INTRODUCTION

   As far back as i can remember whenever i rode in the back seat of a car or in a bus i always wanted to be able to watch my favorite movies and series on a rather large screen and not the one from my MP4 player. Naturally not many people can afford to have an 2din in-dash DVD player in their car while even less can afford to have headrest LCD screens plugged into a central DVD console (to be honest with you that seems a bit overkill unless you have kids). So it didn't take long for manufacturers such as Philips, Sony and Panasonic to come up with portable DVD players that also came with 7+ inch screens attached to them. The only problem is that when these devices made their debut the price was so high that it also wasn't easy for everyone to have one. Luckily 5+ years later this is no longer the case and so today we will be taking a look at the latest entry level offering by Philips the PD7030/12 7" Portable DVD Player.

   Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is a diversified Health and Well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through meaningful innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs over 122,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 22.6 billion in 2011, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. Guided by the brand promise of “sense and simplicity” and the consumer insights, Philips Consumer Lifestyle offers rich, new consumer experiences that meet consumers’ desire for relaxation and improving their state of mind. Philips also responds to the consumer's desire for wellness and pleasure by introducing products that meet the individual’s interests in terms of their body and appearance. Philips Consumer Lifestyle employs approximately 17,700 people worldwide.

   Philips makes a wide range of portable DVD players starting with their entry level ones featuring 7" screens and up to their high end ones with 9" screens and even built-in MPEG4 DVB-T decoders. However although all their models where made available to us we had to pick one and so we decided to focus on their entry level model since it will most likely be the preferred choice for most people on a tight budget. So the Philips PD7030 Portable DVD Player combines an 7" 16:9 color LCD screen featuring a resolution of 480x234 pixels and a DVD player compatible with DVDs (DVD+-R/W), SVCD/VCDs and CDs. As expected the device can playback various media formats such as regular DVD video, DivX video, audio CDs, MP3sand JPEG pictures from picture discs. I am well aware that the screen resolution is not impressive but the overall package is quite good so let’s see exactly what you are getting.