audio

To convert this player to Multi-Region playback 1. Open the drive lid and insert any disc, close the drive lid 2. Open the drive lid, remove the disc 3. Close the drive lid and immediately press the Stop button on the unit 4. After a few seconds, using your remote control enter the code 8, 7, 1 and 0 5. For Region 1 enter the code 1, for Region 2 enter 2, and so on, or for multiregion playback press the Fast Forward button

picture, video out, headphone jack

battery life, battery life, battery life

I would have to say that for the price I paid for it (400) it is a very good bargin. I bring it to work everyday so on the ride home I rent a dvd and watch it in my 1 1/2 to 2 hr commute throught boston traffic. it does hang up and it does occasionally skip but it''s not all that annoying. My only complaint it that the battery does not last long enought about 1 3/4 hrs at best I have bought an inverter to have ac voltage in my car but when it is hooked up to it you get a whine through the speakers ( I have a wireless adapter so I can hear the movie on 88.7fm) overall the picture is clear and sharp. I would give an overall rating of 3.5 if the battery lasted 3 hrs it would be a 4.8 Hope this helps

Cheap, Multi-region capability, S-Video Output, NTSC/PAL switchable, Decent LCD display

Bulky, Heavy, cannot charge battery and use unit at the same time

I acquired this product at a store in Hong Kong for about HKD$4200 (abot UK£420). It was a Region 6 unit, but the shop promptly entered a secret code into the remote control to convert it into a multi region unit. The Aiwa build is ok. Being a bit bulky, it is nothing to boast about. However, the price was cheap! The portable Sony and Panasonic models were smaller and lighter, but at a price.
The DVD player worked very well in both Mains powered and battery mode. However, when the external battery is attached, the Optical Digital out cannot be used. Also, the NTSC/PAL switch must be set to the desired mode before attaching the battery. A main problem is that the battery cannot be charged at the same time as using the unit.

The screen quality is good, especially when watching wide screen movies such as Gladiator. However, some times vertical banding can be seen on the image.
Sound quality wise, the internal speakers are adequate. Using Earphones and/or the RCA jacks to connect to a hi-fi is much more preferable.

In all this product is OK. It is nothing to boast about. The main reason for purchasing this product is the functionality for the price paid.

Picture and price are good

1. Unit gets very hot.
2. Speakers are not loud enough. Played on MAX volume in the car, you can barely hear it when it's 3 feet away from you.
3. Battery life is way too short.
4. Most importantly: It hangs up/skips/stops all together on even brand new DVD's. Took it back to Best Buy and they sent it out to be fixed. They replaced the optical laser/reader or something. Took it home and it still does the same thing. The DVD's play fine in my home Sony player so I know it's not the DVD itself.
I don't know what to do now.
Take it back again and say it's having the same problem?

Is the laser/reader too sensitive to scratches?
If so, it still stops on DVD's right out of the wrapping.

Can anyone suggest something?

Because I haven't made it through one movie without it skipping or stopping, I would recommend to NOT buy this product!!!!!!

A follow-up to my previous review. Firstly the bad - the advertised slow motion function does not exist. This feature appears prominently in AIWA's website adv and is a feature I would use more than other features such as programming. Several calls to AIWA got the response " we reserve the right to change specifications without notice" This is false advertising where I come from. I'll bet that AIWA will not correct its ad in a hurry either.
The good - the PAL/NTSC switch has some use. When the stretch-screen feature is used in NTSC with some widescreen DVD's you can get image degradation on the supplied display (however, not a problem with an external tv). One reviewer of a different machine described it like looking through a screen door. Switch it to PAL and the problem goes away! You thus get a full screen with all DVD's I have tried it on. It keeps the full width of the screen, but reduces the height slightly. This gets rid of the screen-door effect.
I am not aware if other makes of portables have a similar solution to this problem.
On balance, I am still impressed with the machine but concerned about the false advertising.

The Obvious: It's Portable!!!!!
Sturdy Casing, Plays CD-R's, Full Sized Remote
Beautiful-Bright-Crisp: 5.8" TFT Display

Doesn't Like Dirty/Scratched DVD's (Hangs)
Battery Pack Doesn't Last Very Long

This is definetly the coolest thing I own!!!!

What can I say that hasn't been said already :) This machine is truly a great piece of technology. I bought it on ebay for $600US. Since then I have run this player through most of my 70+ DVD collection. So far everything is running like a charm. I had a problem with DVD's I rented being scratched/dirty, but that's more of a problem with the movie rental place than the player. The unit does get warm though on the bottom, not to the point of uncomftorability but I would recomend placing it in a carrying case while viewing it on your lap. This unit will fit in most zip drive carying cases to give you an idea of the size. I have had no problems with overheating and/or crashing. If this DVD player were a car it would be a viper: prestegious and top of the line.

I do have one fear though, the guy who posted the previous review said he returned his to circuit city because the screen was faulty. So far I have seen no problems with mine, and I'm hoping he just got one from a bad batch.
Mike

Similar Products Used:

Sanyo 5100 Series DVD Player

very short battery life last only about 2 and 1/2 hours

I thought I was getting a good deal when I got it but but after useing I wished I would have spended few extra dollars and got a panisonic or something. The extra battery is hard to find the aiwa 800 number don't help at all if someone wants to take off my hand contact me at UtRaja1@aol.com

Similar Products Used:

none

All the outlets, input/output, pal/ntsc, nice quality screen, price.

Battery is alittle short but for $30, you can get an inverter that turns any car outlet into a standard household outlet.

Although I got a refurbished product, I did get a great price.

