Initial IDM-9530 5" Portable DVD Player

Rating:
Summary: Poor screen, no-confidence quality
Review: 1. The 5" screen is really small, because it's the conventional 4:3 aspect ratio, while most DVDs are widescreen, so you really lose a lot of details. The Panasonic LS5 also has a 5" screen but is widescreen, so it actually gives you more viewing real estate than this one.

2. Questionable quality and durability. Occasionally my unit would give out an unnerving whine as it spins the disc. Very annoying. The screen hinge seems quite flimsy.

Rating:
Summary: Great value under rugged use
Review: I never write reviews, but the negative takes on this product prompted me to defend it. We've been using ours for a year under very rugged conditions: 4 and 2 year olds watch it while mommy is cooking dinner. The unit has been subject to sticky fingers, spilled juice, several hard knocks, travelling around in a diaper bag--and it's been working great. Only problem is the short battery life: 1.5 hours. Maybe the screen and sound quality could be better, but they are just right for kiddie DVDs.

Rating:
Summary: Good for the price
Review: I think it delivers great performance for the price. Good color, brightness, sound. We've used it in cars with the supplied cigarette lighter adapter, in planes, and conected to a TV. It plays all DVDs we've tried on it, including DVDs made with our Panasonic DVD recorder (I noticed another reviewer was not able to do this--you've got to finalize DVDs on the Panasonic--a procedure not inuitively obvious since it's buried deep in the manual). My only complaint is that the battery only lasts about an hour and a half. I'm looking for a spare batery to remedy that problem.

Rating:
Summary: Great little device!
Review: Just recv'd my player today and I'm really impressed.. not only does it play my dvd+r's but it also plays my dvd+rw's I made on my philips dvd recorder. The picture is crisp and the colors look great, the audio even sounds good for such tiny speakers, I was suprised just how loud it will go and still sound good. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a player on the go.

Rating:
Summary: Inexpensive, but does all that is advertised. Works great!
Review: Like the last reviewer, I do not understand the negative reviews on this product either. The Player is a low-end player, but does the job asked to do (plays DVDs) at a very reasonable price. It has a 4:3 format screen and it is not progressive scan. If you want those features, you're not going to find it at this price point (so stop complaining about them).

The picture quality looks fine to me when played on the 5" screen (I've never plugged it into a TV). Widescreen movies play in letterbox on the screen and make the image a little smaller, but on an airplane or in the back of a car this is still perfect size (especially if you are stuck in coach/economy, like I usually am).

Battery life is short (< 2.0 hours), true... so use the car cable or AC adapter (can I say "duh" here). If you need this on a flight I'd recommend picking up the RB-270 extended battery (5400mah) or the RB-Li06 (3600mAH) battery that came with the older 9510-series. For some reason Initial went cheap and lowered the battery on the 9530 to 2200mAH. Batteries only range from 25-50 dollars, and cosidering how inexpensive the player is, adding an extra battery just improves the overall usefulness of this device. You can find this this player and the 6-hour battery for the price of most other players on the market that only have 2.5-3.0 hour battery life standard. I get close to 8 hours (total), for the price of 2.5 hours players. Hard to beat that!

The bottom line: this is perfect for travel, inexpensive, and I have no problem recommending this device. It works for me. Pick one up when it goes on sale, and you'll be happy too.

Rating:
Summary: 4:3 Widescreen??
Review: Product ad copy writers who know nothing about the technology they are writing about, should be out looking for a new job. 4:3 is FULLscreen, NOT WIDEscreen. This is NOT the original format of DVDs. In fact, even the 16:9 ratio is slightly less than the typical DVD movie aspect ratio. I'm sure the people from the Initial Co. gave the product specs to Amazon, so they are the ones getting 1 star from me.

Rating:
Summary: Poor quality product. Buyer BEWARE!
Review: The hinge where the screen meets the base is very weak plastic, and after watching about 8 movies over the course of 3 months on the product it broke. Initial's customer service is a nightmare to deal with. I recommend you stick with name brands like Sony or Toshiba, who stand by their products.

Rating:
Summary: BAD
Review: This is awful. Don't get it. It doesn't work properly and isn't even widescreen!!! Could you believe it? Get something that can play DVD-R/RW istead!

Rating:
Summary: Good for the price
Review: This little machine is just what you need in the office or airplane. It is not only affordable but does a great job

Rating:
Summary: You'll just have to return it
Review: This little machine is just what you need in the office or airplane. It is not only affordable but does a great job