Home > Consumer Reviews > Initial IDM-1731 Portable DVD Player with 7-Inch LCD

Great bang for the buck. This player may not be "home theatre" quality, but it's great for long plane or car trips. I can't see spending a lot of money on something you use only occasionally. I haven't hooked it up to a TV, so I don't know how it performs when used as just a stationary dvd player, but as a portable player it serves my needs to a tee.

I did not know this when I bought it, but it will also play "DVD-R" format discs- the ones you can burn yourself. I have a lot of these so this was a very nice surprise for me.

Overall this is a very good little player- one hell of a lot better than anything that was available in its size and weight class, a year or two ago.

I bought this DVD player a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately I tore off the code to send in with the rebate before using the player. The second movie I viewed on the player skipped all over the place and I couldn't watch the movie. I returned it and wanted a refund but the store wouldn't do it because the URL was not on the box so they exchanged it. However, the second DVD player froze 2/3 through the first movie I viewed. I went back to the store and asked if I could exchange it for a more expensive one of another brand. They refused, saying I couldn't do that without the code on the box. They exchanged it again. In two weeks I am on my third DVD player and hope and pray this one works. I am stuck with it!!!

I was skeptical to buy this but it's worth it if you can get the extended warranty to insure your purchase for 2 years (the manufacturer only gives you 3 months labor and 1 year parts). The one I got works fine and I am impressed with the quality considering it is a generic brand. Apparently some other people got bad units but I guess Initial finally got their act together. Picture is good, sound is ok. You can't expect tiny speakers to sound like a home theater. It comes with everything you need except for the headphones (no big deal). It comes with a battery and charger, DC adapter, AC adapter, and a remote control. In the manual it said that the battery only will last about two hours but when I used it I got nearly four. This unit has been great for me. All in all, only get it with the extended warranty which is only like $30. Great buy for $200.

I purchased this product with the intent of it being used to keep my kids occupied on long trips. This portable dvd player offers a very good deal at a low price. All that is missing to make this complete is a good quality set of earphones and maybe a spare battery.

The display screen is clear and is much nicer than the 5" screens, with the battery attached the screen can open far enough to be comfortably viewed while on your lap or table. The sound quality is on par with a small transistor radio, a good set of headphones will give much improvement. Set-up is easy and trouble free, but the remote control provided is not neccessary unless you plan on hooking up the player to a T.V.

The lithium battery provides an average of 3-3.5 hours of play time with a full charge, with 6 hours needed to charge the battery when needed. A spare battery will cost another $55-$70 dollars depending where you buy. Also included in the accessories is an adapter to run the player on 110 volt power or from a cigarette lighter.

As of date my player has over 50 hours of use with no problems, the only negative I would give is maybe about the sound quality, but overall I have been happy with my purchase.