DVP-FX930 9-Inch Portable DVD Player, Black (2009 Model)

I had been looking at the previous Sony model that had over 300 reviews and CNET had it as their choice in the portable DVD products in the 7"-10" screen sizes. I am very please with the latest Sony model, what has changed is they made the screen an inch larger and placed touch buttons on the newer model. This FX 930 looks more modern, sleek although it is a little larger. I am very pleased as I have played various DVD's, using full and normal settings that you can select for wide or standard screen formats. I have played many CD's from the actual artists to my own made CD's at home and played music files from my PC and taken along photos like a photo album when I want to share or have those close to me with me so to speak when traveling. Sound is fine for the little speakers but 99% of the time I use really good headphones and you get two jacks so you can share when sitting with someone on a plane, train, or in the car as long as you are not driving. Had to toss that in! ;) It is not too heavy compared to many, certainly much less than a laptop and still small enough screen size to know you are not luggin around a laptop. Battery life is standard, I have it run out yet but have not been on pure battery for 6 hours yet either. I try to have it plugged in most of the time during use and for the car you get a car charger included in the box. Being it is smaller it makes it more mobile for your travels whether local or abroad. I have been using this item non-stop almost without any issues. Could it be improved, yes, almost any product can be and as with any electronics they seem to improve with almost each iteration. With this said, you can save $30-$40 by buying the previous model. It is an inch smaller but the screen resolution is the same and many of the features are almost identical. Take it for a test drive and remember you've got 30 days to test it and if it is not what you like or expect, return it and try another, but choices on these products are quite limited since many use their PSP, iPhone, or iPods to watch movies/videos etc.

*****Update*** I had erroneously mentioned that Amazon charged me 20% penalty. Amazon refunded me the full amount. As usual, I have always found dealing with Amazon support to be a pleasant experience. ************** The picture quality is good. The touch-buttons are sleek, the rotating screen is a good feature. if you plan on mounting it to the rear of a car seat. These are the issues I had with this product: * the touch-buttons are sometimes annoyingly unresponsive and you may have to press a couple of times. * the joy-stick is very painful to use. I had a one-week learning curve - even then I would not get it right everytime. Everytime I pressed the directional button, I would end up pressing the enter key and inadverently going into the menu. I do *not* have big hands or, literally speaking, fat fingers. If you do, believe me, you will not be able to use the buttons. Sometimes you will want to select a menu and keep pressing the directional button. I am really surprised that none of the reviewers mention this. This is not a minor gripe. It is a major usability issue. * ok, there may be a workaround for this, but by default the picture size is very tiny (a widescreen movie will take up a quarter of the screen with bands on all sides.) You go to the LCD menu, select options and make it 'Full' to stretch it out. Now everytime you press any button (stop or pause or menu), the screen reverts to the original quarter size. I apologize if there is some menu tweak (its not there in the manual for sure), but if not, its an excruciatingly annoying thing and should make you think twice before buying this product. Now it is possible that all portable DVD players have this issue, in which case you may not have a choice. But if you can do without a portable DVD player (buy a cheaper laptop), then for this reason alone stay away from portable players that have this display limitation. I have no idea when a DVD would ever take up the entire full screen. * a month and 5 days after I ordered this from Amazon, I got a light blue vertical band about 0.5 in from the right border. That pretty much sealed the deal for me and I returned it to Amazon with a 20% penalty. I usually find Sony products very durable and of high quality. I guess there is always a first time.

I bought this DVD player recently because I had a long plane ride and a long car trip coming up, and I thought my 21-month-old son might need some distraction. I needed something with a hold feature, so he wouldn't be messing with the transport controls (or, so that his messing with them would have no effect). As my wife and I might also want to use it, I liked that it has dual headphone outs. I also liked the long battery life and that the charger, car charger (with a nice, long cable), and AV cables are all included. (It even has a remote, though I've never used it.) So far, it's been great: in the car, on the plane, and in the hotel room. The picture quality is great. The internal speakers are good enough and loud enough that I haven't had to use headphones with it. And it seems fairly durable (it's taken a few short drops so far with no ill effects). Off-angle viewing is quite good, which is a big plus. I've used it as a CD player, too. And that works fine as well. The AV outs (both 1/8") are also ins (there's an input switch on the side of the monitor that toggles between the internal DVD player and the line in), which means you could probably cable an iPod or other video-capable device up to it, instead of having to swap DVDs. I haven't tried that yet, but I'm going to. My only complaint--and it's one common to some other Sony products that I've used--is that you can't really charge the battery while using the device. To get a real charge, you have to power it off. Battery life is very good, though. I've been happy with that, especially. And I think the combination of features and accessories makes this player worth the extra cash. A second, also minor, gripe is that the hold button (actually a slider) has no effect on the open button on the DVD compartment. My strategy for that is to flip the screen around and fold it down so the DVD compartment is on the inside, away from curious fingers. And, to be fair, it didn't take long to teach my son to leave that button alone, as he doesn't want his videos interrupted any more than I do.

