Sony DVP-FX820 8-Inch Portable DVD Player, Black (2008 Model)

I did a lot of research before choosing the Sony DVP-FX820 and what sold me were all the great reviews (thanks everyone!) I was leaning toward a player with a larger screen, but I trusted what I read about the picture quality of this unit... and I have to say, I received it today and I am amazed. It's much better than I expected! This little dvd player has a better picture than my HD TV! And although the speaker sound is a little hollow (no real base) the volume more than makes up for it... I've heard other players- or should I say I've tried to hear other players- the volume is wonderful on this one, the sound totally acceptable via the speakers and the sound is incredible when I use my 10 yr old Sony Studio Monitor headset. While I was shopping around, I was a bit concerned about what would happen to my full screen DVDs on this widescreen unit. I read about other units that really stretched the image out so that it looked bad. When I tested this unit, I first saw this approx 5" x 4" image and thought, boy that's weird... it was still ok but I didn't understand it until I read the manual. You can change the format from "Normal" (which is that box that's narrower than the screen), or it can be changed to Full. The Full screen mode doesn't look bad at all. Everyone looks slightly heavier but not distorted... I flipped back and forth between the modes several times to see if I could really see the difference, and it wasn't bad at all- nothing looked distorted. The battery is nearly the size of the base of the unit but it is very slim and hardly adds thickness to the until (I had read on other untils how the battery was a real detractor- but not with this unit.) The remote is just the right size- it's big enough where you wouldn't lose it too easily but it's smaller than a normal tv/dvd remote. I didn't want one of those credit card sized ones! And it couldn't be easier to use. I started out wanting a 10" screen but I changed my mind based on the reviews- and I'm very happy I went with the 8". After I thought about it, I realized that I didn't want to feel like I was carrying around a laptop- I already have a laptop and so why even bother spending $ on a portable DVD player? :) I highly recommend this Sony unless your heart is really set on a larger one. I now think this size is perfect. So anyway, I was very happy with the unit before I plugged in my headset. With my headset, this player blows me away- I'm amazed at the quality. And now I've got to look for a case that's worthy of it. :) UPDATE... I found a great case worthy of this DVD player!! I purchased the Targus DVD001 13 Portable DVD Player Case from Amazon. It is good quality, nicely padded and fits not only the player, but also my large headphones which do fold and all the accessories. It holds a lot of DVDs if you take them out of their cases but I don't like to do that, so it only holds about 4 if you keep the DVDs in their plastic cases. This is my own issue with the case. But I love it and would recommend it to everyone. Oh, it also has a strap that staps across the DVD player to keep it snug and also a divider attached by velcro to separate the dvd player from the accessories you pack with it. Great Bag!

Pros: - GREAT picture! - Long battery life (over 5 hours at normal settings) - Very user friendly remote, along with onboard controls - Comes with cables to hook up to a TV or video camera Cons: - Sound from the speakers is only mediocre, but the sound over headphones (not included) is fine I have been shopping for a portable DVD player for several years. I wanted to find one with a long battery life, but that also had a good picture and good features. I was leaning towards the Panasonic LS86 Panasonic DVD-LS86 8.5-Inch Portable DVD Player mainly because of it's huge battery life (13 hours). But I was put off by the lack of a remote, and the funny way the screen folds, so as to hide the controls. So I chose the Sony DVD-FX820 Sony DVP-FX820 8-Inch Portable DVD Player, Black It has a six hour battery life, the screen swivels and folds nicely, and has the best reviewed screen resolution of all the portable players out there. The unit comes with a wall charger/power adapter, and also a car power adapter. The remote is very handy, and the unit can be plugged into a TV and used like a normal DVD player. I decided to do some current tests, and discovered that the player pulls between 0.6 and 1.1 amps, depending on the settings. With the display brightness set to half (which would be good enough for most situations, except bright sunlight), and the volume at a comfortable level using headphones, the current draw is 0.65 amps, and the battery will last for just over 5 hours. I bought two AA battery holders from Radio Shack, attached them to the power cord in place of the car adapter, and ran the unit with 8 NiMH 2900 mah AA batteries. At full brightness the player ran for two hours. With reduced brightness the playing time is increased by at least 1/2 hour. Thus it is possible, using rechargeable AA batteries, to power this unit for many hours. Note that disposable batteries will NOT work, as their voltage decreases gradually, and the player must have about 8 volts to run normally. 8 AA NiMH batteries give a voltage of 9.6 volts, compared to the 9.5 volts provided by the wall charger. One thing I especially like is the design of the battery. It covers the entire bottom of the unit, and when it is removed, the bottom is smooth and has small rubber feet, so the unit can sit on a table with nothing poking down. Good engineering. Overall I am very satisfied with this unit, and would highly recommend it. I have owned it for only one week, but have used it extensively and have had no problems with it. I am especially pleased that it can be modified to run on AA batteries, so that it will last for an entire overseas flight.

