Portable DVD players - obsolete?

[froomeonthebroom]

I have been thinking about getting an in car DVD player but just got the new Argos catalogue and there is a choice of about 2!

Is this because people are using tablets instead?

What would you recommend buying for the kids to watch DVDs on for a drive to France? Do batteries on tablets last that long?

I've just bought a new one, got it on eBay, think there are lots on Amazon still.

We had a double screen one which was a nightmare as my kids can't agree on anything!

We're going to France in a couple of weeks and will use the DVD player, BBC iPlayer on our iphones with programme pre downloaded, they both also have very old iPod touch's which might be used too. I have a Google nexus tablet which I'll pass over if I'm desperate.

You can get car chargers for pretty much everything, just make sure you also get a double adapter so you can plug more than one thing in the car if you need it.

We ditched our DVD player when I got an iPad. You can get cases that attach to the headrest and we plug it into the cigarette lighter (do they still call it that?). Took us from Surrey to Cornwall and back and many trips to the Isle of Wight.

Depends on your budget but I'd go for the tablet and load it up with stuff. Easier than juggling DVDs.

We've got this one from Amazon www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0099EQLRO/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1375947341&sr=8-2&pi=SL75 absolutely saved our sanity on long drive around Europe this summer. I don't have a tablet, but my DC are young and this did get bashed about a fair bit in the back of the car, don't know if a tablet would have survived!

Only slight annoyance was having to find space for extra bag of DVDs, guess you wouldn't have that problem with a tablet.

(hope link works, posting from my phone)

Thanks. Think I'm going to seriously consider the tablet route - need to start saving up!

We have a pair of Bush DVD players, bought as refurb items on ebay for less than £100, IIRC.Previously we had a brand new Nextbase twin unit, which didn't last long. The Bush unit cost a little less, as it was refurb, but it feels much better quality. Also the Nextbase unit was a single DVD player with an extra screen, whereas the Bush unit has 2 players, so it allows 2 different DVDs to be watched at the same time, or they can watch the same DVD.

A quick search on ebay comes up with this twin unit, which is quite close to what we have. I think it's a bigger screen, so it's a little more pricey, but it still looks like good value.

I would be surprised if they couldn't be operated as a master/slave set, showing the same DVD, but you might want to check that they can, as that isn't explicit in the listing.

We still use ours for long journeys, it is one player with two screens, one for each headrest. Better than sharing one tablet that neither DC can see properly, or having two tablets playing different things (we don't use headphones). If we only had one DC it would probably be the Ipad now though.

We take the DVDs out of their boxes and carry them in one of those wallets meant for CDs, holds about 20. Saves having to rip DVDs onto the tablet. The DCs change the DVDs themselves. One thing though, in our old car, if you switched the engine off, eg at a petrol station, the power to the cigarette lighter was lost and the DVD would lose its place. Our current car has a lighter socket in the back which stays powered up even with the engine off, the front one loses power.