1 Polaroid PDV-0820T Not Good
I went through 2 units both with the exact same problem. After about 2 weeks of use the LCD won't display and it will not play movies. I was finally convinced not to get a third when I went into Best Buy and their display model was exhibiting the same identical problem. They are obviously to me, faulty by design. I was really high on it's features and the swivel base, but very disappointed in the technical quality. Spend the extra $$ and get a different brand.
2 doesn't last
We have had the DVD player for less than a year and it is already broken. The problem is the plug outlet. At first you can wiggle it and the DVD will play, but the problem eventually worsens. Don't buy it, but if you do GET THE WARRANTY.
3 hoping it lives up to everything it says
impressed with picture, mine included a game pad w/large number of games preinstalled. sound is a little lacking in bass; but with earphones you are overwhelmed w/great sound. If you listen to the sound w/o earphones the best sound is further away from you. Will be taking it on a trip to Hawaii. Hope it continues to function well.
4 Frequent Quality Issues
I am now on my third unit since my initial purchase two months ago. The first unit had problems with the LCD screen. The second problem had problems with the audio connections. Let's hope the third unit works.
Spend the extra money and get a better quality player.
5 Polaroid is not worthy
These Polaroid DVD players are not worth the money unfortunately.
Went thru two units with swivel screen.
First broke on intial use. Second unit lasted exactly 5 uses, when the hinge snapped as it was being closed, (very gently I might add, since these things feel like they will fall apart in your hands.)
The cheap plastic facing surrounding the screen also split in two when the hinge broke. Polaroid units may possible be rebranded Malata's as I saw the exact same models in Shanghai in December sold as Malata's.
If you are willing to live with the risk of it breaking on you, on the plus side, battery life really was excellent (altho the battery is very large,) and the screen quality was very good compared to more expensive models.
Your mileage may vary of course, but if you are making the investment, consider spending a bit more for a real name brand, and avoid Polaroids.
Got myself a Samsung, which is just awesome
6 A waste of money!
I bought this for Christmas (less than a month ago). If you touch the lid at all while its playing, it shuts off and makes you restart again. After 3 weeks, it stopped working altogether! I can't even turn it on. Polaroid is of no use and now I'm stuck with a $240 doorstop.
7 Very good image quality at a very good price
I'd been waiting well over a year to buy a portable DVD player. I'd done my research and I was looking for a player that was a brand name, had an 8 inch screen with a sharp quality picture at a good price. I finally found it and this is it.
Likey the most important feature for most people shopping for a portable DVD player (besides price) is the image quality of the screen. You want to know how good is the picture quality on this player. The answer in two words is very impressive. The main problem (and the reason I waited so long to get one) is that the affordable players all had rather poor image quality. So poor that it was distracting from what you are watching. If you wanted a nice crisp picture you had to pay an arm and a leg. This player however has a picture quality that I thought was just about as good as the $400+ players. The colors are sharp and vibrant. It was very easy watching a movie on this to get involved in the film and forget that you were watching it on a smaller screen.
Sound wise the player has two small built in speakers. While they will work in a pinch, you simply are not going to get quality sound from speakers that small on any player you buy. The player is designed to be used with headphones so you'll want to invest in a nice pair of quality headphones to use with this. The good news is this player has not one but two headphone jacks, one on each side. So if you and your spouse are on a plane together you can both plug in and listen to the film together without having to try and use the built in speakers. This is a very nice feature.
So, if you are like me and have been waiting for a name brand player with a nice quality screen to come along at an affordable price, then give this one consideration. I think you will find it to be a very good player for a decent price.
One last note if you do buy the player about the default settings. The default factory settings on the player for sharpness is LOW. This will give you a very soft poor quality picture. When you get your player, go in and make sure to change that setting from LOW to either MED or HIGH. It makes a big difference.