I did a lot of research before deciding on this purchase, and I agree with many of the other reviewers that this is an excellent value for the money. The screen resolution makes for a clear, crisp picture, and the sound is loud and clear. I use this product almost daily, as I do not own a television or a computer, and rely on the Sony DVP-FX820 to be my primary source of film-related entertainment. Fortunately, the player is not overly sensitive to scratches and smudges on DVDs. I have retired my previous portable DVD player made by another manufacturer, and there is really no comparison. I believe this is by far the best quality player in its price class. It can be set to play full-size (rather than widescreen) DVDs with letter-boxing on the sides. While there are larger-screen DVD players available in a similar price range, the high-resolution screen on this one makes for a MUCH better picture quality. I cannot speak to the battery life as I have not used that feature (I use the player at home). The swivel screen is very nice, and the body of the player feels sturdy. The accompanying user guide is well-written and useful. I would highly recommend this player to others. Sony has earned my confidence as a consumer, and I am very likely to purchase other Sony products in the future.

This product is good, but not great. For the money I paid, it should have been much better. Don't get me wrong, it's not terrible, but I've seen cheaper DVDs players that are just as good. More specifically: Picture: Good, but has trouble with deep blacks. Even after adjusting the backlight and other settings, certain scenes in dark series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer are borderline unwatchable. There are several times per disk, I can't even see the characters. Sound: Speakers don't create bass very well. Very tinny. But to be fair, if you're using headphones, the audio is terrific. Features: There is no rewind or fast forward buttons on the player itself. To step through the disk, you need to use the remote. I found this borderline unacceptable as I now have to cart the remote around with me if I want to rewind and watch a funny scene again (which happens often when watching Mystery Science Theater 3000). Form: The lid is hard to open because there is no latch or groove to put you fingers into. You have to kind of jam your fingers between the lid and base and pry it open. The notches in the disk drive itself aren't well positioned either. Some people grab the disk from the top, some from the bottom. I hope you're a bottom-grabber, because there is no notch on the topside of the disk in the drive. Size: Not really the player's fault, but if you're coming from a laptop or even a 10" screen, this will seem really, really small. If you're stepping up from a smaller player, you'll probably think the screen is huge. Finish: The glossy black gets smudges, grease, lint, dirt, and fingerprints on it in less then three seconds after you start using it. Some people don't ding a product for this because almost every high-tech product has this kind of finish on the body, but I say it's time we start dinging all products for this. Having to clean the screen's border every two seconds or putting up with seeing my fingerprints all over the device is not a choice I love making everytime I watch a disk. I think that's it.

I bought this because it looked high quality, then at the back of the DVD player when i took it out of the box says it has Class 1M radiation. They don't put that on the retail box, because it would lose money, but they put it on the bottom of the DVD player so they are not legally accountable. That means that if you have glasses, the laser is invisible and will go right into your eye, amplified, and damage it. I don't know about you but i don't want radiation in my eyes, I'm getting rid of this junk.

