RCA's affordable RC5400P features a broad, 5.8-inch widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) LCD and compatibility with DVD-Video, audio CD, CD-R, CD-RW, and even MP3-encoded music discs. Enjoy movies and music through the player's built-in stereo speakers, or hook up a pair of headphones (optional) for private listening.
Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround-sound signals can be routed through the player's optical digital-audio output for direct connection to a surround-decoding audio/video receiver (digital-audio interconnect not included). Composite- and S-video outputs simplify hookup with your home TV. Playback options include frame-by-frame slow motion, multiple-angle viewing (with applicable discs), and--with audio discs--track sequencing and random-play options.
The RC5400P comes with an AC adapter and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides up to three hours of playback (power consumption depends on the operations of the player, such as screen brightness, volume level, etc.). Other supplied accessories include an AC power adapter, a user's manual, and a remote control.
What's in the Box
DVD player, remote control, remote battery (CR2025), unit battery, AC power adapter, stereo analog/composite-video interconnect, and user's manual.
1 rc5400p
Consider others before purchasing. Battery lasts only about 1.5 hours. Haven't been able to locate a DC adapter. Unit gets very hot. Too hot to hold in your hands.
2 This was a neat item!
This item is cool, you can carry it anywhere and listen to it! The screen was great and included a LOT of detail, it also was nice that you could plug headphones in. The only bad thing was the sound, it was sometimes a little fuzzy! But other than that it was a great product that I think you should get:)!!!
3 RCA - easy and played great
I used to own the Audiovox DVD Player. I got rid of it and bought this RCA DVD player. I took it to picnics, short trips and to a rock and roll concert. I never had a problem with it. The audiovox always kept stopping and had problems with it. I just need to find an adapter for my car and I will start taking the RCA DVD player on long trips. I will recomend it to anyone, I have hooked it up to TV's and a stereo. I bought an adapter to allow me to hook it up to tv's with only a coax input. Worked great. Nothing fancy, but does the job. I hope you enjoy it.
4 ...
This would be even better if you could locate a replacement battery!
You call RCA: they refer you to Target; but I bought this thing at Best Buy!! NO ONE has replacement batteries, I cannot find them anywhere online. RCA new battery part number 253389.
5 Very Good Portable Player
For the price, you are getting a very reliable portable DVD player. The best things are the features offered and the picture screen quality. I have used it on airplanes. The headphone feature is required over the roar of the plane engins. This would be true with any portable DVd player. As for viewing time, I average 3-3? hours, this usually gets me through one movie and part of another. On the plus side, the battery stays very well secure to the unit. Other brands fall off easily. As for the unit getting hot. This is comes with any portable unit out there, and I did not find the heat produced excessive. I am very happy with my unit and have purchased one for my parents also. Unit does not come with car adaptor.
6 NOT HAPPY AT ALL
I had purchased this for my 6 year old daughter for a 4 hour flight. Charged the unit all night long, let it run down to charge up again and STILL the battery life was not long enough to view the movie "Monsters Inc.". The unit was so HOT my daughter could not have it sit on her lap. The volume is SO LOW that over the roar of the airplane even with earplugs..it was VERY difficult to hear the movie.
Accessories should include an car lighter adapter
__I DO NOT RECOMMEND this portable DVD
7 Worst DVD Portable on the Market
Look at Disillusioned's remarks. He is absolutely correct. I have gone through seven of these units in a year and they all gradually fail. RCA customer service is polite but totally ineffectual...in fact, watch out, because eventually they will just write you off and not even talk about the unit.
DO NOT BUY!
8 low price, but with limitations!
this is a good little machine.although you can polly find a better portable unit that is good, I chose rca becuz of it's low price.it is well worth it, but i think there is better players out there. i have never had a promblem with a dvd before. it only half plays a cd-r, not to the point where you finish it, it starts to screw up in the middle.sometimes the machines has green lines when you turn on the unit, but repeat use of switching the player on, then off for a few min should do the trick., and repeat as nesscsary. i have had my unit for over two years, and i'm in pleased with performance, and only that it can half read a cd-r disc, and has trouble sometimes, when you power up the unit to play as i mention above. the unit does get hot over long periods of use, and it it also indicated in the bottom of the unit.sometimes if you watch a film over two hours, it will start to screw up, hence the player is really hot by this time, and should be turned off, for awhile 30-40 mins, before starting it again to give it plenty of time to cool down. but, among thesen limitations, it is a fine unit on the road.
