Koss's broad product base is continually evolving in support of newer technology and changing market trends. A particular focus and strength is the development of technology that enhances the consumer's lifestyle. Koss is fully integrated with operations in design, development, manufacturing, marketing and sales to provide the consumer with exciting leading edge quality products at a great value. PRODUCT FEATURES: DVD Video, VCD, CD Audio, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 CD Compatible; Dolby Digital 5.1 output (pass-through); DTS surround sound audio pass through; Component, S-Video, and Composite Video Outputs; Optical Digital output; Headphone Jack; LCD display (displays Track and Time of Disc playing); Full Function Remote Control; DC 12V with AC Adapter (only) supplied; Parental Controls and PIN Lock; Hi-Resolution Video output; Multi-screen Format options (TV Aspect Ratio's); Drop Down Menu Controls with Active Navigation; Fast Forward and Reverse; Slow Forward and Reverse; Zoom Controls; Top Panel Button controls; Fully featured CD Audio and MP3 CD Menu Controls; Multiple Language Formats; Subtitle Option (when present on DVD movie); Power Switch.
Ideal for plugging into a television, computer, or car screen, the compact DVP2161 offers full-featured DVD and CD playback from a device about the size of a softcover book. While not quite portable in the traditional sense--the unit has no screen and requires AC power--the DVP2161 is much easier to move around, set-up, and use than a traditional component DVD player.
And it handles not only DVD-Videos and video CDs, but music, too, from standard CDs to home-burned CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and MP3-encoded CDs. Full-featured audio CD and MP3 CD menu controls simplify operation, and a handy top-panel LCD shows track and time of disc playing, letting you use the device even if it's not plugged into a television.
Top-of-the-line component-video outputs help minimize digital and line-scan artifacts on compatible advanced televisions, while composite- and S-video outputs bring compatibility with nearly any television. Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround-sound signals can be routed through the player's digital-audio output (Toslink optical) for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver. Other features include parental controls (with PIN lock), picture zoom, drop-down menu controls with active navigation, and a full-function remote control.
What's in the Box
DVD player, remote control (with batteries,) stereo analog audio with composite-video interconnect, and AC adapter.
1 DOA, quality is obviously sporadic
I took a risk with the mixed reviews and the player that arrived today failed to play several disks and would error out shortly after the two times I got it to start playing at all. I'm returning the unit for a refund.
2 Piece Of Crap!!!
I ignored the reviews on this product and bought it anyway because of it's uniquely small size. I had a large number of things to bring down to my home in Central America and I was able to bring it down in the pocket of my jacket. However, I would have been better served to just slip it in the trash basket at the airport instead. Every single complaint listed in the other reviews haunted mine, particularly the heating, failure to recognize the disk, and the "frame-freeze". The most unforgiving was the frame-freeze, which, would begin for no apparent reason, usually about half way though a movie, then "freeze" for 2-15 seconds, and then play for 10 or so seconds and "Freeze" again. Well, this was it's ultimate undoing, and mine, because after just a few weeks, when in one streak it ruined 3 movies in as many days, I thoroughly "tweaked" the damn thing with a claw hammer, which was the most satisfaction I recieved from this product. I am all for saving a couple of bucks, but this product is simply below the threshold of utility. Spend the extra $10 and get something that works.
3 Piece of junk
When it worked, it was OK -- decent picture/sound and small profile. But most of the time it wouldn't play disks, or it would freeze in the middle of them; all kinds of playback problems. I eventually stopped using it altogether and it's collecting dust in my closet. I would feel too bad trying to pass it off to someone else so I should probably just throw it away.
4 definitely buy the one year replacement coverage
assuming the cost of shipping is included otherwise it's probably better to forget the whole thing. The player worked fine but died after a couple of months of not very heavy use and no harsh handling. You might have better luck than me, who knows.
5 Nifty little gadget
This is a nice little dvd player to have. I'm a student and I find it convenient to take it around my dorm and hook it up on anyones tv without any fuss (since its so small). you can also connect it to your boombox and play mp3s. It does seem a little flimsy when you hold it but I haven't experienced any problems yet. I guess if you handle it with care it should be ok.
6 Who's complaining?
Tired of complaining about my school's equipment--antiquated, erratic, remoteless, installed in inaccessible cabinets--I purchased this bargain-basement little machine as a last-ditch effort to regain control of my classroom. It's sufficiently light and compact to fit in a book bag, it sets up faster than a drawer-type player, and so far it's handled every visual and audio source I've fed it (even my computer does a lousy job with VCD's). The remote is not only intuitive but the most versatile one I've used. It'll perform forward and backwards motion at any speed, freeze frames and even advance or reverse them one at a time. As a result, kids are able to spot even the minute details in "Citizen Kane," and I can set it to automatically repeat Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy until they get it.
True, some of the previous reviews do not portend well for the durability of this little sanity saver, but mine has been going strong for two months. At these prices, that's good enough for me. And if it fails next week, I'll order two more from Amazon just to be on the safe side. Besides, I could use the extra remotes to put in my students' hands.
7 OK DVD/CD player for the money you spend on it
If you are truly interested in a quality portable DVD player, I would shy away from this one. However, that was not my intensions when I purchased this item. I wanted a relatively inexpensive (less than $ 30.00) DVD player that I could hook up to any TV and watch pre-recorded and recorded DVD movies when I was out of town and on the road. You can accomplish that with this player (via a RF modulator and some A/V cable and coax cable). I did not want to spend $150.00 - $300.00 on a portable DVD player.
The good: This unit is very portable, small, compact and lightweight. It is not very expensive and it has a fairly well know brand name attached to it (Koss). It has played every DVD and CD I used in it, including the ones I recorded myself utilizing my computer or my stand alone home Panasonic DVD recorder. It delivers a pretty good picture quality and the sound quality is not bad either. Of course, all this depends on the quality of the television set you have in home, or in my case, your hotel room (UGH).
Now for the bad: After about 45 minutes to an hour of continuous playing time, the picture and sound starts to "freeze". Afterwhich, the unit discontinues to play any further. This is an inherient problem with all these units. Just read all the other reviews below. The unit get too hot to properly load and play any DVD or CD. Period. So you are warned. It does not run on batteries, only A/C. You have to hook up a lot of wires to make it go (power cord, RF Modulator, coax cable, A/V wires, etc...) It does not have it's own screen and/or it's own internal speakers (but then again, what do you expect for the price).
