Sharp DV-L70U 7" Portable DVD Player

The DV-L70, the industry's lightest portable DVD player available with a seven-inch LCD screen, offers an extended three-hour battery life, a 16:9 widescreen ratio and Virtual Dolby Surround. In addition, output from a video camera can be played back through the DV-L70 for crystal clear, convenient viewing on the player's large LCD screen. It provides high quality entertainment experience in the home or on the go. For outstanding sound, the DV-L70 incorporates a 10-bit D/A converter that processes 8-bit digital DVD data with four time's greater accuracy, resulting in playback of high-resolution video images with clarity and crystal clear resolution. A built-in Surround decoder circuit provides dynamic theater-quality audio playback of Dolby Digital 5.1 sound using only two speakers strategically placed into the base of the monitor screen.Sharp's exclusive Digital Gamma Correction feature enhances picture quality by affecting the level of bright images. This results in a clearer picture that allows viewers to enjoy movies in all types of lighting environments, even in extremely bright rooms. Digital Super Picture is another Sharp exclusive which increases the sharpness level of DVD software to enhance picture quality. Digital Super Picture also reduces noise that's present in Video CDs and other AV media, for crisp and detailed images. Equipped with Dolby Digital Surround decoders, Sharp's DVD players enable viewers to experience theatre quality sound in the home. In addition, Digital Theatre Sound compatibility permits the DVD players to maximize the high quality surround sound now available in many pre-recorded DVDs and to fully utilize the newest breed of surround sound that is meant for both movies and music.

Give Sharp's new portable DVD player some bonus frequent flyer miles, book a flight to anywhere and watch this Moviegoer soar. The DV-L70U is ideal for long airline flights, since you can play both DVDs and music CDs--for free! It's also a great pacifier for anxious kids on highway journeys.

About the size of two DVD cases stacked on top of one another, the DV-L70U Moviegoer weighs just over two pounds with the supplied lithium battery pack, making it lighter than competing models. With a 7-inch diagonal, 16:9 aspect-ratio screen, the Moviegoer also offers one of the largest portable DVD pictures currently available.

The L70U's liquid crystal display is extremely impressive; it offers good brightness and contrast levels (even in high-ambient light) and we found absolutely no anomalies such as dead pixels. The DV-L70U exhibited a minimal amount of hotspotting--a common problem with LCD technology, where the lower-middle portion of the screen appears washed out. Although some grays appear slightly blue, colors remain faithful overall; flesh tones and outdoor scenes look natural instead of pink and neon green. In fact, the Moviegoer's vivid images seem to expand the 7-inch diagonal screen size instead of diminishing it.

The rechargeable lithium battery pack snaps into place and connects to the player via a short, pin-connector cable. An onscreen icon flashes when the battery is low. Sharp estimates the battery will last for up to three hours before it needs recharging. With the supplied AC adapter, you can recharge the unit in about five hours. The AC adapter allows you to play movies on the DV-L70U, which is useful if you want to watch DVDs in a hotel room. You can also connect the DV-L70U to a TV monitor and use it as a standalone DVD player.

Sharp supplies all the necessary audio-video (AV) cables, except the digital-audio optical link that's necessary to connect the DV-L70U to an outboard processor with DTS or Dolby Digital decoding. You can use the AV jacks for outputting and inputting audio-video signals. This enables you to use the LCD screen as a monitor to display images from a camcorder--or even a VCR.

The layout of the DV-L70U's features is very intuitive; its basic functions--play, stop, skip, and arrow buttons for navigating DVD menus--reside on top of the panel to the right of the disc-loading well. You can access additional functions, such as zoom, virtual sound, subtitle on/off, as well as disc programming features, from the supplied remote control. You can also get to basic features from an onscreen graphical user interface (GUI), but we found the GUI to be more cumbersome than the remote or panel buttons.

Our only other minor complaint concerns the Moviegoer's aesthetics. Although the faux brushed-aluminum design is very appealing, it reflects light back onto the LCD screen, particularly in the dark, which diminishes picture quality. We'd prefer a flat-black coating on the inside of the player.

Soundwise, the dual front speakers below the screen are merely adequate. However, since portable DVD players lend themselves to solitary viewing, most users will use headphones. We recommend that you purchase a high-quality set. We also strongly recommend that you purchase a carrying case, given the cost and delicacy of the liquid crystal display.

With an excellent set of headphones, a comfortable seat, and low ambient light, you may find yourself glued to the beautiful 7-inch LCD screen of Sharp's DV-L70U Moviegoer DVD player. --Eric Gill

Pros:

Very impressive picture quality
Extremely compact and lightweight
Automatic anti-skip buffer
Doubles as a stand-alone DVD player

Cons:

Brushed-aluminum design reflects light onto screen
Mediocre sound quality from built-in speakers

1 great portable dvd player
I purchased this player over a year ago and have used it constantly with no problems. People marvel at the outstanding picture and ease of operation. I cant say enough about this player except get one,compare it to others and you will see my point of view.

