Philips PET1030 10.2-Inch Portable DVD Player with Car Mount Kit Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)When I first bought this DVD player, I loved it. Yes there are more expensive ones but I couldn't find better a better player, really. After watching a movie, I noticed that every time the chapter changed, it had a little marker in the upper left corner. At first I wasn't bothered with it and after a few weeks, I didn't want to watch a movie on it because it was so bothersome.

I like to write reviews for people and not for myself. So, I do a FAQ.How's the picture quality?

It's great. Very clear; very bright. It's a standard LCD screen. (Push the screen and you get puddle). The only thing I don't like it that dust and particles always get on the screen. Nothing a little blow on the screen won't fix.____________________How's the sound?

Actually, it's the loudest potable DVD player I've heard. What I like is that you can change the volume with the remote. It has the option of volume numbers 1-16. I usually keep it on 12 because it's actually too loud. The bass on it is your normal small speaker quality. It's so so. But nothing to worry about, the sound is still excellent.____________________How the quality?

It's good. The CD cover is a little flimsy but nothing that will break too easily. Turning it on is a little tricky. Sometimes it takes a minute to turn it on and off. One time I pushed the power button and it wouldn't turn on. I thought maybe it died after 2 days but it turned on. This is normal. It takes time to boot up.

____________________How's the screen?

Great size. 10.2. It's the largest you can find for now. I actually watched seasons 1-6 of The Sopranos and The Lord Of The Rings on it and the screen size wasn't bothersome at all. You can actually watch a movie and not worry that maybe the screen is too small.

___________________How are the accessories?

Nice. It has a controller, cigarette lighter adapter, TV adapter, an option where you can attach the DVD player to the back of a car seat. Great for kids and long trips. The attachment is actually very sturdy. I wouldn't worry about it falling off. I don't like the remote. It's kind of cheap. It's the size of a calculator but a little thinner. The bad thing is that the remote is kind of needed but not necessary. You can do the same functions with the buttons on the DVD player but the remote is a lot easier.

____________________How's the battery life?

Pretty good. It's about 4 hours. I always have mine plugged in so I can't say if it's 4 hours exactly. The DVD player manual says it's approximately 4 hours.

____________________What are the options?

It has a lot to set up so you get the picture and sound the way you want. It has the option where if you turn the DVD Player off, it will stat back up at the same place.General: Language, PBD Setting, Power Save, DIVX VOD, Parental, Set Password, Factory setting.

Video: TV Display, TV Standard, MPEG-4 Subtitles, Brightness, Contrast, Color, Turn off LCD, Battery.

Audio: Dolby, Digital (SPDIF).

____________________What's on the controller?

Menu/Disk, Set up, Direction arrows, OK button, Display, Options, Vol Up and Down, Play/Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind, Stop, Mute, Number Button 0-9, Subtitles, Audio, Return, A-B, Zoom.

____________________How's the size?

Very nice. It's the size of a hard cover book. It's not as heavy compared to other DVD players but it's a little heavy. Like I said before, the screen size is great. If you where to take it along with you, pack it as you would a hard cover book.

____________________What are the features of the DVD player?

Here's the great part.

It has a swivel screen meaning you can turn it half way around. I like this because when I watch a movie, I just see a screen and not the player. For the connections, it has a Headphone jack, AV In/Out, USB connection (the best part) SC/MMC Card. (The memory card slot won't work with a SanDisk. It's too large. You can get an adapter though.) S Video, COAXIAL, The Power Adapter hole. Now for the USB option. You can connect, your iPod and charge the iPod, PSP, Camera anything that has the option of a USB connection. When you connect the USB, you can actually use it as a player for your MP3 player. A picture viewer form your Camera and PSP. It will show all your files that are on your device. Great feature. On the bottom on the DVD player it has the rubber feet so it won't slide around.

____________________How's the look of it?

Very sleek. It's White and Gray. When opened, it's Black. I like that because it's not distracting.

____________________So, after all the good stuff, what bad about it?

As before, the remote isn't too good. Dust gets on the screen very easily, sometimes it takes awhile to turn on and of course, the infamous chapter marker which you can get rid of.It's really the best Portable DVD Player I've ever seen. If you're going to get one, get this.

Here's how to get rid of the marker.

____________________

Go into Google and type in "Philips Portable DVD players".

Click the first link that says "consumer.philips".

Before anything, select your country in the upper right.

Click the link that says Contact & Support on the upper right hand corner.

Next it will say "Find Product".

Copy and Paste " PET1030 " in the Model number or keyword search bar. When the search is found, click the first link that pops up. "1 PET1030/37 Portable DVD Player".

On the left hand side it says "Software & drivers" Click that.

SOFTWARE

+Firmware Upgrade Readme File

Posted Date: 10/17/2007Size = 14 KB
+Firmware Upgrade Software

Posted Date: 10/17/2007Version = 070911Now take it from there.

Make sure you read the Readme file before doing anything. You have to follow exactly what it says or it won't work.

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The Readme file.Software / driver information

Software version v070911 for PET1030/37Benefits.Fixing the problem of chapter mark constantly stay on the display when playing back some of the DVD discDo I need to upgrade the software.Software version number smaller than 070911 need to proceed software upgrade
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How to check the software version of your DVD portable

1.Press the SETUP key to enter the setup menu

2.Press RETURN and then press 1->2->3 by remote control

3.The display will show the software version e.g. 070303
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How to download the software to your PC

Click below link to download and save the zip file on your PC
___

How to upload the software to your device

1. Unzip the file and then burn this "PHILIPS.BIN" file into CD-ROM using the following setting"

- File System CD-ROM ISO Level 2

- Mode 1/2/XA

- Character set ISO 9660

- Finalized, single session

- Write speed slow (e.g. 2x, 4x)

2. CD-ROM disc name must be "PHILIPS" (otherwise it will not be recognized as a disc for upgrade)

3. Power on the portable DVD player with AC/DC adaptor. (Warning: Do not use the battery alone!)

4. Keep the OSD language setting at "English" (Warning: It's important!!)

5. Play the CD-ROM for upgrade. They player will automatically upgrade after pressing "OK" by remote control
(Warning: Do not unplug the AC/DC adaptor during SW upgrade to prevent flash corrupt of the player!)

6. Once upgrade is completed, the player will restart automatically and you will observe PHILIPS LOGO on the screen

7. Then it is safe to remove the disc from the player

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Need more info or help? Just leave a comment and I will help you out.

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Product Description:
The Philips PET1020/37 is a Portable DVD Player with a 10.2" High Resolution LCD Display. The product has a 180-degree swivel screen and comes with a Car Mount Kit.