I knew about the overheating problem beforehand by just reading the reviews of others prior to purchasing it. But, for $ 30.00 I figured how can you go wrong. My solution to this problem was to purchase a small 4" fan ($3.97 at WalMart), place the DVD player on a small cup to allow the air to circulate around the top and bottom of the unit, and direct the air towards the back of the unit. Do not place the DVD player directly on a tabletop and definetly not on any soft item. Too much heat is generated in the unit and the player cannot dissipate the heat quickly enough function properly.
I also purchased the extended warranty for this unit, since it only comes with a 90 day warranty period. For $ 5.99 you can get a full replacement warranty for up to a year. Well worth it because this unit has a high probiblity of failing completely within a year, if you plan on using it a lot.
All in all, 3 stars is a fair rating for this product. It works to accomplish all my objective (although I have to help it along a bit). And as I said earlier, you can't beat the price.
8 Works great for me!!
Wanted a DVD player I could take to the Philippines when I visit my Wifes Family. This was just what I needed. It even came with an AC adapter that will run on the 240V in the Philippines. It plays DVD's DVD-R DVD+R music CDs MP3's JPEG photo files VCD's and SVCD's. I havent had any problems with mine its played every DVD I tried. Once in a while it wont recognise a DVD, just power off and on with the remote or open and close the cover and it will work. Funny, my GE DVD player does the same thing at times. This usually happens when I go from one brand of DVD to another. Maybe the player has to be reset to focus the laser correctly for the new DVD? I like this player so much I just ordered a second one so I can leave one with my Wifes Family.
9 bad interface for MP3
everything looks good and works good....except that its hard to play MP3 cds.I would recommend for DVDs and audio CDs but not for MP3.
10 Not the best, not the worst
I've had this player for 6 months and not had any problems AT ALL. I feel I've already got my money's worth. I mean for $40, what more can you ask for than it playing everytime, never skipping, never freezing, NEVER overheating. It doesn't have all the ridiculous features that a $200 Sony does, but how often do you use automatic frame locking. (This is where you can program it to pause on a certain scene) Who needs that? Anyway, for the one blaming Amazon. You're stupid if you don't buy from Amazon anymore because of your experience with this player. Who knows what your daughter did to it within the two weeks she had it. Amazon can't be responsible for that. The manufacturer should be, and would if you would just contact them and keep on it. To that reviewer, you're an idiot!
11 Works just fine for me.
First off, I have had this DVD player for over 2 years. I read the reviews before I purchased it (at twice the current price) and just today. Perhaps some customers had some type of unit failure; I do not know. And yes, mine does get quite warm for some movies over 2 hrs long. And yes, sometimes it will freeze up for a second or two. However, with proper cleaning of the laser and the fact that I keep my elevated (it sits on my PS2 vertical stand) for ventilation.
In conclusion, I'd simply say buyer beware. Some folks buy it for the price without reading the reviews and then complain to no end about how they were ripped off, etc. etc.
I've had very few problems, have made no modifications to mine and until I find room for a full-size DVD changer, this one works just fine.
12 horrible product not backed by anyone
Daughter picked this product to buy with her gift certificate.
Problem dvd player by Koss only worked for two weeks. Not only
defective but, amazon.com does not refund nor exchange it, and no information to get Koss to refund or replace it. I may never buy anything from amazon.com again because you don't know what you can return til after the fact.
Very angry and disappointed in Amazon.com
13 this product is horrible
This product is horrible. I have had it for about 1 and a half months and it doesn't work. It recognizes that there is a DVD in there tries to load it and then says there is no disc. I tried this with every DVD in my collection and 1 out of 10 times it wont recognize that I am tryign to play a DVD. It is no fun when you rent a movie, try to watch it and the DVD player decides to not recognize the disc. Don't cheap out and buy this DVD player, it is nice and small but overall just sucks. I would rather have a huge DVD player that works all the time than this little one that never works when you want it to.
14 Unreliable, made in China player
I have liked this player for 3 months. However, right after the warranty period ended, the player stopped playing DVDs. It doesn't even play brand-new DVDs. I really regret this purchase.
15 Koss DVP2161 - Avoid this model with many issues!
THE VERY FIRST DVD WE PLAYED STARTED SKIPPING ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH A 2 HOUR MOVIE.
It was so awful that we had to turn off the unit and waited about an hour to finish watching the movie. The next day we watched another movie and it did the same thing. Each time - I unplugged the power from the unit after turning it off. It's my own fault for only reading a few reviews about the Koss DVP2161 and I thinking, "Who knows, maybe I'll get a good player". Since I read about the overheating and skipping problems, we stacked 2 VCR tapes under each side of this model for adequate air circulation, but that didn't slow or stop the problem.
I've returned this unit and I've got my refund back, but I hope that nobody else wastes their time.
*THIS KOSS UNIT DOESN'T DESERVE ANY STARS - Koss should recall and fix this!!
16 DVD Player that periodically works
I'm always worrying whether or not this DVD player will play a DVD consistently. Sometimes it plays it, and sometimes it doesn't. If a DVD player can't do its basic function: play DVDs, and do it well, then what's the point? You might as well pay an extra $20 and get a DVD player that will play DVDs consistently without skipping!
This is definetly not worth the hassle.
17 don't buy this player
I have one of these and it will only read the occasional DVD. Terrible product.
18 bought as a CD component
Very good quality....I wouldn't worry about heating...all cd type player use lasers that use light energy that does turn into heat energy...very normal for all such units to get warm..outstanding price....sound quality superb....If your using it as a component to
a radio....you will have to buy a 3.5 jack to 3.5 jack to plug into your system....I have this unit sitting on top of my dresser and with my radio...it is great because it doen't take up alot of space and I don't have to worry about batteries....great price...dosen't take up alot of space...
19 Takes a little coaxing but it will play most everything
I've had the Koss DVP2161 Compact DVD for almost 2 weeks, and have kept it running on my desk for long periods to see whether it would get too hot for comfort. I'm happy to report, at least in my case, the unit has not gotten hot or even warm during this period.
