Sony DVP-FX820 8-Inch Portable DVD Player, Black Reviews

• Terrific High Resolution Screen DVD player !

  
  By A3DLM4RYYGARO0 on 2008-03-27
  I have had this portable dvd player for a little over a week now and have enjoyed it throughly....Previously I have owned Panasonic and Polaroid brand players....and this one out shines them both !
  
  The High Definition Screen truly gives your regular DVD's the look of a Blu-Ray or HD DVD....I have them both in my den and I safely say it's very close to that quality...maybe not exactly....but until they come out with portable units for Blu-Ray...this is going to be the closest I think you can get !
  
  
  The screen on this one is 800 x 480 resolution where as most of the players out there have a 320 X 240 screen....that's a very big difference and it really shows.
  
  
  The battery life is also excellent ( I do listen with headphones so that helps ) but I have watched about 4 hours with it already and still have 1/3 of a full charge left...so that's right at about the 6 hours they say you will get.
  
  The last thing I need to comment on is the remote control...I never used to think that was very important on a portable unit...but after not having one on the Polaroid I owned.....I love having this one with a remote that will provide every feature the player will do...all the way to the ON/OFF...It has very nice on screen displays of all the functions....volume level...battery level.....everything.
  
  Also it doesn't get hot at all...I know my Panasonic got pretty hot on the bottom...not this one....and it's also very quiet...makes very minimal noise.
  
  Can't honestly think of a way they could improve this player !
  
  
  
  ******************UPDATED April 15th 2008*****************
  
  
  
  After having this for a few weeks I wanted to update my review.
  
  First I have added several pictures up top in the gallery for everyone so they can actually SEE the player and not just Sony Shots.
  
  Also I have tried DVD-R's and +R's in the players now and they work perfect...no problems what so ever...With a program recorded for 2 hour Length on a DVD-R it looks like a commercial quality DVD.
  
  One more thing on the battery life...I am not getting the full 6 hours....more like 4 1/2 ...then if I try and watch something that's a hour long I don't get all the way through it.....once it shows the last bar on the battery graph you have about 1 more hour to watch...maybe a little more....but about a hour.
  
  But I am still loving this player very very nice !
  
  
  ********************One last update May 3rd********************
  
  
  I have a big tip for everyone...If you turn the LCD brightness down from a Level 20 (the default) to a Level 10...which is still plenty bright...you can improve your battery life very much !....I am now getting the full 6 hours from the battery and that's the only change I made :)
  
  

• I'm amazed...

  
  By A3UUI10E7JOF5K on 2008-05-16
  I did a lot of research before choosing the Sony DVP-FX820 and what sold me were all the great reviews (thanks everyone!) I was leaning toward a player with a larger screen, but I trusted what I read about the picture quality of this unit... and I have to say, I received it today and I am amazed. It's much better than I expected! This little dvd player has a better picture than my HD TV! And although the speaker sound is a little hollow (no real base) the volume more than makes up for it... I've heard other players- or should I say I've tried to hear other players- the volume is wonderful on this one, the sound totally acceptable via the speakers and the sound is incredible when I use my 10 yr old Sony Studio Monitor headset.
  
  While I was shopping around, I was a bit concerned about what would happen to my full screen DVDs on this widescreen unit. I read about other units that really stretched the image out so that it looked bad. When I tested this unit, I first saw this approx 5" x 4" image and thought, boy that's weird... it was still ok but I didn't understand it until I read the manual. You can change the format from "Normal" (which is that box that's narrower than the screen), or it can be changed to Full. The Full screen mode doesn't look bad at all. Everyone looks slightly heavier but not distorted... I flipped back and forth between the modes several times to see if I could really see the difference, and it wasn't bad at all- nothing looked distorted.
  
  The battery is nearly the size of the base of the unit but it is very slim and hardly adds thickness to the until (I had read on other untils how the battery was a real detractor- but not with this unit.)
  
  The remote is just the right size- it's big enough where you wouldn't lose it too easily but it's smaller than a normal tv/dvd remote. I didn't want one of those credit card sized ones! And it couldn't be easier to use.
  
