LG DP781 8-Inch Portable DVD Player Reviews

• Best Screen Resolution for the Money

  
  By AD7SA51QRCHSK on 2007-08-19
  My old Polaroid DVD player went out unexpectedly and I found myself neck-deep reading reviews and trying to figure out how to replace it with a newer model. I use this at home in bed and for travel, both work-related DVDs and entertainment. I looked extensively at several Sony, Panasonic, Philips and Toshiba models all in the $150 to $250 range. I first bought the Toshiba S1900, but just couldn't hack the grainy screen resolution. It also wouldn't play one of my home-made DVD formats, so I took it back to Best Buy. Meanwhile, I read some more reviews and other consumers have raved about the LG Screen Resolution ... an impressive 800X600 for this unit. When I looked harder at them in a side-by-side comparison at the store, it became obvious that no other portable DVD player was even close. (The specs for the others I reviewed are about half the screen res of this unit.) Also, the store salesman I talked to told me that LG makes all their own parts, and also sells components to all the big-name brands, specifically LCD displays, and that they have been doing so for years. So far, so good. This unit does in fact play all the DVD formats I have. Also, I got it for $149 at Best Buy ... $40 less expensive than the Toshiba I returned. The remote control works well, including a power on/off switch which was missing on the Toshiba model and others I have reviewed. The only thing I don't like about it is the exterior casing only comes in white; I would have preferred black or silver, but that's a small tradeoff overall. I am slightly hard of hearing, and was not overly impressed with the on-board speakers of any of the units, however this one seemed to match the 8.5 inch Panasonic unit that was my number two pick. My headphones and earjacks work well in this unit and provide ample sound for me. I am pleased with this purchase and recommend it.
  
  

• Great picture

  
  By AUITG1DJ3QUGK on 2007-12-03
  This dvd player has a very nice picture!
  
  I bought this after returning an audiovox unit I was very unhappy with.
  The second time around I was very cautious and read dozens of reviews before purchasing this machine. although it costs a bit more ($15 or so), it has double the resolution of other players in the price range!
  
  If you are looking for a cheap unit for your toddler, you might opt to save the few extra $ (and in that case, I'd opt for the coby over audiovox...much more solid), but if you care about picture quality, isn't it worth a little more?
  
  The build quality is very good, it has a swivel screen like many high end units, and my teen is most impressed with the touch pad (controls).
  
  The only con I can think of is that it does not have some of the bells and whistles of some of the new units (e.g., an ipod doc).
  
  If versatility is more important, consider some other units (like the phillips), but if your primary use is watching movies, or viewing video, this is hard to beat.
  
  

• BEST portable DVD I've have ever seen.

  
  By A21SVI3T4UF4YO on 2007-10-12
  This DVD player has the best LDC unit on a portable device and quality components to go with it. Black levels are very good and the de-interlace is incredibly good. There are no signs of any kind of jagged edges period. Color balance is also excellent. USB port is a nice to have. Has one AV input. At this price level it is an incredible bargain specially when compared to other units I've paid as much as $450.00. Grab one, you will be very happy.
  
  

• Great picture, but you can't hear it

  
  By AXHKFK3TYH4BJ on 2008-03-07
  While I certainly concur with other reviews that this unit has a great picture, I cannot get over the fact that no reviews I read mentioned the poor volume. You cannot hear this player. When I was in the room alone, with the volume at its highest point, I could hear it fine. With other people in the room -- occasional chatter, movement, etc -- I couldn't hear it, could not turn it up to the point that I could hear what was being said. The worst moment came when we went on a trip and none of our kids could hear a thing, not a thing, in any of the headphones we own or even without headphones. They could hear nothing in the car on the highway and absolute silence while on the plane. We tried different DVDs, then I called LG, as I thought we received a unit with a problem. Surprisingly I was told that this particular unit is not very loud. That's it. I was stunned and of course we returned it. What good is a great picture if you cannot hear it? If you are planning to use this unit anywhere that may have background noise, beware, you will have a very hard time hearing it.
  