I've run it using the supplied AC adapter as well as directly off a 12v power source as in a car. I intend to use it most often in a car.
The Koss played commercial DVD's without hesitation, but I was initially dismayed by its rejection of many of my own DVD recordings. It often failed to recognize the disk. However, I tried opening and closing the lid, which restarts the loading process, and was pleased that the Koss would "eventually" (a couple of tries) recognize the disk and then play it fully.
Ultimately, it played all my recorded DVDs except one old Maxell DVD-RW which never worked. More recent +RW and -RW's played fine if not the first time.
As others have reported, CD's CD-R's MP3's and various other formats and files all played without problem.
I wish it wasn't necessary to have to "coax" this unit to play the +R/-R disks, but at least it will play them. I gave the Koss 4 stars in spite of this because it resolves all of my auto system needs - replacing a 12v VCR - at a nice price, and has a nice variety of output connections.
With the heat problem apparently resolved, and a little patience, I can recommend this unit quite highly.
20 Not A Good Experiance
Hi
Me and my other two friends bought this DVD player during thanks giving. When our package came we were excited but than the disaster struck. In the begining mine worked fine but both my friends had problems with theirs. It would not play any DVD's. We thought that particular one was defective peice. But the next day mine too stopped playing DVD's. So it seems that in general, its a bad product.
21 Perfect Player for its cost
I recently bought this player and have tested it with almost all kinds of CDs/DVDs/MP3s and even simply written dics with MPEGs. It plays everything and does not get soo much hot in 2-3 hrs. I played it continuously for about 7 hours the very first day I got it, just to verify the reviews I read it. Its quality is good and it has all the functions one can think of.
It would have been great had it been portable with batteries.
22 Wouldn't Play various DVD-R brands
This won't play many kind of DVD-Rs. I am gonna return it!!! However liked its MP3 capability.
23 Supposed to play DVD's, Right?
I ordered one unit, I couldn't get it to play any DVD's. Returned it and got another one, it wouldn't play any DVD's. Would be cool to have because of it's size and price, but it's NO GOOD.
24 Plays everything
It Plays every kind of disk, But Why Did the little weak thing that holds the DVD in place have to be made of cheap plastic?
And it gets hot- I feel I did get my money's wroth.
25 Almost perfect, except
this little gadget will be perfect if it can also be powered by batteries or auto charger so that it can be portable and use with car screens on the road.
26 Power supply improved?
I bought one of these with some trepidation after reading the reviews posted here--in particular, the concerns about overheating due to a poorly regulated power supply.
The unit I got (not from Amazon) was factory-refurbished by Koss. (it wasn't much cheaper than a new one--so I'd recommend buying new.) To my surprise, it came with a switchmode inline power supply, rather than the linear "wall-wart" supply described by some owners. My trusty Fluke DMM showed the supply's open-circuit output to be 12.21 volts--very good regulation!--and the player was not noticeably warm even after running for a couple of hours.
Now, I can't guarantee you're going to receive the same AC adapter I did. But it looks to me as if Koss recognized that they had a problem with the old linear supply and replaced it with something a lot better regulated, thus eliminating (as far as I can tell) the overheating problem.
With that trouble spot gone, this is a sweet little player for the price...and an exceptionally versatile one, as others have mentioned.
Andy Baird
27 not happy with player
I purchased it Jan 2004, worked fine up until a week ago. Same problem as above, didn't think anything of it until reading first review. It does get quite hot. If I knew that it was a known problem I would have unplugged it when not in use. It wasn't used very often. I usually read reviews if they are offered, don't know how I missed them this time.
It says,no disc, and won't play after it makes this grinding noise. Very disappointed, I have dvd players in my bedrooms and parlor for a couple years, this one 6 months. I only purchased it for its compactness to fit on kitchen counter.
28 good enough!!
This DVD player is great! I don't understand why people are saying that it overheats very easily. Mine has never done it. Oh and for the freezing up of the picture...sorry to say it but that's just the dvd. Mine froze up and started skipping one time so I just took it out and wiped the back off with my shirt...I popped it back in at the same point and it was fine! And I have to agree that it is VERY compatible and lightweight. I would definitely recommend this product to interested buyers!
29 If it works...
I opened the box, and fixed the cables, etc..
What a surprise, it does not work at all!!!
It comes a message that says "NO DISC" all times, and I live in SP - BRAZIL, there are no authorized dealer for KOSS here.
It means, I will have to pay for repair!
Take care with this unit!
30 Cheap but Handy
This thing pays my friend's pirated DVDs she brought back from a trip in China. Nobody else's DVD players understand them. This until also lets you view raw video and JPEG files burned straight to disk. It's also Very Tiny! It's got the digital outputs and component, etc. that big units have. The hidden cool thing about it is the AWESOME sound out of the headphone jack. Koss primarily makes higher-quality headphones, so the HF jack had to be great. It sounds way superior to my other CD players, so I actually take it to work for listening.
Now the bad part... it's got a jumpy (although clear) image. The power supply is wrong, so replaced it with a Radioshack 12v one like the manual says (how did they mess that up?). It will overheat unless you sit it on top of a videotape so the vents are not covered on the bottom. Heat still an issue since heat rises (so why are the holes on the bottom???).
Worth checking out, but don't pay too much!
31 awesome player for the price
For the price ($69) this is an awesome player. It's very easy to make region free. It's easy to get an adapter for it no matter what country you go to, it's highly portable and you can bring it anywhere. The only issue is the power supply which is actually faulty. But that's easy to fix. Just go buy a new adapter. That will prolong the life of the player.
32 I am using this item with my computer or the Intec LCD
Excellent With Intec screen Made for Gamecube for portable use. With computer allows fast duplication of DVD or to do captures to make posters or Sims(for the Maxis game) if you download anti-copyright software. Gamedrive program (also from Amazon, has utility that automaticly downloads cracks) Player is a little mors sensitive to bumps than I would like, but overall a great toy.
33 Cheap build quality - not recommended
I only managed to get 4 months out of this DVD player before it started to go wrong - the screen permanently has grey lines all over it. This makes it unusable.
It has a very cheap feel to it - very plasticky and feels like you will break it every time you use it.