9 Disillusioned
I've been wanting a portable DVD Player for a couple of years now. Finally, in May 02 I used some of my graduation money to get one. My (first) RCA unit was a great deal at Best Buy. I've been through THREE units now and none of them worked. I've experienced nearly every type of problem at every turn. My first and second would pixelate and die. Even after repairs they didn't work properly. My newest one is working okay right now, but it's starting get bad... esspecially when it won't turn on.
Don't buy this waist of plastic. Hopefully, mine will work long enough so I can sell it and rid myself of it. Best Buy won't give me a new one, and I don't want a new one. My advise is save up for a better one. You get what you pay for, and this the Geo Metro of DVD players.
10 Awesome Portable DVD Player!
I currently own 3 home DVD players, and the RCA RC5400P Portable Player. I was looking for a player that supported DVD/SVCD/MP3 and this model was the one that kept popping up in my searches.
I was worried about purchasing this player due to the negative feedback I read about it, but at the price I was willing to risk it. (after all.. you can return just about anything for a refund if you don't like it) I have to say, I haven't seen any of the negative issues people have posted about this player. It plays DVD's very well, the picture is clear and the sound is great!
While I really like this player, I've noticed a couple little things that people should be aware of. The headphone out sound is really quiet. I have some top of the line headphones, and you can barely hear with them on.. RCA should amplify this output a little more in future models. The player is also picky about VCDs. I've had a 50/50 success rate with Video CD's (home made). All of my store bought VCDs play perfectly. Mixed success with home burned videos.
So.. would I suggest buying this player? Yes. If you're looking for a lower priced unit that looks and sounds good.. this player is as good as any in it's price range.
11 WOW! This is a truly awful product.
... I stick in my favorite movie (Godfather II)to give it a sample run. The DVD reluctantly starts playing. For five uninterupted seconds I watch the movie I know too well. Then skipping, freezing and pixelation problems start. I figure, 'hmmm could be that this disk is scratched.' So I put in another disk. This time it is a virgin, never been touched before copy of Casino. Same problem, different movie. I try this repeatedly with several different movies. No luck at watching a movie cleanly or smoothly without glitches... The unit is ugly, poorly designed and above all, just flat out doesn't work. The picture and sound are adequate at best when the product is working correctly. The credit card remote is neat, but that is about the only redeeming quality of this truly, truly flawed product. I had purchased this item because economically it was the cheapest. I didn't pay much attention to features, because all I really cared about was casually watching a movie when I travel. Now I truly appreciate the [other] DVD Player I have at home. I have never had a problem with it and none of my movies have ever skipped (I take care of them). Needless to say, this unit is going back (I acually can't get it out of my house fast enough)...
12 Piece of Junk
I purchased this unit for my daughter's 8th B'Day. I decided to try it out & thank goodness I did. You have to tell it to play (not auto play); it froze numerous times; while in play it didn't detect the cd; lost volume. Boy what a TERRIBLE UNIT. I replaced it with the Panasonic DVD LV50 & this is a DREAM unit. As a matter of fact I'm thinking about keeping it for my self!!!
13 Flawed Design
We purchased the player to use in the car for a trip cross-country with our two young children. It worked fine for a while but gradually began to fail and finally stopped working altogether. We had to make a lot of phone calls and argue with RCA to get a replacement unit. When we finally received the replacement unit it did not work at all!! RCA knows the unit has problems and they are in the process of a re-design. We are getting our money back and plan to buy a different brand. Bottom line, the current RCA design is immature. Buyer beware.
14 DANGER!!!
Do NOT buy this product!!! Small felt pads inside the player rub on the disk and scratch it. In the beginning it appears everything is OK until you play a disk the second time and towards the end of the movie (outer edge of the disk) it begins to pixelate or lock up. I ruined six disk before I discovered this problem. BEWARE!!!
15 TRAVELS WELL
I purchased this model after booking three travel reservations. I traveled to North Carolina via air on May 10 and returned on May 12. The next flight was to Ohio on May 24 and returning on May 26. I then flew from NY to St. Maarten on May 28 and returned on June 1. Then my boyfriend had a flight to Mississippi on June 2 and took the unit with him. The unit handled all of the trips and travel without flaw. I was impressed with how it was able to travel so extensively with very little time to rest in between trips. The battery lasted for approximately 3 hours and the picture is clear. I purchased some really good headphones, which only enhanced the experience. It gets a little hot on the bottom, but other than that, it is well worth the money.
