Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After an extremely thorough and detailed assessment of this Sylvania SDVD1332, 13.3" full tilt and swivel DVD player which includes a 1280 x 800 mega-pixel TFT-LCD screen resolution, I am confident it is a 5 star product. I was looking to purchase a portable DVD player for my kids to use on long drives in the car and for another option at home to view DVD movies, or USB and SD Card downloaded pictures, and music. After thorough consideration of multiple brands, options, features and sizes I decided that this Sylvania 13.3" DVD player was the best overall "value in quality" choice. The price is phenomenal for the screen size and features alone. The materials used to manufacture this DVD player was done for a reason: to make it ultra light, portable and easy to carry, move, handle, manipulate and to be light as a feather when holding it in your lap. ***This is not a blu-ray DVD player. ***This unit is not cheaply made. ***It is made with nice fit and finish. The function buttons are large, easy to see and simple push button type that are easy to navigate (use) and understand. For the screen size, options, craftsmanship, functionality, ease of use, portability, durability, additional included items and picture quality you can't go wrong with this purchase. Also, if it arrives in unacceptable condition you can return it or exchange it through Amazon. With Amazon Prime membership, you can get it delivered within 2 days for free. The Amazon packaged box was sitting on my doorstep and delivered on time and as described (2 days from order to delivery). The shipping box was not damaged in any way. I opened this box and found the flawless manufacturer (factory) box inside with bubble wrap: Inside was a fully bubble wrapped DVD player, 110 volt wall outlet charger, vehicle power socket charger, audio/video out cable, plastic wrapped owners manual, and a remote control with a supplied battery. I inspected the DVD unit thoroughly for any damage and found none. My first reaction was "Wow" very nice color, clarity and screen size. I navigated through the setup procedures and the only function I changed was the "last memory" selection under the "general" options set up page. The factory default was "off" and I switched it to "on", so that a movie will restart at the exact place that the playback was stopped at during viewing. I bypassed all the previews by pressing the menu button and the main movie title page came on. I pressed play and the movie played flawlessly. I even picked the unit up, carried it around, rotated the screen back and forth, swiveled it around 180 degrees and layed it down flat (like a tablet) and reopened it and hung it from the wall using the two precut screw holes located on the back of the unit's base and the movie continued to play without any interruptions in picture quality (the DVD did not jump or skip). The picture quality was very nice, sound from the two small speakers, set to stereo mode (which is the factory default setting) was very good, and by using the RCA connections you are able to connect to an external AV source (TV and soundbar) which will allow you to increase the screen size or enhance the sound or both. The unit comes with the AV out-female RCA connections, but you will have to purchase the triple male-in RCA connections or an RCA-to-HDMI converter box and cable to complete this. The rechargeable internal Lithium-Polymer battery is rated at 2 hours with a full charge at max volume and max brightness, but in "optimal" conditions using the supplied ear buds (at reduced volume) and reduced brightness the charge will last closer to 2.5 hours. Due to the large screen size and when using the internal speakers at an elevated volume level this will create an exaggerated drain and deplete the internal battery more rapidly. To avoid this, the manufacturer includes the two alternative power sources which when plugged in will not use the power charge from the internal battery. ***Also, in order to actually recharge the battery you must turn the unit to OFF. ***The rechargeable battery will not charge when the unit is turned on even if it is plugged in to a secure power source (wall outlet or vehicle power socket). ***When the DVD player is turned OFF and plugged-in the charging indicator light located at the front lower right corner will illuminate red. When fully charged, took anywhere from approximately 3 to 5 hours, the indicator light illuminates green. ***The remote control sensor is located at the front lower right corner next to the charging indicator light. ++ Note: picture quality is excellent, but it is not and will not be as good as a Blu-ray DVD played on a BR disc player viewed