Similar Products Used:

none

cheaper than the panasonic DVD-L50, and has a larger screen. Comes with full size remote, and all connection cables.

extra batteries are hard to find, and it has the shortest battery life of any portable player, approx. 2 hrs. battery is nickel metal hydride instead of lithium ion, so battery must be completely drained before it can be charged again. Player and battery are physically larger than other portables. player cannot be plugged in with the AC adaptor and charge the battery at the same time.

okay here's the skinny. when it comes to the portable players on the market today, most of them are very similar.they all have a lot of the same features, i.e. RCA outs, s-video outs, optical digital out etc. The features that distinguish one from another most are physcial size, screen size, and battery life length. based on the variation of these features the price obviously goes up or down. i did a considerable amount of research when trying to find a portable. i was looking for the panasonic when i discovered the aiwa. it is by far the cheapest of the lot, if you can find one. i got mine for $670, at circuit city. who says online prices are always the lowest. it has a 5.8" screen compared to the panasonic's 5". yes, i know the pioneer and the sharp have 7" screens, but they are also $500+ more. it has all the same outputs as the rest. it is dolby digital and dts compatible, again like the rest. it does come with a full size remote though. the remote is full functioned and is actually almost bigger than the player. this is good for those of you who plan on using it as a home player, which it will do very well. you will also have to worry less about losing the remote, like those credit card size ones. another cool feature is that you can turn the A/V ouputs into inputs via a switch on the side.This means that you can hook a camcorder or playstation or whatever up to it. Okay, on to the nuts and bolts of the thing. i have almost 100 dvd's and have really put this thing through its paces. i am pleased to say that, so far, the player performed almost flawlessly. the screen is bright and crisp. the player had no problems playing some of the newer discs, i.e the matrix, saving private ryan etc. the speakers arent that bad considering their size. one place aiwa did cut corners, probably to keep costs down, was the battery. it only lasts for 2-2.5 hrs. this is good for most movies, but it is cutting it a bit close. the battery is nickel metal hydride, which will retain a memory if not completely drained before recharging, unlike the newer lithium ion batteries. Others have also complained about these players getting hot on the bottom. The aiwa just gets a little warm. One thing i feel is worth mentioning is that most DVD's wont take full advantage of the player's screen. Being that the screens on these things are relatively small, it is important (at least to me) that the image fill the entire screen. most portables do have a zoom feature that streches the image to fill the screen, but at the cost of considerabel image degredation. what to look for in dvd's that will take advantage of the full screen, are discs that are in an 1.85:1 anamorphic aspect ratio and enhanced for 16X9 TV's. these will work the best. 1.85:1 is nearly identical to 16X9. many widescreen DVD's are also in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. This is wider than the screen. even if these discs are enhanced for 16X9 TV's, black bars will still appear on the top and bottom. Too much info? Am I rambling? Okay, i'll stop here. if anyone has any other questions, email me. hope this info helps. cheers.

excellent display, bigger than others at this price, good picture quality, decent sound (for small speakers), attractive, seems well-made, full-size RCA inputs/outputs and S-video output, good price

bigger and heavier than most, shorter battery life

When the price dropped to $565.00, it began to look like a good buy. Comparing the display directly with the Panasonic 5" sets, the 5.8" of the Aiwa is much more usable and had as good or better picture quality. I wonder if this is basically the same machine as the new Audiovox, also selling for about the same price?
The sound from its little speakers was better than I had expected, but really good sound requires headphones or the use of external speakers.
The headphone and external sound is very good, not noticeably different than my full-size players. Similarly the picture shown on an external 32" appears comparable to the full-size players.
The NIMH battery, which attaches to the rear of the unit, has a shorter use time (about 2 hours) than most, but will charge fairly quickly, in about the same time. I am uncertain as to whther there are any memory effect with the battery, most NIMH batteries claim to be free of this problem. The Aiwa manual makes no reference to it, but merely advises you to fully charge it at least once a year if it is not used regularly. My Compaq Presario manual discusses the use of both NIMH and LION batteries and makes no mention of a memory effect with either type although it recommends draing the NIMH fully and the LION 50% before storing for a long time.
The Compaq also plays DVD's. It is a new model and its display is much better than my three year old Toshiba. If you are thinking of just using a laptop to play DVD's, I would say that the laptop has acceptable quality, however, it's display is much dimmer and washes out in bright light. The Aiwa display stands up much better in bright light and is significantly smaller and lighter. Of course the PC has at 13" diagonal display. I would say that the diference is akin to looking at a rear-projection large screen TV vs a regular tube screen. You gain image size at the expense of some quality. While the Compaq has an s-video output,its picture quality on my 32" is poor.
Ultimately the Aiwa is a more versatile DVD player. Of course the Compaq is also a full-powered computer. At the current price I would say that a portable DVD player is, if not a bargain, at least a reasonable choice, especially if you intend to use it in your home system instead of a full-size unit. With that caveat I give it 5 stars for value. On the other hand, I would not dream of paying the $1200-1400 being asked for the new Sony portable DVD player with a 7" display. At that point I would say get a computer for a few hundred dollars more.
I like the full-size RCA plugs. The mini-plugs, used on most others will not give as good results as quality RCA cords.
I am ambivalent about the full-sized remote. It is well-laid out, but rather large to take with you. On the other hand, player is not a pocketable product, so its not that much extra hassle to carry the remote and it won't get lost easily, like a credit card remote.
One negative, I cannot see how to use the advertised slow motion feature. It is not even mentioned in the manual and the service center could not immediately say what was up. Its a small point, but I would have preferred it to programming capability.
On balance, I am quite happy with this machine. It is a good product, which works well, and looks good, but could be smaller and lighter with a longer lived battery.

Similar Products Used:

full-size Sony and Sharp, inspected Panasonic portables at dealers