2 Great Player
My boyfriend gave me this for my birthday and by far it is one of the best presents ever! The picture, sound and overall quality of this player is incredible. You forget that you are only watching a 7 inch screen! I highly recommend this product!

3 my favorite toy
There are not enough words for me to describe how much i love this device. But like everything in the world there are pros and cons of having anything no matter how much you pay for it.

cons: This baby will heat up pretty bad with the portable battery. I recommend watching only one movie at a time with it (about 2 hours).

pros: I can take all the fun of having a dvd player at home anywhere. it comes with audio/video outputs built into the player, a headphone outlet, and one of my favorites is the ability to adjust those hideous 2.35:1 widescreen settings. The greatest thing I love about the dvd palyer is that it is so small, and yet the sound is rich and clear as well as the picture.

This dvd player is a must buy for any electronics freak. Or if you are a big kid like me and love grown-up toys.

five star

4 Great Value for Portable DVD Player
I considered the top named brands and top sellers in the catagory, namely Sony, Panasonic, and Toshiba. When I compared feature for feature vs. economic cost, the Sharp DV-L70U beat others hand down. It does what is supposed to do very well. It is designed to be a portable device and it more than meets my expectations. The only drawback that I've found is the similarity of the buttons on the remote. But I'll learn and get over it.

5 Great Value for Portable DVD Player
I considered the top named brands and top sellers in the catagory, namely Sony, Panasonic, and Toshiba. When I compared feature for feature vs. economic cost, the Sharp DV-L70U beat others hand down. It does what is supposed to do very well. It is designed to be a portable device and it more than meets my expectations. The only drawback that I've found is the similarity of the buttons on the remote. But I'll learn and get over it.

6 First Portable DVD
This unit is everything that was advertised.
I am very pleased with how it measures up to it's hype.
It has a great picture.
It's easy to use and set up with my home T.V.
I love the remote. (of course I love all my remotes)
And it's the best thing that's happened to cross country driving since cruise control.

7 good performance
I am not surprised that this player has an increased price after five months I bought it. it's really a good product at that price. deserve the 5 stars.

8 It does not play all VCD
I found out that it does not play all VCD after the 30 days return period and 90 days labor warranty. A sharp authorized repairs shop in Portland,OR thought that it was a bad laser. They replaced it and try to charge me for the $130 labor without really fixing the prbolem. I took the unit back and did some investigating myself. I took a few VCD's (all authentic Disney products) , some play on my Sharp DVL70U Portable DVD player and some don't to an electronic store. The VCD all play on Sony and

Panasonic portable DVD players. But none play on the latest model of the Sharp 8" DVD portable player either. All the VCDs also play on a regular Pioneer DVD player. I am very disappointed with the Sharp portable DVD players. It is
not functioning as it ADVERTISED. I return a AIWA 5" portable DVD player that I had for a few days in order to purchase the Sharp 7" portable DVD player after I read about the Sharp online at sharp.com as well as on amazon.com. I am very disappointed and kind of mad too. I wish I found out the problem as soon as I had the unit, before the 30 days and the 90 days.
A Very Unhappy Customer

9 great for portable
this is a great portable dvd player. the only problem is the 3.5 hour battery. (only if going cross country). Would like to see more assor. for product. purchase a headphone adapter for more headphones and you have a great entertainment for kids and adults w/o bothering others that can't watch.

10 Not as bad as they say...
I have been doing some research for some time for a portable dvd player. Like most people, I am not a business person traveling the world. I am just a big kid who likes to purchase high tech gadgets. I must say that I was very impressed with the quality thus far for the Sharp. The picture was very impressive...but I did get one that had a burnt pixel. No big deal, in fact the manual addresses this not so common problem. That small flaw has in no way detracted from my overall experience. But, I felt I should mention it because some people are very detail oriented. The other problem I seem to have is the daily storage of the player. I went out and purchased a case from CD Projects that is supposed to hold a Zip drive, it's perfect when the dvd player and accessories are all that I want to carry plus it's much smaller than the Case Logic Dvd case. Mon-Fri I travel back and forth to work and I carry "back pack". Needless to say I don't want to carry both bags. Someone should offer a stream line snug case for just the player. Last is the size of the remote...it's full size! It also controls some the features that are not offered on the player control panel. I made the mistake of displaying the battery life and counter on the screen using the remote and then forgetting the remote at home. I was stuck with that display until I got back home because there was no manual override on the panel...

