Home > Consumer Reviews > Toshiba MD9DM1 9-Inch AC/DC TV-DVD Combo

I purchased my first DVD player back in 1999. I knew it was only a matter of time before I purchased a unit that my kids (3 & 6 years old) could watch while driving vacation trips and so forth. For the last 5 years I have used a 9" TV/VCR combo while traveling on long trips in the car. Since we no longer buy VHS, I knew it was time to upgrade. I sincerely wanted one of those cool little portable units that can be used on airplanes, restaurants, at the beach, and... hey wait a minute! I don't fly that often. I go to a restaurant to eat! And at the beach... forget about it! I didn't see the need to spend ($$$$) for something I would use so little. Not to mention the fact that they appear very breakable and I've heard of skipping problems. On the other hand, this unit is AWESOME! This unit may be larger and heavier than those cool little overpriced units that have "Steal Me / Break Me" written all over them, but let me break down a few of the advantages.

1. It's Cheaper.
2. You can travel in your vehicle with it.
3. It comes with a free car adapter (unlike smaller units).
4. It's cable ready
5. You can use it as a permanent TV/DVD player in your home.
(We use ours in the kitchen w/ cable)
6. The audio/video quality is excellent.
7. It's not as likely to be stolen or broken as a smaller unit.
8. Headphone Jack (You can buy a splitter and use 2 headphones,
this makes for a peaceful drive with a 3 & 6 year old).
9. It's a Toshiba
10. It's Cheaper!

The only negative thing I have found about this player is the "Mute" button. If there's a "Mute" button on this thing, I haven't found it yet! Shop around for the best price on this unit. I managed to pick mine up for ($$$). Now you can't beat that. My neighbors and friends are envious. I have relatives who paid twice this much for a player and watch a DVD on a whopping 5" screen. If you have money to burn, buy the smaller more expensive portable unit, but if you have an average middle class kind of family like myself, check this out!

This is definitely a good unit; small, great digital sound, good screen size, with lot's of features (but no mute button on unit, nor on remote). However, you might be interested in buying this unit because of it's main feature, an integrated DVD player, right? But, here's the problem: sometimes it reads DVD's, sometimes it doesn't!!! My first unit, which was later replaced by Best Buy, constantly gave me an "Incorrect Disc" message on screen when trying to play certain DVD's. At first I thought, the lens might be dirty - those I cleaned with a professional lens cleaning DVD. When I popped in a DVD movie, Boom! same message on screen. Long story made short, the unit was replaced with a new one, but after about 100 hours of use, same annonying message. I thought ok, maybe it's not reading certain discs/movies correctly, but that's not the case. I watched "Ice Age" with my kids a few nights ago, and then last night I was just curious - I popped the...DVD in, crossed my fingers, pushed the Play button and there: them two annoying words again. Mind you, after about 10 trys, I gave up. I will put my unit to the test again tonight...

Pros: Perfect size for car, good looking design, every function you could want.

Cons: Picture not as sharp as any [] 13", remote too big, no DVD info display.

Summary: We just bought the Toshiba MD9DM1 9" TV []and think it's a great bargain what it can do. It fits perfectly between the two front seats of our minivan, but I did opt for a canvas type carry bag that makes it hold in place really well. Everything about it functions extremely well, and I really like the front AV inputs as well as the rear AV outputs. That's a super design plus because the inputs are great for game systems or watching video camera stuff, while the outputs allow me to hook the unit up to a larger TV, say at a hotel or something and watch DVDs where there is a bigger TV, but not a DVD player available. I also really like the car power adapter because it's got good length to it. It must be at least 8ft because I can plug it into to my van's rear AC output and the cord easily reaches the rear of the TV up between the front seats. Many such cords are 6 feet, and wouldn't allow this. I also like that this is a stereo unit, with a headphone jack in the front. I don't know of another such 9" TV that has all these conveniences in one, at this great price. The Toshiba MD9DM1 also has an appealing all silver cabinet that is sleek and modern looking.

As far as any complaints about it, they're minor for me. The picture is not as sharp as a 13" [] TV I have it outputted to right now as I write this watching a DVD, but that was expected a little due to it's size. Also the remote it came with is as big or bigger than any other remote I own, counting 2 other DVD players, and 3 other TVs so not sure why they couldn't have gone with a smaller design. And finally, I find that I miss being able to see the time and track details while viewing a DVD, since there is no display on the unit like you'd have on a standard DVD player. Maybe there's a way to call it up onscreen with the remote, but I havn't found it yet in the few days I've played with it.

A great TV/DVD combo for any portable need. Great design and functionality. It has everything from front AV inputs, rear AV outputs, headphone jack, long car AC cord, etc. Super!

What a lifesaver!! I purchased this for our 10 hr drive to Canada. The kids loved it which made the drive so much better..I had originally purchased a small portable DVD player, but was so glad that I returned it and bought this instead. The carrying bag for the car is such a handy item, it fit nice and secure in my SUV. I'd recommend this for anyone taking a long trip in the car.

THIS HAS TO BE THE BEST INVESTMENT YET. WITH THREE CHILDREN WATCHING AT THE SAME TIME IT WAS PERFECT THE SMALLER DVD PLAYERS ARE REALLY JUST FOR TWO OR LESS WITH NOT MUCH SCREEN TO SEE. FROM CT TO VA WHAT A WAY TO GO. ONLY THING THAT IS WAS A LITTLE BULKY IN BETWEEN THE FRONT SEATS WE HAD THIS IN A SEDAN.