16 The question is.......... Do you feel lucky?
This product does deserve a 4 or 5, but I am unable to give it that high of a rating. I actually bought this after buying the Toshiba one (Click my name for that review). I seem to have bad luck with all these DVD players. There are only 2 reasons why I give this DVD player a bad review. Since I bought this to watch on airplanes and trips, this con is not such a big deal. When you attach the battery, the cords end up blocking the video ports. They really need to fix that. The other issue is a big one. Every other time I play a DVD, the DVD gets a rather long circular scratch on it. I have friends who also have this DVD player and it seems that every 1 out of 3 has this defect. So the realy question is, Do you feel lucky?
17 LEFT HANDICAPPED
I BOUGHT THIS UNIT FOR MY DAUGHTER FOR XMAS. I looked at several units before purchasing this one. I thought that I had answers to all the necessary questions that would ease my mind and leave me comfortable with my purchase. I was told by a Best Buy employee which car charger to purchase and did so with their advise on the same day. The charger worked fine the first few times and then started blowing fuses like crazy. Now I hear that a car charger doesn't work with the unit and I should have never thought it would. Well, I didn't pick that out on my own. With the help of an Uneducated sales associate I bought a unit that left us unhappy. While working the unit is great, but how great can a unit be if it doesn't do what you expected. The price may sound [inexpensive] or reasonable to alot of people and I guess I thought so too, until it didn't serve the original purpose at which was to watch on trips in my car since we are in the car way too much. And that doesn't happen so [money] isn't [inexpensive] cheap or even justified. If my daughter was to be able to use this unit in our vehicle with a car charger then I would be completely thrilled with it.
18 low cost portable dvd paradise!
A very good low cost portable DVD machine. I've had mine since October of 2001 and have had no problems. Playback is great, picture is fine, battery last well thru a single movie and most of another. Unit has never damaged a disc of mine. My ONLY complaint, is that they did not package this so you could recharge your battery and still use the unit at the same time. Don't spend a fortune on portable DVD units! this one does nicely at almost half the price of the rest.
19 no power
Although the rca 5400p has some nice advantages, one major dissadvantage is that there is no adaptor for power other than the battery or the wall plug in. i.e. forget watching more than one movie on trips. Rca at this time doesn't make an a/c adaptor for this unit and doesn't plan to. I've tried 3 different power sources (2 different cigarrette adaptors and 1 power inverter) no luck.
Another problem is that the unit gets extremely hot and starts effecting the movie about 3/4 the way through it. you have to stop the movie and let the unit cool down. If I could return it I would and get something else. There's nothing portable about this unit.
20 AN AMAZING PORTABLE DVD PLAYER
Hi!
I am writing this review becasue the RCA portable DVD Player is a great buy. I bought mine a week ago and I do not stop usin it. I hooked it up to my TV in my bedroom and use it as a regular DVD player. I am also planing on bringing it with me on the airplane next week when I go to florida. I am only 15 years old but i think that this is an amazing DVD player. My parents got it for me to use on the airplane for florida because i always get so bored......i think that is is agreat way to pass time by. The picture is great and s is the sound. You can plug headphones into the side of the player to get the sound privatly. You can play any DVD on it also! Chargig the battery is a lttle tricky at first becasue it was not explained all that well i nthe manual but i figured out how to do it by looking at the pictures and stuff. I was thiking f getting a diff. player at first becasue some of the reviews on Amazon were bad but I got it anyway and it is great! Trust me and get this DVD player. It is really cheap and great quality!! I hope u get one!!!
21 Good Unit but Can Cause DVD Wear
I purchased this unit from another retailer about a month ago and just started using is pretty heavy in the last two weeks. I was watching a brand new DVD yesterday and could not figure out why the disk stopped playing and became distorted. When I examined the disk, I noticed that it was developing wear marks on the edges but I could not figure out how. Then I noticed that the wear marks were in the same position as the white felt pads. I believe these were designed to keep the disk from scratching if it was bounced due the portable nature of the unit. However, either due to the internal heat of the unit or whatever may be the case the pads seem to actually touch the disk and wear off onto it. I could not remove the marks and luckly was able to get a replacement for the disk. I also returned the player in hopes of finding another unit that was designed without these type of pads. It is a shame as overall the unit is pretty good for the price.
