Sony DVPFX810 8-Inch Portable DVD Player, Black

I spent weeks researching portable dvd players before finally purchasing this one. My general findings from my research were 1) no players seem to be quite loud enough when used without headphones, 2) less expensive players don't seem to stand the test of time, 3) most battery lives seem to be around 2.5-3 hours. I bought this Sony DVPFX810 player in October 2006 and am still as delighted with its performance as I was when it first arrived. The picture quality is great, and the screen size makes for easy viewing. I have taken this player on a couple of trips and find that its size works well even in the cramped quarters of airplane seating. The volume is more than sufficient with headphones. Without headphones the volume is also fine -- if there is not much outside noise (in a room full of talking people you would need the headphones). The battery has been lasting for around 5 hours of playing time -- a stand-out feature of this player. This player also allows for plugging in the player and using it while the battery is detached, which lets me feel free to watch a movie at home without worrying about zapping the life of the battery. The swivel screen looks pretty cool, but I almost always use the player in its "laptop" formation. ADDITIONAL NOTE: I've had this product for 4 1/2 years now, and it is still working as well as the day I got it! Battery still even good! I love this thing! I bought the case "Case Logic Koskin DVD Player Case w/SS" for this player, which fits very nicely.

I bought this as a gift to replace a dvd player that had broken. I bought it used, at significant savings. It works perfectly. The controls are located just below the screen. Love the swivel feature. In addition to a complete swivel, you can fold the screen down, then hold it like a tablet. This was a gift for a 5 year old, who has no trouble operating it. It comes in very handy when several kids (different ages) don't want to watch the same thing. They take a few dvd players, put in their favorite movie, put in some headphones or earbuds, and everyone is happy. It came in very handy to the adults too, during a prolonged power outage during Hurricane Sandy. We had charged these before the hurricane. At least we had something to watch while waiting for the power to be restored. Very happy with this purchase. It is one of the better dvd players I have purchased.

My review is based upon using this DVD player for young kids (2-5). This is my third DVD player for my 3 year old son, Why you ask, well you must look at it this way...Each one has its purpose. I have a 10"JVC for trips in my truck, a 6" Phillips from Wall Mart for casual dining, and now I have this Sony because of the flip screen. As my son got older he began to mash the buttons and open the trays on all of our players. When you filp the screen around on this player the buttons are less noticeable so he does not fool with them as much but the big advantage is that he cannot open the tray. The battery life far exceeds the other two players, the screeen quality is much better, and it is about the same weight as the Phillips. I only gave it 4 stars due to the sound from the speaker which is not loud enough for anyone to hear on the average airplane. This is easily overcome with a cheap pair of headphones and the sound is plenty loud from there (there are two headphone jacks). If you get this for your kids I would suggest a good quailty case with plenty of room for the plugs, dvd's etc. Buy the case once you have the player in hand, I made the mistake of ordering the one suggested on Amazon and it was useless.

Picture quality is so/so, need to look at the screen almost at a slight angle to see it better. From certain angles, the picture is not viewable at all. The sound quality out of the speakers is NOT great - using headphones however is a different story- better quality there. Wouldn't it be great if Sony & Bose got together to create a portable DVD player? Sony makes a good picture product, and Bose makes great speakers (as well as radios & CD players). Doesn't that make sense? HELLO? It's like Chocolate & Peanut Butter! Nobody's going to know how good it will be unless ya' try it!

As mentioned in earlier reviews, the sound could be better - you really need those headphones or small external speakers. And the picture quality of the DVDs is better on my laptop than this machine. But the player is solidly built and the battery life is over six hours. And this is perfect for hooking up to the larger screens at school when I want to use DVDs with my students, and it will show a CD of jpg photos as well. This purchase is well worth it (it is black, not pink). ***** Unfortunately, after just six weeks, the discs began pausing in the middle of the scene and "check disc" appears. Same thing with each DVD. I never know when the player is going to function perfectly. Disappointing. UPDATE - 10/20/2008 - When I wrote the above I was primarily using the player on house current. As soon as I began using it on battery - and letting the battery run out and recharge - all the "check disc" problems disappeared! It's been perfect for three months now.

We received this gift before making our Christmas trip to Virginia this year and man was it ever a lifesaver! The battery lasted through two flights (each about an hour and a half) and still didn't need to be charged! I have yet to see this player die on me as a result of battery charge. As long as it is all juiced up prior to departure, it works perfectly. We also used it during our last road trip to Chicago. The trip took us just over three hours with a few stops and it ran perfectly the entire time. The other thing I love about this player is that the buttons are located on a small bar under the screen. It doesn't pose as much of a distraction for our toddler. Otherwise he would be poking at them constantly! The only issue I have is that the screen does have a glare if it is not positioned well. The carrying case we bought does help with glare a little bit when using it in the car because of the flaps on the side. On a side note, so far this player has not had any problems playing any burned dvds that we have put in it.

Less then a month after we received this DVD player it stopped working, we returned it to Sony for a replacment but they didn't have one so the "repaired" this one. 3 weeks later (a long time in my opinion) we received the "repaired" one back, and the motor was so loud when playing that it wasn't really useable - so back to Sony again. It's been about a week now and we haven't heard back on whether or not they are fixing that one or if they have any replacement units yet. Don't recommend it. It's also a little on the heavy side (maybe some people would like that). Our last one was a panasonic 50 (old version I think) and it died after about 18 months - we thought that was unacceptable so we bought the Sony - but in retrospect I wish we had bought our old one again. It lasted longer, was lighter weight and the screen tilt was more versatile.

The Sony 8" DVD player is very nice. It is compact and I can watch it anywhere I want to. I can take it on trips, watch it in the car, I can watch it while sitting on the patio. I can use AC or DC to view it. The sound is somewhat low when other people are around talking, but being along when watching it, the sound is desireable. The quality of the picture and color are excellent. I love my portable DVD Player!!! All other features are excellent and the accessories that comes with it is a plus!! Thanks Sony!!