I agree with all the positive comments here. My experience, with the heat issue, is that while you don't want the player in contact with your lap, a pillow or tableteop will do nicely.
One complaint about the heat, though, is that as my unit heats up it starts skipping tracks and I can no longer follow a scene. Two things help remedy this: if you rent disks, always thoroughly clean your disks before inserting them. Get all the fingerprints and dust off. Occassionally you'll find scratches. I've found that using something like Pledge furniture polish helps a little (make sure you wipe the disk thoroughly, wiping straight out from the hole to the edge--don't go in circular motions). Be sure to look at the disks before you leave the rental store. You'll be surprised what scratches you'll find. Second, instead of putting your unit flat on the table, find some way to keep it raised off the table by an inch or two so that air can circulate under the it. This will keep it much cooler and you can continue with your weekend movie marathon!
The LCD screen *does* present a pretty small picture, and enlarging the move usually results in obvious pixelization at the highest setting. I usually just have the player stretch the movie borders to the left and right edges of the screen. Sure, it makes everybody look fatter, but the enlargement aids viewing without resulting in obvious pixelization. The picture is small enough that after 2 or three hours, you'll be feeling eyestrain. But it's large enough that you can make out most small details easily. On most movies it still passes my "credits" test (if you can read the end credits, the clarity is good enough to enjoy).
You'll be impressed with the video output of this little guy--even if you don't have an s-video hookup on your TV. If your TV doesn't support S-Video, you might want to run out and get a better set!
I've found that the audio output is best enjoyed with headphones--but that's mainly because my entertainment system is 7 years old and doesn't support Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. This little player will pump that out--so if you're prepared for Dolby 5.1, you'll be very pleased. Otherwise, invest in a good set of headphones that will either block out external sounds (by fully covering the ears) or by using noise cancelling technology. You'll appreciate the investment. In fact, you might invest in two of those headphones and a splitter while you're at it because you and your significant other will still want to enjoy this together!
As for the audio splitter, get the splitter that is made of nothing but cables. The Y splitters that are all one-piece tend to cause the jacks in the unit to work loose after a while. (If you don't want to unwittingly trip over your audio cables in the dark, forget splitters and get a 900 MHz cordless headphones!)
You might also find a car stereo adapter useful for road trips. I'll admit, it can be distracting hearing a movie all around you without being able to watch (if you're the driver), but--oh glory--what a sound experience!
One upgrade I was actually thinking about was the Sharper Image LCD goggles... but I actually wasn't impressed with the quality. :: sigh ::
In the end, I wouldn't trade this puppy in at all, and I don't necessarily think Panasonic's latest DVD miniature is an improvement.
Regards,
Rich.
