive screen and sometimes you may be able to tell the difference. In addition, The electronic shock protection (ESP) is a very important feature. Don't buy any portable player without one. At one time, I ran the unit for more than 6 hours and the unit did NOT overheat. It has other build-in features such as zoom, normal/wide view, multiple angle view, screen saver, password, parental control and other ordinary DVD features.
Now, for the bad sides, like all brands made in China, quality control is always a concern. When I got my first unit, the door lid did not close properly and the player would stop almost everytime I touched the lid. I had to exchange for another one the next day and the second one has been working well so far. Polaroid is still a bigger name than other brands from China. Sound is adequate but I have not tried the earjack. The case is not very robust so you have to handle it with care. I also don't like the manual color and brightness controls. They do not give you any indication what levels the machine is set but there is better than nothing in other dvd playes. With the battery pack, the unit will become quite thick, but all parts fit well together. The battery can be OVERCHARGED so you have to watch out. The remote unit works fine but there is no volume control.
In summary, in terms of the overall quality, it is only slightly below other big Japanese players but the price is very attractive. Besides, if you really need it as a portable unit, why pay big bucks for a better one? You are alreay paying a premium for the smaller size. If you insist in having better quality, then settle with an ordinary size DVD player, why a portable? This machine, PDV-0700, is adequate to meet all your need.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: So disappointed!
Review: I am sorry to say I had nothing but problems with this product.. maybe I received a defective one. I purchased a new one (at least that's what was advertised), but it said "refurbished" on the back of the dvd player. I charged up the battery for 3-4 hours as instructed, but the player would not work. It turned on for about 10 seconds, then consistently clicked itself off. I sent it back and ordered a portable dvd player from another company. What a difference!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Question
Review: i am wondering, if anyone who would know if there is a mount or a bracket type to mount this in the car, maybe some sort of strap it can be attached to, so my kids can watch this DVD player on road trips? Any information would be great.

Thanks much !

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: You get what you pay for
Review: I bought this particular DVD player at Best Buy, and while it does what it's supposed to do, which is play DVDs, its build quality is mediocre at best. With a 4 year warranty in hand, I've had to replace my unit 4 times now. Problems include - no audio from speakers, black and white picture instead of color on the screen, and recently, the lid just won't close. If you want a cheap DVD player, you probably cannot do better than this. I highly recommend getting an extended warranty though. It'll definitely pay for itself in the long run.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great for long road trips
Review: I bought this product before venturing on a 9 hour road trip with my 16 month old daughter. She LOVED it and so did I. It was easily set up (with the carrying case - extra) around the back of the passenger seat and plugged in easily to the car adapter. My daughter watched her dvd's and we both enjoyed the trip. The dvd's never skipped and the sound was great to me, I had it turned all the way up and I could hear the show while driving down the interstate. It was easy to navigate the menu too. I was very happy with this product and would recommend it to anyone.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Will break!
Review: I bought this unit in August 2003. I take very good care of my things and I am very delicate with electronics and never really had a problem with them until I got the PDV-0700. I used it a few hours per week unitl October when all of a sudden, it would not play DVDs anymore. The screen would go half black half white every time it would be turned on. Lucky for me the warranty at that point covered the repair. They had to change the screen. Then it was good for another few months, until the new screen stopped working too. I am very disappointed. I payed hard earned money for a unit I was able to use for less than a year. I decided to go and buy a higher quality, more expansive unit from a more established brand in the dvd player market. I now wish I had done this from the start.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Does anyone know how to bookmark a spot with this?
Review: I have the player and love it...but can not figure out how to bookmark a spot if I want to go back and finish a movie. There is a title button but when I press it nothing happens..My home maching has a digital countdown timer..so you know how much time is left on a movie and how you can keep track of where you are at so you can resume right where you left off...but on this portable machine I can not see how to do this..Is this the same with most portable dvd players? Overall I like this unit..good picture..works great...good battery life. I heard some people complain of the hinge that keeps the door shut..that it is flimsy...all you need to do is press the button in first..then shut the lid..and release the button..this takes the pressure off of the little tab..if you can..email me at germanshepherd13@yahoo.com if you know how to book mark a spot on a dvd..thanks

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: You can switch the Player Codefree
Review: I have this Player bought in Germany bei ebay and up to know I am satiesfied with this Player.Nice picture,good sound.The Player is made for DVDs with Countrycode 1, 0 or All but you can switch the Player codefree with number combinations.I hope I could help you with this information.
First be sure there is no DVD inside.Press on your remote SET UP.Then you can see the SET UP menu.
Press the ARROW right to PREFERNCE.Press the numbers 1 - 3 - 7 - 9 on your remote.
Then you see a countrycode menu.Now you can press the UP and DOWN button on your remote to select the countrycode 1 - 6.If you have select any countrycode,press ENTER and then SET UP again.If you select 0,the Player is switched complete codefree.Try it.Have fun with this DVD Player.



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