Sony DVP-FX810 8-Inch Portable DVD Player
Not too shabby!
Review for the Sony DVP-FX810. Primary use: Aboard our boat and used  <br />with second 13\\" flat screen.  <br /> <br />Well, like most people we've all been looking at these portable DVD  <br />players for years. Remember when they were 400-500 dollars or more? Now  <br />we have a large selection available for far less. The Sony weighs in at  <br />a bit under 200 dollars. If you read the reviews on these players,  <br />you'll generally see some happy users and an almost universal amount of  <br />folks whose units went belly up fairly soon.  <br /> <br /> <br />Here's the bottom line. Just about ALL of these players are built  <br />cheaply. Speaking to a friend and a large retailer, I learned that  <br />almost all see a fair amount of returns, including the pricier units.  <br />No matter which unit you buy BE SURE to buy an extended warranty so you  <br />can get a replacement if it dies.  <br /> <br /> <br />Now....on to the Sony. This unit appears to be better built than most  <br />of the others. It has a solid feel and the screen hinge is more robust  <br />than others. The unit is slim, black and looks more like a 400 dollar  <br />unit when sitting next to entries from Toshiba or Magnavox. The screen  <br />rotates 180 degrees in one direction and will fold back flat against  <br />the unit creating a tablet type player/viewer. This is perfect for  <br />headrest or wall hanging, but Sony has made no provision for this so  <br />you'll need to improvise.  <br /> <br /> <br />Screen quality: Well....here's the meat and potatoes. Based on my many  <br />years of audio and video usage on the higher end of the market, I'd say  <br />the FX810 has average video quality, which is to say less than  <br />stunning. Viewing the screen dead on makes for poor viewing. Tilt the  <br />screen a bit and you get a more contrasty effect. Resolution is  <br />passable, but nothing to write home about. Frankly, none of the small  <br />screens are very impressive and offer less detail than a good notebook  <br />computer. Still, the image is \\"just fine\\" for it's intended purpose and  <br />watching a movie is no problem. Color and hue have that less than  <br />accurate LCD look, but again, quite passable as entertainment.  <br /> <br /> <br />Sound quality: Pretty weak, as on every one of these units without  <br />exception. A pair of headphones or even cheap external powered speakers  <br />will help a lot. This is not a flaw, but a limitation due to the size  <br />of the player. Sony did what they could with some very tiny speakers.  <br /> <br /> <br />Battery life: WOW! Sony's battery is a killer and ran my unit for two  <br />whole movies, well beyond 4 hours and had power to spare. This may be  <br />the best on the market in this regard. Charge times are somewhat long,  <br />taking nearly five hours. The unit will charge while playing as well  <br />and will work off the included AC adapter or 12 volt cigarette lighter  <br />plug.  <br /> <br /> <br />Feature set: This is a pretty basic unit. It won't play DTS tracks and  <br />it has only composite out. I feel that without S-Video and progressive  <br />scan, Sony has focused on making this a more solid unit in other areas,  <br />such as overall build quality. The FX810 ships with a remote that is  <br />full size. It's a bit odd to have such a clunky remote for a portable  <br />DVD player, but it's easier to use and won't have you hunting for  <br />little odd batteries used by the credit card remotes. Video in/out  <br />plugs are included with RCA's to connect to a TV. You can also send in  <br />a video game or video camera signal in. A single switch toggles between  <br />AV in/out.  <br /> <br /> <br />Another Bottom Line: Do YOU really need one of these? I have a DVD  <br />player with 7.1 dolby in my van, but I wanted a small player for my 35  <br />foot sailboat that could also feed a larger 13\\" screen. This fits the  <br />bill. Features like progressive scan would be a waste on something like  <br />this. The long battery life is nice and folks who fly a lot will  <br />certainly appreciate that. If Sony makes a version with a 10\\" screen,  <br />higher resolution and keeps the battery life they'll see quite a few  <br />sales. In the end I still feel this is one of the better units, if not  <br />the biggest, around. For under 200.00 it's fun and cheap, but looks  <br />pricey. Just spend a few dollars more on the warranty and you'll be  <br />good to go!  <br /> <br /> <br />Capt RB  <br />35s5  <br />NY  <br />