uStarate.info

Some good, some bad

First, the product description is incorrect. The product does not come with a “Car Headrest Mounting Bag and carrying case.” There is a headrest mounting *strap* (not bag) and a separate carrying case. On the bright side, the lack of bag makes it easier to change DVDs while mounted. I’m also unsure what “complete car cabling with car adapter” means. The unit comes with a cigarette lighter plug-in (car adapter) for auto use. Any other “car cabling” that would make it “complete” is a mystery to me.

The Good:
The price. This is the least expensive DVD with swivel screen and included battery that I’ve been able to find. The product does play DVDs, music, and photos as advertised. The carrying bag is cheap, but appreciated. Why don’t more manufacturers include at least this simple accessory? I haven’t tested the battery life yet but if it truly lasts 4 hours that will be an excellent feature.

The Bad:
The battery is external. I know that most are external, but the product description should be upfront about this. When playing DVD’s at low volume you can hear the DVD spinning noise. Resolution for viewing pictures is poor, and loading time is poor (with a card right out of a 6 MP camera). If you like to wait and hear a buzz while your photo loads, this is your photo viewer. I assume if I resized the photos they would load more quickly. Why would I want to do that? The remote is a nice feature for auto use, but it would be nice if a “power standby” (off) feature could be activated from the remote (other players do this). While you can navigate a DVD using the remote you need to reach over to turn the power off when you are done. You cannot turn it off using the remote. This is a pain for a parent controlling the DVD player from the front seat. The manual is poorly written, but what one isn’t these days?

Overview:
You may wonder why I’m giving it 3 stars even with so many complaints. I was looking for an inexpensive DVD player that had a swivel screen, an included battery, and that could be mounted on a headrest in a car. This was one of the few options available that had all of these features–although via a headrest strap rather than a bag. I have only owned the product two days and cannot comment on its durability.

Update (2/5/2012): This item is currently on sale here for the lowest price I’ve seen. I also found some auctions for this item here.

The featured review for this product, Audiovox D7000XP 7-Inch Portable DVD Player with Swivel Screen and Digital Picture Frame Software Electronics May 15, 2007, was written by P. Larsen.

The average rating for this item is 3.3 out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.