Initially I was pleased with the quality of the output - seems very clear. But as others have said, it is prone to overheating (which makes it impossible to watch a whole movie without problems)
34 Not bad...
I bought this unit from the local Target for about $65(US). The overheating issue that others have described was a problem... After an hour or two of continuous use, I'd get some skipping. I was able to resolve the problem fairly easily. I bought a set of standard gaming dice, and a packet of adhesive velcro stickers.
I used the velcro stickers to mount four dice on top of our 13" TV (the velcro makes the unit removable if necessary), and additional velcro tabs on the underside of the DVD player. The end result is that the player is now has a solid half-inch of airspace below it. Made me feel like MacGyver, I have not had any overheating problems since.
I was also able to hack the unit's BIOS such that it is now region-free, and I have COMPLETE control over fast-forwarding and chapter-skipping, including during those annoying FBI warnings. :)
35 Informed, Experienced User
I have owned this unit for about 9 months and it just burned out. I traveled with it for business and used it approximately 3 times a month. It performed reasonably well over that time span, although it always runs hot.
I researching before purchasing I learned that one reason it runs hot is the power supply included in the box puts out about 17 volts rather than the 12 it's rated at (and presumably the hardware is designed for). So I followed the instructions of one of the smarter users and bought a radio shack power supply that actually does run at 12 volts. This may explain why I got 9 months out of the unit and others get much less. Despite this fact it still runs hot. Other users in other forums talk about making sure you mount it on something where air can get underneath it. Ocassionally I would resort to putting it on a bag of ice during presentations to make sure it stayed cool (I would very rarely have this problem with my first generation Panasonic portable as well, though).
While it was running it ran quite nicely. Picture is good, it has S-Video and even component outputs. The remote has all kinds of nifty, useful buttons. However it is a conventional remote, not a credit card sized one, which would be preferable for a portable unit.
It's reasonably small (not as small as the Panasonics) and very plastic-y (the Panasonics feel much more solid). But ergonomically its quite well thought out and comfortable.
I'm moderately miffed about the 90 day warranty: if it were one year and I could have gotten them to replace the unit and I could get another 9 months out of the second one, I would have considered this a pretty good purchase.
There you have it. I'm off to by another portable dvd player. Not a Koss, though.
36 Don't Waste your time
(...)
After only two days of use, the unit wouldn't hold a disc. On the outside of the small black circle that holds the disc, there are some tiny silver balls on a metal spring clip that are supposed to hold the disc in place. The piece came loose and fell down inside the unit. Not only would the unit not read a disc, but it also damages the disc because it is not seated properly and scrapes around inside the unit.
It's sad that they don't fix this problem. Otherwise it is a nice unit with some high quality output capability - but I wouldn't trust it to be reliable in the long term.
37 AVOID THIS PRODUCT AT ALL COST !!!!!!!
@@@@@@@@@@@ AVOID THIS PRODUCT AT ALL COST !!! @@@@@@@@@@@@
The same exact thing that happened to one reviewer here, happened to me.
I tossed this piece of crap out the window and it's rotting in the California desert somewhere.
You know those little metal balls that hold the CD in place inside the player... It popped off!!
GARBAGE design...It's not even real berring type balls. Best way to describe it is... A flat washer that fits in place with 3 little tabs that look like those Metal Berring Balls...
The pressure from inserting/removing CD's.... pushed that washer off and it's loose.
I tried to get creative, and took 2 really small/mini screwdrivers to pop the washer back into place...but it just pops back off when you put a CD in.
Im real careful with my stuff and this is pure barbage.
SHAME ON KOSS. I will never buy any of their products again. There should be no rating star for this product and Amazon should remove this completely from their site.
38 DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY
I bought this item because of it's compact size. Just saw it in the store, and said 'That's cute! I'm getting it.' The unit wasn't used so often during the time that I had it. It played fine for the first few months (maybee 5-7 movies in a 3 month time span). In fact, I loved it! Then in the 4th month of having it, it would overheat in the middle of a movie, and stop playing. I would have to wait for the unit to cool down and start all over again. Now after 10 months and maybe 10 movies, this thing doesn't play dvd's at all anymore... only music cd's. If I wanted a cd player, I would have bought one. Everytime I put in a dvd, it reads no disc. I've even tryed to clean the lense with a dvd lense cleaner... but that didn't help either. So now this is out in the recycle bin... not even worth donating to the Salvation Army. So take my advice, save your money cause it's a piece of junk!!!
39 Best Portable DVD Player for the Money
Let me start off by saying that I love these little dvd players. I currently only have one, but I am going to get at least one more if not 2 more. I don't know why others seem to have problems getting it to play certain dvd's. Mine will play almost anything I throw at it. I use a lot of VCD's and it will even play non-compliant vcd's. Heck, you can just burn your video file as a data file onto the disk and this thing will play it. You can burn JPEGs to a cd and it will let you view them. It plays stuff that 300 dollar dvd players won't even touch. As far as the overheating thing goes, just be sure to prop it up on something and don't sit it flat on carpet or other surfaces. I intend to build a special frame for mine in which I will mount a pc type fan in the middle for even more ventilation. Buy one of these and a small LCD display and hit the road Jack. These are awesome. Kudos to Koss, they get my 2 thumbs up for this product!
40 PAL? -- I don't think so...
I've used this in my classroom for over a year. I agree it has occasional overheating and stalling problems and is a little erratic.
I, too, thought it might play PAL videos, since the unit and the remote have a PAL/NTSC keys, but I cannot program it to play PAL videos. The documentation clearly states that it will only play Region One disks.
Nevertheless, I have a Norcent DVD player from Amazon ....that -- after a hack -- plays PAL disks.
Does anyone know how to program or code the Koss unit to play PAL disks?
41 Broken in less than a year
Using for awhile now when I put a disc in, it attempts to load, then reports that there is no disc.
I've tried about 10 different discs and have the same problem. Useless! and would cost more to fix than to buy another. What's worse is that I can find nothing about the product on Koss own website to see if it might not be easy to fix.
Don't buy this.
42 Koss DVP2161 Compact DVD with MP3/CD Player
This model of Koss is great ... it pays NTSC and PAL format .... very rare to find!
