ChrisJoker's Full Review: Sony DVP-FX930 9 in. Portable DVD Player with Scre...
Vacation with a toddler who can be very insistent about getting his daily dose of Sesame Street was looming. Besides not knowing if the house we were staying in had PBS Kids Sprout On Demand (it didn't), we also were looking at our first multi-hour car trip with the little one, and didn't know if he'd react badly to being stuck in a car that long (he didn't, save for an unrelated bit of illness).
So after kicking the idea of buying a stand-alone portable DVD player around for some time, we decided it was time to bite the bullet and purchase one. Our intention was to have it only as a last resort in the car if nothing but Elmo and Big Bird would appease the wild moods of the munchkin, but fully expected to be hooking it up to a TV at the vacation home.
We could have very easily bought a no-name player if we wanted what amounts to a throw-away gadget. And with a young child who loves "exploring" electronics, that was a valid temptation. In the end, though, we decided that if we were going to invest in a piece of equipment, we should try to find something of decent quality that might have a chance of lasting through more than one road trip.
After hours of wading through the makes and models out there, including making lists of the pros and cons of the contenders, I began to hone in on the Sony family of portable models. My own experience with Sony electronics has been generally positive, dating back to my Walkman days right through my TV and home-theater-in-a-box system, and the eight-inch model that preceded the newer DVP-FX930 was well-reviewed in a number of forums.
Luckily, a Sony Style store recently opened in my building, so I was able to try out the DVP-FX930 before selecting it. Unlike what I've seen of the no-namers in some stores, this model felt like it was solid. Not heavy or bulky-quite the contrary-but it felt like it wasn't a cheap plastic toy destined for the trash heap in the next pick-up. Liking what I saw in its design, operation and picture quality, the DVP-FX930 was the winner.
Portability The DVP-FX930 gets high marks for a compact design. The screen is about as thin as one could expect in a portable device, and the lower part of the unit (the bottom of the "L" so to speak) is likewise low-profile, even with the unit's battery pack attached. (The battery pack becomes the ultimate bottom of the unit.) When folded up, the unit is about two inches high, nine inches wide, and a little over six inches deep. Not bad at all; note though that some carrying cases are designed only to accommodate up to seven-inch players, so make sure you select one that includes nine inches in its range.
The battery life, for use on the go, is about six hours, good to keep the kids occupied through a good long road trip, and if you're on the road longer than that, the included car charging cord-though probably a pain in the neck to stretch from the front to back of a car (unless you have a car with rear outlets)-will keep those Disney flicks flickering away.
Once you're at your destination, if there's a TV with standard (RCA-type) inputs, the included A/V cable will let you watch your DVDs on the (presumably) larger TV screen. For our recent trip, this meant Elmo and his friends were in living color on our TV every morning with our toddler. Whether that's a good thing or not is subjective.
The player itself ways about two pounds; if you're carrying it in a case with accessories and DVDs, it'll add some more ounces to that total.
Ease of Use The DVP-FX930 is a pretty basic, "pop-it-in-and-play" DVD player. The included remote control is compact, and includes all of the basic functions of an entry-level home DVD player: the play controls (rewind, fast-forward, next chapter, etc.), and the basic menu controls to scroll through the options on standard DVDs. On the unit itself, the play/pause/backward/forward controls are operated by a row of small buttons running along the bottom of the screen. Menus can be navigated by a square multi-function button at the right end of that row, with the up/down/right/left functions surrounding an "OK/select" button in the middle; it resembles the design of the iPod click wheel, only in a square form.
For little ones inclined to explore buttons, on/off switches and the like, the DVP-FX930's hold switch along the right side of the unit comes in handy: when engaged, you can't accidentally turn the DVD player off, thus ensuring that the thirty-ninth replay of Lion King won't be interrupted by a black screen just before yet another rousing rendition of "Hakuna Matata."
Quality Usually the most important factor, the DVP-FX930 has so far delivered on the Sony reputation for high-quality consumer electronics. The screen is sharp and vibrant (remember, it's not an HD screen) for such a small unit, and looks like it should be viewable under most reasonable conditions. (Seriously, if you're trying to watch a DVD with bright sunlight directly overhead, though, turn off the gadget and enjoy nature for a few minutes.) Your exact experience will vay based on the conditions around you, but for most needs, you should be able to thoroughly enjoy your movies.
The screen is, as noted, nine inches in a widescreen format. For DVDs in widescreen format, this means no chopping off of the fringes of the image, and for standard-format DVDs, the letterbox appearance will keep from stretching or skewing your movie.
On the sound front, once again, the measurement has to be based on what this unit is and what it's designed for, and on that score, the DVP-FX930 offers clear sound (with two headphone jacks for noisy-background situations). The sound is not "tinny" or garbled, and should more than please someone watching a movie in a car, airport or similar environment.
Odds and Ends Though I joked about watching Disney movies in the car, I realize that today a DVD player can, and should, do more than just play pre-recorded movies. It could be used to display a range of other content created ‘at home,' like home movies, slide shows, etc. (this could be especially true if you're on a trip with family and want to show them little Suzie's kindergarten graduation DVD, for instance). In addition to standard DVD video, the DVP-FX930 plays these disc formats: DVD-R; DVD-RW; DVD R; DVD RW; CD (audio); CD-R; CD-RW; DVD-R DL; DVD R DL. Supported file formats include DivX, MP3 and JPG.
Available colors for the DVP-FX930 include blue, black, white, red and pink. The battery on all units is black.
6-hour rechargeable battery 180-degree swivel and flip screen Touch keys on bezel for easy operation Multiple format disc playback Dual sensors for en...More at Amazon
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