Philips PET720

...Our new pet is a Philips portable DVD player PET720.

One of our kids had requested a purple portable DVD player for Christmas, something initially I was not keen on encouraging. There seemed little point since we have a DVD player in the lounge, a PS2 which doubles as a DVD player in the playroom and a built in DVD system in the car. Her reasons for wanting one were mainly that she could watch films in her room when friends came for ...
.../> Whenever you see the Philips PET720 advertised in a catalogue, you invariably get a view of it showing the screen. This suggests that the player is a black model. The interior of the DVD player is jet black. It therefore came as a surprise when we opened the box to find that the top of the player is shiny and white (think Apple Mac). It is lovely to look at and it has a silver bottom too.

A player
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The DVD ... more

This Christmas brought the addition of a new pet to our household, not of the doggy kind or even the fluffy kind. The new pet was in fact white and shiny and only requires feeding the odd disc and drinks from the mains power supply. Our new pet is a Philips portable DVD player PET720.

One of our kids had requested a purple portable DVD player for Christmas, something initially I was not keen on encouraging. There seemed little point since we have a DVD player in the lounge, a PS2 which doubles as a DVD player in the playroom and a built in DVD system in the car. Her reasons for wanting one were mainly that she could watch films in her room when friends came for a sleepover. Fair enough really, the older kids often get to watch things that she is not old enough to see.

Having looked at the purple DVD player in question, I decided it was probably a waste of money, a little known brand in cheap girly plastic coloured case. Research into better brands was down to me. Portable DVD players can be found for around £50 with the option to pay several hundred pounds for bigger and better models. I set myself a goal of finding a good one for £100 and I am pleased with the result and more importantly so is our daughter. Believe me, there's a lot of technical jargon when you come to investigate portable DVD players.

A looker
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Whenever you see the Philips PET720 advertised in a catalogue, you invariably get a view of it showing the screen. This suggests that the player is a black model. The interior of the DVD player is jet black. It therefore came as a surprise when we opened the box to find that the top of the player is shiny and white (think Apple Mac). It is lovely to look at and it has a silver bottom too.

A player
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The DVD player can play films on DVD, DVD+/-R and DVD+/-RW discs. Not only can you use the player for watching movies, you can also play MP3 / WMA-CD, CD and CD-RW music on it. It therefore doubles up as a portable CD player, although somewhat heavier and bulkier than an MP3 or a walkman. Picture CDs can also be viewed on the PET720 if you wish to view your jpeg images this way.

A stunner
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The PET720 has a 7" screen with zero bright dot, which is a trademarked way of saying the quality for screen viewing is optimised. The screen is measured diagonally so a 7 incher is actually smaller than you might be led to believe. The LCD screen has an anti glare polariser. The quality of the picture is surprisingly good. Rich colours and clear, crisp images are the result you see on screen. The screen also tilts to an angle to suit the viewer with a good tilt range; it does not get stuck at the 90 degree upright position as some do.

If you're interested in pixel pitch, this player has a pixel pitch of 0.107(w)x0.370(H)mm. It also has a brightness of 200 cd/m2. This doesn't mean anything to me but it does result in a really good picture quality with clear and bright pictures.

Films can be watched in widescreen format if required. The built in (250mW RMS) stereo speakers work well and the overall sound quality is great. Volume levels can be altered using a small switch on the side of the player. The PET720 player also comes with a set of headphones which are great if others are in the room / car and don't want to listen to the film. There are two headphone sockets which mean that with an extra set of headphones, two persons can watch a film at once without disturbing others present.

Extras
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The PET720 comes with a variety of accessories. These are:
• Battery pack : DV 7.4V, Li-ion rechargeable batteries
• AC/DC adaptor : ADPV18A(110-240v, 50/60Hz)
• Car kit : cigarette outlet adaptor, 12vDC
• Remote control : RC810(credit card style, 38 keys)
• 1 AV Cable
• User manual

Power to the player
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The portable player can be used plugged into the mains or with the rechargeable battery unit attached to the player. The battery lasts for up to 4 hours making it suitable for viewing really long films without cutting out if it is fully charged beforehand. The battery attachment unit is a solid white unit which clips onto the player and also acts as a stand.

The car charger allows the player to be plugged into the cigarette lighter for in car entertainment. The cord is around 2m in length so is long enough to reach from a cigarette lighter in the front to the rear seats in most vehicles. The DVD player also has a built in anti shock system to avoid jolting of the picture should the road travelled be less than smooth. We already have a built in DVD player in the car so we have not needed to try this yet.

Turning it on
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This is a piece of cake. Either insert the cable for mains supply into the player and plug into the mains socket or attach the battery pack which has been charged up. Using the player with the battery pack attached also charges the battery. The DVD is easy to use. There is a power switch on the side of the unit, the DVD player controls are located inside the player on two small finger push discs. The disc is inserted by sliding the 'open' button on the outside of the unit. It is worth noting here that when you remove the disc from the player, care is taken to lift the disc upwards as dragging it out sidewards could scratch the disc.

When you press play you will be greeting by a whirring sound, at first a little alarming as though it might take off. However this is normal and only lasts a few seconds. Another point to note is that the DVD player gets quite warm after a while, this is perfectly normal too.

Move around with it
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The great thing about this DVD player is that you can take it anywhere. We haven't needed to use ours in the car but my daughter has played movies in the kitchen just so she can be in the same room as me whilst I'm busy cooking. Ahhh. Matilda is a great film to cook along to. "More cake Brucey?".

Another useful feature of the DVD player is that it comes complete with audio leads which allow you to plug the DVD player into your TV and view your disc on a TV screen. This may well come in very handy when we are holidaying in a rural cottage with poor TV reception if there is no DVD player supplied.

Any bad points?
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The only negative aspect is that it can be considered quite pricey and that there is no carrying bag supplied with this model.

Come Play with Me
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In summary, this DVD player seems great quality for the price paid. I found it for £100 but I have seen it in the current Argos catalogue for £149 so it is worth looking around for special deals.

The possibilities for the use of this player are endless and I can see I might start borrowing it myself whilst the kids are at school. Imagine the decadence of being out in the garden bikini clad with 007, sharing my kitchen table and getting Closer with Clive Owen, in the bath One Fine Day with George Clooney, or even better, in bed with a dripping wet Mr Darcy.

Thanks for reading.
 

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