  

• No Regrets

  
  By A2QDSC731OQC3P on 2007-11-25
  Ok, this is my second review of this player; I wrote one WEEKS ago that seems to have just disappeared. A month ago, I bought this unit to take to work with me, a reprieve from office maddness. I do not leave home without it! It is a great unit, but let's start with the biggest complaint some have about it, volume. What I have found is that the volume quality is dependent upon the movie you are watching. I watched Ocean's 12 and found the volume to be too low, except for when music was playing. I would actually have to turn it down then. I watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith and had no problem whatsoever with the volume. Also, I have watched several other DVDs including one I watched in a barber shop where there were 2 televisions going; I had no problem with the volume. One feature that attracted me to this unit is the USB port. My MP3 player plugs directly into it; all the folders appear on the screen and there is NO problem with the volume at all. Of course there is not big Bose sound, but the volume is good. I think the issue with the volume may just be some glitch in whatever technology LG used on this product because music comes through loud and clear. At the store, its volume certainly did not win any prizes matched against other bigger name brands, but theirs did not match LG's picture quality. One can always (at a very low cost) use accessories to improve the sound if need be; you can't do that for the picture quality. The picture quality is absolutely unmatched by anything else out there. It is simply smooth and gorgeous. I hear that LG provides the display technology for the monitors and tvs of the larger companies. I spent a lot of time researching and made TWO trips to Bestbuy in ONE night, multiple DVDs in hand to test, before I later decided to go with this one. The touch sensor is great if it is important to you. It gets a lot of fingerprints on it though because of the high gloss finish of the console. Yet it is this finish that makes the unit look a lot more classy in person than it does in the pictures. On another site there was a complaint about the awkwardness of the battery, once again, I do not have a problem with it at all. I find that it balances the unit very well. I have not had to hold it on my lap, however. Also, with a couple of searches, I was able to find a very easy process of making the unit region free. With the included accessories all I needed was a carrying case, which I got for free when I bought the unit. If you are looking for a very good PDVDP with the highest resolution available, and you do not want to spend a lot of money, I say this is the one for you! If you are worried about the sound quality, go into a store with your own movies and music and test it out for yourself.
  
  
• Sound is really bad
  By A18O9E9YGZ4B2S on 2007-12-08
  We used this LG DP781 8-Inch Portable DVD Player on the plane and even with a good headset, could barely hear the sound. How frustrating is it to have to press the head set tightly against your ears and still not catch the dialogue. Visuals are fine but without the audio that it should deliver, there's no point in having the machine.
  
  
• Great player with a couple caveats!
  By A3L8AWHJ67Q1Z4 on 2008-03-05
  After stewing over 100's of reviews, I decided picture quality was my top priority. I also needed a player that would play my TV series DVD's in the proper format, not squished! After testing numerous players at stores, (take your own DVD's, don't rely on the test disks), I purchased this one.
  
  The picture is very sharp, although with some TV shows, it is a bit dark. (M*A*S*H) Movies seem to play much better. It is a very quiet unit, takes a reasonable time to get to the show, and the functions are easy to figure out. The sound is terrible, however, which is the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars.
  
  If you need to use this without headphones or external powered speakers, don't buy it. From what I have seen here in other reviews, most portable players seem to have bad sound. My old unit, Initial brand, was very good but tended to skip and freeze a lot. Anyway, since I use this at my office, plugged into my computer speakers, it works great. If you get headphones, test them first. One of mine has a volume control and still won't get loud enough.
  
  I never use the battery, so I can't comment on it, but it is designed rather oddly, sticks out the back when connected.
  
  The touch controls are fun, I hope the less mechanical parts, the better!
  
  It does have brightness and color controls, and lots of other features that seem to be for hooking it up to a TV. The USB connection works good, although it is slow on large picture files. I say slow, being used to split second computers, but it probably took 2 or 3 seconds to load some huge files.
  
  To sum up, I have definitely NOT regretted buying this model. Like I said, the picture is great, better than a lot of TV's. If picture quality is important to you, don't buy anything with less than 800 x 400 pixels.
  
  
• Extremely flakey player
  By A397EVJT05BC5D on 2008-05-27
  I bought this at Christmas, and took it on my first trip in February. It would only sometimes play a DVD, and other times spin up, appear to try to play it, and then shut itself off. No idea why. It wasn't the disc, as these were very new DVDs with no scratches, and eventually it would play them. It would just take 5-10 minutes and 20 or so tries sometimes.
  
  On my second trip (right now), it would only play the sound, but we'd get no picture. I couldn't get any of the touch controls to light up at all. We never got it working. When we got to our destination, I had web access, so I decided to try searching for help on it. I thought plugging it in might help in case it was a weak battery problem, but it didn't. And after it tried a couple of times, it died completely. Now I can't get it to do anything at all (no power light, no spin up sounds, just nothing), so I guess I'm going to have to call for service.
  
  When it did work, the picture was excellent, but the sound was only OK. As others have reported, the speakers are tinny, and the volume even on full with the headphones is marginal.
  
  All in all, I'm extremely disappointed in this unit. I imagine this will be the last LG product I ever buy.
  
  EDIT: I called LG tech support, and they want me to pay $45 in labor to fix it (they give only 90 days warranty). It's less than 6 months old. As far as I'm concerned, that's extremely poor service. If they can't stand by their own products for longer than 90 days, their products aren't worth my consideration. I think I'll put my money towards a different brand. They have definitely lost my business. If I could, I would reduce my rating to a zero.
  