11 And after the battery dies???
I just picked up my Sharp DVL70U and I'm really pleased with the quality of the product. I'm VERY dissappointed in the lack of accessories. The battery does run approx. 3 hours but if my travel is longer then that I'm hosed. I hope Sharp (or anyone else) will wake up and come up with an attachment that will allow us to play our (wonderful) product on EXTENDED trips via car or plane.

12 Sharp DV-L70U Portable DVD - Too much $ to maintain.
I purchased the Sharp DV-L70U Portable DVD and received it quickly. When I received it the first thing I noticed was the cable that comes out the back of the battery and goes in the side of the player, very inconvenient, make the player about 1/2 inch wider. Other units have the battery slide into place and connects without cables. Picture quality is great, sound is great, Unit looks nice but the worse thing was it has a 3 1/2 hour battery and I wanted to purchase an extra battery and they are $ 359.00 and you can only get them from Sharp. Other manufacturer's batteries range from $ 129.00 to $ 179.00. I explained that to Sharp but they were not sympathetic or willing to work with me. I RETURNED THE UNIT IMMEDIATELY AND PURCHASED THE PANASONIC 7". I AM VERY HAPPY. Extra battery for the Panasonic is $ 129.00 and is a 4 hour battery.

13 Sharp DV-L70U Portable DVD - Too much $ to maintain.
I purchased the Sharp DV-L70U Portable DVD and received it quickly. When I received it the first thing I noticed was the cable that comes out the back of the battery and goes in the side of the player, very inconvenient, make the player about 1/2 inch wider. Other units have the battery slide into place and connects without cables. Picture quality is great, sound is great, Unit looks nice but the worse thing was it has a 3 1/2 battery and I wanted to purchase an extra battery and they are $ 359.00 and you can only get them from Sharp. Other manufacturer's batteries range from $ 129.00 to $ 179.00. I explained that to Sharp but they were not sympathetic or willing to work with me. I RETURNED THE UNIT IMMEDIATELY AND PURCHASED THE PANASONIC 7". I AM VERY HAPPY. Extra battery for the Panasonic is $ 129.00 and is a 4 hour battery.

14 Terrible picture quality

OK, I had purchased a 5 inch Panasonic about 8 months ago, and got used to the exceptional picture quality. BUT, so called upgrading to the Sharp DV-L70U, was EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING!

The Panasonic 5 inch screens had almost 3D like pictures. It was amazing.

BUT, The Sharp 7 inch player has a picture like a 1980's VHS cassette tape. HORRIBLE!!!!! ALSO, there is a annoying little red dot in the top of the screen, it will not go away!!!!!

I'm not sure if it is just the Sharp 7 inch, or all 7 inch LCD's in general, but the 5 inch LCD is WAY BETTER.

IN CONCLUSION:

If you want to go for the picture quality, definately get the 5 inch.

If you want to go for the bigger picture, maybe better viewing from long range, I would definately go for the 7 inch.

15 Sharp Portable DVD Player Impressive
I recently recieved this portable Sharp DVD Player as a gift and could not be more happy with this light, versatile, and very aesthetically pleasing little guy. The screen seems to be twice its' actual size given the brightness and quality of picture. It works well, and is easily connected I might add, to a TV to act as a stand-alone DVD player. If you are interested in a DVD player, this is the one. It is an overall excellent product.

16 Deceptive Advertisement
I purchased this unit expecting it to play both DVDs and VCDs as advertised by Sharp. As it turns out, only one particular VCD format is supported while the other is not. So, only one type of VCDs can be viewed by this unit. Somehow Sharp has conveniently excluded this point in their product descriptions.

Also, this unit gets hot after 15-20 minutes of play and while the owner's manual warns the user about exposing the unit in direct sunlight due to the heat might severely damage the unit, I can't help wonder how long it would take before this unit heads for the repair shop.

17 Not exactly as advertised
This is an OK player. The screen is about average...I hear that the Toshiba progressive scan is stupendous.

I found it had trouble with certain discs (VCD for example) and branching DVDs.

The shipping weight is not 3.2 but closer to 5.5 pounds. And the unit with battery is moderate, not light (ca. 3.2 pounds).

The battery did not last for me 3 hours, but around 2.5 or so.

18 Happy business traveler
I have just recently purchased the Sharp DV-L70U Portable DVD Player from Amazon.

My line of work requires me to travel frequently, and even though I am lucky to be able to fly business class, it sure is a hassle watching movies. Due to the frequency of travel, I pretty much have seen all what the airlines have to offer several times over. Besides, since airline movies run continuously, one better stays in its seat while watching. Any bathroom break might make you miss the important scene you have been waiting for. I also like to mention, that many of the on-board monitors are in such bad shape, that watching a movie becomes more a guessing game than an enjoyable event.