  I started out wanting a 10" screen but I changed my mind based on the reviews- and I'm very happy I went with the 8". After I thought about it, I realized that I didn't want to feel like I was carrying around a laptop- I already have a laptop and so why even bother spending $ on a portable DVD player? :)
  
  I highly recommend this Sony unless your heart is really set on a larger one. I now think this size is perfect.
  
  So anyway, I was very happy with the unit before I plugged in my headset. With my headset, this player blows me away- I'm amazed at the quality. And now I've got to look for a case that's worthy of it. :)
  
  UPDATE... I found a great case worthy of this DVD player!! I purchased the Targus DVD001 13 Portable DVD Player Case from Amazon. It is good quality, nicely padded and fits not only the player, but also my large headphones which do fold and all the accessories. It holds a lot of DVDs if you take them out of their cases but I don't like to do that, so it only holds about 4 if you keep the DVDs in their plastic cases. This is my own issue with the case. But I love it and would recommend it to everyone. Oh, it also has a strap that staps across the DVD player to keep it snug and also a divider attached by velcro to separate the dvd player from the accessories you pack with it. Great Bag!
  
  
  
  

• Good upgrade from Sony DVP-FX810

  
  By A1PN2U0AWXGVML on 2008-04-16
  Have owned the original Sony DVP-FX810 and that was a good player too. I sold that and bought this one. The resolution is about twice as high as the original. Just bought this but I can tell you the screen really shines compared to every other DVD player (portable) that I've seen. I'm sure more players will have the high resolution soon. The volume is also much louder than the original.
  
  The battery is supposed to last 6 hours at lowest brightness. With my old one which is basically this I did manage 5 hours at medium brightness so two movies should work fine before the low battery symbol shows. I wanted the red one but the sonystyle at Metreon had everyone except the red but the blue is nice too. Highly recommended.
  
  

• Good picture, very poor sound, mediocre battery life

  
  By AM2C7GFCPBNWC on 2008-06-27
  I bought this as a carry-along to use with exercise DVD's when traveling. The picture is fine for this purpose, since I'm usually in a confined space anyway and not too far away from the unit. However, for general use, it has two very serious drawbacks:
  1) The sound quality with the speakers is extremely poor, worse even than my 5-year-old no-frills laptop - and the speakers are about the same size as the clunky old laptop. I can't believe Sony can't put better speakers in this thing.
  2) The battery life is nowhere near the advertised 6 hours, even with the video display brightness turned down. Another reviewer was able to achieve 6 hours with the brightness turned down to 10 from the default 20. I can't get 2 hours at that level. If battery operation life is important to you, be realistic with this one - though shorter-than-advertised battery life seems to be an across-the-board problem with portable DVD players.
  I'm not bitterly sorry I bought it, though I have not had it long enough to comment on whether problems develop after using it for a while - another reviewer describes playback problems after several months' use. But I am disappointed with the sound quality and sorry I can't use the battery power for longer.
  
  

• A Good But Flawed Product

  
  By A147LSYLTVZ43Q on 2008-06-04
  The Sony DVP-FX820 was my first foray into portable DVD players. I purchased it based on a high rating here on a Amazon and on CNET. I will deal with the good things and then the bad.
  
  This is a technically good unit with all the features you need for DVD playback and the high build quality you would expect from Sony. The 8" screen is the major star of this model. The panel has the native DVD resolution of 480 pixels high (anything more than this is unnecessary with DVD as the player would then need to have up-sampling to fill the resolution). In daylight the screen is great, for me it fell down when used in a darkened room as the black level is not quite good enough to my eyes. The included accessories include the battery pack, wall power adapter, in car power adapter and an A-V cable. A neat feature is the ability to send video and audio signals in to as well as out of the unit. This would be great for viewing camcorder footage on a bigger screen or perhaps even a little gaming while travelling.
  
  Now the downsides...
  