  
  
• GREAT!
  By A39K0N7V5AVTX on 2007-12-23
  Enjoy curling up under the covers on these snowy New Mexico evenings and watching my Netflix movies -- clear picture, good sound -- and great for people who don't like to have TVs in their bedroom!!!!
  
  
• LG DP781 portable DVD player
  By A7BYYSCQHH5F1 on 2008-01-12
  An excellent product. Screen res is very high compared to anything else I looked at including Sony and Panasonic. Price and quality were better than anything else offered especially considering the the screen resolution. battery life was 4-5 hours. This product also can be made region free using the LG5000zip file from the Internet. Controls very good along with USB stick capability for JPG viewing etc. Volume fine when using headphones. A little on the low side when using the speakers in a noisy environment. Just picked up a miniature MP3 speaker amp set for $20 which worked very well with it. 180 deg swivel screen a real plus LG DP781 8" Portable DVD Player
  
  
• An overall handy little DVD player
  By AUG1MHZKXEVSG on 2008-01-13
  I bought this DVD player with the intention of keeping my daughter and myself entertained on the 4 1/2 hour flight from Nashville to Oakland. Unfortunately, the experience of not having enough sound with earphones was true for me, too. My daughter said she had no problem hearing it in the car,though. Next time I'll try bringing headphones instead of earbuds and see how that works. I also plug it into some old computer speakers if I use it in the kitchen. Otherwise, I'm happy with the player.
  
  
• Just what I was looking for.
  By A25KJMIA4KO9MW on 2007-12-24
  Amazing picture quality and great sound (with noise-cancelling headphones). An awesome buy under $200.00. I would recommend this player to someone who spends a lot of time on planes and loves movies.
  
  
• Excellent Portable DVD Player
  By A2D0Z55EORRL92 on 2008-01-03
  I needed a replacement DVD player for an old broken one that I was using for home video. I like that fact that the LG DP781 takes up VERY little space in my small component cabinet. I find it to be very easy to use with the small included remote control. The player itself seems to be very well constructed with a very nice layout of controls. Movies on DVDs with surround sound display very nicely on my TV and surround sound speakers.
  Another reason I bought it was to show digital photos and movies to friends and relatives. It's nice to be able to carry the photos with me and show them on a nice "large" high resolution screen. This portable DVD player is a lot less expensive, more compact and easier to use than a laptop computer. The device will play photos or movies burned on a CD or DVD. You can also load photos on a thumb drive and then plug that into the player's USB port. (Movies don't seem to work with the thumb drive.) The included rechargeable battery is a little large, but does the job.
  
  
• great product....
  By A2H6Q5ZZI5LNHL on 2008-02-03
  Almost perfect portable dvd player I've seen, sharp clear picture, sound quality is fair. the only set back is it can only played region 1 disc. so that means not a multi-region player.- you need to download software from internet to unlock it. also comes with 120V power adapter and car adaptor. moreso, headphone are not included.
  
  
• Great picture, but battery life not as good as indicated
  By A1HFZ9MS95EH9B on 2008-04-02
  I bought this player mainly on reviews of other Amazon purchasers, and I concur, the picture quality is really great (much better than the other players I looked at in the same price range). The only reason for taking one star off is that the battery life is not as great as others had indicated - I have been seeing around 3 to 3.5 hours.
  
  
• Nice Picture, the Sound is terrible
  By A2R0AJPCA2KKKA on 2008-05-14
  I agree with the other purchasers who criticize the lack of sound volume. I purchased this device to use while traveling, and you can not hear the sound (with Sony headphones or with the integral speakers) when there is background noise. Therefore this unit is useless for my needs.
  I'm up for any suggestion on how to increase the sound level.
  
  
• Very pleased!
  By A24H0F6DUWKDN7 on 2008-01-07
  Purchased this for my 11-year-old son for xmas and he was thrilled! He has even hooked up additional speakers to it for "surround sound"! Great product at great price!
  
  
• Good, but flawed
  By A2B3LDRMJPOH1L on 2008-02-17
  The picture is excellent, but we have not been able to get the battery to charge.
  
  
• perfect for the car
  By AC2XIT74060CL on 2008-03-02
  works great for the kids in the car - video is great; audio volume is less impressive, but with earphones, it's totally fine. kids love the remote - using the car adapter means you can save the battery for the hotel!
  
  
• Almost perfect choice
  By A39H7PXW7R0A1T on 2008-04-07
  Nice stuff for an affordable price. LG offer a great portable DVD/VD equipment with touch sensible buttons. Excellent near HD screen, brilliant colors and contrast. In the Down side, the sound is just regular, no problem to hear the movies and songs in a running car, but a little hard to hear in a Jet airplane. Solid construction, as ay LG products. I have compared from Sony, Panasonic and Coby similar models, but its the right choice for me.
  
