Sony DVPFX810 8-Inch Portable DVD Player, Black by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony DVPFX810 8-Inch Portable DVD Player, Black
Digital camera Review: DVD Player stopped working
Summary: 1 Stars
This DVD player stopped projecting in color after the 2nd movie. You have to pay to send it back and Sony will only replace it with a refurbished one. There is a minimum 2 week turn around time. There service is less than consumer friendly.Digital camera Review: DVDs to Go
Summary: 4 Stars
I wanted a portable DVD player that I could prop up on the treadmill at the gym and watch movies while I burned away the calories. The Sony does the job admirably.
I must admit, I didn't do a lot of research on this purchase. I started by buying a $79 special, which worked okay, but felt kind of flimsy. So I returned it and got the Sony.
One thing that seemed surprisingly similar between the cheap unit and the Sony was picture quality. Resolution just doesn't seem to be great on these units. But since you're only looking at an 8" screen, the picture does appear crisp, with decent contrast. The screen is glossy, and prone to glare, but it hasn't been a problem, even in the brightly lit gym.
The screen will swivel and fold into a tablet, with all controls within easy reach. The player comes with a remote (a big one for such a small player), but I haven't even unwrapped mine. I suppose it might come in handy if you used the player's outputs to a large screen and home theater system.[UPDATE] I wanted to finish watching the disc in the player, and rather than taking it out and changing players, I just plugged it into the inputs on the front of my TV, found the remote, and I had a full functioning DVD player. It even picked up where I left off in the movie I was watching.
Battery life is close to 5 hours, about twice that of most similar players. An AC adapter/charger, and auto adapter are included. Headphones are not, but ports are provided for two sets.
I've heard that an extended warranty is recommended, but the player comes with a 12 months parts and labor (as opposed to the typical 12/3 terms). I figure if it breaks after a year, there'll be something slicker and nicer available to spend my toy budget on.
So far I am quite happy with this player. It fits perfectly on the treadmill, and helped pass the hour long wait at the doctor's office. A nice diversion for automotive or motorcycle passengers, too.
Great battery life, swiveling screen, and pleasing design make the Sony Portable DVD Player worth considering. Oddly enough, Sony released a 7" Walkman DVD player about the same time. I can't figure why they would compete with themselves. I like the one I got because it seems more versatile, and the screen is better protected when closed. It sounds, from the description, that the `Walkman' might have better audio features.
Digital camera Review: Did not improve the quality of "Ground Hog Day"...
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased the Sony DVPFX810 primarily for longer duration air travel. The unit is inexpensive, but it works as well as any expensive multimedia notebook computer, only the Sony offers a lot more battery life. I am averaging 4 hours of play time with headsets, as is the Sony unit. The image is bright, color is good and controls, remote or on-unit, are easy to use. The ability to swivel the screen around works really well when the lump sitting in the seat in front of me needs to recline in my lap. Swiveling the screen on the base moves it out away from the seat back. Sound without headphones is weak and of poor quality. Sound, volume and quality, through headphones is better than good, but will not reach ear shattering levels. The packaging is good. The finish doesn't show handling scratches and it drops right into a backpack. I have had no problems with the unit.
Unfortunately, bad movies are still bad movies when viewed on the Sony, so Ground Hog Day is still almost painful to watch.
Digital camera Review: Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
I wouldn't recommend this product. I have had it for four months and already it freezes up and won't read discs. I was very disappointed in its performance.Digital camera Review: Do not buy - not loud enough for a plane trip !
Summary: 2 Stars
Before buying this unit I read all the reviews saying the speakers were not loud enough and that you needed to use headphones. No problem I thought since my kids were going to use it on a plane anyways. Even on maximum power with some pretty sensitive headphones this thing could not put out enough volume for my kids to hear a movie on the plane. The people sitting in front of me had cheapo brand DVD players and we could hear their movie playing from their speakers - it's not the size of the speakers on this one as one reviewer stated - its that Sony has apparently decided to limit the output volume to avoid any hearing loss lawsuits. Unfortunately they limited it to the point where if you want to use this device for travel on a plane or in a car it is virtually unusable unless you are willing to carry around expensive noise cancelling headphones or the huge old style headphones that completely surround your ear.
The most dissapointing thing was when I called Sony to complain. The customer service rep said "Well just use it in a quiet room then..." to which I responded that people buy portable DVD players to watch while they are traveling ... I followed up with "then why do you ship it with a car adapter if the unit was not meant to be played in anything other than a library." Not one to give up, I then sent an email to Sony's support address explaining the problem and some potential solutions for disappointed owners such as myself - their response - a generic "form" email saying "thanks for your feedback, have a nice day." The really sad part is that the battery life on this unit is excellent and were it not for their artificially low volume output this unit would get a 5 star rating from me despite Sony's now uncaring customer support. Makes me question whether I want to get that Bravia LCD if they are going to support their products so poorly. Sad to see a company like Sony slip so much.