Philips PET1030 10.2-Inch Portable DVD Player with Car Mount Kit

Like most reviewers, we bought this product to entertain our toddler on lengthy car trips. We'll be the first to admit that it has really become our toy.

We watch a lot of television shows and movies in the DivX format, so this was a "must-have" in our feature shopping list when searching for a portable DVD player. The fact that this unit accepts such files on DVD, SD memory card, and USB flash drive put this one over the top.

For more permanent files (such as movies-to-keep and children shows), we burn DivX files onto a DVD--allowing up to 6 full-length movies on a single DVD (which is great for in the car or on the go). For temporary files--such as the previous night's "The Office"--we will simply transfer the file(s) from the computer to a memory card or flash drive and then pop it into the player. You can plug it into a television (via s-video or standard yellow/red/white cables--both are included) or, as we usually do, just watch it in bed--the 10.2 inch screen is plenty big.

As far as the firmware, ours was shipped with the newest version--so there should no longer be any need to do the whole upgrade process.

Basic comments:

Car mount - seems pretty solid; has not fallen
Volume - plenty loud
Picture - very good
Battery - around 3-4 hours at normal brightness

Upgraded from a pet1000 to the 1030.
1030 more flexible. can fold screen over and use like a tablet
1030 volume is louder than the 1000. now everyone can hear it.
1030 has usb option. can use with flash drives. will not work with the portable flashdrive you put in a memory card however. sd card reader works with standard sd cards, not SDHC.
(this is still good if you dl'd an avi and want to watch it without putting it on a disk. (to me thats why i bought it. just easier to carry flash memory around than disks that may get scratched.

down side picture now can not be incrementally tweeked. has 3 setting for picture quality. some movies that are older need a color boost that the 1000 could do but the 1030 cant.

Im happy with it and if I had not owned a 1000 I wouldnt even know of the shortcomings of the 1030.
Buy with confidence this is an excellent dvd player.

Phillips PET-1030/37 Review

Pros:

1. Versatility--Plays DVD, DVD+/-R and DVD+/-RW, (S)VCD, DivX® & MPEG4 movies and MP3/WMA-CD, CD and CD-RW and Jpeg pictures
2. Play files from USB flashdrives and SD memory cards.
3. Better than average loudness from built-in speakers.


Cons:

1. No Power Button on the remote control.
2. The Power Button on the player is difficult to access.
3. The built-in SD memory card reader does not accept the new SDHC high capacity (>2Gb) cards.
4. The internal operating system does not support the new Windows disk formats NTFS and exFAT, making it difficult to connect large capacity hard drives via USB 2.0 (See comments below).
5. At times, the Unit has fits of mysterious repeated shutdowns (perhaps a dew sensor? No error msg displayed.)
6. The DVD stepper motor makes loud thrashing noises during power up/pwr down or return to Disk Menu, chapter skip etc.
7. Noticeable light pattern at bottom of screen from LCD backlight during dim/dark scenes.
8. Ultra cheap and incomplete documentation.
9. No advanced playback features such as playlists.
10. When you turn off the LCD, the audio file stops playing as well.

Comments:

One gets the feeling that Phillips rushed this device to market half baked. The single sheet (like a roadmap) user manual was written by the typical English-is-my-second-language Chinese author, which you'd expect from a Chinese branded product but not from an old Dutch/English brand which has been selling products in the USA for some 100 years.

It is likely that this product was entirely conceived, designed and manufactured by a Chinese company and Phillips is merely a re-brander. This would explain the lack of refinement commonly associated with insufficient product testing using real human beings.

It's nice that they added the USB and SD memory card options but regrettable that they didn't bring them up-to-date with current technology.

NOTES:
1. You can still use the new SDHC flash memory cards if you supply your own SDHC reader and plug it into the USB 2.0 port.
2. The FAT32 Disk Format is supported by the PET 1030 and FAT32 supports drives up to 2 terabytes in size, however, Microsoft has artificially limited the size you can format under Win XP & Vista to 32GB. If you want to format a larger drive in FAT32, you can use a free tool called: "HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool v.2.1.8".

This unit came in handy when we used it on a road trip for our 2 year old daughter. It kept her occupied the whole trip. The car kit was very easy to set-up. Mounting and removal of the unit from the car kit was a breeze. The quality of the movies when viewed from the device is nice or even above par from what I've seen at Best Buy and Fry's Electronics. Overall I'm satisfied with this device. The only reason I giving it a 4 star is because the screen kept falling away from the unit. The magnets that keeps the screen and the unit together was not strong enough. I had to use a strip of invisible tape to keep them from falling apart as the car went through some road bumps and potholes.

This is a throw-away. Battery dies, must return for factory replacement. Also no good for planes or camping and other 10" DVD's currently have big prices or dull screens so it's 8" or nothing. I suggest the 8" Sony DVP-FX820. (Not to be confused with the FX810 which is low resolution.)