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

Great concept and looks slick but in actuality... not great. We bought this machine for use in the car so that our child could be entertained during long travels. Unfortunately, the screen doesn't stay up-right and we found ourselves constantly having to reach around to lift it back up. Also, after about 4 months of use it stopped working. [...] [...]

This is my second Phillips Portable DVD Player I have purchased. The last one had a built-in dock for an ipod.

I use this player all the time but mainly while traveling (Camping, Car Trips Etc.) .
I'm a media heavy person so any player I use is going to be tested to it's limits.

First a little about the physical aspects of the player. A solid device, It has been dropped several times and is no worse for the wear. The 10.2" screen is a perfect size, bright and clear, the Swivel Screen is just right, not too sloppy and not too tight. Lots of ports available (SD, USB 2.0, AV in and out, headphone jacks). The SD port IS NOT SDHC compliant.. :-( This means that you are limited to 2Gb SD Cards. I have used an 8Gb, 16Gb and now a 32Gb Flash Drive with no problem. I personally find this the easiest way to watch videos, although, depending on the size of the USB Drive you'll have to be careful not to snag the USB Drive on anything or risk damaging the USB Port.

Battery time is good. I have been able to watch one full length movie thorough the DVD Player with no problem even after months of constant use. A word about batteries in ANY portable devices. Don't believe ANY manufacturer when they give you stated battery life. They give you time in "ideal" conditions. That said I can easily watch three sometimes four full-length movies via the SD/USB port on one charge. This will of course vary on how the videos are encoded. I also practice battery cycling to maximize battery life.

I have used the player to watch movies via the DVD Drive, SD Slot, and USB Port.
I have used the player to review pictures and movies taken by my digital camera.
I also like the ability to output the video to a larger TV (via the provided RCA cable) for a larger audience, This is a great way to share pictures with family and friends.

All in all this is a great player.
It has a pleasing design and is easy to use.
It does what it is supposed to do and does it well, which is about all you can ask.

PROS:
Nice Bright and clear Screen
Good Screen Size
Lots of ports
Good Battery Performance
Very good sound

CONS:
No SDHC Support
Wish the Remote could be stored inside the unit.

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!

When this DVD player is working I would highly recommend it, excellent picture. But... one week after the warranty expired it stopped playing half of my DVD's, would not read them. I called Philips customer service and was told that since the warranty expired one week earlier I could take it somewhere to have it looked fixed, at my cost!! With all of these companies hurting for business you would think they would try to retain their customers. This player only had approximately 20 hours on it. I will not buy Philips product ever again.

This product is excelent to distract my 2 year old daughter every time we enter the car specially during long trips.