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Dual Screen Portable
DVD Players Guide
Introduction
A portable DVD ("Digital Versatile Disk")
player is an ideal way of providing entertainment,
for yourself, and your family, while travelling
? on trains, aeroplanes, or even in the car
? and, indeed, when you actually arrive at
your destination. A portable DVD player is
smaller, simpler to operate, and less expensive
than a laptop, all of which makes it a more
suitable device where youngsters are involved.
However, whereas adults are, of course, quite
happy to share a single portable DVD player
screen between them, sharing between, or amongst,
children may be more problematic. This may
be particularly true on long car journeys
? when children are not, perhaps, at their
most amenable ? where attempting to share
a single screen may result, sooner or later,
but almost inevitably, in squabbling. This
problem can be solved, however, by what is
known as a "dual screen", or "twin screen",
portable DVD player. As the name suggests,
a dual screen portable DVD player features
a single DVD player unit, but two separate
LCD ("Liquid Crystal Display") screens, each
with its own set of wired, or wireless, headphones.
This means that the same DVD content can be
viewed, independently, on each screen, and
that the player can be shared quietly, and
unobtrusively, by the backseat passengers
in a car, for example.
In Car Use
A dual screen portable DVD player in car can
be a cost-effective alternative to the sophisticated,
integral DVD systems that are supplied "as
standard" in some luxury cars or that can
be installed, at a price, in any car. A dual
screen portable DVD player is, of course,
less expensive to start with, no modification
of the car is required, and the DVD player
unit, and screens, can easily be removed from
the car when not in use, as a deterrent to
thieves.
The DVD player, itself, and the dual screens,
do, of course need to be mounted safely, and
securely, in the car, but there are any number
of mounting kits, and accessories, which allow
you to do this with a minimum of fuss, regardless
of the size and shape of your car interior.
The DVD player unit is often positioned on
a mount, or pedestal, which attaches to the
passenger seat of the car ? without interfering
with the use of the seat, itself ? and includes
Velcro strips for temporarily securing the
player. Such an arrangement places the DVD
player controls conveniently, at your fingertips,
without the player, itself, bouncing around
on your lap, on a seat, or on the central
console of the car. Dual screens are normally
positioned on the headrests of the front seats
of a car, and can be fixed securely with harnesses,
or brackets ? which may be factory fitted,
or, at least, supplied, or available as accessories
? where they can clearly, safely, be viewed
by backseat passengers. Dual screens are designed
in so-called "tablet" style, so that they
lie flat against the headrest, when installed,
with no parts intruding into the passenger
cabin.
Even though there are two screens, it is a
good idea to choose a dual screen portable
DVD player with screens with as wide a viewing
angle as possible. It may be, of course, that
you want to entertain more than two children
in the back of a car, but, in any case, the
ability to view a screen from any angle, rather
than being restricted to just the "straight
on" position, adds to its level of flexibility.
Many portable DVD player screens, nowadays,
employ TFT, or "Thin Film Transistor", technology,
and provide viewing angles of 160 degrees,
or more. Some dual screen portable DVD players
also feature IPS, or "In Plane Switching",
which involves a different arrangement of
liquid crystal molecules from standard LCD
screens, and further enhances the viewing
angle.
The sound from a dual screen portable DVD
player is best listened to on headphones,
or earphones, particularly so in a car, where
engine and road noise are likely to prevent
the use of integral speakers, which may, in
any case, cause disturbance and distraction
to the driver and front seat passenger. You
obviously need to consider how many people
will be listening on a regular basis, but
most dual screen portable DVD players are
supplied with a headphone jack per screen,
so this only really becomes an issue if more
than two people ? say, three small children
? need to listen at the same time. If this
is the case, a headphone splitter cable, or
cables, can be used to connect two sets of
headphones to a single headphone jack, hence
accommodating up to four listeners, assuming
that two headphone jacks are available.
Another important feature when considering
a dual screen portable DVD player for use
in a car is an "anti-shock", or "anti-skip",
capability. This basically allows a portion
of DVD content to be held in the internal
memory, or "buffer", of the player, so that
if the laser reading the disk is knocked out
of line, by vibration of the car, or rough
road conditions, video, and audio, playback
continues uninterrupted.
Power
All portable DVD players, by their very nature,
are capable of operating on batteries, typically
for, at least, two or three hours, and maybe
as many as five hours, or more, in some of
the more advanced players. This is likely
to be less of an issue if you are intending
to use a dual screen portable DVD player in
your car, as is common ? or, indeed, in your
home, or your hotel, whilst away from home,
which are other possibilities ? and you should
be more concerned with the presence of a DC
("Direct Current") adaptor, which can be plugged
into a car cigarette lighter, for example,
and/or an AC ("Alternating Current") adaptor
which can be used to power the player ? and
recharge its batteries ? in domestic situations.
Some dual screen portable DVD players may
feature one, or two, rechargeable batteries,
which can be charged separately from the player.
If portability is an issue, look for a model
with, perhaps, two thinner, lighter batteries
rather than one large one, which will add
to the physical dimensions, and weight, of
the player.
Connectivity
The benefits of using a dual screen portable
DVD player whilst travelling are there for
all to see, but these do not detract from
the appeal of a such a player as a substitute
for a full-sized DVD player, either at home,
or in other situations, where a DVD player
would not normally be available. Many portable
DVD players are capable of "progressive" scanning
? a technique for creating a complete frame
of video in one pass, as opposed to the two
passes required by conventional "interlaced"
scanning ? and if you connect a player of
this type to an "HD Ready", or "Full HD" television
set, you can take advantage of bright, clear,
flicker-free pictures. Generally speaking,
look out for as wide a range of video, and
audio, connections, as possible ? particularly
higher quality connections ? so that your
portable DVD player can be useful in whichever
situation you find yourself. In terms of video
connections, look for component video outputs
? with typical three-wire connectors ? for
the highest quality, followed by SCART, preferably
RGB SCART, S-video and analogue, RCA, connections.
Bear in mind that, in the absence of component
video outputs, you may need to purchase a
separate cable for SCART, or S-video, connections,
and that analogue, RCA connections should
only really be used as a last resort, for
example, with older, "legacy", television
sets, where no other connections are available.
Audio connections, too, may be available in
a number of different types, from RCA "phono"
jacks, through to the latest coaxial, and
optical, digital audio connectors. If you
are thinking about connecting a dual screen
portable DVD player to your stereo HiFi, or
digital surround sound, system at home, look
for the best available connections to your
existing equipment.
Many dual screen portable DVD players, by
way of extending their usefulness, also include
a selection of video games, which can be played
by attaching a games pad ? available as an
accessory ? of the type normally associated
with video gaming consoles. Indeed, many also
feature a video input, so that it is possible
to attach a full blown games console, such
as those available from Sony, Microsoft or
Nintendo, without the need for a television
set. This feature is, however, perhaps more
applicable to a home, or hotel, environment,
than to travelling environments.
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