Finding a Cheap Portable DVD Player That Actually Works

We’ve all heard it before. You get what you pay for. With higher price comes better quality with more desirable features and function. This is true with every product I’ve ever purchased. However, within every price range, even the bottom range, there are products that outshine their competitors in that range.

A portable DVD player is no different in this regard. Sure you can get discount portable DVD players from a number of different manufacturers, and many of them are junk. There are however, a few gems in this segment that I want you to know about. If price is your primary driver, you may not get the best portable DVD player available, but that doesn’t mean you have to waste your money on a piece of junk.

Which is the best cheap portable DVD player?

The main thing you’ll give up is screen size. Cheap portable DVD players in the $100 range are usually in the 7 to 8 inch range. Also, don’t automatically disregard unfamiliar brand names like Coby and Mintek. Both make pretty reliable machines. In fact, my very first portable DVD rig was a Mintek that I bought about 8 years ago when portable DVD players were relatively new.

I selected it because it was so cheap and the better known brand names were priced way out of my budget at the time. My kids used the heck out of that thing and it worked great for about 4 years. Since then, I’ve used portable DVD players that costing hundreds more that didn’t perform as well as that first machine.

Top 10 Portable DVD Players on the Cheap

These all have average customer ratings of 4 stars or better with a minimum of 15 ratings and a minimal number of 1 star ratings (if any). All are available for under $100.

Coby TF-DVD7107 7-Inch Portable DVD Player

You can find this baby for under 50 bucks. Not bad considering the very decent picture quality, anti skip technology, and relatively wide viewing angle. It has output jacks for playback on a larger TV. Decent sound and dual headphone jacks. It comes with a DV car adapter, remote control and 1 pair of headphones.

Philips PET741B/37 – 7 inch Portable DVD Player

The extra bright display works especially well on the road. The unit is a bit clunky and thick, but has very decent sound from headphones and built in speakers.  AV inputs with cables and car charger are included.

Coby TF-DVD7377 7-Inch DivX Compatible Portable DVD Player

The outer case and remote are cheap and flimsy, but this is a versitile machine that can read DVD, DVD+R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, JPEG, MP3 and DivX. Dual headphone jacks and AV outputs are also on board. Screen swivels 180 degrees and it has anti-skip.

Coby TF-DVD7051 7-Inch Portable Tablet Style DVD/CD/MP3 Player

DVD,DVD+R/RW, CD,CD-R/RW, JPEG and MP3 compatible parental lock control, anti-skip circuitry, digital and analog AV outputs allow for use with home theater systems. A/V input jack for video games,VCR’s, or other AV sources. Dual headphone jacks and 2 sets of headphones included. Car charger power cord, plus a headrest bag with attachments as well as a cassette hookup and cords for running audio through the cars audio.

Coby TF-DVD8503 8.5-Inch Widescreen TFT Portable DVD/CD/MP3 Player

Cheap plastic casing and no volume control on the remote, but good for the price. 8.5″ widescreen display and 180 degree swivel screen. Plays DVD, MP3, DVD+R/RW, CD,CD-R/RW, and JPEG. Has anti-skip circuitry and Dolby digital decoder. Digital and analog AV outputs for home theater system connection, plus AV input jack for video games, VCR’s, or other AV sources. Dual headphone jacks.

Coby TF-DVD500 Ultra-Portable DVD Player with 3.5-Inch LCD

Tiny screen and somewhat goofy looking, but overal its a very inexpensive and durable handheld DVD/CD player. Plays DVD, CD, MP3 CD, and JPEG image CD. Composite-video and optical digital-audio outputs let you integrate the player with a TV, AV receiver, and surround speaker system. Includes AV cable, universal power adapter, DC car adapter, headphones, and rechargeable battery.

Philips PET724 7-Inch Portable DVD / DivX Player

Plays DVD, DivX 3.1, and Mpeg 4 video. 7″ TFT widescreen and very good battery life at up to 4 hours play time. This unit can play virtually all CD and DVD formats. Includes a  car adapter and remote control. Dual headphone jacks.

Sony DVP-FX730 7-Inch Portable DVD Player

Ok, so this one comes in at just over $100, but its a Sony and people really like it so I’m throwing it in. Light weight with an amazing 5 hour battery life and dual headphone inputs. Plays multiple formats.

Coby TF-DVD7307 7-Inch Portable DVD Player

Plays DVD/DVD+R/RW/CD/CD-R/RW/MP3 and JPEG wtih built in anti skip circuitry. Includes remote control, AV cable, AC adaptor, DC car adapter, stereo headphones, Lithium-ion Rechargeable battery, and a headrest mounting bag. No volume control on remote and only has a single headphone input. Battery life is about 2 hours.

Coby Electronics TF-DVD8107 8-Inch Portable DVD/CD/MP3 Player

LED backlight. DVD/ DVD-R/RW , CD, CD-R/RW, Jpeg, and MP3 compatible with Coby’s anti-skip, dolby digital decoder, digital and analog AV output, audio/video input jack for video games, VCR or other AV sources and single headphone jack. Also has A/V input jack for video games, etc and two hour battery life. Consumers report somewhat high levels of motor noise.