on a 1080p HDTV format; however, with a pixel resolution of 1280 x 800 the clarity and quality of the screen is extremely nice, at all angles, for a portable DVD player. The colors are vibrant and the brightness of the screen is also very nice. I tested the SD Card slot and the USB slot separately using an SD-Card (SDC) that was loaded with pictures and a USB thumb-drive also loaded with pictures. I pressed the mode button and this unit read each one without a problem and displayed the pictures in full screen. The navigation arrows on the DVD player and the remote control allows you to flip pictures that are saved upside down or sideways into an upright position and also flip pictures over to an opposite mirror image. Picture quality was good. The playback of video on an original type SDC (slower speed and less memory capacity) worked; however, I would rate this feature/picture quality as just ok to good. (See specs below: SDHC and SDXC flash memory cards). I did not have movies and/or video downloaded onto a USB drive so I was not able to check this feature. **UPDATE: 7/10/2014: This Sylvania 13.3" Swivel DVD player continues to work flawlessly after watching at least 125 to 150 movies. **It is not a Blu-ray DVD player. It has A/V out capability only, no A/V in (does support USB and SDC). ***NOTE: The volume returning to high is not a malfunction with this player. The volume remains at the users preselected level (from 0 to 20) IF THE PLAYER IS NOT TURNED OFF. If DVD's are exchanged and then restarted the volume remains at the preselected level. There is no internal electronic memory to lock the volume at a lowered level when turned off. This is a factory default setting and has not been an issue for me. ***If you use the on-screen ZOOM feature (remote) or the repeat/A-B/title search functions the 2x, 3x, 4x, etc., icons will remain on the screen in white and will not drop-off (disappear) until you return to standard size or no zoom or resume normal playback. ***This is an extremely nice product for the money. It reads and plays all types of media, but most impressively it is great for watching DVD movies. **UPDATE: 3/24/2016: It still works, still charges up and holds a charge, plays DVD's like it was meant to and functions and operates as intended. It has been dropped several times on hard surfaces and the case pulled apart and the DVD lid hinge-pin and spring broke off, but after popping the case back together and using a piece of electrical tape on the rear part of the DVD lid it closes and opens by hand and then plays DVD's just as good as it did when it was first purchased. Great value for the purchase price! **UPDATE: 8/16/2017: The SDVD1332 continues to work. The picture/screen resolution is still super nice. The built-in speakers still work like they did when purchased and all functions still work. It's still a great backup when a member of the family wants to watch something else besides what's playing on the big screen TV. It was well worth the purchase price and I would buy another one without hesitation. These are not made to be dropped, so treat them with care. ****These are some of the important specs for this player: Supports: WMA, MP3, DivX, MP4, MPEG-1,2,3,4, VOB, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD, CD, VCD Compatible with DVD+/-R/RW, CD-R/RW, JPEG formats Supports USB 1.1, SD-Card (flash memory card) Note: The newer SDHC or SDXC high speed cards offer greater capacity than the DVD-host device can handle (over 4 GB for SDHC, over 32 GB for SDXC). A/V out only: Must be a 3.5mm diameter, long plug/pin (17mm) design, 3 ring to RCA red, yellow, white. No A/V in capability. Ear bud (head-phone)out connection x 1. Can use a multi-splitter to use more ear buds. Includes Closed Captions: Designed as a descriptive text service for the hearing impaired, and can be added onto DVDs. Includes Subtitles: Exists as a sub-image or video track that overlays onto the primary video when turned on. Factory set to Region #1: U.S., Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, Bermuda and Caribbean. Is not region free. Dimensions: closed (LxWxH): 363mm x 248mm x 45mm or 14.29" x 9.76" x 1.77" Battery Type: Lithium Polymer (rechargeable internal battery) will last ~2 hours at max volume and max brightness. Approximately 2.5 hours at reduced volume (ear buds) and reduced brightness level. There is an available extended battery that Amazon has that will increase play to 60-300 minutes. It must be an Auxiliary Battery for Portable DVD Players, that supports 9 Volts, (AC/DC Adaptor: DC-IN 9V, 0.8A, 110-240v, 50/60Hz) and have a "G5" connector plug-pin (12mm x 3.5mm x 1.35mm) included that will plug into the AC/DC charge port of the DVD player.