Portable DVD player advice?

[oviedomomjan05]

I am finally going to bit the bullet and purchase a DVD player for us to use in the car. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 7 month old. I have held out and used laptops but now that I have two kids, I can't any longer. We have two big trips in the fall and need DVD players!

I am looking for possibly ones that you can use in the car and use as a portable player too. I have seen the ones that strap to the seat but you can also carry out of the car? I am okay with spending a little $$$ on it but I am always looking for the best deal for my money. Don't know if I should be two separate ones or if I should get one with two screens? As you can see, I am sort of a "novice" at this right now!

I always come to these boards before I purchase! No sales guy can give you the real world advice like other moms. So, I would appreciate any help anyone can give me!

Thanks in advance!

[KrystalS]

The best advice I can give you is don't buy a super cheap player just to get a good deal. It will break fast and then you'll be out more $$ buying another one. I went through 2 of the cheaper players, don't remember the brand, just a cheap one from Walmart. Then I finally bought a Phillips, I think it was about $250. I've had it for 2 yrs now with no problems. This thing had been dropped several times and my DD has kicked it from her carseat. It doesn't come with its own straps to put on the back of the seat but I just rigged up my own straps with some elastic. Don't waste your $$ on those DVD bags that supposedly trap to the seat, they do not work.
If you have younger kids you definitely want a player that comes with a remote so you can push play, etc, from the front seat.

[Tondi G]

we have an audiovox brand car dvd player and it comes with the straps etc to attach to the seat backs..... it is about 3 or 4 years old and still going strong! We got a new car with a built in DVD player which is awesome but if we were buying something portable again I would probably opt for 2 screens in the car! We were considering something for DH's car but then we realized if we were driving long distances we would be taking my car anyways! Anyways we have loaned ours to neighbors etc and it has held up beautifully so I would recommend the Audiovox brand!

Good Luck

~Tondi
Mommy to Mason 7/01 and Aidan 5/05

[gatorruth]

I dont' have a brand to recommend, but I DO recommend buying an extra battery for those really long flights. It's oh soooo much fun when the battery dies right in the middle of Curious George... trust me, you don't want to go there!!

[mom2binsd]

They are great, I drove by myself with my 3 year old DD and for 900 miles she just watched DVD's...but now the dilemma, when we travel our DD is Forward facing in her carseat and DS who is 18 months, will remain Rear Facing until about 33 pounds, so they aren't facing the same direction-you may also have that problem....you may need two players facing the right direction for each child...does that make sense????

I also used the cases that suspend between seats, and it worked ok, but I'd go for the ones that strap right onto the seats. I second the extra battery idea, we've had to search out outlets in airports to charge ours (and with all the cellphones needing charging it's a task sometimes!).

Good luck