Portable DVD players

Ceroc Addict · #1 December 31st, 2004, 12:08 PM

I'm considering getting a portable DVD player in the near future.

I've heard that some DVD players will only let you watch movie DVDs while other players will only let you watch DVDs you burn yourself (I haven't read any explanations as to why this would be the case

).

How do I tell which type is which? (or does anyone have a recommendation for a good one?)

I'm mainly looking for a portable DVD player which will let me play MPEG4 videos which I have burned to DVD-RW media via my Powerbook.

Kap

symphonix · #2 December 31st, 2004, 12:33 PM

You have a PowerBook with a DVD burner and you want a portable DVD player? Isn't that a bit redundant? I'd say its a waste of money and time to buy a portable DVD player if you have a laptop that will handle the job nicely, and to be perfectly honest the drives and displays on a PowerBook are better than 95% of the portable DVD players out there...

ElDiabloConCaca · #3 December 31st, 2004, 01:24 PM

The portable DVD players typically will only play movie DVDs, not data DVDs as you describe.

What you're describing is basically a DVD-ROM drive playing data files through a player such as QuickTime. The portable DVD players are basically the same as set-top DVD players, so if your set-top DVD player won't play a DVD, then it's a good bet that the portable won't either.

Ceroc Addict · #4 January 1st, 2005, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by symphonix

You have a PowerBook with a DVD burner and you want a portable DVD player? Isn't that a bit redundant? I'd say its a waste of money and time to buy a portable DVD player if you have a laptop that will handle the job nicely, and to be perfectly honest the drives and displays on a PowerBook are better than 95% of the portable DVD players out there...

What I actually want is a video iPod

, but I can't wait around for this forever.

It seems to me that a 2nd hand portable DVD player would be the best value for money i.e. until a reasonably priced portable video player comes out in the next few years.

The Powerbook is no good for my purposes, because:

Weighs too much to carry around with me all the time.
Costs too much (i.e. I don't want to risk it being stolen).
I don't want to have to wait for it to boot up/power down.

Kap

Ceroc Addict · #5 January 1st, 2005, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElDiabloConCaca

The portable DVD players typically will only play movie DVDs, not data DVDs as you describe.

But a DVD that I burned via iDVD would work, right?

Kap

ElDiabloConCaca · #6 January 1st, 2005, 12:28 PM

Viro · #7 January 1st, 2005, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ceroc Addict

Weighs too much to carry around with me all the time.

The 12" is not that heavy. Sure, it won't fit in your coat pocket, but at least you'll still have a large screen to view all your movies.

Quote:

Costs too much (i.e. I don't want to risk it being stolen).

Insure it? Or invest in a good lock. Seriously, this shouldn't be much of a problem unless you're living in a very rough neighbourhood.

Quote:

I don't want to have to wait for it to boot up/power down.

That's what suspend is for. Open the lid and Powerbook is on instantly.

Ceroc Addict · #8 January 1st, 2005, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viro

The 12" is not that heavy. Sure, it won't fit in your coat pocket, but at least you'll still have a large screen to view all your movies.

I was going to reply, saying that I already own a 15" PB, so I'm not going to spend the extra AUS $2500 or so (on top of the cost of a portable DVD player) on a 12" PB.

But now I'm thinking "Hmm... Why not?"

Sigh... I-want-my-video-iPod!

Kap