Portable DVD player roundup

Jeff Bakalar, Assistant Editor June 6, 2008

The 2008 portable DVD players have arrived, and we've taken a look at four of the top competing models. Portable DVD players have come a long way since they hit the market with most models being able to do a whole lot more than simply playing a DVD.

With the DVD-LS86, Panasonic has taken a new approach on the traditional swivel screen and has opted to incorporate a collapsible hinge. While we liked its vast range of format compatibilities, it may not be as compact and portable as you would like.

The Toshiba SD-P71S is the smallest of the portable DVD players we've recently seen and is best suited for the person who just wants a "bare-bones" portable player. It supports MP3 and JPEG file playback, but that's about all the extra features you'll get.

The Philips DCP851 is an ambitious portable DVD player with an iPod dock that will play music and video. While we weren't really impressed with its picture quality, we did like the fact that the DCP851 comes with a flash card reader and DivX compatibility.

The Sony DVP-FX820 (the successor to the FX810) really captured us with its gorgeous 8.5-inch high-resolution screen. It may not have the bells and whistles of the DCP851, but in terms of video quality, it can't be matched.