Thanks to my new portable DVD, this is now a thing of the past. The Sharp DV-L70U is compact and the 7 inch screen surprises with outstanding picture quality. It is easy to use and provides, combined with a good set of Noise Reduction Headphones, a place of escape and tranquility even in the most crowded and noisy places.

Thumps up to: Great picture, good sound through earphones and speakers, compact size, ability to play DVD and Music CD's, high quality product

Thumps down to: Relative short battery life (just over 3 hours), limited control panel on unit (many options are only accessible via remote control).

In summary, after comparing the sharp to all the other products currently available, I feel that the DV-L70U is the best player on the market today.

I also recommend the Boostaro head phone amplifier, that allows up to three head phones to be connected to the player, and boost 40% more power to the head phones. Combined with a membership at Netflix.com my airline flights are now movie hassle free, and even the dreaded delays are now more easily to deal with.

19 Good Portable Player
I have had one for almost a year now and it has been awesome. This is great for when you are on a long drive with the kids.

20 Good Portable Player
I have had one for almost a year now and it has been awesome. This is great for when you are on a long drive with the kids.

21 Is the screen resulotion important?
I have spent a while reading different reviews on different portable dvd players want to share my findings and why I believe the Sharp DVD-L70 is the best. A while ago I bought a Panasonic L10 which was good, but when the Panasonic L50 was released, I upgraded to this model because the screen image looked a lot better and films were more enjoyable. The problem I have found with the L50 was visible horizontal scan lines. The visible scan lines did get on my nerves after a few weeks of watch films (forget about watching in zoom mode unless you want an epileptic fit). Now I have upgraded again to the Sharp player. I find the 7" screen a lot better for watching films and the sound through Sharp's small speakers are, in my opinion very good. I do have a couple of gripes about the player though, 1. The pixels are larger on Sharp's TFT panel and even though it has 337,000 of them compared to Panasonic's (L50) 280,000, the Panasonic's TFT image is sharper and doesn't show jagged edges on objects or diagonal lines. 2. The Sharp player should have all of the features on the remote made available on the player. One thing that really bothers me was that there was no resume button on the player. On the Panasonic player when you pressed stop/start, it resumed. On the Sharp player, you can press the Resume button on the remote but not through the play button on the player. If this is not the case, can someone enlighten me? My conclusion is: If you want a player which offers the best (non-blocky) image and don't mind scan lines then buy the Panasonic L50 (be warned that this player gets very, very, hot). If you don't mind a slightly blocky image then buy the Sharp player. I have, and have no regrets. I believe this is currently the best player on the market and prices are coming down. You could always wait until manufactures bring out the new models after Christmas in early 2001, which have 8", screens as these may be better, but who knows?

22 AWESOME!
I recently picked up this product at Sam's Wholesale Club on a closeout sale (they weren't selling to well). I picked it up for the ridiculously low sum of $640! Well, after salivating over the product for months and not wanting to drop over a thousand bucks on a decent one, I was pumped! I tried it out immediately and was amazed at how well it displayed movies. You can take it anywhere and it I have found the battery life to be over Sharp's claims. I got about 3.5 hours out of it. The screen is much better than the screens on competing models (ie: Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer), believe me, I've checked them all out! It hooks up really easy to a TV too. My favorite feature is it's size, or lack there of. I can pack it and a ton of movies in a space slightly larger than that of a CD player and CD's in a case. Oh, you can also use it to play CD's. I use mine for both and personally think the sound is better than my CD player. The sound is another great feature as its speakers are awesome in their quality. But, if you really want surround sound, pick up a good set of headphones. In closing, this product is a must have for travelers with extra dough to drop as it performs multiple roles (home DVD player, CD player, portable DVD player). Just think of it this way: wouldn't it be nice if you had something like this on a long flight? You could just sit back and watch everyone else around you turn green with envy! So, do yourself a favor and buy this unit!

23 Comparison of batteries: life, bloodloss, & Cost
I do agree that the sharp is a superior unit to the Sony, Pioneer, & Panasonic, though not by as much as most, but be aware that the battery life is definately shorter than the panasonic and pioneer.

Even more annoying is how fast the Sharp's battery bleeds energy after about two hours, so it's almost pointless to carry more than one battery.

I bought extra batteries direct for my Pioneer and my Sharp, and with S&H the Pioneer's came to 152.00 and the Sharp came to 310.00. That's right, two hundred and seventy-five dollars for a new battery.

Lastly, the Sharp has a silly non-standard adapter plug, which makes third parties jobs very difficult; A serious ramifacation of this for frequent flyers is that xtend makes airplane power plugs for both the Panasonic and the Pioneer, but not the Sharp. Just something to think about.

