Overall, I'd say this product is a best-buy for the money. We didn't want to spend too much on a system since our kids are 2 and 4, and we knew that whatever we bought would take a lot of abuse and might not be long for this world. We found the Sylvania dual-dvd at a national department store for about half the price of every other dual-dvd system we researched.
The good: Above all else, it's extremely inexpensive compared to other units! The system has, as expected, taken a lot of abuse in just two months: our 2-year-old constantly kicks the screen, with and without shoes; has pulled it out and thrown it on the floor during fits of anger at least five times; and has used various cords as tightropes for walking or swinging. Despite all the misuse, both screens still work perfectly. Also, for very little additional money, we were able to purchase a 2-year extended warranty on the product (for all the above reasons, I consider this the best money we've ever spent!). I've seen a lot of comments about degraded picture and/or sound quality in slave units of dual-dvd players; we haven't found this to be the case at all with these screens. While I haven't pulled them out and placed them side-by-side, we haven't noticed any difference between the quality of the two screens.
The bad: There is absolutely NO battery in the unit, so if you have to turn your motor off for any reason (like getting gas), the movie will completely reboot when you restart your engine. This is my biggest complaint with the system, and frankly, it's an inconvenience, but one I'm willing to live with given the savings we realized over the other systems out there. The straps that are used to attach the screens to the headrests aren't especially pretty, but they work; if you're really concerned about cosmetics, this may not be the system for you. Also, dvds are very difficult to remove and insert while the screen is attached to the headrest; it isn't impossible, but you do have to be persistent.
Overall, I think the Sylvania system is a fantastic deal. The biggest plus is that both our boys were largely happy and content on a 10-hour car trip. In my opinion, you can't really put a price on that. Sylvania SDVD8727 7 Inch Dual Screen Portable DVD Player
Pros: The two screens are large enough for my kids to see from the seat. The speakers are plenty loud and there is a speaker in both units so they do not have to share sound. So far the unit seems to run well and we have had no problems with it. The screen quality is good and the price--at least through Amazon--was as well. My four year old can use all of the controls on her own which is huge when I am driving alone.
Cons: The system for mounting this to the back of the seat is aweful. In order to change DVDs you have to slide the primary unit out of the holder because it is a top loader. The mounting system can also cause funny angles making the screens hard to see. There is no way my four year old can change DVDs by herself. Also the cord connecting the two screens is very short as is the cord to plug it into the adapter in the car.
The first unit we bought had the second panel not work right out of the box. We exchanged it for another unit. This one, there's a short in the cable connecting the two units, so it keeps shutting off. The second screen has a lot of strange light and corruption in the picture. We returned it and asked for our money back. We would not recommend this product to anyone.
We just returned from a trip with 2 days of traveling each way. We purchased 2 Sylvania units for our kids to use in our Suburban. The cord from the lighter to the first unit is really really short (4 feet?) and barely made it from the lighter to the first row of seats (maybe there are backseat outlets in newer model cars and this is a nonissue for some...?). This was easily fixed by purchasing an extension cord from Radio Shack for $10. So, an unexpectedly short cord, but an easy fix. The cord b/w the 2 units seems reasonable as long as you are keeping both units on the same row of seats(the cord is not long enough to put a unit in the 2nd row and then a unit in the 3rd row in my opinion, but the COBY dual unitl we purchased previously is long enough to do that). The unit can be slid in and out of the holding straps to change DVDs without unplugging the unit's cords (unlike the Coby system we had where you had to unplug 2 of the 3 cords to change the DVD - what a pain!!). All in all, I think the Sylvania units are good with the minor inexpensive Radio Shack modification.
Like others i also had mixed reviews about the product, but so far mine has work great. Besides the straps it good to go. I do not like the straps because you have to undo them to put in another dvd. The product says that it dvd players shuts off when the car is off, but mine stays on, and i have two sets of them, that a hug plus. I guess you got good batches and bad batches. - Dual Screen Dvd Player - 7 Inch Dvd - Dual Dvd Player - Dual Auto Dvd Venturer'
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