43 UNBEATABLE FOR THE PRICE
The best thing about this unit is everything that you find out about it AFTER you've bought it. Although there is no mention of it anywhere, this unit plays Foreign Region DVD's and slideshows of JPEG's saved on a CD R/RW. It plays DVD +R/+RW's and does not skip when played in a moving vehicle. It (automatically) plays NTSC and PAL DVD's and outputs the signal in either PAL or NTSC format (switch selectable). The unit is sturdy, lightweight and has all the functionality and I/O's (Inputs and Outputs) of more expensive full-sized DVD players. The only thing it lacks is a Coaxial Digital Audio Output, but it does, however, have an Optical Digital Audio Output. It's great for trips and can be easily connected to a portable TV or any monitor with either Component Video or S-Video Inputs. It does heat up (as several customers have commented), and will skip as a result IF not properly ventilated. My solution was simply to raise the unit a couple of inches above the tabletop to improve cooling. Highly recommended!
44 wimps out after a year
When I first got this DVD player from Target I thought it was a great deal for it's compact size & price. After having it for a year the player overheats and freezes about 1 hour into any movie. The remote has also stopped working so I can't see any of the special features. I cannot find a universal remote that will work with it ... Save your money!
45 Use it in my van
We love this player. First, I read a prior review where the reviewer complained that it wouldn't play through their VCR. Macrovision copy protection provents you from doing this!!! It is not the fault of the KOSS player. If you don't have the component (RCA cables), composite, or S-video inputs on your TV, you'll need an RF modulator to hook up to your TV's coax jack.
We use this primarily in our van for my kids to watch movies. I've played DVD's, SVCD's, VCD's, and MP3's through it. I bought a $4.99 12v DC power cable from Radio shack to power it and 3 Y-adapters to split the signal on the video and audio (left and right) from the DVD player to two portable LCD screens. I've only had it skip twice before and that was over a few very large bumps last weekend. Both times it paused for a second, but kept it's place in the movie. As others have mentioned, this unit can run hot if you block the air vents at the bottom and it does seem to run hot with the provided AC adapter (but not in my van on the DC cable I bought). I've read that the provided AC adapter may output more than 12V, so I think I'll buy a new one from Wal-mart soon (buy one that has at least a 1,000 Ma (1 amp) or higher rating, 2,000 Ma (2 amp)if you can get it. I've tried an 800 Ma AC adapter and it wasn't enough. I had audio but no video).
In conclusion, we love this player. I deducted a star because I felt the manufacturer should've provided a better AC adapter.
46 Great Until It Broke
This seemed like an unbelievable find when I found it here on Amazon, but the bottom line is that it BROKE after playing 3 movies.
I liked it because it was one of the lowest priced of the compact/portable DVD players. It plays so many different formats and has basically every input/output option available. Many reviewers thought it got too hot, but ours never got above "warm" because I always propped it up on something that allowed air to circulate under it. You do have to unplug it when not in use or it will get too hot. When we popped in the first disc, the quality of the sound and video were great. We were excited about it because we were planning a long road trip with our two year old and we could play movies and MP3s from the same unit.
The bad part: When I tried to put in a movie, after having the unit for about 3 days, it broke. On the outside of the small black circle that holds the disc, there are some tiny silver knobs that are supposed to hold the disc in place. Somehow they just became loose and fell down inside the unit. The unit would no longer read discs because the dvd didn't stay level as it spun.
If you don't mind taking chances, this could be a great little DVD player, but I'm not willing to give it another try.
47 needs a little boost
We love ours for it's cuteness factor, but it required some experimentation in the beginning. Our TV didn't have the same inputs, so we had to connect it via our VCR. Unfortunately, this little guy's signal just isn't powerful enough to make it through all that, and we'd get the same messed up/fluctuating picture some folks here have complained about. The Koss website recommended getting an RF Modulator We've been happy ever since. Of course, you'd probably be better off applying that dough to a fancier DVD player. . . Regardless, we've never had troubles with over heating or freezing, we just make sure to switch the power off when not in use.
48 Defective units (2) and lousy customer service
Target has shipped me two of these units and BOTH have been defective. Koss doesn't reply to my email. Koss is only available 8-5 M-F so I can't call them. The unit advertises great capabilities. The quality ranks with scrap metal.
Target has been excellent through all of this. The have accepted both returns at no cost to me and provided a full refund including shipping.
Target: Excellent
Koss: lower than junk!
49 freeze frame
I purchased this product about 5 months ago at a local retail store.. Does anyone have this problem.. I am over half way into the movie and the picture starts to freeze on me. The unit is very hot. The picture will not continue on, I need to shut off the unit and start at the beginning. Very disappointed with this product. Would love the hear if this has happened to anyone else. Trying to get intouch with KOSS now about this problem.
50 Poor engineering
The idea is a good one, but our experience is that most disks will not play properly on this machine. The picture fluctuates in brightness, up and down, and in the widescreen view there is a red flare above and below the image which, as described, waxes and wanes. Not fun at all. We are taking the item back to the seller. I would not waste time on the suggestions for the ventilation issue discussed in other posts. Thanks. Jack
51 Compact but problematic
It is a very nice compact unit, tailor for anyone with a busy life or the economical college student. However, the overheating of the unit is a huge problem.
52 Good compact portable dvd player
I saw many negative reviews but I believe those people didn't ventilate this dvd player. I always put something under this player then it never have a problem. I noticed when I put this on carpet and play dvds, this player skipped movie and freeze sometimes. It plays everything including DVD-/+R and DVD-/+RW. I'm using this everyday without problem. Just don't forget to put something under! I had used this player with PSone LCD during long trip. My daughter was enjoyed movies during the trip and didn't complained much for several hours.
53 A Lightweight...
I bought this player about three months ago, and here's my experience with this unit.
-Design: 4/5. The unit is sharp-looking, with a nice silver chrome finish that's pretty durable. I have the purple "hip hues" version and despite its toy-like appearance it stands up pretty well to wear and tear, and the "psychedelic" look is unique. A point off for the lack of functions on the unit itself; it's pretty much play, stop, a/b view, fast forward and reverse. Everything else is on the remote, which could have matched the look of the unit a bit more.
