Anyone have any opinions on car DVD players?

We tried to get a portable DVD player for our minivan so that we could play language DVDs and Praise Baby DVDs while driving. We were looking for a dual-screen model so that our daughter could watch and the passenger up front could interact with her when she points out something that she recognizes in the video.

Try #1: A pawn shop. We bought a Durabrand dual-screen portable DVD player there, and the plugs were so loose on it that power was cut to it every time we went over a bump. (That, and the remote was missing.)

Try #2: Wal-Mart. We bought a brand-new Durabrand dual-screen portable DVD player. It worked fine on the way home, and then this morning the back screen wouldn’t work. We returned it after having it about 24 hours.

Having gotten two duds in a row, we went online to do some research at Epinions, Amazon, Bizrate, Shopping.com, CNET, and other online store sites with reviews. epinions.com, amazon.com, . For the four different brands of dual-screen models we could find (besides Durabrand) the majority of the reviews were negative for service, display quality, or durability.

Now, it can be expected that mostly dissatisfied customers will write reviews on the products — why take the time to review it if it’s working fine? — so it might be hard to tell which models are better than others.

If you have a brand of portable DVD player that’s worked for you, could you comment? Thanks!

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3 Responses to “Anyone have any opinions on car DVD players?”
By John Wilks on Oct 22, 2006 | Reply

I’ve had a lot of luck with Durabrand. For those that dont know, Durabrand is the store-brand (walmart) for electronics and appliances. For the most part, people have really poor opinions of this brand. I however feel it is worth buying Durabrand since it’s backed by the Walmart 90 day return policy. If it breaks after the 90 days and if you keep your receipt you can usually still return the item.
By Meaghan on Oct 23, 2006 | Reply

I don’t have an opinion on this (don’t own a car DVD player) but for this or future purchases you might want to try http://www.wize.com, which aggregates reviews from sites such as amazon, cnet, and the other sites you list, and assigns a number from 1-100 (100 being the best) based on the data.

It seems to me like the easiest way to find the best products in many categories.