I'll admit that I can be a name-brand snob when it comes to electronics, mostly because I've had my share of experiences with shoddy equipment in the past. That's why I wasn't sure what to expect when my husband and I received the Initial 5820 Portable DVD Player as a gift last Christmas. Not only had I never heard of the brand before, but when I compared the price of the Initial unit with comparable name-brand players the difference was staggering -- the name brand models were more than double the price! After seeing that I was sure the Initial player would not stack up...

...fortunately I was very wrong!!!

The facts:

The Initial 5820 Portable DVD Player is a compact DVD player with a built-in 5.8 inch flip-up LCD screen (in the widescreen/16:9 aspect ratio). The dimensions of the player itself are 1.5 inches high, 6.07 inches wide, and 5.50 inches deep. Tiny and lightweight, it weighs approximately 1.6 pounds. The picture is really excellent -- crisp and very clear. You can switch the playback between letterbox (16:9) and the regular television-sized format (4:3). You can also adjust the brightness of the LCD screen, which is handy when going from outside to indoors with the unit.

As far as the sound goes, there are built-in stereo speakers, as well as headphone jacks (although headphones aren't included). The sound from the built-in speakers is quite impressive (when you consider how tiny they are), but the sound is fantastic through headphones or run through a receiver. The unit has Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 Channel surround-sound (utilized via the digital-audio output, not the built-in speakers).

Included with the unit are a tiny remote control, AC adaptor, high capacity rechargeable lithium battery (that can be re-charged on the unit itself), 12V car adaptor, video cable, and audio cable.

The controls on the unit are quite easy to use, with a built-in toggle switch for moving around the menus as well as the usual buttons (play/pause/stop etc) and some additional "setup" type buttons for setting the aspect ratio, brightness, etc. The remote is very tiny and has even more functions than the unit itself.

The Initial line of portable DVD players are all available at Wal-Mart and various electronics stores. One other model has a smaller screen (4.2 inches), and 2 other models have larger screens (7 inches and 8 inches). The price of each model differs by roughly $100 (although I'm sure they'll be messing around with the prices now that it's Christmas-time).

More Details:

Playable disc formats include:
DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-Audio, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 CD/DVD, VCD, XVCD, XSVCD, Kodak Picture CDs, and HCDC encoded CDs.

The unit is literally packed with features. For such a tiny thing, it has everything one expects from your everyday DVD player, as well as others useful on a portable unit. Extra features include:
» Multi-Angle capability
» Zoom Play (2X & 4X)
» Subtitles on/off
» Multi-Language switching
» Fast Forward/Reverse Speeds (2X, 4X, & 8X)
» Parental Lock Control
» Auto Power Off
» Built-in anti-shock technology for in-car use
» Frame by Frame slow motion
» Upgradeable firmware (to accommodate future formats)

Our Thoughts & Experiences:

I have been nothing but impressed with our little Initial DVD Player! My husband and I were totally impressed with the unit's picture. REALLY impressed. The sound, especially when run through our receiver, is equally impressive. We've owned it for almost a year now and it is still going strong without a single problem. All of my "off-brand" worries have been put to rest.

When our old DVD player in our bedroom died (perhaps from too much "loving" from our 2 year old), we simply hooked up the Initial one and ran the picture through the TV. It does a fantastic job, and now we use it much more than I ever envisioned we would when we first received it. For us it has been quite the little life-saver.

We really haven't used it in the car terribly frequently (especially now that it is always hooked up in the house). I think it is important that my child be able to keep himself entertained for short car trips. One set of his grandparents live 4 hours away, however, and we've found that the DVD player is great when we're making that long drive. We've had no problems with skips or jumps as we are traveling over rough terrain.

Aside from home and car-trip use, it would also be fantastic for airplane rides or hotel-room stays.

The battery life of the rechargeable battery is a little over 2 hours when watching DVD's (it would be much longer if only used to listen to CD's). We really don't utilize our battery a lot though -- at home we use the AC adapter, and in the car we use the cigarette lighter.

We do make our own DVD's (you can see my related links below), and our Initial Portable DVD Player plays our DVD-R's without fail. That was a really big deal for me.

The default aspect ratio is 16:9 (widescreen movie format). When playing DVD's set to a television aspect ratio, you must re-set it (otherwise the picture will be stretched or scrunched).

Of course, I do have some minor complaints. One is that the battery must be charged on the player itself, and you cannot watch the player while the battery is charging. As with most DVD players these days, there are some functions you can only do via the remote (so you're up a creek if you lose the tiny thing). The only thing that gets on my nerves occasionally is the fact that there is no volume control on the remote control (which may sound silly, as you really cannot be too far from the unit when watching it anyway). Another minor complaint is that the manual isn't overly helpful. You can tell that portions of it were written by someone who does not speak English as his/her primary language. That being said, the player itself is very user-friendly, and the manual is helpful enough to get you hooked up and going.

Final Thoughts:

When pricing other comparable DVD players, I was amazed that although they usually had a higher price tag, they usually included fewer features. Not only that, but for many of them you had to purchase the various adapters and re-chargers separately! I really cannot express how impressed I am with my little Initial 5820 Portable DVD Player, which is loaded with features and comes with everything you need to watch DVDs (except for the DVD itself, of course). It is definitely a great value for the money.



Initial Web Site:
www.initialdvd.com


Related Reviews:
How we burn our DVD's:
Panasonic LF D521 DVD-RAM/DVD-RW/DVD-R Burner
Panasonic DMR-E20 DVD Recorder / Player
...and how we get the footage onto our computer:
Canon Optura 200MC Mini DV Camcorder


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 220