Philips PET 710

Author's product rating:   

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

Advantages:	Compact, plenty of features, no problems playing DVD - r
Disadvantages:	Battery needs to be connected to player in order to charge it, tinny speaker sound

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The PET710 is an attractive silver unit which (when closed) is about the size of three standard DVD cases stacked on top of one another.

==========What's in The Box?====================

> The DVD player
> The Battery
> An AC Charger
> In-Car Charger
> Remote Control Unit
> AV Connectors
> Basic User Guide in English, French, Spanish and German

===========Layout of Controls====================

All controls are conveniently located to the right of the disc bay on the upper side with the exception of the on/off switch, which is on the front left edge of the unit. Ports for the power, audio/video out and headphones, plus the volume control are located along the right edge of the player.

============Control Features=====================

All functions are available from either the remote or the onboard buttons. In truth, the remote is redundant unless you have connected the player to a TV anyway. The available functions are:

> Play/Pause/Stop
> Skip to next/previous chapter
> Forward/Reverse search (2,4,8,16 or 32X)
> Slow Motion
> Menu navigation
> Zoom
> Camera angle selection
> Audio Select (mono/stereo) and mute
> Language select
> Subtitles
> Track/Title Repeat
> OSD Setup menu

============General Features=====================

The unit is compatible with both DVD video and DVDr. I have used various branded and unbranded discs in it without any issues. It also plays MP3 discs, CDs and picture CDs, which makes it ideal child friendly entertainment for long car journeys. A useful feature with this machine is that it has outputs for two headphones, so two kids can watch in relative silence. There is a neat little microswitch that switches off the LCD when the unit is closed, saving wear on the screen when playing through the television.

==============Playback========================

Picture quality both on the 7inch LCD screen and when connected to the TV are very good, so the combination of portability and connectivity mean that the player goes to Grandma's with the kids and they can watch films on her TV!

==============Durability=======================

The unit does not feel at all flimsy and build quality is good. One problem common with most portable machines is that they are not tray loaded, ie, you have to snap the disc onto the mount. This combined with children is not a good mix and discs can become damaged.

=============Battery Life=======================

The battery lasts long enough to play most movies, but as there is no "memory effect" damage when leaving the power connected, most of the time it is run from the mains or the car power supply. An issue I would have is there is no way to charge the battery unless it is attached to the DVD unit. In my view, this is a bit of an oversight on the part of Philips, as I am sure there could be some way of putting sockets on both the unit and battery.

=============Summing Up======================

This is a very good piece of kit, and I am more than happy with it (especially as I picked mine up at around half the RRP). I have used the cheap ones sold in supermarkets, and they are not a patch on the Philips.

Thanks for reading