We were planning a vacation and thought what better way to entertain our children than with TV! We began shopping for a DVD player for the backseat of the truck we were horrified with the astronomical prices of the DVD players with screens. We really only wanted a player for our 2 week vacation, otherwise we're never in the car long enough for the kids to watch a movie so it seemed like a waste to pay a couple hundred dollars for a nice one. I eventually ran across the Koss DVP2161 DVD Player and it seemed perfect. It was marked down from $99 to just $37 at Amazon.com with free shipping so I couldn't resist. We had a little portable $20 black and white TV so we thought this would be the perfect addition to our fun little TV.

Now that we are finished with our road we don't have a need for a DVD player so it is now moved inside into the kids room. They like to argue whose room it goes in even though they already have a DVD player in each room. I will humor them and not point out the obvious; at least it's being used.

It is advertised on the box that it is DVD, CD, CD-RW, MP3 compatible. This is along with the price tag was the reason we bought this. We planned on this being the only gadget that we would have to put in the car and the CD and MP3 players could stay at home. The 11 OV AC adapter is included with purchase. It also runs on a 12V DC adapter but is not included. A very nice detailed installation guide in color is included. A matching silver remote is included with its own batteries. The remote will work up to 10 meters away with a 30 degree angle in either direction.

I'm pleased to say that it passed the road test; there was not any skipping at all while driving. We didn't really have any room to put the DVD player so it sat on my son's lap while in use. I think this was actually a good thing because I've read a lot of complaints about these overheating when playing 2 or more hours. Perhaps that is because the vents are on the bottom. Knowing how hot this gets I'd be leery of sitting this on leather seats in the car.

When pushing the open button the lid slowly rises to expose the area in which to place the DVD. The eye is right there so I image it could be easily damaged and the warning indicates not to touch. Buttons on the front of the DVD player include Repeat, A-B, Pause, Fast back and Fast Forward, Open, Play, and Stop.

The DVD player weighs 4 pounds and measures 6.5 inches long, 8.25 inches wide, and 1.5 inches high. We stowed this is the seat pocket when not in use. After a few uses in the car it now has a lot of scratches on the cover.

There is an ear phone jack in the back which we inserted a 3-way splitter so each child could use their own headphones. I can't begin to tell you how distracting hearing that thing is while you're trying to drive and listen to your own music up front. Headphones are the only way to go in the car.

A DVD player this small has come in handy several times in the house when our traditional DVD was acting up. We lost our remote for our main DVD player and needed the remote access features on a DVD so we hooked the little portable one up in just a second which was another unexpected time we needed it.

This has a coolness factor for my family. We have used it quite a bit more than we expected in the five months that we have had it. I don’t think that it is made well enough to use on a daily basis. I question if running it for over 2 hours would damage it because it does get very hot and does not seem to be ventilated very well. These are just speculations but we avoid long term use of it so that it will work when we do need it.

I did not like the remote control very much. It was a nice size and easy to find and hold however I had great difficulty finding the buttons I needed while watching a show. I had to turn the light on to read and identify the buttons.

The player has played all of the DVD, MP3s, and CDs that we have tried in it.

Koss offers a 90-Day Warranty from the date of purchase for defective or an inoperative product. The only money out of your pocket for this warranty would be the shipping to their repair center; address is listed below.

Consumer Services
11733 Missouri Bottom Road
Hazelwood, MO 63042
Phone: 800-726-3801
Website: www.koss-av.com





Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 37.00