  
• Nice image, the rest is OK
  By A3MH0CKDNQO0JC on 2008-04-08
  + nice video
  + it is possible to unlock it and make to region free (find LG firmware, burn to CD and put into DVD player)
  + swivel display
  
  - he audio output is a bit quiet
  - the battery is on back and may not fit to many common bags because if this extra space behind display
  
  
• EXCELLENT ENTERTAINMENT
  By AB6O3J952K6QJ on 2008-02-18
  THIS DVD PLAYER DOES NOT REALLY HAVE ANY BELLS AND WHISTLES BUT IT HAS A GREAT PICTURE AND FAIR SPEAKER SOUND.I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND PURCHASING THIS PRODUCT.
  
  
• Great player
  By A3SQJAV6AKIJX8 on 2008-05-31
  Great picture. Sound is okay in low noise environment. However, even with headphones, it was difficult to hear with other noise around, i.e. other tv sounds, outdoor sounds, people talking, etc. Also noticed that it depends on the film, as I found that some movies were harder to hear than others.
  
  Other minor drawback is that due to the high gloss around the control panel, it left a lot of fingerprint smudges; Easily wiped with a soft cloth.
  
  For the price and excellent picture quality, I highly recommend.
  
  
• Excellent product
  By A15375WA1OYVHY on 2008-06-08
  We bought this DVD player mostly for our trip to Japan to keep occupied our two year old son through those 11 hours flights. It worked perfectly, picture is really nice and clear. Reads even very scratched DVDs. Very good battery life. Would buy again.
  
  
• Worked Great For A Trip!
  By A34NYTY3MJFF9M on 2008-07-02
  We bought this for our 4 year old twins on a long road trip. We read a review of it in Consumer Reports. It worked really well and we are quite happy with it. I will say that it was a little hard to hear at times, so it would be nice if the volume went a bit higher.
  
  
• great picture
  By A1OO4YF4J3LXBF on 2008-05-20
  Great picture-much better than others we looked at. Cover is white, black inside. Sound low volume, but got Boostaro amplifier and sound is perfect.Would absolutely buy another for family
  
  
• Great buy but it depends...
  By A2XD1M4Y3O0Q62 on 2008-05-27
  The picture quality was fantastic. The features are very good as well. The only down side is the audio volume is pretty low. At the highest level, it was barely audible. Your only real option for watching video would be head phones. A suggestion for those radios with an audio input (1/8 inch jack or RCA input) would be to plug one of the head phone jacks into the car stereo. Outside of headphones, that is your only true option. I still give it a very good review because of the picture quality and features. I would have given it a 5 star if the audio was better.
  
  
• LG DP781 8" Prtable DVD Player works well
  By A2MF850N54H4E4 on 2008-06-24
  Very happy with using this DVD player on 2 trips so far. Read reviews about poor sound quality, but it was fine for our needs. Used with and without headphones (once @ home for an overnight, also). The sound doesn't bother me because mostly an 8 yr old was using it... The picture quality was great and ease of operation pretty good (I, the old lady, had to use the manual; the 17 yr old figured it out easily). I would recommend this product based on limited use/experience I have with it.
  
  
• Great DVD Player
  By A2XN1ZEP7WA66N on 2008-08-06
  I have only had this a few months, but so far it has worked very well! Great pictures, great sound, great flexibility! Buyer beware, the standard cases used for display in cars will not fit it if you are using the battery pack! You may need to buy a larger size.
  
  
• Great Picture, Miserable Audio Volume
  By A3PBW4XMVLUSM3 on 2008-08-14
  This DVD player was purchased to use in our vehicle on long trips. The picture is great! But if you want to use this DVD Player in a vehicle, the volume is not loud enough to hear oven minor background noise. Even with headphones attached to the unit, audio is barely audible.
  
  LG tech support says this unit was designed to be used at home, not in a car. Why advertise it as portable then? I assumed portable meant you could use it anywhere. Evidently not.
  
  If you want a truly portable device, I would look elsewhere.
  
  

• In-Car 7"-9 Inch Portable DVD Player Case * Attaches to Rear or Front Seat, Easily Converts to Carrying Bag, Multiple Accessory compartments (Player Not Included)
• Califone First Stereo Headphone Lightweight for Young Children Blue
• In-Car 7"-9 Inch Portable DVD Player Case * Attaches to Rear or Front Seat, Easily Converts to Carrying Bag, Multiple Accessory compartments (Player Not Included)
• Califone First Stereo Headphone Lightweight for Young Children Red