Home > Consumer Reviews > Philips PET1030 10.2-Inch Portable DVD Player with Car Mount Kit

I bought this DVD player PET 1030/37 and watched one movie than it had no sound, I tried other DVDS and no luck. So I called Philips and they sent me a new one free of charge if you send the original back with prepaid shipping . When I received the replacement the DVD unit was missing from shipping or other?, they didn't TAPE it shut or factory seal it and the box showed what was in it. So I called again they sent another one shipped the same way. But it was there this time. But I used it the first time and the DVDs screen now had a green and white spot in the middle of the screen but i did have sound this time. So I called Philips again and they sent ANOTHER one again Shipped again with no tape in the same BOX showing what was in it!?!? I did get this one and so far so good it is a good unit when the sound and the screen are not messed up!! The only problem is No POWER on the Remote button. I do have concerns on Quality but Philips took care of all and any problems in a timely manner. But their shipping of replacements is really poor you may or may not get your replacement. They must not believe in taping or sealing the boxes shut from Philips Replacement Support. I would love to give this DVD five stars but after 3 replacements of this DVD player it get only 2 STARS.

I purchased this DVD player for my two year old. We take 20 to 25 road trips a year (4 hour plus). The picture quality is very good and has plenty of volume for in car use. We only use it when it is pluged in, so I can't comment on the battery life. We left it mounted full time for about 4 months before the mount broke (they do warn not to mount permanently). A little ingenuty and some super glue fixed that problem. The dampening has worn out from being mounted vertical so much, so it does take some fiddling to get to work most of the time (when mounted vertical). All in all I would buy it again, just wouldn't leave it mounted!

By far, this DVD player attracted me with its impressive list of things to diddle with. Sigh. The suggested retail price from the manufacturer should have been about 99.00, then perhaps expectations of performance would be more in tune with the reality.

Three things that I didn't like:

Cheap-feeling plastic
No fast forward-backward, only chapter jumps
Short battery life (about 2 1/2 hours)
I thought that, for the price, the screen resolution should have been much better.
Sound was weenie.... really weenie.
Menu options were scarce, and the displays looked like computers from the 70's.

Sorry.... that's more than three:

Now for the things I liked:

The SD card and USB options, worked better just for average photo slideshow than playing videos, though.

The best part? Amazon accepted the return without any hassle at all.

Now the new Sony DVD player..... try it and you'll see, lol.....

brilliant screen and crisp sound. fun part is the 180degree screen, perfect to see a movie on the couch, player on your lap. did not use it in the car yet because with 2 kids you need 2 screens in the back or some kit with which you can hang the player between the two front chairs.

Very good picture but hope you don't need service after the warranty because there is non.
If you need service during the warranty they give you a new one, once the warranty is over buy a new one. They have NO parts for their portable DVD players, not even the drive.