Toshiba SD-P2700 8.9 in. Portable DVD Player

I have never had any type of experience with a portable DVD player. I really wanted to get one because we were going to be doing a lot of traveling, and I have a 3.5 year old son.

I didn't even know what to look for, what is a good brand, what features I needed, etc… I went to epinions and checked around for the ones with the highest ratings. My husband is partial to Toshiba, so I looked into them and compared features, ratings, and prices. Then I saw that the Panasonic LV 70 had a 5 hour battery life and got great reviews. I did more research on that brand, and was definitely impressed with the battery life. I even placed a bid for one on eBay. A few days later and after hours of more research, I came across the Toshiba SD-2700. The 2700 had several features that impressed me…dual headphone jacks, an 8.9 inch screen, and surround sound. It also had a feature that I could view images from my SD card from my digital camera, and play CD's. It also had a swivel feature that I thought would come in handy on the plane so I wouldn't have to have the monitor on my son's tray and in his reach. I couldn't find many opinions on it. It had no reviews on epinions, but it had a few on Amazon.

These are other features that a potential consumer should know, but I have to admit, I don't know what most of these features are or even mean-
High-resolution 1,024 x 600-pixel screen
Handles everything from DVD-Video to DVD-R, VCD, MP3/WMA CD, and a other image formats
You can view images in slideshow
Progressive scanning
Surround sound
3.5 hours of battery life
180 degree screen swivel
The battery charges in 3 hours
What comes in the box-
DVD player, remote control, remote battery, car cord, a component-video interconnect, a stereo audio/composite-video interconnect, an AC power adapter, a user's manual, and warranty information.
The seller of the Panasonic dvd player was kind enough to let me back out of my bid…something I have never done, and I compared prices, and eventually settled on eCost…I paid just $9.99 for next day delivery, and I think about a 5% handling fee.

I couldn't wait to get it…I needed to figure out how to use it before we left for our trip.
Having never handled a portable DVD player before, I was a little intimidated unpacking everything from the box…there were cords, a remote, a big silver thing (it turned out it was the battery) then the player. The player itself was silver and sleek looking. It felt like it weighed about 2 pounds as I took it out. I knew the battery would add additional weight, but it was still compact.

I read the instructions on how to charge the battery and had some trouble getting the battery attached. I could never seem to get it clicked in just right. Just when I thought I had it clicked in and turned it over, it fell out. This could just be due to my inexperience handling the DVD player.
While it was charging, I played around with it a little. I opened up the cover, and it opened smooth, yet had resistance. I was disappointed to see that it only swiveled in a clockwise direction, and only half way around. This meant that if my son is seated to the right of me on the plane and I'm in the middle, he won't have a good view. I was also disappointed to see that the dual head phone jacks are on the same side. If two people are listening at the same time, then one persons cord will drape in front of the screen if they are too far away. The machine won't be able to go in between two persons because of this.

After it had charged for a while, I put it to the test with a CD. The first thing I noticed was the sound of the spinning DVD. I didn't know if this was normal, as it was pretty loud. Then the sound came on, and completely covered the noise of the spinning. The sound quality was really impressive! I tried it with headphones and was satisfied that it would be perfect even if we are seated near the engines of the plane. The picture quality is great! The clarity and colors showed up well on the 8.9 inch screen. There were no 'lines' in the screen that I have seen people mention in their reviews. Just a really awesome picture that you might expect from Toshiba. I was pleasantly surprised to find that you could operate the dvd features manually without using the remote, unlike many brands I saw reviews on. I have a feeling I may lose the remote somewhere down the line.

I also took note to take the battery off when not in use, or it will drain the battery.
Also, since the first day of use, I have mastered the art of taking off and putting on the battery.

I have experienced viewing jpeg files with my SD card. That was a little more tricky and time consuming to figure out. The one negative thing I experienced with this feature was that it did not skip to the next photo when I pressed the skip button. I re-read the directions to make sure I was doing it correctly and I was. The picture showed the double arrows indicating that I had pressed the skip button, but it has never skipped to the next photo. This makes viewing the photos take a very long time. It does have a 200% zoom you can use, and the pictures are clear, although with the wide screen, much to my dismay, my hips look like they take up half the screen.

All in all, I am very impressed with my purchase of this DVD player. It has come in handy, time I wouldn't have thought to bring such an expensive toy to. When I had to go in for a dress fitting and take my son, I was able to leave my son in his stroller, put the player on the chair, and was able to change, be pinned, operate the DVD player with the remote from the platform I had to stand on, etc…with no interruptions from him. My son loves it!
I don't feel like I will need to upgrade to another DVD player like many people seem to do. I feel like I spent enough time and energy comparing portable DVD players long enough to realize the features I wanted. I found the most reasonable price and got the best portable DVD player for me and my family. I definitely recommend the Toshiba SD-2700.