22 Good Unit but Can Cause DVD Wear
I purchased this unit from another retailer about a month ago and just started using is pretty heavy in the last two weeks. I was watching a brand new DVD yesterday and could not figure out why the disk stopped playing and became distorted. When I examined the disk, I noticed that it was developing wear marks on the edges but I could not figure out how. Then I noticed that the wear marks were in the same position as the white felt pads. I believe these were designed to keep the disk from scratching if it was bounced due the portable nature of the unit. However, either due to the internal heat of the unit or whatever may be the case the pads seem to actually touch the disk and wear off onto it. I could not remove the marks and luckly was able to get a replacement for the disk. I also returned the player in hopes of finding another unit that was designed without these type of pads. It is a shame as overall the unit is pretty good for the price.
23 Better than any mini TV! Fantastic picture.
We used to carry a 9" TV/VCR, portable CD player, and photo albums of the kids when we traveled. Now we carry the DVD player and DVD's, CD's, and VCD's all in one case. The picture is very sharp and the sound quality is fantastic.
24 Can't beat it for the price i paid...
I bought this unit as a gift for my dad, who travels extensively, and isn't the most technically inclined person. I love it, my dad loves it, and so does my seven year old nephew. I give a nod to the 'cons' that other reviewers bring up, such as sound quality with the built in speakers, the unit heating up, and the inablilty to charge the battery and use the player simultaneously. My only beef is not with the unit itself, but with the manual. On the plus side, it is organized into "How to" sections for setup and for playing each type of disc (DVD, CD, VCD and MP3). My dad found it easy to read and was able to use the player both as a stand alone unit and connected to his TV. What the manual was missing was a section that describes the function of each button, jack and switch on the console. For example, I could find no mention in the manual of one of the biggest buttons on the unit, marked 'Image Display', which changes the display mode of the built-in screen. Setting the proper mode can make all the difference when it comes to image quality. The unit also has a switch on the back that turns the video and audio outputs into inputs, allowing you to use the player as a monitor for some other video source. Somehow, our player's switch got flipped to 'input' mode, which turns off the DVD player entirely, leaving only a black screen. I could not find any documentation of this feature, even in the troubleshooting section. To make matters even worse the switch is on the back, and is completely covered when the battery is attached. Until we figured this out, we thought the player was broken.
Don't get me wrong -- I think this player has great image quality and is easy to use. It was also a great value for the price I paid, and I would buy it again, either as a gift or for myself.
25 This thing is all that and a bag of chips!
I love this thing, I just picked one up last Saturday and have not been able to put it down since! This things plays everything from mp3 to VCD, and I have tried them all except for VCD which I have no use to. It does heat up, alot more with the battery then when plugged into the wall. A friend of mine gave me a heat sync which i set the player on when playing and it helps BIG TIME with displacing heat. If there is something about this thing I dont like I havent found out yet. Im a movie fanatic and anyone who loves to watch movies should run out and buy one of these things NOW! Even if you dont travel alot you still NEED one of these beauties! The picture is great and the sound is good to but isnt that loud when turned all the way up. Only drawback to me. By the way it has played EVERY movie I have put into it with no problems. For the money this is the one to get!
26 Good Buy
I bought my RCA DVD player this November, and I find both pro's and con's with this component.(Pro)the size, picture quality, acessories that were supplied with it, the price was good also. (Con's) can't charge the battery and view the DVD at the same time, unit becomes hot although the company warns that this is not a defect, sound volume is could be better. Overall for the price I paid I'm very satisfied.
27 Hot to handle
A fellow passenger on a recent flight let me use her
RCA dvd player. It seemed like a good quality setup.
I have to admit it was hot to hold especially while
trying to calm an 18 month old child (the child did
quite down though.)
28 A must-buy for gadgeteers !!!
Pros:
- plays MP3s and CD-Rs
- AV out/in selectable
- viewable screen (at any angle)
Cons:
- battery heats up too much
- you cannot charge the battery while using the player
Suggestions for improvement:
- multi-region DVD capability (a portable player should have the feature of being useable anywhere)
- auto-voltage power supply
- support for PAL format
29 Terrible Quality
My player failed (stopped playing when hot) after about 45 days. The replacement player from RCA did not work *at all*, so I am waiting for my third player.
