Entered CNET Catalog: 06/17/2005
SKU: PET1000/37
Manufacturer: Philips Consumer Electronics
Manufacturer description
For pure entertainment on the go! The PET1000 plays DVD movies on a high-resolution 10.2 inch LCD screen. Enjoy multi-media ease with MPEG4 and DivX digital media format. High-quality S-Video and Component Video output available.Product summary
The good: Sleek design; excellent image quality for portable DVD player; large 10-inch screen; car adapter included; component-video out; two headphone inputs; plays MPEG-4, DivX files video files, and MP3 CD-Rs.
The bad: Expensive; hefty; does not display JPEG photos.
The bottom line: While the Philips PET1000 isn't exactly svelte or inexpensive, it is one of the sleekest and best performing portable DVD players.
Average user rating: 
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 12/23/2005
The PET1000 is finished in silver on the exterior, with a matte-black finish on the inside when you open the clamshell to expose the screen and the controls. Combine that with its shiny, silver buttons surrounded by rings of blue light, and nicely curved edges, and you have the makings of a very stylishly designed player. The PET1000 measures 10.2 by 1.2 by 7.1 inches and weighs 3.5 pounds with the removable lithium-ion battery attached, and 2.6 pounds without it.
Besides the large, sharp screen--more on that below--the other two standout features are the nicely designed remote (it's a cross between a standard-size DVD remote and a credit card-size one) and the PET1000's cable package, which includes component- and S-Video outputs for connecting to a TV. Most other portable units include neither type of cable. The Philips PET1000 also offers a digital-audio output for connecting to an A/V receiver, a video input, and dual headphone jacks so two people can watch a movie at once. A cigarette-lighter adapter ships in the box to power the player during long car rides.
Battery life is rated at 2.5 hours, but in our tests we managed to surpass the 3-hour mark. That's about average for today's portable DVD players, but it's arguably a bit better than that of most portable DVD players' screen sizes in this range.
As noted, picture quality is where you really see a difference--the Philips PET1000 offers one of the sharpest, highest resolution screens on a portable DVD player, and we were impressed with the images. After setting both the brightness and the color at about their midway points, we achieved a sharp picture with fairly accurate, well-saturated colors and only minimal noise. Watching the Along Came Polly DVD, we could make out good detail in both Alex Baldwin's and Ben Stiller's black tuxedo jackets in the opening sequence, in which Baldwin's character congratulates Stiller's on his marriage in classic fashion ("Mazel, mazel"). In general, we found scenes from this and other movies looked significantly more three-dimensional than they do with your standard budget portable DVD player. Sound quality was also good.
If we had one gripe, it was that the player made an irritating squeaking noise when it attempted to play--sometimes successfully--our hard-to-read test discs. With a high-pitched screech, we discovered that the player didn't like our JPEG photo files--it can't read them--or an old DVD-RW disc. However, it quieted down and played well with a DVD full of DivX files and a couple of MP3-laden CD-Rs.
All in all, the Philips PET1000 is one of the more impressive large-screen DVD players we've tested. Its somewhat hefty weight and price tag will certainly deter most shoppers, but if you're in the market for a premium portable DVD player with a great picture, the PET1000 certainly fits the bill.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 2 user reviews
Excellent Picture
Pros: Picture is excellent
Cons: Bulky battery, PET 1000 battery life not long enough
Review: I looked extensively at the 8 to 10 inch portable DVDs. The Philips PET 1000 had an excellent picture. I still am amazed at the quality. I just took it with me on a cross-country plane trip and it functioned extremely well. The battery is a little bulky and the life is only about 2.5 hours but my understanding is that the newest model has a longer battery life.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 2 user reviews
The Latest Gear - This Stylish Philips High Res-Player has all the connectivity options and more...
Pros: Picture is clear, bright, and has good skin tones. Sound is crisp and clear. The most connectivity options available (e.g. Composite, S-Video, Component.)
Cons: Remote is slightly hard to read. Volume maximum setting doesn't raise higher than the sound level of a normal conversation in a mid-size room.
Review: The Philips PET1000 meets all of my requirements and then some.
My requirement was to have the most connectivity options available (e.g. Composite, S-Video, Component.) However, the screen size had to be at least 9" or 10".
I played a commercial DVD called Mystic Pizza. The Philips 10.2" screen was very clear, bright, and the skin tones were of what I would expect to see. I didn't have to adjust the picture setting defaults since they were perfect to my eyes.
The sound is crisp and clear. Considering that the speakers are too small for deep bass, what I did hear from the musical scores as a prelude to the movie starting sounds good enough in quality that I don't mind the deep bass sound missing at all.
I was slightly dissappointed that the speaker control when set at maximum volume doesn't have a louder range for the built in speakers. However, the maximum volume just happens to be the setting that I like to listen to, similar to a normal conversation level in a mid-sized room. I can hear every sound in a movie, even birds chirping in the background because of the clarity of the built in speakers.
This Philips performed flawlessly on all the DVD's I played (commercial DVD, DVD+R, DVD+RW.) I don't have any recorded VCD, SVCD, MPEG-4 or DIVX that the Philips player also supports.
Next, I connected the composite connectors to a 27" TV. The picture quality was clear, but the flesh tones were over exaggerated, the sound quality was crisp, as I expected on the old style CRT TV that I was viewing. However, the flesh tones were more accurate on the Philips PET1000 10.2" screen.
The slim remote control is a joy to use. I had to become familiar at first with the button labels since they are hard to read. The tiny button printed labels blend in with the remotes background. The button functions are well laid out.
Since I purchased the PET1000 at Circuit City, I took the 4 year protection plan because the manufacturer 3 month parts and 3 months labor is too short. This Philips PET1000 is a new model just released in June 2005.
I am very satisfied and happy that I bought this Philips PET1000 portable DVD player. I recommend this model very highly.
My requirement was to have the most connectivity options available (e.g. Composite, S-Video, Component.) However, the screen size had to be at least 9" or 10".
I played a commercial DVD called Mystic Pizza. The Philips 10.2" screen was very clear, bright, and the skin tones were of what I would expect to see. I didn't have to adjust the picture setting defaults since they were perfect to my eyes.
The sound is crisp and clear. Considering that the speakers are too small for deep bass, what I did hear from the musical scores as a prelude to the movie starting sounds good enough in quality that I don't mind the deep bass sound missing at all.
I was slightly dissappointed that the speaker control when set at maximum volume doesn't have a louder range for the built in speakers. However, the maximum volume just happens to be the setting that I like to listen to, similar to a normal conversation level in a mid-sized room. I can hear every sound in a movie, even birds chirping in the background because of the clarity of the built in speakers.
This Philips performed flawlessly on all the DVD's I played (commercial DVD, DVD+R, DVD+RW.) I don't have any recorded VCD, SVCD, MPEG-4 or DIVX that the Philips player also supports.
Next, I connected the composite connectors to a 27" TV. The picture quality was clear, but the flesh tones were over exaggerated, the sound quality was crisp, as I expected on the old style CRT TV that I was viewing. However, the flesh tones were more accurate on the Philips PET1000 10.2" screen.
The slim remote control is a joy to use. I had to become familiar at first with the button labels since they are hard to read. The tiny button printed labels blend in with the remotes background. The button functions are well laid out.
Since I purchased the PET1000 at Circuit City, I took the 4 year protection plan because the manufacturer 3 month parts and 3 months labor is too short. This Philips PET1000 is a new model just released in June 2005.
I am very satisfied and happy that I bought this Philips PET1000 portable DVD player. I recommend this model very highly.
