GoVideo DP 8440 8.4-Inch Portable DVD Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've looking around for a while for a portable dvd player that has TV capabilities. So far Govideo is the first manufacturer to market such a player in the US. I'm sure all the other dvd makers will follow suit by Christmas time. I didn't want to wait longer since I wanted to have portable DVD player/TV to go on my Summer vacation.

On paper, this player has all the features that I was looking for, especially the TV capability and progressive scanning. The image quality is quite good as well as the sound listened through headphones. Neither the tuner or headphones are included.

There are two issues that's dissapointing about this player. First, the build quality is not up to par with others, it is a very flimsy machine and poorly built, the disk cover for example, does not close evenly with the rest of the player's surface. The material is so thin that the whirling noise can be heard by others in proximity. The other dissapointment is the battery pack, it's an external battery that connects to the back of the player, it's almost twice as thick and it's about 50% of the combined weight. I was looking for something thinner and lighter than a laptop to carry around airports but with the battery attached it is about the size and weight of a small laptop.
Considering the price, I think this player is acceptable for now. The ability to watch TV while waiting at airports or play my favorite DVD's and CD's is a big plus. I will certainly keep an eye out for offerings from Toshiba, Samsung and Panasonic.
Amazon doesn't carry the tuner so I can't comment on that. Will be buying the tuner directly from GoVideo.

9/21/2004 Update:
Got the antenna/tuner directly from GoVideo. Tested the antenna athome and not a single channel came through. It seems like if your rabbit ears don't work well athome it won't work with this dvd player either.
Next I tried it outdoors. On a morning commute in NJ, I took the player in the car and the most I got was the local ABC affiliate and the image was very poor. I went through suburban and urban areas and it did not make a difference. So unless you're located in line of sight of a broadcast antenna, this player is useless as a TV.

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Product Description:
For those who crave variety or love to travel light, GoVideo's 8.4-inch, 16:9 widescreen DP8440 portable DVD player offers not only the ability to spin your favorite DVD movies, photo CDs, and music CDs, but also the capability to pull in broadcast television stations when used with GoVideo's affordable NTSC TV tuner (model DPT100, sold separately). The tuner attaches directly to the DVD player, transforming the DP8440 into a high-quality, portable LCD television. The slim remote supplied with the player controls basic TV functions such as tuning and volume.
The player also comes with a rechargeable battery offering up to 3 hours of battery life. The credit-card-style remote is small enough to slip into a pocket. The payer's full optical media compatibility extends to DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, music CDs, Kodak Picture CDs, and recordable CDs filled with JPEG images or MP3 music files.
Listen through the unit's built-in stereo speakers, or take advantage of its dual .125-inch headphone jacks (headphones not included) to listen with a partner--or confine the kids' gaming noises to just their heads. Additional supplied accessories include a car adapter/charger, an AC adapter/charger, and audio/video hookup cables.
Connect a camcorder, video game or other external audio and video source and enjoy home movies and games while you're on the go. Or, take advantage of the unit's coaxial digital-audio output and route it through your surround-decoding AV receiver and multichannel speaker system to get the full benefits of its home theater abilities. The unit even sports a progressive-scan component-video output for use with your high-definition or HD-ready TV or monitor.
Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.
What's in the Box
DVD player, remote control, remote battery, a rechargeable player battery pack, a DC vehicle power adapter, an AC/DC power adapter, audio/video hookup cables, a user's manual, a quick-reference guide, and warranty information.