GoVideo 8.4" Portable DVD

Rating:
Summary: Don't Believe the Hype!
Review: For those of you who are into the specs of a product, this looks like a real good buy. But there are major drawbacks to this product. The first being there is a separate battery compartment that attaches to the actual unit itself. This makes it noticibly more cumbersum to carry. The unit itself is light, but the separate battery compartment makes it feel like your now carrying a laptop. The tv tuner is also almost impossible to find to purchase, and if you do find it, good luck with trying to find a channel to watch. The picture is horrible with the antennae. And lastly, the picture on this is pretty dark. So don't get caught up in the specs, or the size, go with a better quality picture over the specs.

Rating:
Summary: Go Away from Go Video
Review: I purchased this item from QVC after a glorius write up on their site. There are several negatives about the GoVideo( this particular model,8440) The picture is very dark and I have the adjustment all the way up on the brightest number, which is +3. It seems like I have to constantly adjust the screen with each scene change. I bought this item basically to watch my soaps after I have recorded them on my large Sony DVD recorder/player that records DVD+RW,DVD-RW,plus many other recordable methods, and supposedly this GoVideo was supposed to accept DVD-RW discs. I had purchased a pile of them, thinking that this GoVideo accepted the DVD-RW, because it said it accepted all DVD formats, along with MP3, CD,etc. When I recorded my soaps on the DVD-RW and went to play it on the GoVideo, it promptly said "Wrong disc or Incorrect disc, please insert correct disc" , well, what a bummer!!So I am stuck with a pile of DVD-RW's but hubby bought me a bunch of DVD+RW's specifically for this stupid portable video player. The picture not only is dark, but the colors are not really adjustable other than green, red and black and white. The people look like martians from outer space, or the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz. So my suggestion to everyone is to "Go Away from Go-Video" and stick to a brand named item, I wouldn't suggest Samsung because my deceased ex-husband stated that Samsung's electronic products were of poor quality. I wish he would have told me that before I purchased a TV about 10 years ago that had nothing but problems from the day I brought it home.......I ended up taking it back to the store for replacements, then told them to give my money back and went went elsewhere to purchase an RCA, which I have had ever since with no problems!!


Rating:
Summary: So far, so good...
Review: I've had this player for a couple of weeks now, and am very pleased with it's performance. I hastily purchased a different portable DVD player, but it started making a funny noise and quite playing my dvd's. I returned it and did research for my next purchase. I liked this unit because of it's versatility. I wanted to play different formats and I liked the optional TV tuner that can be purchased. So far, I have only played DVD+R, J-Peg photo CD's and store bought DVD's. Most have complained that the picture is too dark, I tend to have the opposite problem with the picture on the DVD+R's being too bright. The biggest complaint I have is that with the lithium battery on the unit, it won't fit into the generic DVD bag that I bought. I need to find something that will accommodate the extra inches added on to the back of the unit, so I don't have to have it plugged in all of the time when we travel with it.

Rating:
Summary: Go Video GP 8440
Review: I've had this product for 1 week and love it. I also got the DP110
TV accessory and it works great at my house and work. You can scan in your local channels from the supplied antenna (which I do at work) or connect it to your cable system (which I do at home) and both have fine reception. The remote control works all functions and you can switch between TV and DVD with a touch of the finger. Once you scan in your local programs, you can then use the remote to just switch between those and not worry about any others. Even after you scan the channels, the remote lets you Fine Tune the frequency if it is off a notch.
The sound is adequate from the intenal speakers and very good from an attached headset.
The picture quality is great and you can adjust to regular or 16.1 with ease.

Rating:
Summary: One of the first portables with a TV Tuner
Review: I've looking around for a while for a portable dvd player that has TV capabilities. So far Govideo is the first manufacturer to market such a player in the US. I'm sure all the other dvd makers will follow suit by Christmas time. I didn't want to wait longer since I wanted to have portable DVD player/TV to go on my Summer vacation.

On paper, this player has all the features that I was looking for, especially the TV capability and progressive scanning. The image quality is quite good as well as the sound listened through headphones. Neither the tuner or headphones are included.

There are two issues that's dissapointing about this player. First, the build quality is not up to par with others, it is a very flimsy machine and poorly built, the disk cover for example, does not close evenly with the rest of the player's surface. The material is so thin that the whirling noise can be heard by others in proximity. The other dissapointment is the battery pack, it's an external battery that connects to the back of the player, it's almost twice as thick and it's about 50% of the combined weight. I was looking for something thinner and lighter than a laptop to carry around airports but with the battery attached it is about the size and weight of a small laptop.
Considering the price, I think this player is acceptable for now. The ability to watch TV while waiting at airports or play my favorite DVD's and CD's is a big plus. I will certainly keep an eye out for offerings from Toshiba, Samsung and Panasonic.
Amazon doesn't carry the tuner so I can't comment on that. Will be buying the tuner directly from GoVideo.

9/21/2004 Update:
Got the antenna/tuner directly from GoVideo. Tested the antenna at home and not a single channel came through. It seems like if your rabbit ears don't work well at home it won't work with this dvd player either.
Next I tried it outdoors. On a morning commute in NJ, I took the player in the car and the most I got was the local ABC affiliate and the image was very poor. I went through suburban and urban areas and it did not make a difference. So unless you're located in line of sight of a broadcast antenna, this player is useless as a TV.


Rating:
Summary: First Impressions
Review: Unit just arrived yesterday. First impressions are good. I didn't buy it for stellar electronics and video; I bought it for functionality and accessories to entertain my kids. With that in mind, it has met my expectations nicely. Tried a DVD and a CD and played them fine.

Comes with the cords and wires needed to offer input or output to the unit, power cables, remote control, and battery. One bonus was that it came w/ a case and straps! The selling info doesn't point this out. The case is large enough to hold the unit, all of its accessories, and a few DVD's.

The rating would have been 5 stars had the electronics been great as well; but as I said I didn't buy it for that. The picture is adequate, but not great. And angled viewing of the LCD could be better. Lastly, the speaker's sound is so-so, but then again my kids won't care. Besides, I have my home theater system if I want 'real' electronics anyways.

Overall, quite a nice system for the money.