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CyberHome CH-LDV 712 Portable Progressive-Scan DVD Player (Silver)

CyberHome CH-LDV 712 Portable Progressive-Scan DVD Player (Silver)

List Price: $279.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not worth even the bargain price
Review: Poor quality picture and sound, doesn't read about half of the discs you try to use, skips - I returned mine, not worth even the low low price here on Amazon.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: great bargain that meets my expectations
Review: I was looking for the largest size screen that I could afford. I had looked at Apex and Initial brands. I almost purchased the Initial DVD 5820 for just under $200, but missed out on the order deadline.

I'm glad I did, because shortly after that, Amazon listed this Cyberhome at a special price of $275 plus a $50 certificate to be used for a future purchase. That, for me, was the clincher. A 7" screen for a bottom line value of $225!! Sold!

I set the unit up in our minivan, using a Targus case hooked to the arms of the front seat captains chairs and headed to Orlando from Atlantic City. My two little girls were restrained, er.. seated in the back seat at slight angles to the player, which was located dead center. I only had to adjust the tilt of the screen so that they could have optimum viewing. The thing played constantly on our trek down and back with nary a skip. I ran the sound thru our car stereo using a cassette adaptor. I also had an fm feeder with me as a back up.

While in my hotel room, I used the headphones to watch a couple of episodes of Davey Crockett and Faulty Towers while my kids were sleeping.

I personally am quite pleased with the unit overall. I like the fact that it is made of metal as opposed to plastic. Feels more substantial, less delicate. I also like the fact that it plays my video cd's and jpegs. I can now capture home video on my computer, edit it, burn a VCD and play it on my portable DVD player. Awesome!

It is not perfect. You must detatch the battery when using an external power source. Not a major problem for me - maybe it is for you. The screen, while beautiful, is best viewed head on. That is not to say it is not viewable at an angle, the tilt has to be adjusted to compensate. This is why I rated it a 4 instead of a 5. But in terms of my satisfaction, knowing this all before jumping in? I would have given it a 5.
Great unit for the price.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: POOR
Review: I WAS NOT IMPRESSED WITH THIS PRODUCT. THE PERFORMANCE WAS AWFUL.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: skeptic at first
Review: I bought this unit after reading several reviews. I was skeptical
at first, but decided to take a chance. We were planning a 4 hour trip and needed to entertain my three year old. I ordered thru the
super saver shipping. It arrived sooner than promised, and tracking the item was a breeze. The unit worked perfectly, I purchased a dvd holder/carrier that mounted between the seats of a car. No problems
with skipping/freezing or poor picture. When we got to our hotel room, we then hooked up to the tv and worked without any problems. This unit comes with all the hook-ups needed for nearly all applications, even has input video to play back a camcorder, playstation or x box. great deal for the price, would recommend.
The speakers are a little weak, but works great with headphones or external portable amplified speakers

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Misleading product representation
Review: I recently purchased this DVD player from Amazon.com specifically because your product description states that it supports DVD-r & DVD rw playback. However, when I received the item, I learned that this is NOT accurate, and that the product DOES NOT support DVD-r or DVD-rw playback. I believe that Amazon.com should change it's deceptive and misleading desciption of the product. Further, as I purchased this item in reliance on your representations, Amazon.com should issue me a total refund, including the price of the shipping.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: GREAT PRODUCT!!!!!
Review: it's a great product that will keep you sitting there watching it for hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Find something better
Review: Bought this unit for our child to watch during a road trip from Georgia to Washington DC. We had LOTS of problems with it skipping. Seems the slightest bump in the road made the thing skip. Picture froze a few times also. Tried several different DVD's, same results. Also, I didn't think the picture was bright enought when used in a car. Would not recommend this unit for use in a vehicle. We returned our unit for a refund.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A REAL STEAL
Review: Having purchased and returned a good number of 7" portable DVD players (Apex, Initial, Mintek), I was slowing coming to the conclusion that there's no such thing as a GOOD $... portable DVD player. Then I came across this little beauty at Amazon.com and decided to give it one more try. I've had the player for about a week now, and I am happy to report that I am most pleasantly surprised by how good this players is. I've seen quite a few movies on this unit and have not experienced any problems.

The CyberHome 712 has all the standard features of your average 7" DVD player (mp3, jpeg, remote control, home/car adapter, AV output & input, Dolby digital & DTS outputs, etc), plus a few other nice extras. What's most unusual is that the outer casing, and the DVD lid/deck are all made of diecast metal, while similar units are made of painted plastic. Although the metal case adds weight to the unit, it also gives it a substantial and robust feel. Another unusual feature for this price range is the progressive scan output (componet cables are included.) That means you can use this player with your HDTV and display your movies in all of their 480P, non-interlaced glory. The rechargeble lithium ion battery has a claimed life of 4 hrs between charges, while other batteries typically claim to have between 2-3 hrs. So far, I've only been able to get about 3 hrs out of each charge, but that's more than enough time for just about any movie.

The player is not without flaws though. The 7" LCD screen is not of the active matrix type, so while it is bright and vibrant at the proper angle, it is difficult to see when you are way off to the side. Also the brightness level returns to the default level every time the unit shuts off, so you will have to re-adjust the screen at the beginning of every movie.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase, and would recommend this unit to anymore looking for a quality product at a reasonable price. For the brand conscious folks, Toshiba offers some very nice players at substantially higher prices. For my money, the Cyberhome 712 will do just fine.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Unpredictable
Review: Great picture, but need to use headphones when traveling. A few problems with the screen working consistently and Cyberhome customer service has not been good to work with.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Solid, Versatile Player-- Mediocre LCD Screen
Review: The 712's a real heartbreaker. In every respect but two, it's a superior player-- unbeatable versatility, good design, long runtime on battery power, and plays anything, but with compromised picture quality on its built-in LCD and mediocre sound on its built-in speakers. Similarly-priced players by Initial and Mintek have much better picture and sound quality but can't do all the tricks the 712 can do. The 712's screen is dim and unsharp when compared to the others, although judged by itself the quality is acceptable-- good color, smooth outlines (no &amp;quot;jaggies&amp;quot;). But a small change of viewing angle will send you lunging for the brightness control. Yet the dimness of the LCD means the battery lasts longer. A tradeoff. The speakers are a real weak point. My left speaker rattles and has since new, but that's better than reports I've read of speakers quitting altogether. They're shrill and there are no tone controls to help the situation. Sound through headphones is fine. You can connect the 712 via any sort of video or digital audio output you'd find on even the most expensive DVD players and bypass the indifferent built-in audio and video displays, but then why buy a portable player? On the positive side, the 712 will play DVD+R, DVD+RW, mp3 burned to DVD+R/W (a whole road trip's worth of music and then some, all on one disc), CD-R/W, VCD, SVCD.. you name it. It can do audible fast search through mp3 tracks. It can do reverse slow motion on DVDs. All controls are electronic rather than mechanical, which means all functions can be controlled by the remote, including power and volume. That's rare on portables. One of the 712's best features is the way the battery connects: on the bottom, where it's completely out of the way. But there's a constant current drain when it's attached. A spare costs at least $100. And you can't charge it with the car cord, which is included, as are all other cables and adapters except a fiber-optic cable for Dolby Digital audio. Even with all the little quirks, if it weren't for the 712's crippled LCD screen and screechy speakers, this would be a great player and a heck of a deal. A real heartbreaker. You'll be happier with a player made by Initial. Minteks are similar but will not play burned DVDs.


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