VideoNow, Fisherprice Kid Tough or Portable DVD player

I am currently looking into these products and would love some opinions.

Thanks!!

I purchased the Fisherprice Kid Tough at Target - during the big clearance sale - was able to get it for $37 - due to some careful hiding...lol - anyway - Once I opened it and put it in - the dvd would skip and not play right - lines in the screen...etc...I called Fisher Price and they let me send it back to them. We got the new one and it worked great. The issue I have with it is the screen is so stinking tiny....but for $37 it does the trick...

I went with the portable DVD player because I think the screens on the kid tough are way too small for the price. I secure the dvd player to the headrest of the car using adjustable straps. Its not there permanently though, I install whenever we're going on long trips only. The way I do the straps is that if the player slips thru one or two of the straps securing it to the headrest, there's still no way it would fly across the vehicle in an accident, it would probably be hanging on the seat instead.

carolinamom said:

I purchased the Fisherprice Kid Tough at Target - during the big clearance sale - was able to get it for $37 - due to some careful hiding...lol - anyway - Once I opened it and put it in - the dvd would skip and not play right - lines in the screen...etc...I called Fisher Price and they let me send it back to them. We got the new one and it worked great. The issue I have with it is the screen is so stinking tiny....but for $37 it does the trick...

Click to expand...

Wow $37!! Here they are $175. When do your kids use them?

ravekiss said:

I went with the portable DVD player because I think the screens on the kid tough are way too small for the price. I secure the dvd player to the headrest of the car using adjustable straps. Its not there permanently though, I install whenever we're going on long trips only. The way I do the straps is that if the player slips thru one or two of the straps securing it to the headrest, there's still no way it would fly across the vehicle in an accident, it would probably be hanging on the seat instead.

Click to expand...

Wow do you happen to have a pic of this set up?

What player do you have?

What do you do for DVD options

I was wondering if there is a rear facing dvd option out there. I would love to put it in the head rest but once DS is older that wouldn't be an option anymore so I am trying to figure something out.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I dont have a picture of it but these are the straps I use:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Therm-Rest-42-Inch-Straps-Count/dp/B000A8C5NW/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1245427087&sr=8-8"]Amazon.com: Therm-a-Rest 42-Inch Acc Straps (2 Count): Sports & Outdoors[/ame]

I use three of them, they're a pain to install but like I mentioned, I only do these for long trips. I have this dvd player:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sony-DVP-FX820-8-Inch-Portable-Player/dp/B00139R1TA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245427279&sr=8-3"]Amazon.com: Sony DVP-FX820 8-Inch Portable DVD Player, Black: Electronics[/ame]

What I do is pass strap #1 between the screen and the player's base (where you put the dvd in) and strap that part tightly around the metal bars that hold up the vehicle's headrest. So in other words the straps are around the part of the dvd player where the screen attaches to the base.

This particular dvd player has a screen that can swivel all the way around so it lays flat against its base, like a tablet pc. I use the other 2 straps tightly around the base and around the headrest, passing them through the 2 metal stalks that the headrest adjusts up and down on and tighten. I them adjust the headrest all the way down so the straps are squished between the headrest and the vehicle seat.

If the 2 straps that are around the actual headrest slides off, the dvd player is still kept attached by the 1st strap I placed. Its kinda hard to explain ad I dont have a good pic.

BTW this is for a RF toddler in the center. The dvd is attached to the outboard headrest.

Sorry but I cant explain it better.

I just bought (last weekend for a 7 hour drive) a dual screen portable dvd player by Magnavox. cost was $118.97. it came with remotes, cords and "mounting" straps to hook on seat. the cords are long enough that I think you could do one for forward facing and one for rear facing. sound and picture were great - very impressed.
There are connections for headphones (dds are too little) and for wall adapter (not included). Would buy again in a hearbeat.

http://shop1.frys.com/product/5852983

I bought in store, price was higher but I persisted and got them to match their internet price. If you're close to one locally you can order online and do instore pickup.

We've had the VideoNow players for years and they have worked well for us. The major drawback is they only play VideoNow discs (called PVDs) NOT DVDS. The PVDs are hard to find for sale anywhere except Ebay where the prices are outrageous. We have an extensive PVD library so that is not an issue for us. Another drawback is the screens are very small. My kids never complained, but they hold them in their laps so they can see the screen.

We also picked up a Kid Tough player during the Target clearance even after reading lots of bad reviews. We haven't used ours much, but we also had problems with it stopping after playing 5-10 minutes. It doesn't hold its charge well. It seems to work fine if we use it while it is plugged in to the outlet. These are durable, but don't have a good way to secure them in a vehicle. They also have a small screen (bigger than VideoNow though). Personally, I would not buy this again even if it worked perfectly. It's not worth paying full price IMO.

We had a cheap Portable DVD player (bought Black Friday 2007). It lasted about a year of limited use before it stopped working completely. We loved it while it lasted because of the large screen and the fact it plays regular DVDs. We bought a travel kit separately that included a soft case with straps to secure it to the headrests in the vehicle. We are looking at buying another in the future, but will go with a reputable brand and possibly 2 screens so we can secure one in front of each kid.

i use a Sony PSP for my portable video needs. That way I can convert any video and put it on the PSP. There are mounting brackets out there to stick it to a window or a headrest.

Wow thanks everyone!! Looks like the fisherprice is out as well as the videonow due to the PVDs.

Thanks for all the advice and now I am off to research the links given to me.:thumbsup:

where did you get the straps