  The battery pack is pretty much the same dimensions as the player and when clipped on makes the whole thing a bit on the portly side. This seems to be a problem that the whole market of portable DVD players seems to suffer from at the moment. In general the player feels a bit larger than it needs to be. The bezel for example has dead space on the sides that reminds me of those early laptops with tiny screens sat in acres of plastic.
  
  The biggest problem I have with this model is how it handles widescreen movies, specifically older non anamorphic encoded widescreen discs. Anamorphic encoded discs look great and fill the screen no problem. But when you put in non-anamorphic disc it presents it letterboxed at with top and bottom bars *and* bars the sides, thus reducing the size to about what you would see on a 5" display. Ut-oh not good! Full screen 4:3 discs will play back with bars only on the sides (you do have the option of stretching to fill 16:9 but then everyone looks like bobble heads!) To me the problem was impossible to get over as most of my DVD collection is widescreen with many older titles that are not anamorphic encoded.
  
  If you have any older non anamorphic discs I would suggest you look elsewhere as you will be disappointed with this model.
  
  
• Happy with the Purchase
  By A16TETT4HW9IUQ on 2008-04-18
  Small and portable. Excellent screen. Playing long and clear. This is 3rd portable DVD player owned and we really like it. Bought for extended use on airplane ride. Not worried about volume, can hear it just fine under normal conditions.
  
  
• If it's all about the picture
  By ADDHQZPK7TVRA on 2008-07-06
  When shopping at Best Buy for a portable DVD player, I tried a Toshiba, the Panasonic LS86 and asked about a Sony. My salesperson, who was knowledgeable, steered me away from the Sony, saying he didn't like it because it has a "glossy screen." So I tried the current Toshiba 9" and the Panasonic LS86, touted for its 13 hour battery life. I selected the LS86 because it has better blacks, meaning the Toshiba had a more washed out picture. I took the LS86 home and while learning how to use it I was pleased at the degree of control you have. (Yes, this will soon be a review of the DVP-FX820 - I returned the LS86 and got an FX820 - but first a little more about the Panasonic.) With the LS86 you have great control: you can control the brightness of the subtitles, you can reposition them, you have several factory presets for picture and one user picture preset, there are degrees of noise reduction available, a number of audio settings to control the tone of the sound and its stereo spread. It seemed great except for one thing: the picture was slightly disappointing. Text was awfully chunky. The edges of things looked rough. In a word, it had a lot of aliasing.
  
  I went on line to read some reviews of the LS86. I'd read reviews prior to shopping but, somehow, hadn't found any for the current Sony player, the DVP-FX820. On my second internet visit I found the Sony right away. When I learned it has much greater resolution, I packed up the LS86, went back to the store and exchanged.
  
  The DVP-FX820 has lots more pixels and that makes for a lots better picture. It has less control over those pixels, but as nice as adjustments are, they don't compensate for a poorer image. So, in my mind, the Sony is better.
  ___________
  
  The downside of the FX820: this model has a fair amount of edge enhancement, or sharpening. And there's no way to control it. I'm not going to describe what it looks like, because if you own one of these units and edge enhancement is below your radar, why point it out.
  
  What about the glossy screen the salesperson mentioned? When he said "glossy screen," I imagined that the screen itself was shiny. What he was referring to is the fact that the screen is surrounded by a shiny black plastic bezel. A matte finish would be less distracting, but the shiny plastic should not be a deal breaker.
  
  The contrast of the default LCD settings: I had to work a little with the "Backlight" and "Contrast" settings to keep the blacks from being crushed. Otherwise, things like someone's head of black hair might lose their detail.
  
  _____________
  
  Summary: A good solid unit with a consumer-oriented design philosophy. The controls are basic and fairly simple to operate. The picture seems to be the best in its price range. The audio, through headphones, is fine.
  
  
• CCD REAR VIEW CAMERA OPTION
  By A2MGHAETVH5IT4 on 2008-04-24
  Sony DVP-FX820 8", this is a great dvd player for several reasons.
  I was at Ultimate Electronics Mpls shopping for 2 - 46" Sam's for the monster garage.
  I was about to leave the store being tired and brain damaged from all the choices when I stumbled
  onto this new model FX820.
  