24 Comparison of batteries
I do agree that the sharp is a superior unit to the Sony, Pioneer, & Panasonic, though not by as much as most, but be aware that the battery life is definately shorter than the panasonic and pioneer.

Even more annoying is how fast the Sharp's battery bleeds energy after about two hours, so it's almost pointless to carry more than one battery.

25 Best Player To Date
I must say that portable dvd players are expensive but they are worth every penny. I have used every portable dvd player model with the exception of the new sony, and the sharp is by far the best. Picture quality is incredible, several times better than any competing models.My units screen, it clear and has no dead spots. I love how the brightness and contrast etc can be adjusted easily (a feature exclusive to the sharp). Also if you have read reviews for any portable dvd player you have heard that the sound quality is poor, this is not true, I have used my sharp in every possible situation and never had a need for headphones. The sound is incredible. Also the external connection to the battery may seem like a hindrance but i find it easy, connecting charger/battery/unit, is simple. Although the remote is great i do (like many others) wish that is was slimmer like competing models. Also i find the claims to be met, battery lasts 3 hours. Overall this is the best bang for your buck. The sharp portable dvd-l70u is miles ahead of the competitors

26 Sharp DV-L70U vs. Sony DVP-FX1
Hi ! gooddog here !

What a terrible choice to have tomake !

Sharp vs. Sony

I played the amazing documentary WALKING WITH DINOSAURS; The Exorcist; Apocalypse Now; Madonna's 93...99 Video Collection; and Blade Runner; on each player.

Both units have amazing 7" DIAGONAL images _:* ]

Both have thin but functional disk covers.

TRAGICALLY, the Sharp is a "wolf in cheap clothing" . But it really hunts ! More below.

The Sony has MUCH better fit and finish and a superior industrial design.

But the picture is not PROCESSED as much. Nor is there any color & tint adjustment provided. One is stuck with a SLIGHTLY more "sepia" look to images (like watching the Sharp through 1/4 inch of bottled iced tea: more later). Sony DID provide a brightness wheel and aspect ratio button AT the right side of the elegantly off-set LCD screen.

Dark, low-contrast scenes show a very fine-grain, sand-like noise on the Sony (like frosted glass in motion) that was almost eliminated with a clip-on, ferrite cable filter like the ones INCLUDED with the Sharp.

Also the sound from the Sony built-in speakers is apparently mono and "tinny" compared to the Sharp's built-in's which can actually image some sounds into adjacent hallways and fool me into checking for prowlers!

The Sony built-in's are louder than the Sharp's for Madonna but much quieter than the Sharp's for film VOICES -- even a quiet electric fan can drown out some dialogues.

With headphones, both units were equally excellent and when connected to my 9-year-old Sony KV-extra bright , 27-inch trinitron with sub-woofer, both units rocked. Maybe an "audiophile" could detect some difference -- not I.

*****************************************

The Sony is built more like a fine old German camera:

*magnesium die-cast body with matte , no-slip finish

*solid feel to hinges on LCD screen (screws too)

*NOT A SINGLE defective pixel ! Although I was alarmed to learn from Sony Customer Relations that they hold to 15 bad pixels as the limit before considering a display "defective" ! (Better play it before walking out of the store with it ! )

*perfect fit and finish

*twin steel latches (nicely hinged) for the screen

*with solid click and center-activated release

*pumpkin-hue,lit display window for various status readouts while on ac power (a real beauty! - not illuminated when using the battery pack)

*variously shaped buttons & dials well placed for convenience and easy identification

*essentially the same output and input jacks as the Sharp (but must buy your own S-video cable and snap-on, ferrite, cable noise filters)

*no ridiculous cable from battery to unit

*runs no warmer than your forehead (maybe with a very slight fever) with or without battery (maybe because the magnesium alloy radiates away excess heat better than the Sharp's cheap plastic body?)

*possibly why the battery pack lasts over 4 1/2 hours ! with full screen display at lowered brightness (very slight difference) and built-in speakers at full whisper :)

*******************************************

The Sharp is sadly built like a cheap disposable camera:

:( rubbery, single latch for the screen that represents most of the outrageous price of these units ! Will it last without flopping open ?

:( LCD hinges cheaply pressed in place with caved- in plastic tabs on back side of hinges -- ONE, ON MY *SECOND* UNIT, FAILED TO CAVE IN SO MY LCD SAT CROOKED ON THE HINGES @#%&*@ ! AND THIS IS A "COSMETIC" FLAW THAT IS NOT COVERED BY THE WARRANTY from SHARP NOR FRY'S.

