Axion portable DVD player

[vidgamer]

I didn't want to clutter up the giveaway thread. I already asked there if anyone knew more details on this unit (the 6070), and I haven't found but one comment in all of my internet searching. But the price is definitely right (<$140, shipped!), and I decided to take the plunge. (Hey, it'd just be my dumb luck if I won the other one, but if I did, I promise to find it a good home! )

Turns out it's a pretty good unit. Mind you, I haven't used any other portable DVD players...I'm not sure that I've seen any (working) demo models in stores either (or at least I didn't go out of my way to look until recently). So, I really am not sure how it compares.

First off, it needed some adjusting of its video settings. Good thing I just picked up Digital Video Essentials. The most important change was putting contrast all the way to -16! Weird, but this made a huge improvement. I also adjusted the hue and saturation a bit. Looks like the reds are a little overemphasized, if I interpret the results correctly. No need to be too picky on such an inexpensive machine -- the picture looks great after the adjustments.

Resolution is supposed to be 720x480, but small text can be a bit tough to read, so I'm not sure about that. It is definitely good enough for the intended purposes -- I'm pretty impressed, really. There is a slight sharpening action being performed, but it does not appear to be too objectionable as far as I can tell so far.

Sound has kind of a high noise floor. If you used headphones with a built-in volume, that'd probably be ideal; at low volume, I could hear hiss and even a bit of motor noise (or something) in my headphones. Built-in speakers are not too good, but it's about what I expected. (Hey, what did you expect? )

Eventually, I'd like to get a holder/bag. In the meantime, I hope it doesn't get too beat up. The screen and body can fold "flat" so it seems like that would work well for the car; it also comes with a car power adapter. But it's up to you to figure out how to mount it. (I suppose the "lap mount" will have to do for now. )

Only has composite input, as far as I can tell, but it has composite and S-video outputs. Built-in dual headphone jacks (nice touch).

 

[Audioholics]

Resolution is supposed to be 720x480, but small text can be a bit tough to read, so I'm not sure about that.

Like most inexpensive portables, the screen resolution is actually quite a bit lower than that, though some companies try to make you think it's a "hi-resolution" display. Axion is actually one of the more honest companies when it comes to specs - so far.

Screen resolution (especially text) is horrendous on these players and I haven't yet received a satisfactory answer as to why there aren't a sufficient supply of higher-resolution 7, 8, 9 and 10" screens. I am guessing it has to do with which size LCD panels are being cut for these units. Apparently to cut higher-res panels would be too costly as they can be used with more expensive & larger displays. Again, this is just a guess.