Top 5 Features You Need for Kids Portable DVD Players

Top 5 Features You Need for Kids
Portable DVD Players

By James

One of the most common reasons to buy a portable DVD player is for your kids. They are great for kids! You can travel with them, watch them around the house to free up a TV and they are simple to operate. You can also get portable DVD players specifically designed for kids at a very reasonable price. If you are thinking of purchasing a portable player for your kids here are 5 features you should look for when buying one.

1. Swivel Screen

Some portable DVDs open and close very similarly to a laptop computer. The screen goes up to watch and down to close. When you are purchasing for kids you want to look for a swivel screen though. This means the screen rotates not just up and down but side to side as well. This will allow you to set up the DVD player in any situation and position it so that multiple kids can watch at once. These swivel screen players also fold over on top of themselves so they look more like a tablet. This is very important when it comes to taking advantage of the next feature on this list.

2. Car Headrest Mount

If you are buying a portable DVD player for your child, chances are you are planning on using it in the car on a long road trip. For these situations, you want a headrest mount. You can always buy one separately but many portable DVD players designed for kids come with a case that will mount like this as well. You really don’t want to have to hold a DVD player in place for a long ride and balancing it on a middle consul is not ideal. Securely fasten the portable DVD player to the headrest in front of your child and you will be all set for hours of uninterrupted travel time.

3. Shock Resistance

This one is so important when considering a DVD player for kids. As I have mentioned, the two main uses for this will most likely be in the car and in the hands of your kids. If you have a shock resistant player, you will not have as many skips and stalls in those situations as you would with other players. Let’s be honest, kids and cars aren’t the most delicate on electronics!
Look for a product that not only has this but a “read ahead” feature as well. This means it looks ahead on the DVD to get ready for the next few scenes so if there is a shock to the system it will keep playing without missing a beat.

4. Dual Headphone Jacks

If you are buying this for an individual child, this isn’t as important. If you have multiple kids or travel with your kid's friends, this is a huge feature. Kids shows and movies are great but as an adult can be annoying to listen to at times, especially during the 100th viewing. You want to be able to have your kids put earphones in so you can get some peace and quiet! If your portable player only has one jack, that is ok. You can always buy a splitter to allow for multiple headphones. However, there are plenty of players that have multiple jacks which will make life easier and cheaper on you.

Kid Friendly Colors

This may sound silly and somewhat unimportant but here is why I think this is an important feature. If your kids use your electronics, chances are they are using devices that are “adult colors” such as black, white or silver. They associate these colors with the device being their parent’s property. If you get your child a portable DVD player in a fun color that speaks to them, they will take more ownership of it and hopefully, better care of it. There are plenty of portable DVD players that come in pink and blue. You can also find lots of loud, bright models in yellow, green or purple. There are even certain models that have cartoon character decals or graphics on them. Let your kid be part of the process of picking the color when purchasing and you’ll have more success with them taking good care of THEIR new player.

Summary

Buying a portable DVD player for a kid to use is a great idea. You’ll get hours of enjoyment for them and some great free time for you. If you keep these 5 things in mind while shopping for your player, you’ll come away with a great purchase that will work for everyone.

"Buying these DVD screens made our vacation ride a lot more enjoyable. We also got headphones so our kids could listen to the movies and we could listen to the radio. It was money well spent. This was our first trip using them and we will be using them on all our long rides."

BENL