Looking for a small, portable DVD player (no lcd screen)that meets these specs:

?	under $70, preferable around $50.
?	small.  The smaller the better. something like a fat CD walkman
would be ideal, if something like that even exists
?	must be able to play DVD-Rs burned on a Apple SuperDrive  (the Apex
unit I got plays them great).
?	must be able to play MP3 CDs (ISO 9660 Cd with MP3 files).
?	If it ran on batteries, that would be a plus, but not required.

I am looking for something like those $300 player with the LCD screens
that you can take on an airplane, but I don?t want the screen (or the
hefty price tag).   I just need a video and audio output to hook it up
to the TV in whatever location I am at.

thanx in advnce

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Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 06 Jul 2004 22:34 PDT

Hi sherpaj-ga:

I took a look to see if there are any devices that meet your criteria;
the best that's available are units that are roughly the same size as
the units with the screens, with pre-shipping prices of at least
US$70-80. There's some smaller, "slicker" looking units around the
$100-120 range. Since these don't meet your requirements, I'll put
them here for your reference anyway:

Initial Portable DVD CD MP3 Player - CarMobileVideo.com 
http://theauto.zoovy.com/product/INIDM1560 

- $69.99
- DVD/CD/MP3
- no idea how well it will play DVD-Rs (should have no problem if your
Apex player can handle the same)


Lasonic DVD-8090 Portable DVD Player - Bestag.com
http://store.yahoo.com/wholesaleoverstocks/ladvpodvdpl.html

- $68.90
- Plays DVDs, VCDs, CDs and MP3s from all regions
- again no idea about the DVD-R compatibility, should be OK

Coby DVD-707 Portable DVD Player
http://store.yahoo.com/dotcoms/codvpodvdpl.html

- $94.99 less 5% (July 2004 special)

BENQ PORTABLE USB 2.0 EXTERNAL DVDROM PLAYER PC/TV AV W/SW (Retail)
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=1467819

- $99.67
- this is the one I'd want if I were in the market for one... can be
used as a DVD-ROM (USB 2.0) as well as a DVD player



Can you open up the price requirement a bit to fit the BENQ unit?

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Question by sherpaj-ga on 11 Jul 2004 00:20 PDT

Can you open up the price requirement a bit to fit the BENQ unit?
I can go to $85.

sherpaj-ga:

While my personal preference would be the BenQ unit shown in my RFC
above, given your budget constraints I will suggest some other,
lower-priced options.

The Initial IDM-1560 that I previously mentioned:

Initial Portable DVD CD MP3 Player - CarMobileVideo.com 
http://theauto.zoovy.com/product/INIDM1560

normally sells online for $109 at Amazon.com. The price at
CarMobileVideo.com is the best price currently available on the
Internet for this particular unit. However, I was not able to find
conclusive proof that this store is reliable and trustworthy, so
caveat emptor. Initial DVD players have a reputation similar to the
Apex unit you have at home. When it works, it works well; when it
stops working, it's cheaper to just replace the unit than to try to
get it fixed.

The Lasonic unit I referenced above has mixed user reviews at DVDRHelp.com:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDnameid=1120&Search=Search&#comments

The biggest complaint seems to be that the unit gets very hot after
about an hour of use, and that heat causes it to have problems playing
back some movies. At a price of $69, this level of performance might
be acceptable:

Lasonic DVD-8090 Portable DVD Player - Bestag.com
http://store.yahoo.com/wholesaleoverstocks/ladvpodvdpl.html

As a plus, the DVDRHelp.com reviews show that the unit can reliably
play back DVD-Rs, as well as MP3's, VCDs, and CDs.

The final option I will suggest is a new product offered by
MP3PlayerStore.com. I've dealt with this retailer myself in the past,
and feel that they are trustworthy. Their newest portable DVD player
is the Innovatek IN-988:

http://www.mp3playerstore.com/stuff_you_need/dvd/PM-988.htm

At $79, it comes in under your $85 limit. If you buy it from
MP3PlayerStore.com, it also comes with a free FM audio transmitter. It
even has built-in speakers for playing back those MP3's and audio CD's
without need for external audio support. If the BenQ unit were not
available on the market, I'd lean towards this one.

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher