I purchased this TV /DVD player as a Christmas present and was shocked to find that the T.V. did not pick up one channel with the antenna provided. I got a booster antenna at Radio Shack for $12 and was able to get 22 air channels. The DVD works well and the colors are very nice. I'm not too sure how well it will work when we get out next hurricane or how long the battery will last, but this is why I purchased this item. Philips PET729/37 7-Inch LCD Portable TV/DVD Player
Philips PET729/37 - 7 Inch LCD Portable TV / DVD Player
I purchased this as a Christmas gift for a friend and I always like to set things up to make sure the item is working before I give it to the party in question.
Setup was a breeze, very intuitive. I hooked it up to the cable system and it found every channel, it only took about 5 minutes and I was watching a very sharp picture on the 7" screen. Sound was good also, I think she will be thrilled with it. I got this as a lightening deal, but I think it is worth the full retail price.
Wow! what a deal. I purchased this for myself for Christmas of 09. It arrived quickly. The picture is very clear and the sound is loud enough for me. I pick up all the digital channels, even some I can't receive on my cable tv. The only thin complainant I have is that you can't control the on and off and the sound from the remote. But I still give it a five stars rating. Also it really sounds great when you hook up some small media speakers to it. If you can, get one that has a sub woofer. Pop some popcorn and enjoy.
I bought this tv/dvd player as a treat for myself, after saving up loose coins all year. I first purchased another brand (the Envizen), but the dvd player had problems, and it took a lot of effort to get any tv stations, so I returned it. But this Philips is wonderful. Without any effort at all, I received 10 local stations, easily and clearly. I lucked out and bought this product before the price went up, so I feel like I really got a great bargain. This is a great choice if you want both a dvd player and tv (especially if you have a power outage and are trying to keep up with the news...like during a blizzard such as I'm in the middle of now!).
This is #4...I've been looking for a "portable" TV since last summer, the 3 previous..would not receive any channels without hooking up to a antenna system.They were "back in the box" the same day. This unit found 5 with it's own antenna...good start. Picture is clear..display...full control of picture and channels. Remote controls everything, except ON/OFF and VOLUME.
The "fold" open/close is real handy, protects screen and a stable "foot" to set on a surface...DVD seems ok too(really just wanted a tv). Only feature missing is a "card slot"...pictures and music have to be on a disc. For the price..I rate it #1 value. Setup menus were very easy, speakers have good volume.
I AM EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH THE PURCHASE OF THE PHILLIPS PET729/37 - 7INCH LCD PORTABLE TV /DVD PLAYER. TALK ABOUT PORTABILITY, IT IS THE GREATEST. IT IS VERY LIGHT AND WAS EASY TO SET UP. THE TV AND DVD 'S COME IN VERY CLEAR. THE SOUND IS EXCELLENT AND LOUD. I WORK NIGHTS IN A PEDIATRIC HOSPITAL, DURING MY LUNCH TIME I CAN WATCH THE TV OR PLAY A DVD FOR A SHORT PERIOD. SOME OF MY CO-WORKERS WHO HAVE SEEN THIS HAVE ALSO BROUGHT ONE. I ALSO GAVE ONE AS A GIFT. I ALSO RECOMMEND BUYING THE TARGUS DVD 301 10 SPORT PORTABLE DVD PLAYER CASE. IF YOU BUY A 7 INCH CASE YOU WON'T HAVE THE EXTRA SPACE FOR THE EXTRAS. THE CASE ALSO HAVE ROOM FOR A LOT OF DVDS AND ACCESSORIES EASILY.
I DO HAVE ONE REQUEST, I WISH THE PRINT ON THE QUICK SET-UP GUIDE WAS LARGER, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE OF US WITH BAD EYE SITE. BUT DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM BUYING THIS ITEM. THERE IS AN INSTRUCTION MANNUAL INCLUDED. I WAS SO EXCITED THAT I TRIED TO TAKE A SHORT-CUT TO SET IT UP.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
All in all, this is an okay item. Having read previous reviews, I followed to the letter the bit about scanning for stations prior to trying to watch station. I used the antenna provided, and came up with most of the stations, except for our local ABC station. I'm in Los Angeles and have line of sight to Mt. Wilson, so not getting ABC was a shocker. I got 64 stations in all. I read about the antenna booster thing, and did not know what that was. Went to Frye's and they sold me an amplified antenna (which I am taking back). I got 76 channels with that, and ABC came in. I'm going to try the booster antenna question at Radio Shack as per one gentleman's review, and see if that will be better than carrying around this thing from Frye's.
My concern with the antenna as provided, is that I plan to use this when traveling and will need to rescan for different cities. I would like to be able to get the full range of broadcast stations, ensuring I have access to the major networks as I travel. Not getting ABC in the LA area is what drove this concern.
As for the TV/DVD itself--once the channels are found, the provided antenna works well. Signal gets noisy/loss when you move the player itself, which is a surprise since you would think the signal would be dependent on antenna placement more than the TV itself.
I have two major disappointments, which make me wonder if I should return the unit. After looking at other TV/DVD combo options available, I think I will keep this one and compensate, unless I decide to get only a TV unit (sans DVD player for which I can use my laptop):
1. The screen angle is not very forgiving. Being LCD, you have to look pretty much dead on. If you move above or below, or left or right of the perfect viewing angle, you begin to see the image in negative mode.
2. If you plug in the earphones, you cannot control the volume. I guess I need to find and use a pair earphones that has its own volume control, such as the new Apple ones.
3. When I first plugged in the earphones, I had volume to the max (so I could hear the thing). After plugging in the earphones, sound leaked from the speaker. I dialed the volume down using the volume dial, and that took care of the problem, but as stated above, it did nothing for the volume going through the earphones. That leads to believe that the volume controls only the external speakers, and is totally disconnected from the earphone jack.
Other peeves--volume control missing from remote control--seems like this would be a no-brainer, but....Also, volume is not very loud if you use the speakers. I had it on in the kitchen, even before meal prep started, and I could not hear it from the table to the stove, about 9 feet away. Also, there is the likelihood that volume that comes through the earphones is as loud as I can get through earphones, then earphone volume is going to be inadequate if I am in a noisy environment (back seat of a minivan, commuter train, Amtrak, etc), anyplace where ambient noise may be a bit much. And, I think i read somewhere in the product description that it was a black unit. Mine is white on the outside and is black only when you raise the screen--black on the inside. This is ok with me, but some people may object to the white exterior, especially if kids are involved!)
The goods-it's lightweight and easy to handle. I can watch a DVD anywhere, as long as I keep viewing angle dead-on.
REVISED COMMENTS:
I got the volume control bug worked out. It turns out that there are two plugs, one blue and one yellow, that the earphones will work with. One turns out to be the "line out", the other is the earphones jack. Neither is marked, so if you did not pay close attention to the picture in the manual (which, obviously, I did not) it is easy to confuse the two since you get sound out of the wrong one. While I had the player running, I did try moving the earphones to the other plug, but got no sound, so I stuck with the original plug, which I now know is the wrong plug. Once I turned off the unit, plugged the earphones into the other (blue) plug and turned the movie on again, the earphones worked AND the volume control wheel functions. So, I am increasing my star rating to 4 from my original 3.
Other pros and cons remain the same as in the original review, posted here above. - Portable Tv - Battery Operated Tv - Portable Dvd Player - Digital Tv'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
