Laptop or Portable DVD recommerndation - demo purposes - not work

fultro wrote on 3/30/2005, 5:41 PM
I need a preview machine the first priority of which is that that my work looks good on it for clients outside my studio - on the run - so to speak
Portable DVDs seem like a good idea - but there is a gazillion to choose from.....
Less affordable to me is a laptop PC - which of course has the benefit of doing other stuff with it

But the main consideration is quality of image

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

fultro

Comments

dand9959 wrote on 3/30/2005, 6:16 PM
I use a Toshiba SD-P1400 that I've been happy with, though it seems to be more finicky about the discs it will play than my set top players. (Which can be a good thing, I guess: if it plays on my Toshiba, it'll play most anywhere.)
Laurence wrote on 3/31/2005, 11:19 AM
I just got a portable 17 inch widescreen LCD TV with a built in DVD player. It's got a handle on top, weighs about as much as a briefcase, and really shows a video with good picture and sound. It's a Magnavox and was $699 at Sam's Club, though I spent another $40 on a three year extended warrantee since I'm going to be carrying this around quite a bit. I know there are similar models by several manufacturers.

I couldn't find mine on the Magnavox site, but it's similar to this one:

http://magnavox.com/index.cfm?event=main&cat_id=1&subcat_id=3&product=70

The model number is 17MD255 and the main difference I can see is that the speakers are under the screen instead of to the sides which I prefer because it makes the overall package more compact,
BrianStanding wrote on 3/31/2005, 11:36 AM
Whew! $699 for a portable DVD player?

No offense, but if I were going to spend that kind of money, I'd just get a notebook computer with a DVD drive instead. Much more versatile. I use my wife's Dell as a portable DVD viewer all the time. Works great!

Granted, my Dell has a 15", rather than a 17" screen. Laurence, I hope the picture and audio from that Maganavox is pretty extraordinary! Is it?
DCV wrote on 3/31/2005, 12:39 PM

I looked around for a while and settled on the Samsung DVD-L200. It's an excellent player with a nice 10" screen. The player itself is quiet, very slim (1.1"), and he build quality is great too. A most impressive way to display your work on the go.

John
Liam_Vegas wrote on 3/31/2005, 1:50 PM
You might find this earlier thread on the subject interesting as well.
FrigidNDEditing wrote on 3/31/2005, 2:10 PM
I would assume that there are some artifacts that show up that aren't normally there when viewed on a laptop screen as apposed to a screen that is made to display NTSC or HD resolution.

Dave
fultro wrote on 3/31/2005, 6:48 PM
once again this forum comes thru - always pointing out things I hadn't thought of - very helpful

leaning in the direction of a Sony or Minitek portable for my purposes but still interested in the laptop possibility - any suggestions from anyone on a good viewing laptop for under $500 ? - I realize that is probably impossible but if I could get close I would consider it
someone mentioned a Dell ? does that look ok ?

I am also curious if there are more versatile DVD portables out there - some thing with additional storage for playback of other files like divx, MP4 etc. - -

fultro
Laurence wrote on 4/2/2005, 12:49 PM
Well its a widescreen so 17 inch shows of a widescreen project with video and audio quality comperable to a 20" 4:3 CRT TV. I call it a portable, but it would look quite at home sitting in a living room or bedroom permanently. The TV itself is HDTV compatible although the DVD player is SD, so with whatever line doubling they are using it really looks good. What I was looking for was a decent size TV that wasn't so heavy to lug around. I have a laptop with a 17" widescreen display, but the speakers are nowhere near as good. My wife has a nonprofit organization and sometimes needs to show video for groups where they don't have a TV handy and this is ideal. I like using it to show off my work because it is easy to setup and gives a comperable experience to what everyone is used to with their home setups.
BrianStanding wrote on 4/4/2005, 7:52 AM
Well, maybe not under $500... unless you buy a used one.

Check out:
http://www.gotapex.com/

for specials on Dell computers. They have one up there now for a widescreen 1.3 Ghz Celeron M and a DVD-ROM for $699. I'm just thinking, if you're going to spend that kind of money, get something you can use for more than one thing.

As others have pointed out, you'll need some speakers, too, if you're going to be showing it to a crowd. Here are the ones I use, which are nice because they're USB powered, and don't need a separate AC cord:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=36-154-014&depa=0