First of all, the quality of the picture is outstounding. This is almost as good as HDTV (High Definition Television) because you have a crystal clear picture projected onto an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen. Secondly, when it is output to a TV, the picture is just as good as any other DVD player, but the bonus there is that this device is extremely small, comapred to those large and bulky DVD players (sure they cost less, but you can't take them on a seven hour flight from here to England.).
There is also the controls and output. The controls on this DVD Player are quite easy to use. Without looking at the instruction manual, I was able to determain what a majority of the buttons did. The menus are quite accessible and manueverable due to a tiny "joystick" that allows you to swivel and pick your option. However, there are also output controls as well. The device uses fiber-optic cables which therefore means that it can be connected directly to a TV using the three wires (two sound, red and white, and video, yellow). When this is hooked up to a TV, the picture and sound quality is unbelievable.
Then the ironic question must be asked "why not just use my DVD player on the computer"? Well, of course if you have a laptop the quality is fine, and of course, you can manage your budget while watching a movie, put there are some good things to having a DVD player as well. If your want to play a DVD movie for your family, wouldn't you rather have it on a TV screen than on a small LCD screen? Of course, if you're on an airplane and want to watch it there, you can't exactly display it on the TVs there. Thus, I can only say that one is not better than the other.
In conclusion, I can only say that this DVD player is quite ideal because it is compact, picture-perfect, and can add whole lots of fun to your life.
ONE: The screen. Although the screen is small, it is bright enough to view comfortably in just about any indoor setting, and the swivel is such that it is easy to adjust to just about any viewing angle. The pixel quality is equal that of many high-end laptop computers, and it offers an acceptable viewing size for an average 2 hour film.
TWO: The controls. The mini-remote control is functionally complete, but a bit difficult to use in poor light. Perhaps back-lighting or glow-in-the-dark buttons would have been a good addition. However, the size of the remote is perfect as I can slip it in my travel bag with the player, and it takes up minimum room. It is not much larger then a credit card. While in hotels, I use it quite a bit and feel that the size and functionality is exceptional.
THREE: Is a laptop better? Often, a comparison is made between this unit and a laptop computer with DVD. However, if you already have a laptop which has sub-standard DVD support and you do not wish to go out and get a new one, this unit is your best choice. If you have $3000 to burn, then perhaps a high end laptop with DVD support is the way to go, but then you have a large laptop to deal with instead of the nicely compact DVD-50.
FOUR: A secondary DVD player. One of the greatest uses I have found for this marvel is to simply grab it, run over to a friend's or relative's house, and plug it in! It is always a hit to hook it up to another's TV and offer DVD to the "un-enlightened". Also, I can move the unit around the house and connect it easily and quickly to TVs that don't have DVD drives hooked up to them.
FIVE: Sound. This is probably the weakest area of the unit, but you really can't blame the unit too much because the sound problem is really due to the small size of the unit. Essentially there is no BASS. The speakers tend to sound like just the tweeters from a home audio system so the sound is very high and "tin-ey" sounding. With headphones though, the sound is quite acceptable.
SUMMARY: I enjoy this unit and use it almost daily. It is the smallest unit I found and offers the greatest bang-for-the-buck, especially since the recent price drop.
don't listen to everyoen complaining about the ehat it puts out - it's not a big deal.reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