:( open or uneven seams on plastic body

:( first unit had ding on disk cover and a sticky single-laser head drive (Sony has dual-head)

:( second unit (bad hinge) blacked out twice so, fearing a wounded diode , I traded for the Sony

:( second Sharp had one bad pixel (not so bad!)

:( Sharp's grid of identical buttons is confusing

:( Sharp runs alarmingly hot --- I almost pulled my hand away! But, leaving it on, was not burned --- more like a fairly hot "water bottle" applied to a fractured wallet :)

:( maybe the reason why both Sharp units' battery lasted 2.9 hours regardless of speaker or headphone use ! ( 4.5 + for the Sony ! )

:( maybe the total life of the battery will be shortened by the excess heat as well

-------------------------------------------

I have mixed feelings about the more adjustable and more PROCESSED image on the Sharp. It's auto gamma control does help the washed-out white shirt problem typical of LCD displays. And the edge-definition "super picture" is usually a good thing to have on. The tint control is good too but it doesn't go far enough to let you make purple Smurfs out of debating presidential candidates --- you may have to choose one by some means other than "cutest Smurf" :)

The Sony's fixed colors were just like those on an ACTUAL MOVIE SCREEN. And, infrequently, one sees the film blemishes and scratches too ! Why these are not filtered out at the DVD factory I don't know --- but I kinda like it. (No, these are not LCD flaws --- they are FILM flaws).

The Sharp seems to process these out but it has a slightly more "video tape" look to it. So the army drab fatigues on the soldiers (Predator and Apocalypse Now) look as if they are BRAND NEW and FREE OF DUST!

I feel that SOME things ought not to be processed out any more than I would colorize the first scene of The Wizard of Oz.

Still, having a CHOICE to toggle the Sharp processing features on or off on a beauty like the Sony would be ideal. And Sony has much to learn from Sharp when it comes to the sound of the built-in speakers. There, Sharp wins hands down.

As with all LCD displays, a slow camera pan over, say, a stand of trees with small leaves, results in a strobe-like flashing of these leaf and tree edges --- very distracting. This was true for both Sony and Sharp...now there's something to process!

In the end, Sharp's decision to insult the buyer with an unforgivably cheap plastic body --- on such an over-priced toy caused me to go with the Sony and a cute pair of stereo ear buds.

For the price, they could at least throw in a modular, cable-ready, high-quality, digitally tuned,(not that horrible creeping bar) TV receiver/AM-FM/DUAL RAMP-UP ALARM CLOCK/COFFEE MAKER/BACK MASSAGE attachment. GGGRRrrrrr !

Arrff !

---gooddog __: * ]

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27 Correction on screen size
Just thought I'd make a little correction for the sake of those reading the last post. If a screen is 7" diagonal that doesn't mean 49 square inches. That would be if it was 7 inches in both width and height. In this case, with a width to height ratio of 16:9 the area is 21 square inches. (Width = 6.1, height = 3.44) However, his comments about the relative increase in screen size are correct. Because the model with a 5 inch diagonal measurement comes in at an area of 10.7 square inches. (If its width to height ratio is also 16:9) So the new model has a screen that is roughly twice as big as the older one.

28 Be prepared for headaches
Bad support is putting it mildly. My battery died after a week but I was traveling so couldn't deal with it until about 5 weeks after purchase. Bad idea--there is a 4 week warrenty on the batteries and you cannot buy a replacement.

The player (plugged into the wall) has problems playing some disks so I shipped it to Sharp's service partner as Sharp customer service (there's an oxymoron) instructed me. They just sent a bill for $180 labor (labor is only guaranteed for 3 months, and I was a couple of weeks beyond that). If I don't want to pay the $180, they want $70 just to ship it back.

I can't think of a purchase I regret more than this one.

29 Good product, lousy support
While the Sharp DVD player itself is fairly good, it has its limitations. They are mainly in the lack of functions available on the machine itself and only accessible through the remote control. Additionally, trying to get customer support for this product from Sharp is a futile exercise. If you want an extra battery because yours is broken or you have a 10 hour airline flight, you might as well forget it. The customer service numbers and staff are of no help in obtaining one. I would think hard about the lack of support before I bought one of these products, though it is possible they will increase their customer support in the future.

30 Came Defective
Well I knew I was in trouble when I turned it on. The display turned out to be defective, two pixels in the screen were bright green and blue respectively. On a 7 inch screen, very distracting. Packed it back up and sent it back. I must commend Amazon.Com for the courteous and helpful staff in this regard, they have a customer for life. They are sending me a new one and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Other than the defective liquid crystal display was very impressed with the machine, that is why I'm giving them another chance. If that one's defective I'm going with the Pioneer.

