Samsung DVD-L100
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CNET Editors' Review
The good: Large, 16:9 screen; display reverses for car mounting; dual headphone jacks; nice, protective carrying case; Memory Stick slot.
The bad: So-so battery life; hefty power adapter; no LCD aspect-ratio controls.
The bottom line: The L100 may not be the most compact portable DVD player, but it has a big, 10-inch display that will play well in cars.
Design
More than any other portable, the $999 (list) DVD-L100 resembles a small laptop computer. In fact, when it went through the X-ray machine at the airport, security flagged it as a notebook. Laptops--but not DVD players--must be taken out of your bag before going through the screening machine. After we informed the security personnel that it was a DVD player, one of them said, "It's that Samsung with the 10-inch screen, isn't it?"
Indeed, it was--all three pounds of it with the battery pack attached. That's a bit heavier than many smaller portable models but the same weight as the Toshiba SD-P2000. The player itself is fairly trim despite its large screen, but we had a bigger gripe with the power adapter: It's high-tech and looks cool, but it took up too much room in our carry-on bag. We also wished that Samsung included a car-lighter power adapter.
Available controls are conveniently arranged, allowing for easy access to all standard DVD functions except for the setup menu, which must be activated via the credit-card-style remote. We had no complaints about that remote, but if you lose it, you won't be able to get into the setup menu--a bummer.
One note about the detachable battery back: It's fairly compact and clips onto the back of the L100 without adding much bulk. Samsung sells a larger battery that offers substantially more juice but adds extra weight to the unit.
Features
The DVD-L100 has a fairly ample feature set, including a Memory Stick slot; two headphone jacks so that you can watch a movie with the person sitting next to you; plus the standard zoom and angle-change features during playback. On the sound front, you'll find a dialogue-boost option (a.k.a. dynamic compensation) as well as a faux-surround mode.
The L100 doesn't have much in the way of picture-tweaking capabilities; you can adjust the brightness level, but that's about it. There's also no way to change aspect ratio on the 16:9 LCD, so if you watch content that isn't enhanced for wide-screen sets--such as the DVD of the TV show Get a Life that we used--everyone appears short and fat.
As noted, in case you're interested in mounting the unit to the underside of a kitchen cabinet or to the roof of your SUV, you can display video upside down at the touch of a button. Samsung doesn't supply the optional mounting kit, which will run you an extra $125 to $200 when installed by a professional. Hide Review
Hunkered down in New York City, Executive Editor David Carnoy covers the gamut of gadgets and writes his Fully Equipped column, which carries the tag line "The electronics you lust for." He's also the author of "Knife Music," a novel that's available at Amazon, bn.com, and as a Kindle, iBooks, or Nook e-book.
User Reviews
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"Samsung DVD L200 great for cars" By
Pros I compared the Samsung DVD L200 to Toshiba spd2500. The Toshiba has better technical specs, but suffered from an inability to flip the screen over for mounting on a car ceiling.Also, the Samsung had better side to side off axis viewing. The Toshiba seemed
Cons The L200 only has a 800x 600 pixel screen and limited picture settings (contrast, brightness, etc), and non progressive scanning. However, it is perfect for my intended role: as a roof mounted DVD player to keep the kids entertained on the way to vegas.
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