Mintek MDP-1770KIT 7-Inch Portable DVD Player Kit
Good Buy for the Money
The Mintek MDP-1770KIT is a very good value overall with a comprehensive set of accessories, however don't expect high-end quality equipment, and to a large degree you will get what you pay for. I recommend this as a great first purchase for anyone interested in a DVD system for their kids in the car or at home. <br /> <br />Plusses: <br />--Great price <br />--Good picture quality <br />--Very light weight (not sure why someone complained it was too heavy!) <br />--Great list of accessories included <br />--Headphone or external speakers for stereo sound <br />--Flexible power source options (rechargeable battery, cigarette lighter adaptor, AC adaptor). <br /> <br />Minuses: <br />--No instructions for mounting DVD case on back of a car seat; just a poor-contrast, photocopied, useless photo of what it should look like when done right <br />--Poor instruction manual overall; instructions for rechargeable battery hidden on last page as an addendum <br />--Plastic, cheap quality buttons and controls <br />--Cheap quality headphones included <br />--Kids complain after an hour that headphones are \\"too hot\\" to wear <br />--Low headphone volume; buy better headphones with powered volume controls <br />--No onscreen low-battery indicator that I noticed; unit just stopped running when battery got low enough <br />--Mechanism seems to be \\"finicky\\" about playing DVDs that otherwise play perfectly in component DVD players; often have to insert and remove DVDs several times before it plays smoothly <br />--The built-in \\"widescreen\\" TFT display actually appears to use television aspect ratios; does not play widescreen-formatted (letterbox) DVDs at fullscreen. Widescreen DVDs are scaled down to fit. <br />--Included nylon case does not hold all accessories; we carry the power cord and transformer separately. <br />--Rechareable battery is supposed to last 2 hrs, but it rarely makes it past 1.5 hrs for me <br /> <br />In summary, if you need a good, flexible, reasonably-priced DVD package that contains almost everything you need for your car or kids, and you're willing to improvise in mounting the unit in your car, this is a great deal.  It beats an inflexible $800 manufacturer-installed DVD system by a mile.  If you are looking for hi-fidelity equipment and accessories however, you will likely want to pay more for a better system or be prepared to purchase better quality replacement accessories. <br />