Philips PET1002 10.2-Inch Portable DVD / DivX Player
See it at Amazon.com for $189.74Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(5 out of 5)Some people are idiots, this is a great player!
I can't speak to those who have had technical issues because mine has functioned flawlessly. That being said, I've had to replace two ipods but they are still the best out there, same goes for the PET1002. So, who gives two rat craps about the manual?? It is fairly user frindly and I was up and running right out of the box in minutes. If you need a manual to use this thing Im betting on two things, 1) You still use a VCR, and 2) the clock on it blinks 12:00. You also probably need the directions that come on shampoo and pop-tarts. If you are savvy enough, internet wise, to write an online review you should have realized you can get a pdf of the manual on the philips website and read and zoom till your hearts content. Scanning and enlarging?? There is so much wrong with that I don't know where to start. As for the player itself, yes the motor is a bit noisy, but no more so than most portables I've used, so just dont fire it up in church or in the babies crib. The speakers are small, tinny, and not very loud. If you want this thing to weigh 20lbs and come with a subwoofer, you are an idiot. Thats why there are HEADPHONE JACKS, which are plenty loud enough for all but artillery veterans. If you and your four kids can't hear the speakers WHILE ON A PLANE its because the other passengers have stuffed you in an overhead bin for being so inconsiderate. Thats like bringing a boombox on a bus, people will hate you at best and possibly punch you in the face. Also, do you complain that your car doesn't come with a blender, NO! So, don't buy a portable DVD for the whole family to watch, its not a frickin home theatre. You wouldn't buy a portable cd player for the whole family to listen too, or maybe you would, some people are a bit stupid. The screen is beautiful, very crisp, no dead pixels or screen door effect. Great contrast with plenty of adjustment range. The black levels can be a bit washed out but thats typical of all LCD screens, but this one pulls off dark sceens nicely. If you are shopping for the kids buy a cheapo, heck buy three for the price of this one, because kids couldn't care less about video/audio quality. Buying the PET1002 for children is like buying Barney on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. I have achived over 5hrs of playback before getting the battery warning light. By far the best i've found and amazing for a player with a screen of this size! Also this will play most video files you have on your computer. Load all those naughty mpgs from you compter onto a CD-R and this guy will play them! I haven't tried playing shows burned from itunes yet. If you want the-absolute-best video quality available, lots of flexability, and are gadget wise enough to run a toaster without needing a g.d. manual, get one of these, awesome product!
(5 out of 5)Great product for the price
I was looking for a larger screen portable dvd player. I have a 7 inch screen and found it to be too small to enjoy the subtle details of a movie. I researched several dvds on different sites and discovered the philips 1002. According to cnet.com, philips 1002 is an excellent product. The colors and the sharpness of the picture are terrific and the sound with a headphone is quite enjoyable. The controls are user friendly and the dvd player very portable. I am very happy with this product and found my movies to be an enjoyable experience.
(5 out of 5)My first portable DVD player - WOW!
This is an item I never expected to want or own. However, it turns out that I need one at work from time to time and it is a nice thing to have while traveling by air - as an alternative to darkened cabins while the airline shows trimmed versions of films I have either already seen or have already decided not to see at all. I am delighted with this Philips player.
Perhaps over-compensating for past criticisms when I have commented on and listed various technical features of devices (and cars), I will focus this review, entirely, on my subjective experience with this machine.
Firstly, the screen is considerably larger than most other available portable DVD players. At 10.2" measured diagonally it is among the largest currently available. It comes with a full range of accessories in the box including a rechargeable battery that is said to hold enough power to play the machine for a full 5 hours - about twice the time of it's most immediate predecessor, the PET1000. It also comes with an AC connector and a car-plug adaptor. The soft case it delivers with can be unfolded so as to convert into a seat-back car holder for those who might want to provide a child in the back seat with some entertainment. The remote, though VERY small - credit card size- is full functioned and clearly marked.
It took me a grand total of ten minutes to unpack it and, glancing at the multi-language many-folded - hard to read directions began to view a DVD I had handy.
The controls are well marked and highly intuitive. Onscreen indicators respond to the controls when adjustments are being made - much as a television set when altering color, brightness and yes, even screen size! This last feature is particularly important as I have noticed that some DVD players and some TVs present everything in widescreen format, whether filmed that way or not. This player allows the option of widescreen or traditional ratio viewing. As all of my home made movies are NOT in widescreen, I can watch them on this player without the awful distortion that widescreen-only screens and players can cause to movies and TV shows. Speaking of TV, I forgot to mention that included in the box is ALSO the necessary cabling to connect the player directly to your TV.
