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Cue, then, the Venturer portable DVD player. The Venturer brand is perhaps not best known for quality merchandise and its position on the shelf alongside Sony and Panasonic devices quickly makes it obvious that this isn't the most expensive item on the shelf. In fact, the Venturer's price ... Read review
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A review by markd_uk on Venturer PS166W September 16th, 2004
Author's product rating:
Picture Playback
Good
Sound Level
Satisfactory
Ease of Use
Simple
Durability
Good
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
Portability, Simplicity, Design
Disadvantages:
Small Screen, Cumbersome Battery
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
If you travel a lot, like I do, then the ability to take your DVDs with you and watch movies when you're stuck in hotel rooms miles from anywhere is a very big plus.
Cue, then, the Venturer portable DVD player. The Venturer brand is perhaps not best known for quality merchandise and its position on the shelf alongside Sony and Panasonic devices quickly makes it obvious that this isn't the most expensive item on the shelf. In fact, the Venturer's price tag looks a lot cheaper than the device itself does alongside its more expensive kin.
But it was the price versus functionality that swayed me to go with the Venturer rather than the more recognised brands I would normally choose, and the fact that this device is portable. At home, I would think nothing of spending a few extra pounds and buying the better brand unit for a little kudos in my house, but this is a device that's going to be travelling. At some point in its life it's likely to be dropped, it's going to be used by the kids and undoubtedly loaned out to travelling friends when I don't need it. I didn't want to shell out an extra £100-£150 or more on a similar device just because of its name, when there's a chance that at some point it could get dropped or broken. Sure, it's insured, but the little Venturer seemed sturdy enough when I did an in-store comparison and it's functionality provided me with everything I would need from a DVD player.
The device can play DVDs, CDs and MP3/CD-RW copies, and can also show JPEG photo CDs on screen too. Perfect, then, for the weary traveller. I can watch my films, listen to my CDs and look at pictures of my kids when I've been away for a few days.
It's small and light and comes in a compact bag that fits all the components needed for a travelling DVD player, including external power sources for both mains electricity and the 12v power supply from your car's cigarette lighter. A wafer-sized remote control comes too, allowing you to operate the basic functions of the unit without having to reach forward to touch it - perfect for lazy buggers like me - and a battery charge completes the ensemble.
The bag itself opens up 180 degrees and comes complete with straps to hold it to the back of a car seat, meaning the passengers in the back on a long journey can enjoy a movie and miss the pleasant views outside the window. This is where the 12v power cord comes in, meaning the battery doesn't have to be used unnecessarily.
So it's versatile and relatively cheap, but how does it perform?
There is a saying that you get what you pay for, and this is a little obvious with the Venturer. The sound quality is not brilliant, with the speakers being a little tinny, but the stereo is very good on the device and you do get the perception of movement quite clearly through the speakers. To get slightly better quality sound I plugged in a set of external speakers through the head phones socket and was immediately rewarded with more base and slightly better volume. Of course, carrying speakers separately makes the device somewhat less portable so it depends how pedantic you are about sound while you're on the move.
Plugging in headphones also improves the sound quality, and the Venturer has two headphone sockets on its side meaning that the children can listen in the back individually whilst the parents in the front can listen to the radio in peace, talk and watch the beautiful scenery rush by...
I was impressed by the picture quality for such a small screen size. The unit only has a 6.5 inch TFT display that is dwarfed by the plastic body and speakers surrounding it, but actually the movement is very clear and unpixelated. There is some issue with using the device outside and reflective lights in a room or sunlight through a window can also cause the screen to appear a little darkened; adjusting the angle of the screen on its hinge seemed to fix this in most cases but can be a little annoying if you're having to do it regularly. That aside, I have been able to watch most of my movies without too much discomfort.
The display can also show screens in their 16:9 widescreen format or the traditional 4:3 format. 4:3 is the normal format for standard "square" television broadcasts, while 16:9 is that which you see on the ever-increasing range of widescreen, or - as the Americans call it - "rectangular" screen, televisions becoming available in the shops these days. Most DVDs today have the movie stored on them in 16:9 format so it's nice that this little unit supports it, and the small screen is perfectly proportioned for such broadcasts. Uniquely, the device doesn't differentiate between 16:9 and 4:3 automatically - as the more expensive units do - but a small toggle switch on the side allows you to flick between the formats quickly without having to search through the simple menu options to do it.
Additionally, the device only supports Region 2 (or UK only) DVDs at purchase, but a quick search on the Internet found a software hack that decoded the device and it now plays DVDs brought from anywhere in the world without any problems. Software hacks such as this don't affect the manufacturer's warranty, either, as no physical opening of the device or potential harm to its inner workings has taken place.
