Axion AXN6079 7-Inch Twin Monitor Portable DVD System
by axion
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List Price: Category: Home Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Axion AXN6079 7-Inch Twin Monitor Portable DVD System
Customer Review: It's great, when it works.
Summary: 3 Stars
With a 14-hour car ride with my two kids (6 & 2 1/2) ahead of me, I needed a portable DVD player that would get us all through it with some semblance of sanity. I reviewed all of the products that were available and agonized over the fact that it seemed like a coin toss whether or not the unit a person bought would be defective or not. It didn't matter how much one spent, half of the reviews were, "this is junk!" and the other half were "this is great!" If spending more money was a guarantee that the portable DVD player was going to work, I'd have done so. But it didn't seem to matter. So, it was with great trepidation that I purchased this unit. I figured that I could eat the loss if it the coin toss came up "crap."
Everything worked great during the two pre-trip tryouts. Sharp picture, ample sound quality, no skipping on the player, the kids were happy. But two hours of use during the trip the picture on one of the units all but died. Maxing out the brightness didn't help. The sound came through fine so the kids were able to watch the same screen without having to jack up the volume. My son was even able to plug in his video game to it. Fortunately, the one remaining screen lasted the rest of the trip and the return trip as well. No problems with the player itself.
I bought the service/replacement plan just in case something went wrong. I have to recommend the same to any future buyers. Hopefully, I'll either get the unit repaired or replaced. I'll try to edit this with an update if/when that happens. Today is 5/6/08.
5 stars for when the unit worked. 1 star for the unit breaking so soon. Unless you need one of these right away (like me), try and wait for next year's models.
Update 7/7/08: If took some searching, but I discovered that the unit was still under warranty. I contacted the customer service department for the manufacturer, left a message, and was then contacted the next day. I explained the problem and was told to ship the busted monitor to the manufacturer. Three weeks later a new monitor was shipped to me. The replacement monitor is working fine.
Customer Review: Worked Relatively Well for about 16 Months
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this unit a little under 1 1/2 years ago to use on long-ish car trips with the kids. I used it on average about 1 day a month, but for about 6-7 hours for that day (typically for trips home to the Grandparents).
I have no complaints about the picture quality or sound. However, early on, it did have one recurring problem ... about half of the time, it would often take several minutes for the disk to boot up. And then it would run fine. About 16 months of ownership, it's developed a much more serious problem ... after running a DVD for about 10-15 minutes, the picture on screen will freeze and the unit will not continue. I've checked the unit as best I can and have tried multiple DVDs (and I've made sure they're clean and scratch-free). Since I'm not willing to listen to several hours of "Fix it, Daddy!", I guess its time to get another unit.
Pros for the unit:
- Dual Monitors ... I was able to set one up for the kids while facing the other one at my wife (so she could see when it was time to press "play" or if there were other problems). My first car-DVD player only had one screen and it was very difficult to see what the problem was while on the road ... with two screens, its much easier.
- Low price for what you get ... two screens, a remote, a carrying case, a plug for the car, a plug for normal house current, and other goodies
- Easy to set up, easy to move from car to car or into where you're staying
Cons for the unit:
- It didn't last much past the warranty
- No internal battery. So, if you turn the unit on before you begin your trip, when you start the car, it interrupts the power to the unit and basically causes it to reboot.
I didn't buy an extended warranty. I figured that I'd "self-insure" and that if it broke beyond the warranty, I'd buy another unit. I guess I'll have to. :-/
Customer Review: Great Product - Works beautifully, and very convenient
Summary: 5 Stars
I really do love this twin monitor portable dvd system. I researched the heck out of what was available and was a little nervous about getting this one based on earlier reviews, but none of the dual monitor dvd systems seemed to have good reviews at this price range. I have sense used it on very long trips (13 hour drives, etc). Out of the box, it is very light, but turned out to be very durable, (I have two toddlers who kicked the screens and banged on the dvd player.) Both screens worked great. Don't let other reviews sway you too much. It sounds like a lot of people simply did not realize that there are individual screen buttons that allow for one or both of the screens to be on at one time, and these need to be repushed whenever the dvd plyer is turned off. The convenience of having the dvd player seperate from the monitors was better than I realized it would be and the remote works great. I also did not have the problem that I read others had with many systems when the dvd player is turned off, as this one could be turned back on to the last part of the dvd watched, and pause, rewind and fast forward are all options as well, just like you would have at home. I loved it. The sound was loud and clear and you can use ear phones if need be. There is also not the mess of several different cords running all over the place or, as with our old single monitor, a swinging, strappy mess between the seats. The monitors fit neatly and easily on the back of the headrests. Also, once at the hotel, we disconnected the dvd player, and used another cord to watch movies with it on the tv in our room - saved a bundle on hotel movie rentals. Very easy to use, durable and works great!Customer Review: So far so good!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had my DVD system for 2 weeks now and we have had no problems. (Now that I've written my review, I've hopefully not jynxed myself) My kids are 5 and 7 and they have no trouble working the controls on the dvd player and having volume and power buttons right on the individual screens is great to have. There is ample amount of headphone jacks, the cords aren't too troublesome, and the sound quality is actually quite good without headphones. The tilt screen is a great option as well once it's hooked to the back of the seats. I find the screen quality to be better than I expected as well.
Previous reviews indicated that the dvd would restart when the car/truck is stopped and then restarted, however I have not had that happen in my vehicle. It stays on through stopping the vehicle and restarting.
The only downfall is that if you do stop and turn the dvd player off, the movie doesn't stay in the location when you stopped, but the "scene selection" feature works just fine and the kids are always able to get back to their favorite part in the movie. And a bonus is that while one person watches the movie on one screen, you can flip a switch on the other screen and hook up a game system. We have an atari game that works really well.
So far I think this is a great buy for the money and I've done alot of research to get to this system. I will update this review if something happens and it doesn't turn out as well as I thought. But with hopes, and by taking care of the product, if it lasts at least a year, I will be very happy.
Customer Review: Worked for exactly a year- but worked great for that year!
Summary: 3 Stars
As I write this, I am packaging the product for return. I bought the item in June 2008 and it is now July 2009. I bought the 2 yr warranty and highly recommend it! At the time I purchased this item, the reviews were very mixed. Many people stated that dual DVD players (including this one) do not last very long and are not very reliable. Since no dual DVD players had very great reviews, I decided to roll the dice and went with Axion (and bought the 2 yr replacement warranty)
I have to say, I did not have high expectations, b/c of the reviews and therefore was pleasantly surprised! We used the DVD player on any car trips that were over an hour and on at least 3 long road trips. It worked great every time until last week. The main "brain" that holds and reads the DVD is not powering up at all anymore and therefore nothing is working.
I have contacted the replacement warranty I purchased on Amazon as well and so far they have been very kind and immediately sent me a mailing label. I will do research again before purchasing a new dual DVD player... but am pleased with the year use I got out of this one (as long as the warranty holds up their end of the deal and gives me a full refund).
If dual DVD players still get poor reviews, and there are not many options, the only advice I can give, is buy the replacement warranty and hope it stops working within the 2 years covered. Although, I guess it's still cheaper to replace one every 3 years, then to install one through your dealer into your car.