Popular Portable Video Players for Summertime Travel

Portable video players continue to be an essential device for movie enthusiasts on the go. Whether the content is on DVD or in a digital media format, there are a variety of players available that offer great features and a high level of reliability. Here are some popular portable video players with high consumer ratings that offer quality entertainment at a reasonable cost.

Panasonic: DVD-LS86 8.5" Portable DVD Player

Per specification, Panasonic's LS86 features nearly 13 hours of battery life. Realistically, the player provides about half that with adequately adjusted brightness along with use of the headphone jack. With a near 5 star rating at Amazon.com and currently offered at a dramatically reduced price, this player offers viewers an 8.5" swiveling screen, and dual headphone jacks. Playback includes popular formats, such as, DVD and Divx, along with the ability to read a number of writeable formats including DVD+R / +R DL and DVD-R / -R DL. Weighing just over 2 lbs, the LS86 also includes both an AC and portable DC power adapter.

Sony: DVP-FX970 9" Portable DVD Player

The newer FX970 replaces Sony's FX950 which can still be found on close-out. With excellent reviews, the 970 improves upon the 950 with improvements, like the ability to conveniently play external video files via a USB connection, such as a portable flash drive. With a 9 inch screen that swivels and flips, the FX970 weighs-in around 2 lbs and also includes the ability to play a number of standard formats, excluding the popular the popular MP3 CD.

Coby: TFDVD7009 7" Portable DVD Player

For the budget conscious, Coby offers the TFD7009. Currently available for around a reduced price of around $50, this 7 inch portable player is perfect for entry level users, kids, and for those in general looking for a great portable with a great price. Some of the notable features for this player include Dolby Digital Decoding, the usual AV outputs for connection to a home system, a TFT LCD color display, camera angle support, and parental control locks.

Looking for Blu-ray and HDMI compatible portable players?

Although quite a bit more costly than the average DVD player, Panasonic's DMP-B200 and DMP-B15K are portable Blu-ray players that both feature WSVGA 8.9" screens. While the DMP-B200 behaves like a routine player for the most part, the DMP-B15K features additional perks for the video enthusiast including an SD memory card reader, Picture-in-Picture, and the ability to stream content from YouTube, Picasa Web Albums, and more.