DO NOT GO AND BUY ANYTHING ELSE BUT THIS SONY DVD PLAYER! I bought this refurbished for just about $115 dollars, and knowing what I know now, I would have bought a brand new one if they did not have any refurbished ones. It is a fabulous player. The slightest touch to the controls under the screen produces the desired result. It is not remote control dependent; therefore, if you lose the remote you can still use the controls under the screen, and to use the controls under the screen takes a very very light touch. Picture quality is fantastic; sound quality is fantastic; I even used a cheap pair of headphones and the sound is fantastic. I believe that the two headphone plugins are so that two people can watch with each person having their own set of headphones. The square button on the right side just under the screen should have arrows on it so that the user realizes to push the button at the very top edge for up, or the very bottom edge for down, or the very right edge for right, or the very left edge for left, or push right in the center for Enter. I also bought the: PDVK-10 7-Inch 10-Inch In Car Portable DVD Player Case (Black) for this unit and the case is wonderful. It holds the player with a strap and buckle to strap the player down and keep it from sliding around. The back inside pocket holds the Remote, the AC adapter, the Car plug adapter, the wires that are used to go to a television, and two small cheap headphones that go around the top of the head. Do not pass up this case either for you will be very happy that you can carry everything with you including the very good Instruction Manual that comes with the Sony DVPFX930. WARNING: You will damage the player by having the player plugged into the automobile and starting the engine, or turning off the engine. The engine must be started first, and then the player plugged into the vehicle, or if you are just going to run off the car battery make sure the automobile stays off; also, it must be a 12V car battery and not a 24V.

I purchased this for road trips with the kids and mainly for its longer battery life. Most other models that I've looked at didn't have the longer battery life. We're still testing it out and will report back on how it's doing later. Interface - That said, I was surprised by the touch interface which made it relatively easy to use without the included remote. Screen - I was a bit leary about the rotating / tilting screen but it's held up very well thus far. Picture quality was very good. Sound - We mainly use headsets for the kids but overall, the built in speakers were satisfactory. Build - Compared to other models that I've used before, I like the build on the Sony model better. A much more solid feel than other players that I've used before. Battery - The battery pack is contained within a separate flat piece that slides in below the player. I liked this over the built in kind with the thought that it could be replaced more readily than one that is built in and not replaceable (without taking it apart that is) Still testing the battery limits so more later.

Sony DVP-FX930 9-Inch Portable DVD Player, Black I am giving this 3 stars because of the blank video screen problem, but not fewer because I was able to fix it (at least for the time being). We got this Sony DVP-FX930 about 11 months ago. We didn't start using it until last Fall. We had been pleased with it - using it mostly to entertain our small children when they have to few other options, like waiting at piano lessens for their siblings. But then sometimes the screen would not work. We could hear the sound, but there would be no image - not even the blue screen at start up. We tried recharging, removing and then replacing the battery. Sometimes it would start working again. Finally a few weeks ago it stopped all together. This is one of the problems commonly reported in the Amazon reviews for both the FX930 and the FX820. And with the reported poor and expensive Sony warranty I decided to try to fix it myself. I removed all the screws from the bottom. There are 16 screws. 4 are under the corner rubber feet (not under the two feet at the midline). The feet can be peeled off with a knife. One screw is under a warranty void stick - I had to break that sticker. After removing all the screws the player came apart easily. The cable from the screen has a white connector on the motherboard. There is no clip on this connector and it can be easily removed. I removed it and then reseated it. I replaced the battery without putting the screws back and held the player together by hand while turning on the power switch. I got the initial blue screen. I then tried a DVD and it showed up on screen. I replaced all the screws and it continues to work. I suspect that the cable connector could work lose again. When it does I might try adding a little epoxy on the cable connector junction to hold it in place. I don't know if this is the root cause for all blank video reports on Amazon. But a mechanical failure like a poor cable connection rather than electrical seems to be consistent with reports of intermittent problems before complete video failure. August 8, 2013 Just wanted to update that the player is still working now more than three years after having reseated the video cable on the motherboard.

This is my 3rd portable DVD player and the best one yet. I have a cabin in the woods with no electricity and watch movies at night with the kids. This player will play 3 full length movies before needing to be recharged using the built in speakers at half volume and the back light set at 1/3. Depending on the coding of the movie you may need to manually change the LCD mode from the default of "normal" to "full". To recharge the battery (every 2 or 3 days), I plug it into my vehicle during the day and it is fully charged in about 4 hours. My only minor complaint is the layout of the buttons on the remote. It may be more expensive than some of the other units on the market but it performs perfectly. The swivel screen also works well when travelling in the car and should work great for air travel as well as it allows you to lay it flat in your lap for viewing.

I order a DVP-FX930 at a price of $149.88 from Electronics Expo on Amazon Marketplace. Electronics Expo sends me a DVP-FX950 at a price of $131.98 instead. I look at the price on Amazon Marketplace for Electronics Expo and notice it was $18.10 cheaper. I order item A and they send me item B. They neglected to inform me that they would be sending a different model number and neglected to offer a refund off the bat. Strike one. When it arrived it was poorly packaged. Thrown in a a box with the protective packaging placed on top. It was loose in the larger box. The larger box was beaten up by UPS. As I picked it up I knew it took some damage as it was loose in the larger box. I do hope the DVD player can handle shock as the outer box was beaten up. I then left poor feedback regarding this issue. (I had not noticed the greater issue above yet and should have waited and left that info on the feedback) Strike two. I then called Electronics Expo to ask for an explanation and for a refund on the difference in pricing as I paid for the more expensive item versus the one Electronics Expo sent. I had to initiate the call and refund. Not Electronics Expo. 2 days later I receive an email from Max Khachatryan Customer Experience Manager for Electronics Expo telling me he will offer a $15.99 refund as he read my poor review regarding the poor packaging and wanted it removed. I took it as a bribe to mask their incompetence with their handling. I reply with the above story. All facts. He then tells me, please remove the feedback and we will refund $15.99 to make up for Electronics Expo error. A few days later I do receive the $18.10 refund for overpayment. A couple days later he refunds me $7.99 and not the amount promised of $15.99. He goes back on his word and tries to justify it by saying I received my $18.10 anyway. Strike three. The $18.10 was mine regardless. If this is the way this company does business I will go elsewhere and tell the world how Electronics Expo does its business. Hence this poor review. So, buyer beware when purchasing anything from this shady company.