Avoid at all costs. Caveat Emptor.
30 Convenient!
The RCA Portable Dvd player is a great thing to use whether your traveling or just want to watch a movie. It is the perfect size to bring any where and it's sound and picture are amazing.
31 Great Value and Quality
This system is a great value. Picture quality is excellent and plenty of functionality for a portable. Have had no problems playing an entire movie on a plane. 2:45 is however the longest movie I have played on it to date with just the battery, but there aren't too many movies that go 3+. Very compact and portable. I looked at many systems prior to this purchase. Do yourself a favor and save a couple of bucks with this setup.
32 Looks can be deceiveing
If one takes a good look at the RCA dvd player, it looks quite nice--just as I thought. However, I bought this particular model and was a little disappointed. It is of poor build and quality. First off, The silver plate on the lid was not attached properly and was coming up at the seams. Then the actual door, to open to put a dvd in, was bent and had a slight arch to it. The rubber disks on the back to keep it from sliding around on a surface peel right off from the extreme armount of heat it gives off while running. Speaking of operation, it doesn't play all dvd's. It wouldn't play the 3 James Bond's I have (it did play everything else however). The picture quality is so-so--too pixelated. also, the volume doesn't go up loud enough--a bad disadvantage for plane trips, I couldn't hardly hear! I had to actually put the subtitle option on to enjoy the movie on the plane. The only plus was the portability and convenience. I think, however, it is going back to were it came from, and a new search must be started for a portable dvd player to purchase. I thought it had potential from the nice and inviting appearence, but I really think RCA can do much better.
33 Final Comment
Just to correct one of the previous commentaries...this unit is only new to customer service and parts for reasons I cannot fathom. Still no battery nor optical cables. I bought my unit April 4...so it has been out three months.
34 If my house were on fire this would be the FIRST thing I'd..
grab (sorry cats). I love it. I just bought it last week and I use it almost daily. RCA has made a splash into the portable dvd pool. I've tried other brands but for the price this one stood out. First off the matrix screen simply buries its LCD counterparts. Why one would ever want to have a screen that fades with shifting sun/light sources (like on a plane) baffles me. Sure the 5.8 in screen doesn't match up with some competitors 7" version but size doesn't matter. Bottom line for the buck this is the best dvd portable out there. Devils advocate: battery life of 2.25 hours makes iot impossible to watch Braveheart on battery power alone:( I'm willing to bet however that the good people at RCA will come out with a longer lasting version of the battery before Christmas...remember this product is so new, the customer service people were asking me about it. also if I need to spit out another trivial complaint is that the unit can not charge while it plays. Hey life isn't perfect but this little beauty almost is...
35 Versatile player
I chose the RCA model over the more popular models (Panasonic, Aiwa, Toshiba, etc) because I enjoyed the overall value of this device. First, it had a very clear screen that is viewable from all angles which means you don't have to keep adjusting your screen angle every 5 minutes during fluctuating sunlight (on cross-country flights) Secondly, the ability to play CD and CD-R's benefit my [mp3]-compressioned off-spring. The other major selling point was with which the battery back connected with the player. It doesn't hang on via a cord but attatches perfectly on the back which still remains in size smaller than a hardcover book. Obvious detractions: Lack of Battery longevity, however buying a backup pack will off-set this...Closing discs in player are not as spring loaded as I wished, meaning that it takes a couple seconds more to insert cd/dvd sometimes. Overall very pleased with the value and performance of this product... Personally can't fathom paying $200-400 more for minor improvements.
36 Addendum
I just got off the phone (for the sixth time) with RCA parts. The batteries and additional cables for this unit are not available. They *hope* they *might* be by July 10.
37 Adequate
I kept this player because I needed the ability to play VCD and SVCD (including XSVCD). This is one of the few players that can do this.
However, do not be fooled. The battery does not last remotely 3 hours (maybe for a CD but not for DVD). Maximum battery: 2 hours 15 minutes, not 'over 3 hours.'
Good enough picture, and not too large a unit. Note that you cannot play and recharge the battery at the same time, and that the battery connects to the player via a cable and covers up the video ins and outs when attached.
