Toshiba SD-P2600 8.9-Inch Portable DVD Player , Silver
Excellent value at &lt;500
You may have seen the no-name brands the big chain stores -- and they may be a good value if you just plan on handing the player to the kids in the car. But if you care at all about sound and video quality, you should at least check out this unit. The difference in quality is pretty significant.<br />Video: No comparison. The video on this unit is really sharp and colorful. The 'Mintek' brand 10&quot; unit is larger, but much less sharp.<br />Sound: Again, this unit is the clear winner. At max volume the kids complained and asked to have it turned down. The dialog and higher freqency effects and music remain clear through the entire volume range. Bass is absent, but that is acceptable to me on a unit this small.<br />Usability: Digital controls for the most common features (volume, power and navigation). On-screen menu kicks the daylights out of the Mintek unit and is available without using the remote. The Toshiba is faster on power-up and navigation.<br />Build Quality: This is probably a wash. The Mintek unit uses analog switches for volume and power, and sounds like a washing machine when it spins up the drive. The Toshiba is quieter on power-up, but both settle down when actually playing the movie. Both feel like they would last 10 seconds in the hands of my two year old, but should hold up pretty well with moderate care.<br />I dont know about in-car use, but I would guess that would be a function of how messed up your disks and road surface are. Hope this helps.