  10 minutes later it's out of the box in my truck and viewing the CCD camera view out the back.
  This has been an ongoing pending project for months to get this done.
  I can now back up to enclosed motorcycle trailer dead on target in the middle of the night w/o
  getting out and checking for permanent DAMAGE. That's a snow storm story in it's self.
  
  Bring it into the office and simply plug in the Bose sound system and enjoy theater action at it's best right in my lap.
  
  I researched all the options to use my Apple laptop as the infared CCD viewer, and it's not possible under $200.
  Not only is playing DVD's on the laptop a heavy heated process, but a huge pain in the vehicle being the laptop's screen doesn't rotate 180 and lay flat like this Sony player can.
  It's simply not possible in close quarters with high performance 5 speed shifter in the way for a laptop.
  
  Next option now is making velcro holster on the face of the dash to hold the SONY player for viewing for travel enjoyment and camera viewer. Just tap into stereo or the dual head phones jack on player.
  
  I'm also a photographer using highend digital Canon SLR's, and video gear and this player with be the greatest gadget to view RAW images straight out of the camera before processing.
  Yes, I'm a Happy Camper having just picked it 3 weeks ago. This QUALITY for under $200, are they nuts?
  
  Here's the problem I have buying products on-line. I never really get a true sense of quality of what I'm looking at in a micro image thumbnail until it's in my hand the first time. My hard drive is full of research.
  The biggest hurdle to start with, there's so many out there. Sony was a hands down choice to begin with.
  
  I'll bet NASA will have these on board for the shuttle crew. The heck with free satellite TV while in orbit.
  Me, I'd be watching re-runs of Mad TV, and Married with Snots.
  
  I payed a little more at the store than here, and if I did have an issue, I'd be back in the store within 5 minutes. That's a bit difficult with a mail ordered deal. My research was complete that day. But to see People paid $1000 for players not that long ago, this is very cool.
  I'll be back at this page to purchase the next one or two for wedding gifts. They won't be returning this one.
  Cheers..
  
  
• Great player....BUT!!
  By A3KTQ53XS4LTIT on 2008-06-26
  This player is as good as everyone says it is. BUT it does NOT play DVD-R like the first reviewer says. I had a cheap portable player and wanted to replace it with something quality. After a lot of research I decided on this Sony. The Sony website even says it will play DVD-Rs, but once you open the manual it says only if they're formatted a special way. False advertising. I don't understand since even the super cheapo portable DVD player would play any disc, so why can't Sony figure it out? So now I have to return a second player (other was a Coby TF-DVD7107 where the battery only lasted 1 hour and skipped at random.) So if you plan on playing DVD-Rs, it's 1 star. Otherwise it seems ok.
  
  
• Pretty good, but only NTSC
  By ASB5632RO684V on 2008-05-22
  Overall the best product for the price range right now (May 2008). I did a lot of research and is happy with the player. The only issues that I see are the difficulty bypassing the region code and the fact that it only plays NTSC DVDs (PAL won't work). This is a big problem with a portable DVD player if you are traveling internationally or have DVDs from around the world. It is pretty easy to convert, but takes time.
  
  
• The best there is in this category!
  By AFA5N338FES89 on 2008-05-14
  I purchased this unit it in red and use a little laptop case to carry it with the AC and DC adapters for travel, along with a DVD or two. This is an outstanding portable DVD player, with a bright sharp image, and very decent sound. Better sound can be found with the use of headphones which should also prolong battery usage. The battery attaches beautifully to the bottom and gives ample time for most uses. Don't even consider the other cheaper units out their, nor the older Sony model, the 810. Check all the reviews from other sources: this is the one to get and you will not be disappointed.
  