Battery life, if using it as a truly portable unit, is pretty good, allowing you to get at least one full movie from a full charge without having to worry. The battery itself takes up the full length of the back of the unit but can be removed when not in use. Oddly, when connected to the DVD player you still then have to use a cable to twist round the side and plug into the battery power socket in order to power the device. This seems a little bizarre and unnecessary so I'm not sure why Venturer went through this route unless cost was a major factor.
This aside, the Venturer is fantastic value for money and a great portable movie player.
The only thing I find myself pondering is that I have a laptop that plays CDs, DVDs and shows my JPEG pictures, so why the hell did I go out and buy a second device to do all of the same things? That was when my wife pointed out that it has all the external AV ports to plug into a television, so when it's not being used as a portable DVD player it now resides happily in our bedroom broadcasting movies through our television late into the night.
Advantages: Cheap and well designed Disadvantages: You get what you pay for
...found the 9th innovation to Venturer DVD Player and the answer to why they made the battery plug in seperate from the regular power plug in- its so if the battery starts getting low, you just plug in the AC adaptor and then you can unplg the battery and continue watching the movie without missing a beat. Also if your using the AC adaptor and need move the DVD player just plug in the battery, unplug the adaptor and you are good to go! it works great, ... ...you know I bought mine at Walmart in Perry, Utah USA for $198.76 and mine came with a car power adaptor. Check it out at this link. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?productid=2504099&sourceid=0100000015940864402498
Here's the tech specs from the site (for those who wanted them):
6.5" 16:9 flat screen TFT LCD monitor DVD/CD/MP3/CD-R/CD-RW playback Precision stereo speakers JPG picture CD viewer Built in anti-shock system Dual stereo headphone ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Great For Travel, Disadvantages: Lots of Parts
...and a half.
The Venturer PVS 17200 (im reviewing a different model but they look the same) is a great little dvd player for the car or any means of travel. I myself have watch alot of films on it using the power mains cable included in the box when you buy it. This is a great present for the kids if you travel alot and want to keep them occupied.
It Even comes with a remote control and a battery
***About the Player***
The PVS 17200 is a handheld ... ...6.2". It is a LCD Screen and the player easily folds when pressed down. And clips closed.
Discs it can play,
It can play arange of cd you buy or even make your self. You can watch a DVD and a VCD 1/2. You can make your own JPEG photo cd and play them, Music CDs and even MP3 cds but there are rule but ill get to them later. It is also CD-R and RW compatible.
DVD Player
With this dvd player you have a range of features, Subtitles in the languages ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Compares favourably with next model up Disadvantages: An extraneous accessory?
We recently purchased this DVD player from Argos for £149.99. The product itself is of a pretty high quality- the picture and sound quality are good and it has a nice slimline design. The unit does get quite hot when using though, although presumably not enough to cause damage to furnishings.
However, the screen size of 6.5", although adequate was not great, and you may have trouble if you're short sighted! We originally bought the smaller model ... ...also need to purchase the accessory pack (£14.99) for scart leads, car pack and rechargeable adapters. Also, the'advanced' functions, such as skip forwards, backwards etc were all on the remote control only. Great if you never lose anything, not so good if you do!
We ended up exchanging that model for this one, the next model up in Argos.
For what it is, this product is essentially good value, and ideal for use when travelling (particulary if you ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Ease of use Disadvantages: Screen size
I really like this product a lot, it definitely helps wile away the boredom of a long car journey...especially if you have younguns!
The ability to plug it into you home televison is good too, especially if your at a friend who doesn't own a DVD player of any kind
Don't be put off by the not-so-heard-of brand, it's still a very well made piece of kit.
It's not bad value for money too, as it compares favourably to similar specification portable ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: good quality picture no need to charge battery works in car Disadvantages: fiddly to attach to the seat
...for the journey was the Venturer portable DVD player with in car adapter. This fantastic little machine plugs directly into the cigarette lighter (so no need to remember to charge batteries). The player in its custom made bag attaches to the back of one of the front seats. (This is one of its few disappointments in that it can be fiddly to attach). It has a 7 inch LCD screen with good quality picture, we experienced no problem playing DVDs even when ... ...down mountains (well hills then). The player can also be used with head phones (so just plug the children in and away you go). It was an absolute god send for the journey and stopped lots of arguments on the back seat during out 10 hour journey. However as we normally play it with the sound on I might need to invest in a few more DVDs as I don't think I can listen to the same ones for more than 15 times. !! The portable dvd player can also be plugged ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Yes its one of those things that was on my gadget wish list and I eventually managed to convince my 'then girlfriend to let me get one.
There's just something about having a little gadget in your hand that can pinpoint your location anywhere on the... more
