DVD Portables: go-anywhere video.(Video)

Portable DVD players give new meaning to the phrase "Taking the show on the road." The ability to play a movie anytime, anywhere can help you survive a long flight or forestall backseat tantrums. Portable DVD players have come down considerably in price, with some selling for less than $150.

Portables resemble small laptop computers minus the keyboard. Everything you need to watch a movie is housed in a slim, lightweight case.

You can play movies on a fairly new laptop, but portable DVD players are smaller, lighter, and less expensive. Most portables are also competitive in price with the kind of dedicated car-video hardware we tested for a July 2003 report.

If you use these portable DVD players in a car, be sure to buy a mount ($20 to $40) to secure the player on the center armrest or suspend it between the front seats, to keep it from flying around if you stop short or are involved in even a minor accident.

HOW TO CHOOSE

Weigh screen size against portability and price. Screens on the tested portables measure 7 inches diagonally; that's as small as we'd recommend. You can buy models with 4- to 6-inch screens, but they're a tad too small for comfortable viewing and won't save you much money. Players with 9- or 10-inch displays are a bit heavier and more expensive--$500 or more. They may be worth it, especially if more than one person wants to watch.

Go for good picture quality. The LCD screens on these portable players couldn't display the kind of excellent picture quality that DVD technology produces. None of the six portables we tested had a picture that was as sharp as that of a very good LCD TV set. The better ones should be fine for playing DVDs in the car or on a plane. The two judged fair had the softest, least sharp pictures of the batch. All the pictures washed out in bright light. All the screens tilt to help you find the best viewing angle.