Acoustic Solutions DVD-222

Author's product rating:   

Picture Playback	Excellent
Sound Level	Satisfactory
Ease of Use	Very Easy
Durability	Satisfactory
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Cheaper than other portable Dvd's
Disadvantages:	No carry case, volume not quite high enough

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Having been camping on a number of occasions, and having encountered bad weather on quite a few of those occasions, being stuck in the tent with a toddler, this time would be different I decided!

I had checked the weather forcast for the up coming week and it had lots of black clouds, ok there are a few days with white ones and even one with a sun, but you pretty much get my drift! I know you can take the usual books and games but eventually my little boy ( Isaac) gets fed up. I racked my brain for something a different, then it came to me......a portable DVD player, not so he can sit it front of it all day, but just at THOSE times when he really has had enough!

Of course I'd left it until the last minute so had to rush to the local Argos on the morning we were going, but hey such is life.....lol
I didn't want to spend a lot so hunted through the book for a bargain and I got one.

* The DVD player*

It is a Acoustic Solutions DVD 222, Mmm never heard of it either but I'd never heard of the new vodka I tried last week and I loved that, so I decicded to give it a go. The box was white with purple bits and a picture on the front, it had a little carry hangle on the top which was pretty handy, you can even keep it in that untill you can get a case. It was very well packed with everything in it's own little bag in small compartments, no chance of anything getting broken before it is opened.

The actual DVD player measures approximately 9" x 7" and it is only 1.5" high when closed, the battery pack is about 2" high and this fits on to the back of the DVD player itself.
It is silver in colour and has a little matching remote control which measures2" x 4" and is so flat it really wasn't worth measuring.

As you open it up the screen which measures 7" and is a widescreen is protected with a film cover that you can take off when you're ready to use it. The speakers are built in and run down either side of the screen. I have to say the volume doesn't go that high! On the front lip it has a button you move to one side to allow the DVD player to open up, also on the front lip is the power on/off button.

The DVD player can be used either as it is from the plug socket, with the connector for the cigarette lighter in your car or from it's battery pack, which is easily rechargable and comes complete with the lead to do this,( this allows it to be charged form any plug socket ). It can also be used via your TV and comes with all of the scart attachments lead etc you will need to do this. It plays not only DVD's but CD's and also MP3's, so it is really very versatile.

Once opened there is a 'flap' that opens up where you put the DVD, it has a small button with "push to open" written on it. This feels quite sturdy and well made. To the right of this is the control panel, It has title, menu, setup along the top row and along the second row Display and then 2 arrows facing left and visa versa. Below that are 5 buttons 4 arrows each facing up, left, right ,and down and in the middle a round button saying Enter.
Below those are one more row saying pause, stop and play/enter these each have thier symbol next to them, for example the pause button is 2 small lines side by side.

When the DVD player is switched on a small red light appears on the side, also when the battery pack is charging up there is a red light until it is fully charged then the light turned green. To fully charge the battery pack it took about 2 hours.

Now for the picture ....I was really very impressed as I hadn't paid a lot for this little gadget I guess I wasn't expecting much, but the picture quality was really good, very bright with great colours, the picture was very crisp and clear. It was very easy to watch even though the screen is only 7". The sound is great too, again very clear, the only down side for me was the volume didn't go very high, this is ok for a DVD, but for a CD I would prefer a bit more volume! I have yet to try some small speakers I have to see how it works with them I will let you know when I get around to this bit!
The screen is adjustable it can be opened all the way so it is flat and can then be attached to the back of the car seat for the people in the back. It doesn't however come with any attachmets to do this but they can be bought seperatly.

The DVD also supports the usual features of a normal size DVD player such as DVD menu and subtitles, the subtitles are great, big enough to be able to read easily but not so big they take up the whole screen with it being so small. These features can all be accesed by the remote control.

* The Remote Control*

The remote control takes 2 AAA batteries which do come with it....much to my surprise
Everything can be controlled from the remote apart from the volume which is changed from a small switch on the side of the player. The remote Contorl is silver in colour with mostly silver buttons. The only exceptions are the 'power on button' this is red and situated on the left hand side at the top and also the 'mute' button this is pale blue and situated on the right hand side again at the top. It also has zoom and title on the top row. Below that are the numbers you would usually find a remote 1 - 10, then below that are display,subtitle,search,prog. Ther are in all 10 rows of buttons on this really very small and compact Remote control. You can repeat and change the set up of the DVD player, get the menu up, also the picture menu so that you can change the resolution etc. You also have the usual fast forward and skip scenes backwards or forwards. This handy little remote works via infra red.

The Dvd player comes with a set of small head phones ( the small ones that fit inot your ear, so no good for small children). and also all of the leads as mentioned before.

*Conclusion*

I paid £64.99 from Argos, which I think is a bargain. It is light to carry and as the box has a handle it can be kept in there safely. It is well made and pretty sturdy, don't think it would stand up to be dropped too many times though..... ISAAC!! The control panel is well laid out and very easy to use. The screen is big enough 7" and as I said widescreen which is great as all DVD's now come in widescreen. The colours are crisp and clear as is the picture, and it is also of good quality. The sound is good but maybe not loud enough at full volume! It supports all of the DVD's features including suubtitles ehich can be turned on and off when required. For the money I think it is a great little package.

* Downsides*

No really major ones, again the volume and it would be better if it came with a carry case included though these can be bought as extra's.

The insruction booklet is very thin and so thought it would be pretty useless,infact it's great. It is only in English, I'm not sure if you could get it in another language or not.It explains everything clearly and simply using diagrams. It goes from the power and adapters to trouble shooting. it goes through all of the functions and also the remote control. A very handy little guide to have.

If you don't want to pay loads of money this is a great little bargain and well worth the money!

Thanks for reading xxxxx