  
• It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!
  By ALI483EPAZ6YH on 2008-05-12
  I admit to not being very astute when it comes to tech stuff. But I simply got so sick and tired of the hassle in hooking one-thing-up-to-another-thing to just sit back, relax and enjoy. Now I can do all that with ease anywhere and enjoy my favorite movies and instructional programs with the most superb picture quality possible along with its fantastic portable ease-of-use, and truly long-life battery time. Moreover, even though it was a bit more than I wanted to spend at the outset, I am delighted that my wallet went that extra mile because this is a truly solid investment that will provide lovely viewing, listening and learning - like the song says...as time goes by.
  
  
• Like it but some issues
  By A3H698WL63TZDJ on 2008-05-30
  I've had this for 100 days, just long enough so that Target wouldn't take it back when the speaker stopped working. Sound still comes through if you have your headset on, just not if you don't want to use a headset. Now, if I want it fixed I have to mail it in so they can test it, etc. -- bascially that means it won't be fixed for a month, which pretty much eliminates its vacation / travel usefulness.
  
  Other than that, I've been pretty happy with the image, weight, handy battery and battery length.
  
  These days I am thinking, though, that if you're buying one of these things for kid usage, go cheaper and treat it like a commodity so you won't be so annoyed when something goes wrong.
  
  
• My Review
  By A2N27BCFNFM634 on 2008-04-29
  I bought this DVD player in anticipation for a flight to Vegas from Orlando, and then back. I got on the plane with a full charge and when we arrived in Vegas, there were still 2/3 bars. The battery life was great, the picture quality was excellent...except one dead pixel. When you're watching a movie, you don't even notice it. Kudos on this one. I like it!!
  
  
• Pleased with product.
  By A21S4PBV838Y7R on 2008-05-03
  The DVD player works very well. Picture is exceptional. The battery life is excellent. A little disappointed with the sound from the speakers, but it suffices.
  
  
• Happy with the product...
  By A2IGYGTIA8APIL on 2008-05-04
  The screen resolution is very good. I have played DVDs, VCDs, music CDs and am glad of the choice I made.
  
  
• A definite improvement from Sony's previous portable dvd player.
  By A25PM9JGHPU8EI on 2008-05-14
  I owned the DVP-FX810. That was not the greatest player - the viewing angle was extremely limited, discs often didn't load content properly, the sound from the little speakers was weak. Thankfully, all that has been corrected with this new player. The best thing is undoubtedly the image quality. On the old player, the screen had to carefully be positioned for a decent image. Not so with this one. The screen on this edition looks more "LCD-like", that is, more like what you'd expect in a much larger set. It hasn't rejected or failed to load any dvd I've put in it yet. It does not have the A-B repeat like the old player, but you may or may not care about that. One thing that did alarm me: while a dvd was playing and I pressed the "Options" button on the player, I would notice a lag in audio / video synchronization when I returned from the Options menu back to regular playback (it was back to normal after pressing pause, then play again). The audio is louder, and a little better. The remote is smaller than the older player as well (as are the buttons). I definitely recommend this as a replacement for the FX810. It's worth the upgrade for image quality alone.
  
  
• Just got, great display
  By A1QT1XH3OS19T2 on 2008-05-20
  I just got this unit using my Sony Rewards points. I popped Bee Movie in for my son and the resolution just blew me away. I have a 60" Sony with Blu-Ray and I would rank this unit right up there with that combo. I bought a Case Logic seatback case from Walmart for my son, but the jury is still out on that one as it doesn't really work the way the picture shows.
  
  Nic
  
  
• Blown Away by High Definition
  By A1GBT4UN2RW7XY on 2008-05-28
  According to the Wikipedia write-up on portable DVD players (PDPs), the standard definition PDPs is 480x234. This makes the FX820's 800x480 resolution "high-def" by PDP standard. Indeed, that's 3.4 times as much resolution and you can definitely tell the difference on every DVD you play.
  
  I bought the player (this red one) after reading all the helpful reviews for the black version. (Thanks, guys!) The FX820 feels a bit heavy to me, but otherwise is the "perfect" PDP! The screen is gorgeous, the two headphone jacks are convenient, and the controls are easy to use. The battery life has not disappointed at all; I set the brightness at half and get at least 5 hours out of each charge. I simply cannot be happier.
  
  If you're patient you can find this player at new for $160 or even $150, but even at the list price of $179, I think it's a great buy. I used to own a cheap PDP but it was a pain to use and poor quality. I'm so glad I upgraded to this Sony player. My family will have lots of on-the-go fun for years to come.
  
  BTW, you can see more reviews on the product page for the black version: Sony DVP-FX820 8" Portable DVD Player Black.
  
  
• What Separates this Unit from Others
  By A823L2YB2FKBC on 2008-06-06
  Rather than rehash everything others have said, in my opinion, these qualities separate this unit from others:
  
  1. Build Quality-Excellent
  2. Picture-the best I have seen in a portable-highest resolution, sharpness
  3. Battery life-excellent-more than 4 hours-battery is large, but very thin and does not add a great deal of bulk
  4. Controls are located on the screen, rather than having to reach around the screen to operate while in a "twisted' mode, in my opinion, its strongest characteristic
  5. A bit heavier than most
  6. SONY makes reliable stuff
  
  Radio Shack sells a big for $12 which is perfect for this unit...Nothing fits into the bag except the unit....great for air travel....put your accessories into your suitcase and board the plane lighter
  
  That's about it.
  
  Dan
  Danbury, CT
  
  
  
• Things you should know...
  By A2IMD4GB2T3CWW on 2008-09-06
  I purchased this player based on the good reviews on Amazon.com. Very first impressions were good. The red is a cool color. As I played with it and discovered what it does not do, I became more and more disappointed.
  I have a lot of British comedy DVDs that I was looking forward to watching on Atlantic flights. I can confirm that this player is absolutely region one only. However, it gets worse. I have some region free British DVDs that also will not play on the Sony. It is NTSC only. No PAL.
  There is some discussion about how long the battery lasts. I haven't tested this, but suppose you want a second battery. How much do you suppose a second battery for a $165 device would cost? $30.00? $50.00? $70.00? Nope, try $100.00! Check it out the part number is NP-FX110.
  Suppose you want to connect this player to a TV. Your only option is composite video. The lowest video quality connection method. No S-VHS, No Component video.
  Several other players in this price range have SD card slots. Some even have USB connectivity and can play still images/video from external sources. The Sony doesn't.
  In all fairness, if all you are interested in is playing Region 1 DVDs on the built in screen and don't care about additional features this is not a bad choice. The picture quality isn't bad and it has a 800*480 resolution screen. But I'm sending mine back. The lack of PAL support was a deal breaker. I'm getting a Philips PET1030.
  
  
  
• Great DVD player
  By A1HML9P2MNWKBM on 2008-05-11
  Bought this to take on a long plane trip and I was very pleased. The long life battery was great. This DVD player will be great on any long trip where a plug-in isn't available. Recommend this DVD player any time. Price was great also. Bought it from VANN's.
  
  
• SUPER FABULOUS!!!
  By AYMUC9FCDIDH9 on 2008-05-27
  I chose this product after days of reviewing similar items. I purchased this one based on screen size and battery life, but am so impressed with it all. I thought I would really hate the swivel style screen and was really upset it had one until I used it. It is so convenient and seems very sturdy. (I was worried as I bought it for my 2 year olds use. She has used it several times now and all is well.) The volume is superb. If you really want to you can sit in another room and still hear it. So, noisy car trips are no problem. I also really appreciate the fact that the remote can be used to turn the unit on/off. It is also a very quiet machine, virtually no loading noise when starting a disc. Overall, I am very impressed with this personal dvd player and would highly recommend it!
  
  
• Sony portable dvd player
  By A15ZRDDF1TSY1A on 2008-10-13
  My husband gave me this player for Christmas since my old player had worn out (it was a non-name brand, but worked beautifully for years). This player is a big disappointment. It weighs a ton for one thing. I couldn't take it in my carry-on bag because it was so heavy. It also doesn't play DVD-R's at all, and it won't replay a regular DVD over again. Also, the sound without earphones is very tinny. I like to watch movies in bed, so earphones really didn't work well. Maybe I got a lemon. Anyway, I bought another player, a Zenith which I love. I didn't tell my husband, and I know he won't notice. I wouldn't hurt his feelings for the world!
  