-Portability: 5/5. Small, sleek and easy to transport. Great if you want a unit that you can easily move from room to room, bring to a friend's place, or, of course, for traveling. Setup with the audio/video outputs (or s-video) is a snap for the majority of televisions and adapters are easy to find for monitors without a/v inputs.
-Picture Quality / Sound: 4/5. Despite some limitations with Dolby 5/1 and surround sound (this won't give you the same bang in that area as most standard-sized players) the stereo audio is excellent on this unit. My dvd of "Showgirls" played with Cristal-clear sound ;), and Ditto for its mp3 playback, which comes with a nice onscreen display which lays out any folder structures your pc or mac creates on the cd-rom. More good news: the picture quality is superb, as good as any full-sized unit. Color and definition are outstanding. I hooked this up to a 27-inch monitor and played a DVD of "Last Tango in Paris" and it looked as good as on a full-sized Sony DVD deck which was connected to the same tv.
-Performance: 2/5. And now the bad news...the majority of disks should play on this deck. However, the sad truth is that this unit will reject a good number of DVDs. I've been able to play about 90% of DVDs on this deck. Another 5% had problems with skipping or, most aggravatingly, picture freezing. The other 5% won't run at all on this deck, not even registering a DVD menu. The motor will turn, the player will struggle to register with the material, and after a couple of attempts the unit gives up. This player seems to play single-layer DVDs very well, which don't offer a lot of special features (i.e. only a trailer, a couple of stills). I tried to play my Criterion copy of "In the Mood for Love" which is packed with a fully rendered menu and special features; it was a disaster, the player couldn't even register the DVD menu. A rental copy of John Carpenter's "The Thing" which didn't have any noticeable scratches only played about fifteen minutes of the film, then froze. Another DVD which had a small scratch froze in the last five minutes and would only continue if I skipped ahead to the next chapter. On the upside, the majority of disks I've tried on this player have played acceptably, with only occasional problems (see below). It's just sad that the temperamental nature of this unit would generate more suspense in keeping you wondering if it will make it through a whole movie than anything in the actual film you are watching.
-Engineering: 1/5. It's amazing that this thing made it through product testing, if that was even performed on this model. As others have mentioned, one of the major reasons this player malfunctions so much is that it doesn't have proper ventilation. It overheats, so after 1.5 to 2 hours of play (if not sooner) the picture will begin freezing and skipping. If you are watching a disk of television shows in half-and one-hour chunks, that might be fine, but curling up with three hours of "Apocalypse Now Redux"? Not too darn likely. And if your DVD is loaded with special features, the demands placed on this little cutie will cut your viewing time even further. All the special features - slow mo, step frame, a/b view, chapter search - work as they should (although you can only access most of them on the remote, so don't forget that if you plan on traveling with this player). Overall, the player's tendency to overheat renders it unacceptable for all but the lightest applications. Considering the possibilities of DVDs, that's a huge liability. Also, the remote's buttons are tiny and take some extra pressure to activate---and compared to my other vcr/satellite dish remotes, its lack of range is annoying. Basically you have to aim it directly at the unit, since it seems to have problems when used at angles.
-Suggestions: as others have mentioned, the ac adapter packed with the unit is really bad. Replace it with a compatible adapter from Target or Radio Shack and performance will improve. Some users have mentioned cutting a hole and installing a small fan---for the mechanically uninclined like me, this is not an option. The ac adapter heats up if it's plugged into the socket even when the unit's off, so unplugging the AC adapter from the socket between uses greatly improves performance. Also, setting the unit on top of a well-ventilated area helps, especially if air can pass under the bottom.
Overall, it's a commendable attempt by Koss to produce a small, portable DVD player for multiple purposes and situations. Had the design/engineering team resolved the player's basic problems - overheating, incompatibility with some high-performance DVD software, and erratic performance with even basic functions - this would have been a winner. Too bad. It could've been a contender.
54 RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!
In short: this item is so bad that I'm actually amazed that Amazon is carrying it. In fact, giving it one star is far too generous! Sure, the price is alluring, but please -- PLEASE! -- read the overwhelming number of other negative reviews regarding this item and believe them. I have an extensive (and scrupulously tended) DVD collection (i.e., no scratches, no duds), yet the Koss unit has trouble regarding 9 out 10 discs it's asked to read. The picutre either drops out completely (leaving the tell-tale blue screen) or simply freezes on whatever image in on screen at the time. No amount of coaxing or encouraging will solve this problem. One wonders how, in good conscience, Koss could release this dismal piece of engineering. I've seen much better units in electronics stores for less -- do a little searching and your extra effort will be repaid handsomely that way. If you don't want to feel frustrated or foolish (for having paid money for this piece of junk), save your money and go somewhere else!
55 heat "problem" is from faulty power supply
Many people complain about these units getting hot. That happens because the 12V power supply is acutally sending 17 volts to the player. Get a regulated 12V power supply and the heat problme goes away.
Other than that, these are incredible players. They'll work with just about anything, including MP3s burned to DVD media.
56 Skip it like it will skip your DVDs
I bought this at target because it matched my orange psychedelic phone and because it was so portable.
I had a console DVD player that I loved that never gave me a moment's worry, even when I left a DVD on stop and neglected it for a week.
This isn't your DVD player if you're like me.
It's noisy, too hot, and I can't even watch American beauty or John Q on it because it won't read them (any of them, I've tried returning my DVDs and getting new ones even).
I thought my DVDs were old or improperly coded so I kept returning them to get replacements. It's the player. It's UNRELIABLE.
I'm not going to go spend 15 dollars on a new adapter when I paid 100 dollars for the DVD unit.
I have since replaced it with a 79 dollar Toshiba console unit that works FINE.
It's nice that this Koss plays all regions and all formats save for avi/rpg/mov/mpeg.
But it's not worth the high price tag. If they charged 45 dollars or less, ok. Skip this skippy little annoyance.
57 Great value, but with caveats
I've played with one of these for about 6 months now. There is a bit of a heat problem as others have mentioned, I hacked mine to install a small fan (mpja.com part 12929 FN) and have not had problems since. I haven't found any format it won't read, from VCD to SVCD to CVD, DVD-R and -RW, JPEGs and MP3's on a DVD. (80 hours of music on one disk!) Outputs for composite video, S-video, and component video, as well as analog and optical digital audio. User interface isn't great, but it works. There are buttons for some functions on the player, but Koss didn't include enough to run a typical DVD, you will need the remote (which reduces its portability somewhat). Video filters are very sharp, which looks really good on some movies but introduces a little edge noise on some others. Runs on 12vdc, I've used mine in my small trailer with a LCD monitor, it's great to be able to take your movies and songs on the road.