The picture quality and the sound quality are great. I like the general design and this one is slim and sleek. However, I do not like the button controls. There is no easy on/off button, which is really disappointing since I wanted to make it easy for my 4-year-old to manage herself. Now I have to be involved in helping her. The on/off switch is on the side, and it is more of a sliding function. You have to press it really hard to make it go on, and it takes several attempts before I get it right. HATE THIS. I also don't like the menu selection buttons. Again, difficult for my daughter. The last one we had was easy for her to navigate. I also use this as a DVD player to plug directly into a TV. It was not a quick plug and play. It took me 1/2 hour to get it to work by pulling out ALL the cables to everything, replugging them in and then getting it to work somehow. Other than the buttons and the cable situation, it's a nice unit.

I have had this DVD player for a couple of months and have found nothing wrong with it. I am happy with the picture quality and the sound. With my older DVD player you needed to use earphones in the car or you couldn't hear it over the car noises. I have no problems with this Sony being able to hear it in the car. I like the swivel screen and that you can still access all the control buttons just below the screen. Another reviewer said that you couldn't fast forward or rewind without the remote control. The "enter" button that is located between the "options" button and the "return" button allows you to both FF and REW. I am very happy with the battery life. I get at least 5 hours out of the battery and I didn't change any of the settings and I haven't used earphones at all. I charge the battery right before I am going to use it because I have noticed that the battery discharges when you aren't using it for a period of time. My older DVD player did this also. I really like the "hold" function on this unit because it locks the buttons so that my grandkids can't mess with them when they are watching a movie. I highly recommend this DVD player.

I spent a lot of time recently comparing various portable DVD players. I was looking for something that would allow my S.O. and I to watch movies together wherever we liked without interference from roommates, etc. I also wanted a player that had high enough resolution to power a full-sized TV so that when I'm traveling, I can hook it up to the TV in my room without a loss of resolution. This player meets both needs perfectly. Noteworthy Features: * It had dual headphone jacks for when we're in a public place, and rather good speakers (for a tiny device) for when we have more privacy. * The ability to tilt and rotate the screen is very helpful. The base can remain firmly seated on a table, lap, dashboard or behind a headrest and still remain visible without impairing the remote control's reception. * Battery life is quite good. It has enough power to play thru 2 feature-length films with time to spare. In addition, it ships with a power adapter for the car so you won't need a power inverter should the battery become expended. * The battery pack itself latches onto the bottom of the unit. It doesn't weigh much and doesn't add much bulk, but it *can* be removed/reattached quickly and easily if desired. * Comes in several colors (if that sort of thing matters to you). Mine's got a matt-black finish and I'm happy with it. * Menus and remote are both easy to use. I especially like being able to toggle thru the language options without exiting to the main menu. * Screen resolution is 800x480 widescreen! Most of the other players are merely "QVGA" which means quarter-VGA (i.e. 1/4 the total pixels). This easily has the best definition of any of the players that were out (in a comparable price range) as of Christmas 2008/New Year 2009. Other Considerations: * The disc is accessed via a flip-up lid on the top of the base. (As opposed to a slot-drive.) The screen folds down against the door. * There is no USB or SD/MMC port. However, the unit does have AV inputs so if you want to hook up your iPod, just attach the AV cable kit from the iPod to the ones that ship with this player. Not quite as elegant but it gets the job done. * "Chick flicks" and most comedies (i.e. movies with mostly brighter scenes) generally look ok even on an overcast day with lots of ambient light. However, darker scenes like in lots of "guy movies" an horror/sci-fi might be too dark to see in similar conditions even with the backlight maxed out. * Not all of the [excellent] remote's functions are available on the unit itself. FF/Rewind seem to only be available on the remote. This is a non-issue for me, but it might be important for some. 5 Stars: There may be some additional "wish-list" features that could be added, but at the price I paid ($140 on Amazon), I couldn't find another other players that fit the bill without sacrificing the all-important screen quality/resolution. Therefore I can only give the highest rating when factoring price and quality into the equation. Hope this helps.