Initial Review: Durabrand 7" Portable DVD Player (DUR-7)

Background: I bought the 7" Durabrand Portable DVD Player from Wal-mart at the end of May 2006 since I was planning on going on a trip with my children and wanted to have a little peace and quiet occasionally. I bought this unit from the store since I wanted to have time to return it for another one if I needed to. (Note: I don't know what the reliability of these units is, I just know many cheap portable dvd players have quality issues.) I will add more to this review after I've used it more.

Link: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4938631

First Impressions: It looks like a dvd player. It seems cheaply made. It is wide screen. The speaker volume at max is LOUD (at least to me), I turned it down to about half way. The screen seems bright and clear to me. My husband said the screen quality is passable, but I don't really notice things like that. To put a DVD in, you lift the cover and snap the DVD in place.

Features:

• Plays DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CDs (both regular and mp3), and picture disks (jpg). (It might do more, this is what I tested)
• It has component video out (no video in). It also has a switch to switch between widescreen and normal format.
• The buttons on the player are: volume (up/down), play, pause, stop, skip (forward/back). There is also a brightness knob.
• I can do everything with this portable player that I can with my full-sized dvd player, skip, repeat, memory.
• Hacks (haven't tried them personally): Region free and also one to let you play VCDs
• Car adaptor
  

Quirks:

• You can't control the volume or brightness from the remote.
• This is more related to the case I bought to hook it up in my car, but the remote sensor is hidden under the edge of case so I can't use the remote. Putting a cd case under the player so that it sat higher seemed to fix the problem
• You can't select from a DVD's menu with the buttons on the player, so don't loose the remote. You can hit play and most DVDs will play.
  
• Battery won't charge unless player is turned off.
  
• Max of 254 pictures/songs in a folder on a cd.
  

Still to Test

• Battery life
• Playing a full length movie
• Screen brightness in a car
• Longevity
  

Rating so Far
This player is exactly what I expected. It's a good price and seems to do everything I want it to. Assuming it holds up, I would recommend it.