Review for the Sony DVP-FX810. Primary use: Aboard our boat and used
with second 13" flat screen.

See it he
http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/04/DVP-FX810.jpg

Well, like most people we've all been looking at these portable DVD
players for years. Remember when they were 400-500 dollars or more? Now
we have a large selection available for far less. The Sony weighs in at
a bit under 200 dollars. If you read the reviews on these players,
you'll generally see some happy users and an almost universal amount of
folks whose units went belly up fairly soon.

Here's the bottom line. Just about ALL of these players are built
cheaply. Speaking to a friend and a large retailer, I learned that
almost all see a fair amount of returns, including the pricier units.
No matter which unit you buy BE SURE to buy an extended warranty so you
can get a replacement if it dies.

Now....on to the Sony. This unit appears to be better built than most
of the others. It has a solid feel and the screen hinge is more robust
than others. The unit is slim, black and looks more like a 400 dollar
unit when sitting next to entries from Toshiba or Magnavox. The screen
rotates 180 degrees in one direction and will fold back flat against
the unit creating a tablet type player/viewer. This is perfect for
headrest or wall hanging, but Sony has made no provision for this so
you'll need to improvise.

Screen quality: Well....here's the meat and potatoes. Based on my many
years of audio and video usage on the higher end of the market, I'd say
the FX810 has average video quality, which is to say less than
stunning. Viewing the screen dead on makes for poor viewing. Tilt the
screen a bit and you get a more contrasty effect. Resolution is
passable, but nothing to write home about. Frankly, none of the small
screens are very impressive and offer less detail than a good notebook
computer. Still, the image is "just fine" for it's intended purpose and
watching a movie is no problem. Color and hue have that less than
accurate LCD look, but again, quite passable as entertainment.

Sound quality: Pretty weak, as on every one of these units without
exception. A pair of headphones or even cheap external powered speakers
will help a lot. This is not a flaw, but a limitation due to the size
of the player. Sony did what they could with some very tiny speakers.

Battery life: WOW! Sony's battery is a killer and ran my unit for two
whole movies, well beyond 4 hours and had power to spare. This may be
the best on the market in this regard. Charge times are somewhat long,
taking nearly five hours. The unit will charge while playing as well
and will work off the included AC adapter or 12 volt cigarette lighter
plug.

Feature set: This is a pretty basic unit. It won't play DTS tracks and
it has only composite out. I feel that without S-Video and progressive
scan, Sony has focused on making this a more solid unit in other areas,
such as overall build quality. The FX810 ships with a remote that is
full size. It's a bit odd to have such a clunky remote for a portable
DVD player, but it's easier to use and won't have you hunting for
little odd batteries used by the credit card remotes. Video in/out
plugs are included with RCA's to connect to a TV. You can also send in
a video game or video camera signal in. A single switch toggles between
AV in/out.

Another Bottom Line: Do YOU really need one of these? I have a DVD
player with 7.1 dolby in my van, but I wanted a small player for my 35
foot sailboat that could also feed a larger 13" screen. This fits the
bill. Features like progressive scan would be a waste on something like
this. The long battery life is nice and folks who fly a lot will
certainly appreciate that. If Sony makes a version with a 10" screen,
higher resolution and keeps the battery life they'll see quite a few
sales. In the end I still feel this is one of the better units, if not
the biggest, around. For under 200.00 it's fun and cheap, but looks
pricey. Just spend a few dollars more on the warranty and you'll be
good to go!

Capt RB
35s5
NY