58 Gets HOT!
Most reviews note that the unit heats up - mine heated up and now will not read discs. It was cool when it worked and had great sound - but I am not sure what to do about it now!
59 Travel worthy... kid proof...
Used this one two trips from DFW to StL...
with an old 12 volt TV, that I scavanged from a TV/VCR unit that didn't fit in new minivan.
Works like a champ, both in the car and in the home.
(Buy a $30 RF modulator, and you can hook it up to any cable ready TV, perfect for hotel room TVs)
We've given this a work out with three kids, in the car. And then in a downstairs basement, and it works great.
60 TRAVEL FRIENDLY
I am a Flight Attendant for a major US carrier (maybe you have flown in my Friendly Skies) and LOVE my Koss CDVD player. It is compact enough to fit into my Travel Pro bag and provides enough entertainment on layovers (hotel stays) while in cities that are lacking in entertainment. As mentioned in previous reviews, the player can get HOT but I have found that if i place it FLAT on a surface near a window or airflow pattern, it works fine. My only personal issue with this player is its connection cables. Most hotel televisions use coaxil cable connecions. The Koss CDVD player comes with S-Video or Split RCA Video/Audio Output Jacks. In order for me to convert these signals, I had to purchase a rather costly converter box (approx. $50.00). Bottom line, this is a great purchase for the person on the road with a huge DVD collection.
61 One Good Thing
The only good thing about this player is the picture quality.The picture is fantastic,if they can get it to move for more than two minutes without freezing up 'they' might have something.The unit heats up and the picture freezes up way past an acceptable level.I tried replacing the power supply as suggested in a different review and that did not help.I liked the look,I liked the size,it just wouldn't play for me.I took the first one back and exchanged it and the second one didn't work! Sorry.
62 Good value & lot of features. A "Hyundai" of DVD players.
I like this DVD player because it can do so much. If you find the "improvement" for it, it'll bring you even more joy. I can now view DVD's from around the world with no fuss.
But! This is not a true portable DVD player. This will NOT play with 2 AA batteries. I don't know where someone got that idea from. Maybe that person's statement was based on an earlier model. But in any case, you have to use an AC brick or a DC power supply (cig. lighter adapter). It'd be nice if it took batteries or made a Ni-MH battery pack an optional accessory. But it does the job and I love the bang for the buck! You'd be hard pressed to find a better value that can do so much in such a little machine!
63 Great Value!
I happened to pick this up at a Target store and just love it. It has all the features of a full size dvd player, including a remote control. It is just about the size of a personal cd player. We just took it along on a trip and hooked it up to our mobile vhs video system and had no problems with the unit heating up or skipping.
64 Excellent.
This is perfect for the road. It weighs only 4 pounds (about 1/2 what the avg notebook weighs!) and runs on 2 AAs, which are of course available anywhere. The image quality is just fine & the video outs allow for simple connection to any TV (home & hotels on the road come to mind) and to most computers (in case you want to use your PC as the screen). Sound quality through any decent headphones is good, which adds to its versatility greatly, as it plays most any audio disc format you have. The remote is a bit weak and in close quarters, you're going to notice the noise, but otherwise, it's quite a bargain.
65 more features than they state
wow. that's what i gots to say. wow.
the unit is super small - slightly bigger than a portal cd player. plays dvd, MP3s, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and, even though they don't state it on the box, it plays VCDs. and another poster says it does the slideshows of images. all for less than a hundred bones. also, all the video-out options you could ask for. the only neg issue, is that most everything has to be done by the remote control - i.e., fast forward, skip, etc. only play and stop are pretty much on the base unit - so don't loose the remote and your all coolio.
66 Great Looking DVD player
Maybe I just got a bad one. I played one DVD on it. It would not recognize my cd-rs. It would say NO DISK when it had a
a disk in it. I own it but its going back to the store I purchased it from. If it worked I'd be thrilled with it for
the size. It did seem awfully hot when I used it the first time.
It was also kind of noisey when reading the disk. I have to wonder if there will be improvements in the compact DVd players since the small size seems relatively new and limited on the market. I think waiting until they are out for longer might
be the way to go. I'd buy a full size DVD player until these
have been marketed and reviewed more.
67 Why buy anything bigger?
I picked this up to use for travel, not in transit, but for plugging into a hotel TV on a family vacation. It's almost perfect. The one thing missing is a coaxial cable line out. It has component outputs, which is great for most recent TV's. However, in a hotel, you never know what you are going to get.
Meanwhile, I use this all the time at home. We have two TV's with no space for a fulltime DVD hookup and this does a perfect job. I haven't had overheating issues and it plays disks that I have trouble with in other players.
Would definitely recommend.
68 Have hip hop model
I have the hip hop model of this unit what is basically the same thing except different color. Basically one of the other reviwers said to get another plug for the dvd player but I bought one and it had multiple voltage and I actually used less than 12 volts but it still got to hot and at the end ofthe dvd player it started to freeze. If this unit had a built in fan like the ps2 I would have rated it 5 stars because it would not have this overheating problem. Other than that problem I think it would be a cool dvd player.
69 Koss player is a little giant
I have used this player for about 5 months. It has played everything I've thrown at it. I keep it slightly elevated (on a cassette case) to allow air to circulate under it to avoid any potential overheating problems. I've used it for hours in the car (attached on top of the dashboard with velcro). The video and audio quality are exceptional. It even has a built in PAL-NTSC converter! This thing is incredible.
70 Is this a review?
While I've never actually bought the Koss CDVD Player, I can tell just by looking at it that it would be a great Player.
71 Big things come in small........
I was looking for a DVD player and i happened to come across the Koss cdvd player. I was shocked by the size and the price but was affraid to buy it because Koss is known for headphones. I brought it any way and it works great accept the high pitch noise and the heating up I love it. Its perfect for our young guys like me in dorms and at home or for anyone for that matter. Its about time someone shrunk the big bulky DVD players down to size why do you need all that junk to play a cd or dvd.