31 Great Portable Entertainment
I bought this player to make sure I had some entertainment for a trip recently taken. I also bought 10+ DVD's, a carrying case for the player and a carrying case for the DVDs. Everything else you need to operate comes with the unit. The display is 7 inches wide and 4 inches tall. On an airplane and even in a hotel room this is more than adequate since you can view what you want to see and not what the airline or hotel have for you. Since the unit plays CDs, I just brought my CD headset and left my CD player at home. The unit behaved well. I am satisfied with the picture quality and sound through the headset. It could be recharged overnight. Before my trip I called Sharp Customer Service looking for a second Li-ION battery. (Some flights are very long.) They were not available as of 4/10/2000. So, in the air, with 3 hours you can get in one and a half movies. It's to soon for me to rate longevity of the unit. The price is steep, but if you can afford it, I recommend this unit.

32 Sharp Portable DVD Player, DV-L70U
Awesome player for the gadget minded. I've also tried the Pioneer PDV-LC10; it too has a 7" screen. Both are great machines, but the Sharp has better picture resolution. The buttons and button layout are definitely not very well thought out on the Sharp though. There are a few basic functions and a button for a Graphical User Interface (not too useful), but most of the common functions you will uses are on the remote (a fast fwd on the unit should have been mandatory), which is the size of most common TV remotes (not too portable). I liked the slim Pioneer remote much better. If I can find a universal remote as slim as the Pioneer's remote, I am ditching the Sharp remote. The great thing about the Sharp (other than its image resolution) is the batter. The battery attaches directly under the unit and only adds about 1.5 cm to the height of the unit and absolutely none to the depth or width of the unit. The Pioneer battery pack adds about double that and seems much heavier. Without the battery pack though, the unit is an incredible 2.75 cm thick (approx. measurements). I still give this unit 5 stars though. As a portable unit, you want to see your DVD movies with the best quality possible. With its 7-inch TFT LCD screen with approximately 337,000 pixels, Sharp delivers in spades. Its sound is also decent through the built in speakers, but use a good pair of headphones and you won't miss your home theater. On an airplane, just watch heads turn when you pop in your favorite movie and enjoy. If you have the bucks. This is definitely worth looking at.

33 Better than the Panasonic
I have both this player and the Panasonic. The exta 2 inches of display make all the difference (when my wife an I are flying together, we fight over who gets the one with the big screen... when I fly alone, the Panasonic stays at home) If I had to buy one right now, this would be it. However, if I could wait 6 months or so, I would do that, because though this is the best portable system there is, it feels like it was thrown together very quickly... I hate the way the battery connects via an external cable. Something better will show up in 6 months...

34 16:9 Math Issues
Wow ... lots of trigonometrically challenged posts here! actual screen dimensions for 16:9 aspect ratio screens are:

5" diag --> 4.36" x 2.45" = 10.68 sq.in.

7" diag --> 6.10" x 3.43" = 20.93 sq.in.

So ... the 7" screen has approx 2x the viewing area of the 5".

35 Why buy DVD?
Yes, DVD. You may think it is a revolution but what is the point of having dvd if you havent got the right equipment. Well this says it all. The portable player not only acts as a video player but also a dvd-rom drive as well. with the optical data lead which can be purchased drastically converts the player into a fully working dvd-rom drive. what else this is portable so you can play dvd anywhere you want. Not only that but eith the optical lead you can download music onto a mini-disc so this is all portable! This is the most sexiest thing i have ever brought and surely it needs the love it wants.

36 Not a review
Are you sure that a 5 inch diagonal screen is 25 square inches and a 7 inch diagonal screen is 49 square inches? I don't think that you can get the square inches by squaring the diagonal. In fact, in the technical info for this product it says that it is 3.47 by 6.0125 inches. By my calculations (wow, that sounded dorky) the screen is 20.863375 square inches. I'm not sure what the dimentions for the other one is, but if you want to figure it out, go ahead. The ratio is either 4:3 or 16:9, and the diagonal dimention is approximatly 5 inches.

37 Square Inch Discrepancy
Clarification: The Sharp's screen is not square; it's approximately 7 x 4, or 28 square inches, compared to the 5-inch Panasonic, which is approximately 20 square inches.

38 Just a note of clarification
I, too, think the first review below is pretty accurate, but I do want to alert readers not to rely on the prior reviewer's geometry. With standard 16:9 aspect ratio, a 7-inch diagonal screen gets you only about a 21-square-inch view. You'd need a much bigger 10.6-inch diagonal screen to get 49 square inches viewing space. Personally, I'd advise that one simply check out a movie and decide whether it looks big enough for you to enjoy. What's the big deal?

