Watching TV in the car! - Audiovox Portable Video System VBP1000
Written: Jul 04 '02 (Updated Sep 12 '03)
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Pros: Portable and sets up in most cars, easy to use
Cons: Smaller screen, see review
The Bottom Line: Changed our driving world - an inexpensive portable VCR system for our car!
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| KMINER's Full Review: Audiovox VBP1000 VCR |
Didn't know that our new Nissan Sentra was outfitted with a TV and VCR, did ya now? Well, it's not (LOL) - we bought an Audiovox Portable Video System VBP1000 instead! Before the product title alone confuses you, simply it's a VCR player in a bag. That's right, we bought a portable VCR player for Colin for his first birthday! And I've got to tell you, if you travel like we do, this is one of the very best investments we have made!
What Is An Audiovox Portable Video System VBP1000?
The picture Epinions has portrays it set up fairly accurately. It is a full sized (though a little compacted) VCR player surrounded by a sturdy canvas bag with a small LCD flip up screen on the top. Briefly described, this unit comes mostly put together - comes in the bag, monitor attached, VCR in place - you just add on the straps and plug. The gray canvas bag holds the VCR unit as you would typically see, with all the buttons of Stop, Rewind, Play, Eject, Pause, Fast Forward, On/Off. The Volume and Picture controls are on the side of the LCD screen and have a wheel that rolls (much like volume on an alarm clock radio). The Picture Control allows you to adjust the Brightness of the screen. The LCD screen is not that big, though clearly shows the video, and flips up or down to be able to view at any angle, or even not view when not in use. The Audiovox Portable Video System VBP1000 looks a little like a backpack - the 2 straps hook onto the back with clasps at the top, and then the straps are long enough to easily loop around the headrests of the front driver and passenger seats and be pulled taught. The straps have a plastic buckle (like on a backpack or car seat/highchair straps) that helps adjust and keep the needed tension.
The canvas bag is heavy feeling, and the material resists stains, tugs, kicks and the like. It has a big black strap at the top for carrying, along with a shoulder strap area for comfort (a plus because this system is a little heavy - you can easily carry it yourself, but it has some weight to it). Each side of the canvas bag has a mesh circle air vent, to help allow the VCR to cool off. There is also a hollow compartment with zipper at the bottom to store the straps and adapters when not is use. This system comes with a house adapter that can be plugged into any wall socket, or a separate cigarette lighter or volt adapter for car use.
Pros
The Audiovox Portable Video System VBP1000 has made our traveling a lot easier. All of our family live 5 to 10 hours away, minimum, and we drive to see them often. Colin, now 2, has never enjoyed being in his car seat, and we have been able to distract him with cassette/music tapes for only the first hour or so. Because it is clearly not an option to let Colin out, we needed something to make him want to stay in. It was at least $1000 to buy and install a VCR and monitor into our car (either the drop down from the roof kind or the built into the headrest kind) - at least those were the prices when we were at Circuit City. The Audiovox Portable Video System VBP1000 firstly was the least expensive of all of the Video Systems that we looked at.
It is also the most versatile. It can go in any of our families' cars, though I hesitate to say there is not a car this system may not be appropriate for. We have loaned it to family, friends, or borrowed cars and this system has worked fine in all of them. It is relatively easy to set up and work - as once I get my husband to strap it in, all I have to do is change the video every so often and hit Play (much like a standard VCR, there really is no special skill or trick to using this).
The volume and picture control allows us to get the best viewing arrangement for Colin, and also to allow the system to be at a level he can hear it but it is not distracting to us. It keeps Colin entertained, quiet, and the entire car ride fairly peaceful overall. It always works (we've had it over a year now), plugs in easily both in the car and at home (we've used it as a makeshift VCR when visiting), and looks as good as new.
Cons
The cons, firstly, are not enough that we don't feel this was a great purchase - though no one purchase is 100% ideal. The LCD is not very large, and we do wonder if we had multiple children if they all could sit in the back and still see well. You also have to sit back there with Colin for a minute to adjust the picture, if I try and adjust it from the front seat it is often fuzzed out for him.
There is no storage for the videos - so I have them stuffed near Colin ready to use. Also I have to turn all of the way around to change the video - once Colin gets older and can do this himself it will not be an issue, but it is impossible from the front seat to reach all the buttons and etc without unbuckling myself and sitting on my knees totally turned around on my passenger seat. Also, at times Colin has been able to reach, from his car seat, and flip down the LCD monitor.
Finally, you can only move around your front 2 seats so much, as they are the base for holding the Audiovox Portable Video System VBP1000 together. My husband has longer legs than I and likes to recline more so the system tilts a little toward my side (which works out fine, as Colin sits right behind me).
Things Still To Try
At the store, we were told that there is the option of using headphones with this system - though at age 2 we have not yet tested that out. Also that there is an input jack, and that you can hook up a portable DVD player or video game system to this system. Again, we have not tried these options, but it is nice to know that they are there in the future, especially since we intend to keep this around for a long time to come.
In The End
This purchase has been an ideal investment for us, a middle income family of 3. We paid just under $250 for this - I think the site lists it at around $265. I found many links to purchasing it online, both through Epinions and through general searches. We are able to take it anywhere and have the option of using it for future cars, children, family members, friends, years, and the like. It has made traveling in a car with a small child a more peaceful experience overall. Though we cannot escape hearing the videos at this time, we can mostly tune it out - and Thomas the Tank Engine is certainly better to listen to than a screaming child!
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The Audiovox website provides very limited information about the product, listed on 2 different pages, I found the following :
"Designed for young consumers who want full-featured electronics at affordable prices, Video in a Bag is right on target. Video in a bag products are easy to install so they are perfect for the do it yourself customer."
Flip-up 4 in LCD TFT Screen
* 2 Headphone jacks, front mounted
* Audio/video input jacks, front mounted
* Dual speakers mounted on each side of unit
* Mono VCP
* Volume up/down
* Brightness control
* Play/fast forward/rewind/pause/stop
* Heavy duty canvas bag with handle/shoulder strap
* Includes all mounting straps and power cables
* AC/DC power adapter for in-home use
* 12 Volt cigarette lighter adapter for in car use
* Back-lit buttons
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 250.00
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