Philips Portable DVD Player

While I have not had this product for very long I'm impressed by the quality. This was an item I ordered to replace a Sylvania player that didn't work from the start. (A review of the Susan B. Koman pink metallic player can be found in a separate Hub, http://hubpages.com/hub/Portable-DVD-Player-by-Sylvania.)

So far, it seems the Philips player has been, by far, a much wiser purchase.

Unlike with the Sylvavia player, when the Philips player arrived I was happy to see the box well sealed and the flaps on product's package equally properly closed. The immediate noticeable difference was the "written material" that came with the Philips player.

A full instruction booklet, along with a quick-start guide were among it all. Rather than offering a customer-service number buried somewhere in a simple instruction booklet, Philips offers a whole separate thing on getting in touch with them for service. A product registration card came with the player, as well, so Philips doesn't leave its customers to be surprised if it turns out there's any safety problem with the unit. (If Sylvania offers this additional information to customers I don't know about it, because I didn't get it with the pink player.) A separate little card that offers cleaning instructions also came with the product. In other words, unlike Sylvania, Philips doesn't just tell customers (essentially), "Here's how to turn it on. Here's how to plug in the charger. Here's how to use the arrows - and other than that, you're on your own (and, by the way, good luck finding that teensy little customer service number buried somewhere in the information)." These may seem like small things and "givens", but I've learned that they can be more important than they would seem and, based on what came with the Sylvania player, they're not necessarily "givens".

The Philips player offers some extra buttons beyond just the round navigation button with arrows, so without even reading the book it's pretty self-explanatory when it comes to which button gets you into what before you then start to use the navigation arrows. The Sylvania player had a couple of other buttons, but there was still some guesswork involved. It's just more clear-cut and easy to immediately know with the Philips player.

While the Sylvania player didn't strike me as horribly cheap-looking, the Philips players really looks like a high-quality product. I checked out the DVD cover/door mentioned by the person who said it seems cheaply made, but I don't see anything awful with it. Granted, it's lightweight. That may seem "cheap" to some people. I just saw it as "lightweight" while the rest of the player seems like it's made really well. I kind of like the simplicity of having the volume right there on the side (rather than having to "muck your way" through the menu); although I can see what the person who commented on the small-ness of the power button meant. It is small. Then again, as a woman (with small hands and at least a little bit of fingernail), it isn't a problem.

I've watched movies with the speakers and with the headphone. The sound is great, and the picture is really, really, good. Adjusting the brightness and contrast were easy (although I like the settings that came on the player). (Doing the same was also easy with the Sylvania, but it seems to me that making one's way through the menu is just a little bit easier with the Philips. Maybe that's because this time around I've already had experience with another player, although i don't really think that's it.)

I did notice that the shiny black Philips player does seem to be quite the "dust attractor" already. I find I'm constantly wiping little bits of dust off it, but that's hardly a big deal. On a more positive note, this player is quite a bit smaller than the Sylvania, so even if it lacks the "beauty" of that metallic pink that inexplicably caught my otherwise more traditional (and grown-up) eye with regard to the Sylvania player, the Philips player is actually adorable in its small-ness. Rather than look more like one of the "mini-laptop" computers (as the Sylvania does), the Philips looks more like a slightly larger, conventional CD player (only with a flip-up lid). Small enough to pop into my good sized (but not unusually large) purse, this player can easily be toted along to be as a "plain" CD player (and for the person who has audio books on CD that can come in handy).

It's just an all around smoother, higher-quality-seeming, product - in its looks and in its operation. While the Sylvania may not have "shouted poor quality" (at least separate from the fact that it didn't work and the fact that it didn't have a cover over those little indicator lights), the Philips does "shout high-quality". As you have probably already figured out, I really, really, like this little DVD player.

Needless to say, listening to music without headphones, and only through the unit's built-in stereo speakers, isn't particularly going to get you the best sound (although it's good enough for the person who isn't above listening to headphone-less music on a portable radio). With the headphones the sound of music CD's is really nice. The volume is good, although this is certainly no "boom box". Of course, these days manufacturers often limit the degree to which volume can be turned up, to eliminate risk of hearing damage. Still, the volume on this player is fine.

I've shown it to a few people who concur that it appears to be a high-quality product. This player generally gets lots of great reviews on sites across the Internet. If you've already seen it on Amazon you would have seen that it has often been given five stars and gets lots of good reviews, with lots of buyers mentioning getting the player for young children. Still, it doesn't look like a product for young children. The compact, sleek, black Philips definitely looks more like something a grown-up would have than something a child would have. For the person who cares about these things, this player is a pretty tasteful-looking gadget.

Between watching movies, keeping the little player handy for fitness DVD's anywhere in the house, audio books, ,and (of course) listening to music; this little player is just a neat little item to have for any number of uses.

As with a good number of other portable DVD players, the already reasonable price of this player can be substantially lower when buying the item used or refurbished.

I know I'm only one user, and everyone has his own preferences and tastes; but I would definitely recommend this nice little DVD player. Based on my experience with this player so far, I'll probably look first at Philips products in the future.