39 Very nice
I won't go into great detail, as the reviewer below has done an admirable job. Two notes to add though.

First, the difference between a 5" and 7" screen really is big--it's not an illusion. A 5" diagonal screen is 25 square inches; a 7" diagonal is 49 square inches. If you are spending the bucks on something as ridiculous as a portable DVD player, spend the extra for the bigger screen.

Second, if you are thinking about converting to run on alkaline batteries so you can amuse the kids on long plane or car trips without spending the big bucks for multiple batteries from Sharp, be aware that the connection between player and battery is nonstandard--it's a tiny 3-pin rectangular plug. (You can see the cord in the picture above--the battery is the platform the player sits on in the picture. The tiny cord in the top-left corner connects the battery to the player). Building a spare battery pack will involve more than a trip to Radio Shack.

40 A very impressive piece of technology
The portable DVD player is a marvel of technology, and the Sharp Moviegoer is an excellent example of the genre. Although it is very much a luxury, it's something that any movie-lover or fan of gadgets would love. At the moment there seem to be three main options for portable DVD players, and I considered them all before deciding on the Sharp. They are: the Panasonic Palm Theater, the Pioneer LC-10 and the Sharp DV-L70U Moviegoer.

The Panasonic is the most popular, easiest to find and also the cheapest (especially given recent price reductions). It is also a nice size, but the trade-off is that you only get a 5" screen, which is a bit on the small size. I was able to try it out at a local electronics store, but wasn't that impressed with its performance when using non-anamorphic discs (those not enhanced for widescreen TVs). I found that "zooming" the image to fill the screen resulted in too much pixelation, and stretching it also resulted in some noticeable distortion. Given the large number of non-anamorphic discs out there, I found that unacceptable.

The Pioneer has a 7" screen and is at a similar price, but from what I have heard, it is somewhat large and heavy with the battery. Thus, I decided on the Sharp. I am quite pleased with my decision, with a few minor exceptions.

First of all, I am very happy that I decided to go for the bigger screen. Although the 2" difference between the 5" screen of the Panasonic and the 7" screen on the Sharp may not sound like much, it really does make a difference. The screen seems almost twice as big to me. It is a very good quality screen (and Sharp is famous for their LCDs). The colors are vibrant and bright and I found no "dead" pixels or other imperfections, although it did seem slightly brighter towards the bottom. There are several controls that you can use to adjust the color, brightness and tint of the LCD as well.

I was also pleasantly surprised at how well the unit handles non-anamorphic movies. I didn't find a big difference in picture quality with these discs. There are several options for viewing non-widescreen enhanced movies. You can display them with no modification at all (showing black bars to either side of the screen), you can stretch the image with the "stretch" and "smart stretch" options (which distort the image a little by stretching it horizontally to fill the screen, but don't really result in a loss of picture quality) or you can "zoom" them, which means that you digitally resize the picture to fit the screen. This last option resulted in the same sort of pixelation I noticed on the Panasonic, although it was slightly less noticeable. One last option that may not be immediately obvious is using the image zoom option. This allows you to zoom in on one portion of the screen (and there are three different levels of magnification). This is fun to play with, since you can see small details with surprisingly little pixelation. But I also found that using the lowest level of magnification zoomed the image on 1.85:1 letterboxed discs just enough to fill the screen. This resulted in almost no pixelation (as opposed to the "zoom" viewing option I mentioned above) and you only lose a small portion of the image on the sides. In any case, there are plenty of options to play with -- which one you choose is largely a matter of personal preference.

The unit itself is good looking, with a high-tech brushed aluminum look. It is impressively thin and light without the battery. With the battery it does become a bit more bulky (about the same size as three DVD cases stacked), but is still relatively light. My only complaint about the esthetics of the player is that the battery connects to the unit with an external cord. You can see this in the images that are available on this site, but I didn't really notice it until the player was here in front of me. I found this to be a somewhat inelegant solution, and it stands out a bit when compared with the otherwise excellent design of the player. One other small complaint is that despite the large number of buttons on the unit, there are several features that are only accessible via the remote (the most important being forward/reverse search, slow motion and zoom). The remote itself is also fairly large, which does limit its portability a bit.

Battery life actually seems slightly surpass Sharp's claims of 3 hours -- you should easily be able to finish any movie with plenty of time to spare. The recharge time for the battery is a bit long (5 hours) and the battery also doesn't charge when you are using the player.

A few random features that I liked: optical digital output so I can record mindiscs digitally; the ability to use the LCD to monitor an outside source like a TV signal, a camcorder or video game; adjustable backlight that you can also turn off when connected to a separate TV; the unit will also output DTS and Dolby Digital signals to your audio equipment.

Despite a few minor flaws, I think the Sharp is the best overall player on the market, and anyone looking for a portable player should give it a close look.