72 Hot little item gets too HOT...but...
I bought this unit with plans to take it in my car and only use the DVD portion of it but when I found out that it not only plays dvds but mp3, vcd, and even my CDRW backup of all my digital jpegs and mpegs I was impressed. I does get very hot I stress VERY hot. I noticed that if I set the unit on a carpet or car seat (fabric) rather than a hard flat table top the picture will start to distort, even though the audio keeps playing. All I have to do is make sure it can breath from underneath. For 90 dollars I won't mind cutting a big hole underneath it and adding an aluminum heat-sink. Or adding a tiny fan.
I hook the output of the video to the input of my camcorder which has a built in 4" screen and the kids enjoy long trips.
I recommend this only if you keep it in a well ventilated area.
73 Good price but poor power supply
The unit works very well, but is supplied with a poorly regulated power supply. The unit is rated at 12VDC, but the power supply delivers more than 15VDC which causes the over heating.
Go to Radio Shack or the electronics accessories aisle in Target and buy a 12VDC output power supply rated for 1000ma (under $15). The player will run cooler and won't skip all the way through a 3 hour movie.
Make sure you keep it away from other hot equipment and where air can move over it.
74 Great semi-portable, all-around DVD/VCD/SVCD/MP3/JPG player.
It plays so many different CD media it's worth it.
Only complaint is that it gets hot, but that's because of the cheap AC adapter...it fluctuates in voltage.
SOLUTION: Buy a better AC adapter...
75 Stick to headphones, Koss
I've had one of these for several months. While it doesn't skimp on any functions and is easy to carry back and forth to my girlfriend's place, they forgot to properly ventilate this unit. Compact is great if it doesn't overheat. If you watch a three hour movie, expect it to skip a lot in the last hour. I really feel like I wasted my money.
76 Koss DVP2161 DVD Player Review
This is an excellent affordable multi format audio and video compact DVD player with only some minor compromises. In my opinion, at this current stage of electronics, It's an one of a kind DVD player in It's class. I had recently purchased a new Toshiba DVD player with mp3 and multi format video playback... but there was something intriging about the compact Koss brand... I had to test It's capabilities against the Toshiba's. The Toshiba model played back the standard mp3 and vcd format, but I discovered that the Koss model would not only play standard formats, it also played raw data mp3,vcd and dvd backups in which the toshiba could not read. Both players have good video and sound outputs as well as nice control features such as 4x zooming. I've also looked at other brands in different electronic stores with the same basic features in the same price range; but overall I was sold on the Koss. The only minor flaw I would point out, because of its compacted size, it should have an internal cooling fan to ventilate circuitry like the PS2; which I want to inform will only read standard formatted disks; unless modified with a special chip. It also seems that this particular Koss model is a hard to find item in just any electronics store.... Despite It's minor flaws ,It's a very nice DVD Player. If they only made one that had a flip top screen that included a car kit, a cooling fan and game playing capabilites it would be perfect!
77 For size and price its fine
I picked this up at a [local store]. It fits on top of my 13inch tv is small and cute.
Its not the best player. It gets very hot, and some dvds miss like crazy making it impossible to watch (but I have watched several with no problem also)
In some ways its better than my higher priced dvd player in the living room. It plays CDRs, mp3s and even picture cds. The remote has zoom.
Its portable. I bought a PSONE case ... and it fits the dvd player nicely for when I go to friends homes who do not own a dvd player.
I loved the size and price more than anything. It is perfect for a second dvd player for the bedroom or wherever.
78 hottie alert
This thing has serious thermal issues. Do not buy if you intend to watch a full dvd movie all the way thru.
79 Close, but not perfect
Plays DVDs with a little startup delay, and freezes a bit with scratched DVDs compared with larger units where no delays are evident. Has a hard time with VCDs, large pixels, frames freeze, and a persistent high pitched screech. If I didn't have a pile of VCDs, I'd consider this as a travel unit even with the big power supply.
80 Great little dvd player!
This pint-sized dvd player does almost everything that all the big boys do. This is about one-third the size of a regular dvd. It has a head-phone jack for personal listening. It's very light.
To tell you the truth, when I looked at the brand name I was kind of skeptical to get this player. Usually I'm a Sony guy, but the price and size were right. The picture is just as good as any of the other dvd's I've seen. That goes for the sound as well.
It also has a lot of features not found in other dvd players. One of which, you can select a portion of a scene and view it over and over again by a button called "A-B." Very useful if you want to examine a part very closely without having to rewind then play then stop, then rewind and so forth. Another feature is being able to view a "Scene" over and over again. This baby's got a volume control also within the dvd player. That way you don't have to switch between controllers so much. It's also NTSC/PAL compliant and VCD 2.0 compatible too. Another thing is that if you burn a cd with jpeg pictures (a type of format that pictures can come in) you can view them on this player. You can take digital pictures, burn them, then view for your family and friends to see on the tv. It also tells you on the screen what scene you're looking at if you press |<< or >>|. It also has an optional optical digital output for exceptional viewing (if you don't know what I'm talking about don't worry, just know it's there).
Basic features are Dolby Digital 5.1, MP3 playback, CD/CD-R/CD-RW, Parental controls, zoom. It also has a small LCD screen to tell you which scene or time the dvd is playing. It comes with an AC adapter, A/V wires, and a very handy remote. There's pretty much a button for every feature which is handy for quick clicks. It has S-Video output. Handy buttons on top of the case also for play, stop, rewind, fast-forward, etc.
Small quirks that I have with this player are that it is a bit flimsy. It also gets a bit warm after playing a movie (but I guess that's with any dvd player). There also is no DTS surround sound, but for many that feature won't be needed, I know I won't utilize that.
Overall, I am very happy with this dvd player. I bought it because in my dorm room there isn't much space for a bulky heavy one so when I saw this I grabbed it. Plus, mailing it back and forth between my school and home won't be as expensive this this light and small package. It was a very reasonable price for such a small player.
It may look small and dinky but inside's got a full fledge dvd player. If you're looking for a relatively inexpensive small light dvd player, with some extra features (not found in some of those other brands), opt for getting this one.
