Philips PET1030 10.2-Inch Portable DVD Player with Car Mount Kit

I haven't had this device for long, but so far I think I agree with most of the positive reviews here. One thing I have not seen mentioned, however, is that there seems to be no way to have the player adjust the image of anamorphic DVD sources such that the picture fills the screen as much as possible.

If you've got a 16:9 TV, then you're familiar with the various "stretch" viewing modes, and how with many sources the image must be "stretched" in the vertical direction in order for it to fill the screen and (more importantly) for the image to be rendered at the right aspect ratio. In other words, if the movie has a shot of a basketball, the basketball should look like a basketball, not a blunt football.

With this player, the only means I've found to get the aspect ratio right for anamorphic disks is to tell it to use the 4:3 TV setting. That corrects the aspect ratio problem, but it leaves about half the screen unused - that half-screen is more-or-less what I wanted when I paid extra for this thing!

Anamorphic DVDs are not rare, by any means! As I was picking DVDs from my shelf to test the player, I found that the first 5 I picked were anamorphic. It's something I generally don't think about at all, because all my other playback mechanisms are capable of dealing with that format. Apparently, the Philips people decided it wasn't really important for this device. That's really a shame.

We received the dvd player and were happy with quality, picture, and controls. But the car mount is very cheap and broke within the first week.

After doing an extensive search for the best player according to my budget, I finally realized the Philips PET1030 player was the best choice. I have lots of DIVX videos with subtitles and it played them by the first time without problem. Subtitles are rendered over a blue transparent rectangle wich make them very visible. Battery lasts more than 2 hours using USB Flash memory as the video source. Included speakers sound very good and loud, even when traveling by car with road noise around.

Despite the fact that I'm prretty happy with my player, I would suggest some improvements:
- After 40 minutes playing a movie, it gets warm on the back.
- Screen panel buttons could be iluminated for when operating the device at night. Screen ligth flashes your eyes and cannot see what button you are pushing.
- I didnt find power button on the remote control.
- A "subtitles font size" entry would be great In the Options menu for enlarging subtitles.

Regards.

I bought this DVD player PET 1030/37 and watched one movie than it had no sound, I tried other DVDS and no luck. So I called Philips and they sent me a new one free of charge if you send the original back with prepaid shipping . When I received the replacement the DVD unit was missing from shipping or other?, they didn't TAPE it shut or factory seal it and the box showed what was in it. So I called again they sent another one shipped the same way. But it was there this time. But I used it the first time and the DVDs screen now had a green and white spot in the middle of the screen but i did have sound this time. So I called Philips again and they sent ANOTHER one again Shipped again with no tape in the same BOX showing what was in it!?!? I did get this one and so far so good it is a good unit when the sound and the screen are not messed up!! The only problem is No POWER on the Remote button. I do have concerns on Quality but Philips took care of all and any problems in a timely manner. But their shipping of replacements is really poor you may or may not get your replacement. They must not believe in taping or sealing the boxes shut from Philips Replacement Support. I would love to give this DVD five stars but after 3 replacements of this DVD player it get only 2 STARS.

I was very pleased with this product. The picture quality is great and it is very easy to use. It's also easy to put in and out of the car. I don't love the mounting bracket but found it is most likely the way it fits in my car. My 2 yr old son threw a tantrum in the car and ended up kicking the DVD Player. We have a Jeep and the mounting bracket does not allow the DVD Player to sit flush against the head rest.