Shockazooloo, carmann and I were discussing this DVD Player in another thread (that has since been locked), so I thought I'd point out that Target has a great little gem of a Portable DVD Player on sale right now for $166.88 (*edit* It's now back to regular price $179.99 - still cheap!) It is sold under the brand name "Kawasaki" and the model number is PVS166W. I bought one today after a glowing recommendation from Shockazooloo and carmann and I have to say that they are totally right...this thing is really cool.
The box claims that it supports DVD, CD, mp3, and jpegs. I can safely report that it *also* supports DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW (sorry, no DVD-RW to test), and WMA, none of which are mentioned in the manual. Even more surprising is that it supports ID3 Tag information for both mp3 AND wma (something I've only seen on more expensive players).
As Shockazooloo pointed out, the picture quality is very sharp and this little thing can get really loud (not Bose Wave Radio Quality of course, but still the loudness surprised me).
The LCD screen is 6.5" (which is just shy of 7"), but *still* supports 16:9 mode. Most of the players at this price point (except for whatever one Fry's had on sale today for $179) are only 5" or 4" screens, which means they only support 4:3 mode (like your average TV). In other words, this supports widescreen (which most DVD's are).
It doesn't unfortunately support VCD or SVCD (I get an "invalid disc" error), but honestly I've abandoned those formats thanks to DVD-R/DVD+R. I also don't know if this unit is hackable, because again, it's no longer a concern for me.
The chipset appears to be the Zoran Vaddius one, which is used in the KLH 1220 and Toshiba DVD Players (although the Toshiba menus are customized for them so they look different). The menus on this look very similar to the KLH in fact, although this one supports the better ID3 Tag information (but not VCD/SVCD).
The only thing about the unit that I somewhat dislike is the size; it's a little thick, but nothing terrible. It's funny because the way it looks and the mini a/c adapter it comes makes me think of a very mini-laptop (even the way it is boxed reminded me of a laptop)! The battery though attaches to the back of it (unlike my original fear that it just dangles at its side), and you have to charge the battery with a separate adapter and use the a/c. So you can't watch a movie or use the unit when you are charging the battery (unless I am reading the directions wrong).
I'd love to provide a decent link for this on the net, but there doesn't seem to be any evidence of it.
*edit* Target used to have a link to it in its online weekly ad, but it's since been removed.
So when did Kawasaki start making DVD Players in addition to motorcycles? They actually don't. Alco Electronics licensed the use of the name (although I honestly don't know why; when I think of motorcycles I certainly don't think of electronics). For those of you "in the know," Alco Electronics is the same as a Canadian Company called "Venturer Electronics." Honestly, I've seen the product Venturer has put out in the past and it has always been a hair away from garbage. This unit is totally not like that. It's solid (except for the DVD lid which feels a little cheesy...but I've noticed most portable DVD Players are like this) and definately is worth the $166.88 you'll pay for it; heck, it's even worth more (in my opinion) than the regular price of $179.99 (yeah, I know, wow...a whopping $13 off for this sale).
Other tidbits: it includes a car adapter, an almost credit card sized remote, rca audio/video cable, and a pair of standard walkman-type headphones. It has a mini-coax digital output, but no cable provided for that. Oh, and I like how they spell the "color" control "colour" (those dang Canadians!). I also like how it has two headphone jacks.
As carmann pointed out in that now "locked" thread, these units did not sell very well today. Indeed, my local Target had a bunch of these still behind the counter (which I didn't see when I was there earlier!).
Anyway, I better stop now. You all will probably think I spent all night typing this (actually I type really fast so this only took about 10 minutes).
Get them while you can.
The box claims that it supports DVD, CD, mp3, and jpegs. I can safely report that it *also* supports DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW (sorry, no DVD-RW to test), and WMA, none of which are mentioned in the manual. Even more surprising is that it supports ID3 Tag information for both mp3 AND wma (something I've only seen on more expensive players).
As Shockazooloo pointed out, the picture quality is very sharp and this little thing can get really loud (not Bose Wave Radio Quality of course, but still the loudness surprised me).
The LCD screen is 6.5" (which is just shy of 7"), but *still* supports 16:9 mode. Most of the players at this price point (except for whatever one Fry's had on sale today for $179) are only 5" or 4" screens, which means they only support 4:3 mode (like your average TV). In other words, this supports widescreen (which most DVD's are).
It doesn't unfortunately support VCD or SVCD (I get an "invalid disc" error), but honestly I've abandoned those formats thanks to DVD-R/DVD+R. I also don't know if this unit is hackable, because again, it's no longer a concern for me.
The chipset appears to be the Zoran Vaddius one, which is used in the KLH 1220 and Toshiba DVD Players (although the Toshiba menus are customized for them so they look different). The menus on this look very similar to the KLH in fact, although this one supports the better ID3 Tag information (but not VCD/SVCD).
The only thing about the unit that I somewhat dislike is the size; it's a little thick, but nothing terrible. It's funny because the way it looks and the mini a/c adapter it comes makes me think of a very mini-laptop (even the way it is boxed reminded me of a laptop)! The battery though attaches to the back of it (unlike my original fear that it just dangles at its side), and you have to charge the battery with a separate adapter and use the a/c. So you can't watch a movie or use the unit when you are charging the battery (unless I am reading the directions wrong).
I'd love to provide a decent link for this on the net, but there doesn't seem to be any evidence of it.
*edit* Target used to have a link to it in its online weekly ad, but it's since been removed.
So when did Kawasaki start making DVD Players in addition to motorcycles? They actually don't.
Alco Electronics licensed the use of the name (although I honestly don't know why; when I think of motorcycles I certainly don't think of electronics). For those of you "in the know," Alco Electronics is the same as a Canadian Company called "Venturer Electronics." Honestly, I've seen the product Venturer has put out in the past and it has always been a hair away from garbage. This unit is totally not like that. It's solid (except for the DVD lid which feels a little cheesy...but I've noticed most portable DVD Players are like this) and definately is worth the $166.88 you'll pay for it; heck, it's even worth more (in my opinion) than the regular price of $179.99 (yeah, I know, wow...a whopping $13 off for this sale).Other tidbits: it includes a car adapter, an almost credit card sized remote, rca audio/video cable, and a pair of standard walkman-type headphones. It has a mini-coax digital output, but no cable provided for that. Oh, and I like how they spell the "color" control "colour" (those dang Canadians!
). I also like how it has two headphone jacks.As carmann pointed out in that now "locked" thread, these units did not sell very well today. Indeed, my local Target had a bunch of these still behind the counter (which I didn't see when I was there earlier!).
Anyway, I better stop now. You all will probably think I spent all night typing this (actually I type really fast so this only took about 10 minutes).
Get them while you can.
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