  
• New Sony DVP 820
  By A13HJ64L8FU865 on 2008-05-09
  I'd definately highly recommend this player for general and air-travel use entertainment. The picture is superb,sound and controls are effectly positioned.
  
  A winner!
  
  
• Superb monitor as well as a DVD player
  By A1WYSC85NLNM4Z on 2008-07-17
  I use this portable player as a larger monitor than the cam's swing out LCD both framing, focusing and for shooting angles where the flip out is less than practical.
  
  The screen will twist and flip so it is lying flat against the player which makes it easier to mount on a bracket for tripod use.
  
  The speakers are about as tinny as all the other portables, but that is why they have a headphone jack on these portables and speaking of that this one has two built in headphone jacks.
  
  All the controls are handily on the bottom of the screen section so are accessible even when you have the unit folded against the player portion and it also comes with a remote control.
  
  The resolution of this portable's monitor is hands above any other I have owned, used or seen.
  
  The battery lasts a pleasantly nice amount of time as well.
  
  It has played DVD-R, -RW, +R and +RW, DL, CD, CD-RW, MP3 and digital photos for me in both 4:3 and 16:9 dimensions.
  
  Not sure what else you could ask out of a portable unit, fully recommend this player/monitor.
  
  
• Excellent Product
  By A1QVFHPY8418HC on 2008-07-11
  I first purchased a Panasonic portable dvd player pretty much on impulse at the store because the price was good. When I got home I read the reviews (I know, that's kind of a backwards way to do it, but then it was an impulse buy) and they weren't so good. After doing more research, it seemed this Sony unit came out the best so I returned the Panasonic and bought the Sony.
  
  I am very happy with my purchase. What I like about this product is the build quality, the picture quality, and the swivel feature. Many portable players lack the swivel feature. This is a very convenient thing to have. And as far as picture quality and build quality, Sony is a reliable company for those two things. It is very well made, the accessories are also first rate, and the instruction manual is a real manual that is understandable and grammatically correct. Two thumbs up on this purchase! This Sony was more expensive that most of the other players but it is worth the extra cost. If you figure your cost per period of time you use it and the enjoyment factor, this one is actually the better deal.
  
  
• Nice player
  By AWKVQQZKTRFAL on 2008-08-01
  First portable DVD player I have ever owned but it would be hard to beat. Very nice display, great sound.
  Battery life was 5 hours+ .
  I wish there was some illumination of the controls. Very difficult to see what's what on a dark train until you learn where everything is. Power button is also hard to find and easy to accidentally press.
  Individual volume controls for the headphones would be great so I suggest keeping all your headphones to the same model. I highly recommend a carrying case like the Targus.
  
  
  
• Good product but with Region 1 limit
  By AF00ZRI3SLRVW on 2008-09-18
  The product is very good , but only works with DVD REGION 1 .
  Another brands like LG and Samsung have also very good quality and plays all regions DVDs .
  
  
• Blown Away by High Definition
  By A1GBT4UN2RW7XY on 2008-05-28
  According to the Wikipedia write-up on portable DVD players (PDPs), the standard definition PDPs is 480x234. This makes the FX820's 800x480 resolution "high-def" by PDP standard. Indeed, that's 3.4 times as much resolution and you can definitely tell the difference on every DVD you play.
  
  I bought the player (the red one) after reading all the helpful reviews here. (Thanks, guys!) The FX820 feels a bit heavy to me, but otherwise is the "perfect" PDP! The screen is gorgeous, the two headphone jacks are convenient, and the controls are easy to use. The battery life has not disappointed at all; I set the brightness at half and get at least 5 hours out of each charge. I simply cannot be happier.
  
  If you're patient you can find this player at new for $160 or even $150, but even at the list price of $179, I think it's a great buy. I used to own a cheap PDP but it was a pain to use and poor quality. I'm so glad I upgraded to this Sony player. My family will have lots of on-the-go fun for years to come.
  
  

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