A PET You don't Need (Philips PET830)

Member Name: Zmugzy

Product:	Philips PET830
Date:	23/07/07 (2053 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Highly portable viewing device

Disadvantages: You probably don't need one

Some people, or at least manufacturers and market gurus, regard it as most important to keep youngsters entertained whilst adults are on the move in their hectic lifestyles. It is a necessary and very important requirement for modern day living. They think that it is an invaluable asset to be able to watch your favourite TV shows or movies whilst in the car, on the train, in a plane, in the kitchen or even whilst having a poo. There should be no room left in your home without some sort of screen from which you can be stimulated with your own favourite piece of propaganda. The point is, we're simply not watching enough and now you can watch more. Now with their lower prices, portable DVD players have become one of the main and most straight forward options for visual portable entertainment. They are usually compact and lightweight enough to carry anywhere and come with their own built in power supply.

This portable DVD seemed pretty good value for the money at around £180 from Amazon. Unusually it comes in a tablet-like design as opposed to the more usual note book style models. One drawback with this though, is that the screen is more prone to damage and scratching because there is no cover. But by the time it's been scratched so badly that you can't see anything, they'll no doubt be a far superior model on the market.

The PET830 comes with a car head-rest mounting kit and I suppose is aimed at keeping the kids quiet and grumpy grand parents occupied during long car trips. Philips claims that this will fit any make of car except a Volvo. In fact there have been recent street demonstrations in Sweden protesting against this outrageous discrimination.

Apart from standard DVD playback, the PET830 also supports DivX, MPEG 4, MP3, and WMA formats. You can play compressed video files from a DVD or even from a USB stick (either DiVX or mobile phone clips). The PET830 has a sharp 8.5in screen and unlike many similar DVD portable players, it has a wider viewing angle. Indeed the screen does seem to be of a good quality and the image renders well with good saturated colour and excellent contrasts. There was also no problem with reflections on the screen. The speakers meanwhile are basic as you might imagine but probably above average for this kind of entertainment device.

A major drawback though is the rather short battery life of just under three hours. This means that you're not going to get very far into your Dr Who DVD collection before it conks out on the M25. To this extent I regard it much more as a device for using around the house, but if you already have a flat panel TV and DVD player then what's the point? Well I suppose you can take it easily from room to room and for example, use it in the kitchen. That's right, watch your favourite movies whilst cooking your curry sauce.

But is that necessary? No, and it's probably dangerous.
Do we really need to watch a DVD in the car or on the plane? No, we don't, there are plenty of far more interesting and more convenient things to do such as counting cows or playing spot the terrorist. And if you took one of these things on either a trip abroad or somewhere closer to home, it would be just one more thing to worry about and to keep hidden from thieves.
Why do we have these devices? I really don't know.
Aren't they just an extra gadget to use up yet more household energy? Yes.
Won't there be something better and cheaper in the shops in 6 months time? Yes.
So won't it probably just end up in the back of a drawer after a while? Probably.
So do you really need one? No.

Summary: Highly portable viewing device that you probably don't need.

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