Home > Consumer Reviews > Magnavox MPD700 7-Inch Portable DVD Player

I just read several other negative reviews for this product and agree that the unit is junk. Mine only lasted 6 months before I got the infamous continuous 'loading' message. I called Magnavox customer service about the 'One year reduced cost exchange' warranty and the reduced cost to exchange the unit was more than I originally paid for the product. I was then instructed to direct my complaint to Philips. I contacted Philips via email and received the following response (note that it came from Magnavox even though I contacted Philips):

"----- Original Message -----
From: "Magnavox Customer Support"
To:
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 8:40 AM
Subject: Magnavox Customer Care


Dear Magnavox Customer,

Thank you for your email to Magnavox Customer Care.
We have received your comments about the $250.00 price for the reduce cost exchange for a Magnavox MPD720. We appreciate your time in letting us know that you find this information "unfair" because you only brought the unit for $228.00 less than a year ago. This will be taken in consideration in order for us to serve you better.

For Customer Service, please call 1-800-661-6162.

Your reference number for this inquiry is 0SFX9.

Our operating hours are from Monday-Saturday, 7AM-11PM EST and 8AM-11PM on Sundays.

This is an automated response. Please do not reply.

>

Guess what...the phone number is invalid and as you can see the email is automated and cannot be responded to. TERRIBLE customer service from both Magnavox and Philips....do not buy their products!!!

I am very upset at Magnavox right now. I received this player on Christmas Day, and it died in mid-March after less than 20 hours of use (the disc spins but never loads, while the drive makes terrible grinding noises). I tried 10 different discs before declaring the device dead. I called Magnavox to ask about repairs and was extremely INSULTED by their reponses and policies. Get this.

This unit, a portable player with many moving parts, which is expected to get banged around through transport and reasonable use (it's a portable unit), has only a 90 DAY WARRANTY. 90 days. Not a year. Not even 6 months. Only 90 days. Guess what happens after 90 days? THEY WILL NOT REPAIR THE UNIT AT ALL. Your ONLY available option is to exchange the unit, through them, for a 'Discounted Exchange Price'. HA! Would you be surprised to know that their 'Discounted' price is MORE THAN I PAID FOR THE NEW ONE IN DECEMBER? What a lousy excuse for service! They will not budge on this, and they do not offer any kind of repairs.

My call to Customer Service was quite disappointing as well. I was transferred from person to person, spent nearly an hour on hold (over and over), and went through four people. At first, I was told by the phone representative in Manila (overseas, of course!) that the unit would be replaced for free. That's what I was expecting to hear, and I was pleased. They asked me to fax my proof of purchase, which I did. When I called back, I ended up speaking to three different people, each of whom had a different story. In the end, I was told that my 'ticket number was changed', that they DO NOT REPAIR these units at all (they always just replace the defective ones, IF they are still under warranty - the paltry 90 day warranty, that is), and there's nothing I can do but buy another one - either from them (more expensive than Amazon!!!) or from someone else. There is no likelihood whatsoever that I will buy another player from Magnavox, portable or otherwise.

My advice is to STAY AWAY from this piece of junk. You will only be disappointed. If it malfunctions after 90 days, you will be left with a worthless and unusable player. Magnavox was entirely unhelpful, and their return policy is absurd. You will regret buying this player if even the slightest problem arises. Stick with a brand that you can trust - one that has a reasonable warranty and that treats its customers with *respect*.

I will never, for the rest of my life, buy another Magnavox product of any kind. Of this, I am completely certain. You should take my advice.

What a disaster.

I have the MPD-720. The big differences I see between this one and the MPD-700 before is that Magnavox deleted the S-video and optical output jacks, and combined the audio and composite video outputs into one output jack (the cable is included). I'm bummed about the missing S-video as you really can see a difference in picture quality on your TV when a DVD player is hooked up with an S-video input versus a composite input. Oddly enough, the unit includes a coaxial digital output for digital sound processing into a home theater system, but the manual doesn't tell you how to use it - and I doubt that most people who buy this player will use it. However, the suggested retail price dropped from $399 (for the MPD-700) to $279 for the MPD-720.
For a player in this price range, I thought the picture and physical build quality was a bit above the average. I'm using this DVD player in my car to entertain my 18 month old. It comes with a car bag to mount to the back of your seat, as well as a car power adapter. The mechanical operation of the player is a bit noisy, but I really don't notice it that much in use. It also comes with an AC power adaptor, two headphone jacks - but no headphones are included. The speakers on the unit sound tinny but are acceptable. For better sound in my car, I use one of the headphone jacks to output the sound thru my car stereo via a separate cassette adapter I bought.
For the price, this a good player - especially for my intended use. However, if you want an even better picture quality and better options to hook it up to a home theater system or large TV - you'll probably have to look at other players and most likely pay much more.

I just read three negative reviews from customers that are all having the same problem I had. The product works great for 3 months and then does not work at all. When I put in a DVD the screen says "Loading" and then "No DIsc". Apparently this product only works for a few months, so I am assuming the great reviews are from very recent customers. I called Magnavox Customer Service and they were no help at all - they told ne to get a DVD laser lens cleaner, which I did - but the cleaner is a disc, so when I put in on of course I got the same message - "No Disc". I gave 1 star because there is no option for no stars.

I completely agree with the customer who said they received poor customer service. I had almost the exact same situation happen to me and I am still waiting to get my refund for the extra battery I did not receive in time for my trip. I love the dvd player but Magnavox/Phillips needs to rethink their Customer Service Call Center employees. It is a shame that every person I spoke to was giving me different information. Please try to train your employees on all the same information.