The picture quality is honestly brilliant and I only tooled very slightly with the default settings it delivered with to obtain a picture that rivals my good quality TV.
On the downside, I would mention only the built in sound - which is, by any standard, tinny, thin and too soft to be useful in any but the most private and quiet situations. If you are not sitting alone in a closet or at the kitchen table at 3:AM while everyone else in the house is sleeping, you will need a headset or ear buds. Any standard size set will work with this player. There are two earphone outlets, however, and trying them both - each independently and then together with varying quality headsets/plugs yielded sound that was more than adequate.
The pricing for the relatively new model vary widely from the list of around $400. to the $245. Again, this is my first player and maybe I am just too easy to please - but excepting only the sound, I find no flaws.
To top it off, it is attractively silver finished on the outside and matte black within. If you're out there shopping around for a decent sized screen portable DVD player, check this one out. I don't think you will be disappointed,
(4 out of 5)The Closest Thing You Can Get to a Mobile Movie Theater
After shopping around for a portable DVD player, I bought the Philips PET1002. Its screen size and quality are unmatched and the features included in such a small package are incredible.
The 10.2 inch screen is arguably the best thing about the DVD player. The LCD features a crisp display and offers amazing clarity. The Philips PET1002 has the best display of any portable DVD player that I have ever seen and will not disappoint.
Philips claims up to 5 hours of battery life and, while I didn't get that much, I did get a little over 4.5. Not bad for a portable DVD player with a 10.2 inch screen. Extra batteries are available to order directly from Philips if you require more juice on the go.
What really sets this portable apart from the competition are the DVD player's included extra features, my favorite of which is the DVD player's ability to output video via *included* component video cable. If you have a TV with component inputs, this will allow you to connect the Philips PET1002 and watch a video in 480p.
(The device also comes with a regular RCA cable and an S-Video cable for use with "older" television sets.)
The built-in speakers of the PET1002 are like those of any other portable DVD player: quiet and forgettable. I always use the DVD player with noise-canceling headphones (I recommend the Shure E2C or E3C personally) anyway so this doesn't really bother me, but this may annoy some users.
Unfortunately, the Philips PET1002 is not without it flaws and setbacks. The most annoying is the unit's loud DVD drive. After inserting a disc and waiting for it to load, the DVD player sounds like a jet taking off from a runway. Fortunately, I only notice the noise when first loading a disc, and not while a DVD is playing. A minor setback, but annoying nontheless.
Also cumbersome is the power adapter. It seems that companies spend a lot of time developing a great product but shortchange with the power cords. The power adapter is bulky at the end, which makes it difficult to plug into a wall or surge protector that has more than one thing already plugged into it. The added bulk also makes packing the power adapter more of a challenge. I wish it had been designed more like Apple's laptop power adapters.
Despite these two frustrating hindrances, the PET1002 is well worth the money and beats anything else currently on the market. Highly recommended.
PROS:
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1.) Best screen quality of any portable DVD player out there
2.) Component video out (480i or 480p)
3.) Includes remote, carrying case, automobile case (for "mounting" the DVD player on a seat) and car power adapter
4.) Good battery life
CONS
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1.) DVD drive is loud when first loading a DVD
2.) Power adapter is bulky and poorly designed
(1 out of 5)Look out !, and stay away!
I looked at the specs. of many DVD players and thought I found a good one. The PET 1002 was also a philips, a good name in electronics, well I was wrong!
I recieved my first one on March 9th just as they said. Then we plugged it in. Wow it sounds like a skill saw! It gets better as the motor gets up to speed but still a Terrible noise. It also skips on both DVD - and + R discs (tried all the medias and tricks and record settings etc.) So I read my manual and it said call Philips customer service, so I did. They were helpful and advised me to send the defective unit to them so they could send a new one (the shipping to them was at my expense). I agreed and in about 2 weeks I got a new one. Guess what it has the same problems. So I grab my invoice from the retailer and call them to exersize my 30 day return rights (according to J&R MUSIC AND COMPUTER WORLD's own printed return policy). But when I was honest and told them that Philips had replaced it they became cold and seemed happy to tell me that they were no longer responsible and I would now need to talk to Philips Direct. I said I followed the rules in the operator's manual, but never the less no refund from J&R. So I called Phillips they also could not find their checkbook, but they did offer me the chance to send it back to them again! I told them I did not want it. They said they do not give money back. So I agreed, and have now sent the second one to Philips. They did pay for the shipping but that is of little value at this time. Here it is April 2nd and I still do not have a DVD player! They have had my money for a month! So needless to say I am not either J&R's, Amazon's or Philips best friend. I have written e-mails and talked to representitives and NO one has done more than lip service. The PET-1002 is a bad product stay away!