Polaroid PDV-0801A 8 in. Portable DVD Player

First, from what I could find out, the PDV-0813A is the same as the PDV-0801A...

I bought this unit at SAM's Club at Christmas time for use when I am on the road, living in motels. It has been an excellent choice as I have encountered no problems and have used the unit extensively.

SCREEN: The screen is a LCD, 8" diagonal, and color. There are 5 buttons under the screen; 2 for contrast(+ or -), 2 for Tint (+ or -), and a MODE button which changes the screen aspect ratio from 16:9 (wide screen), ZOOM (16:9 zoomed, cropping the edges), and 4:3 (Full screen). This screen (as all in this price range are) is not a very high resolution but it is more than adequate. The sharpest picture is in 4:3 mode, then 16:9 mode, and (to me) the ZOOM mode is not worth watching thanks to the enlargement showing a poor at best picture. Watchable but not if you want to enjoy the show.

The screen folds down over the player itself (flat) on a single hinge, that with repeated opening/closing by me, has remained tight and actually durable. I think the swivel screen versions of this model would be less reliable in the long run.

2 STEREO speakers are in each corner under the screen and sound as you'd expect, tinny and not much volume. However, when watching a DVD at night with the player on my stomach, I found the sound to be quite acceptable and even turned it down a couple of times.

DVD:

The main body itself is loaded with buttons and connectivity jacks and switches. There are 2 headphone jacks, one on each side of the player. The volume is controlled by a small thumb wheel knob on the side, as well as an A/V SELECTOR SWITCH which allows you to use the players screen as a monitor. VERY cool. It has a 2 channel audio jack and composite video jack. With these jacks you can also use this player on your TV as a DVD player. The last jack is the power adapter/battery charging jack. On the front of the body, is the remote control sensor.

The DVD door is opened by pressing a button and then the lid pops open. But only about 1/2 way. It must be pushed open the rest of the way to get to the DVD. Which raises the only real problem I have had.

The opening that the DVD sits in when snapped onto the spindle, leaves almost no room for your fingers to get a good grasp on the DVD when you want to remove it or change movies. I could see a DVD being scratched like this if care isn't taken, though I have not encountered any scratching of DVDs as of this time.

There are 2 buttons for fast forward/rewind, skip/go back a chapter, Title and Menu buttons on the face. Also it has PLAY, PAUSE, STOP as well as a complete arrow key/enter buttons.

Using the players controls when watching a movie that has been playing has either a feature or a malfunction, depending how you look at it. If a movie has been playing, the control buttons seem sluggish, usually requiring the button to be pressed a second time before the command is recognized. I don't think it is a malfunction but rather a feature. Being a portable player, knowing the thing will be moved when in use, knowing buttons inadvertently get pushed, programmed a 2 push on the button just to verify the command. When using the remote control, there is no hesitation.

DVDs load quickly and the player executes commands/scene changes rather fast.

BATTERY:

The battery is a Li-ion Polymer Rechargeable battery pack that is flat and acts as a base for the player. A sliding switch locks/unlocks the battery pack from player. The battery MUST be connected to the player to charge. I tried charging the battery while watching a movie and while it did charge, one corner of the battery got very warm. Heat is not good on batteries so I would avoid using the unit when the battery is being charged, so as to help the battery last as it was designed.

REMOTE:

The remote is very good. It is needed to access all of the players features like 4xZOOM as well as reduction (a pointless feature IMO), SLOW down up to 32x slow or fast, and so on. It is very light but has excellent performance. It even turned the motel TV of and on and the channels (Zenith TV). Small and lightweight, the remote is easy to lose. But in a motel, it is easy to find.

ACCESSORIES;

This player came with a multitude of accessories. One of the best is a video game controller that comes with 30 (albeit cheesy, famous game rip-offs) built in games, that helps pass time when you don't want to watch a DVD. The controller runs on 3 AA batteries (incl.) and can be connected to any TV with a VIDEO INPUT and 1/4" jacks or adapters will be needed.

A DELUXE padded CARRYING CASE was also included and that included a 10 disc DVD holder/wallet the is held securely in place with Velcro. The case also provides storage for the additional accessories: 1 pr behind the neck headphones, AC adapter/Battery Charger, Car power adapter, and cables to connect the player to a TV.

The case is also multi-functional. It can be used as a holder for the player behind, or between a cars front seat(s). All straps are included. All accessories are included in this package.