Go-Video DP7240

Sheathed in a rubberized case, the Go-Video DP7240 positions itself as the SUV of portable players, able to go "off road" without worrying about the elements. Unfortunately, this hefty 2.8-pound player is more of a Ford Explorer than a Hummer.

Reasonably priced at $199, the DP7240 comes with a standard package that includes a car lighter power adapter, rechargeable battery, and tiny remote control. There's just one headphone jack, so you will need to purchase a dual headphone adapter if you plan to use the DP7240 with company.

In our road tests, the Go-Video's picture was acceptable, but far from the sharpest in this group. In some interior scenes, the display loses some black levels in the corners and has a tendency to produce uneven brightness levels in darker scenes.

Blasting soundtracks and CDs at levels loud enough to fill a car with sound wasn't a problem. In fact, the Go-Video's external speakers could produce more decibels than all but the Polaroid model. Unfortunately, it also produced noticeable background distortion and almost no bass response. Things didn't get better with headphones plugged in, resulting in a tinny and harsh sound.

The somewhat ungainly rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery snaps onto the back of the Go-Video DP7240. We managed to get only about 2.5 hours of playing time out of it during our tests, so don't count on watching any double features.

We found the player's controls a bit disorganized, with rectangular setup and picture mode buttons in one grouping and playback controls in a circular array, with separate chapter/track skipping buttons below that. Unique here are two color and brightness wheels just below the screen, which made it relatively easy to adjust picture settings.

Connections on the DP7240 include a coaxial output for an external Dolby or DTS decoder, a pair of mini jacks for audio and video input and output, and a mini-jack S-video output. However, only a cable for making the connection to a standard RCA style audio video/device is included.

As a portable DVD player, the Go-Video DP7240 has some sound and picture shortcomings. However, the player's ruggedness, coupled with its progressive scan output, will make it attractive to some buyers.