Audiovox D1020 10-Inch Portable DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a preliminary review, just bought the thing, still learning about it, but here goes:
I bought this for the car, but it makes a great little tv at home, too. The screen is much nicer than my friends OEM dvd player, much bigger.
The speakers plug into the sides, not connected by wires. They snap (not too) easily on/off. The FM modulator is a widget on the lighter plug, and you can set it to a variety of stations to get it to come in. It works just fine. One drawback, the video/audio out (fm modulator) uses the same plugs as the IN, you just switch a switch. So this means you can't run the fm modulator and an input (gamecube) at the same time. But the speakers still work, so gamecube can use the ports as an "in" and the sound can then come out the speakers. Ok, I guess.
The thing comes with straps that allow you to suspend it between two seats in the car. But if the seats are tilted, then the screen is tilted. Audiovox should have done some field testing on this. But it's not a huge deal, you can still see it OK. The IR transmitter for the headphones works pretty well, so long as you have a line of sight from the transmitter to the headphones. Headphones are nice, not chintzy (SP?) at all.
The screen is beautiful, the dvd player seems to work really well. Can't comment on longevity, just bought it. The whole thing comes in a case that does not have room for the headphones, but everything else fits nicely. The unit has a prop stand integral on the back, which we can use in our kitchen. It also has a standard cable input, which made it really easy to hook to our home cable system, there's different "input" settings for cable v tv v auxiliary. Tv works really well, too. There's a standard plug for home use. Car use requires the cigarette lighter.
There's a nice protective cover for it that doubles as the "sling" for the car seat thingy. The speakers can pop right onto this, you can do everything but use the integral prop. SO they give you another one that you can attach to this cover via velcro and it works pretty well. Nice touch.
Oh, and the remote is acceptable as well, nothing SUPER fancy, but functional. You can control the tv and the dvd with it.
Hope that helps!

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Enjoy your favorite movies on long car trips with the Audiovox D1020 portable DVD player. It features a 10-inch LCD screen, two wireless (IR, infrared) headphones, and detachable speakers. It comes with a car mounting kit that's easy to set up. It also includes a 125-channel cable-ready tuner and a remote control.
The D1020 features a folding 10-inch LCD screen with 800 x 480-pixel resolution, two detachable stereo speakers (3 watts each), 2 headphone jacks, and a composite A/V input (for connecting a game system) and output. The DVD player is compatible with CD-R/RW discs as well as MP3 digital audio.
It's powered by a cigarette lighter adapter in the car or an AC adapter in your home. The cigarette lighter power adapter also has a built-in wireless FM modulator, enabling you to transmit the audio from your DVD player to your vehicle radio.
What's in the Box Audiovox D1020 DVD player, two detachable speakers, two wireless headphones, remote control and batteries, cigarette lighter power adapter with FM modulator, storage bag, mounting bag with straps, A/V cable, and printed instruction manual.

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Audiovox VE727 Ultra Slim 7-Inch LCD Drop Down TV with Built-in Slot Load DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)For years I had a Sony CRT under cabinet TV for the kitchen. alas it died. The AudioVox 7" LCD has some advantages and some deficiencies compared with the Sony.
First of all the picture isn't as good. LCDs have limited viewing angles. Off axis they are dark and/or lack contrast. Viewed from a fixed position like on your desk or on your living room wall this isn't much of a problem. You set it up once for your viewing location and all's well. But a kitchen TV is not really watched that way. You leave it on the Fox News or CNN and look at the screen only when you hear some story come on. You tend to stand up and move about in the kitchen so when you watch it you are usually in some position for which the picture was not aimed.
So with a CRT TV I could just look at the little bright sharp screen from wherever I was at the time. But with an LCD screen I have to adjust it in order to watch it - every time. Even when optimally adjusted the LCD isn't as good as the CRT was. I should have gotten the 9" model.
The AudioVox however has a couple other excellent features. It has an AM-FM radio. This is handy. It has a digital clock. Also handy. It has a timer - very, very handy in the kitchen. The DVD player is less useful but its ability to play CDs is nice.
I have it set up with NTSC (analog) cable and I miss the program guide available on ATSC (digital) cable. I don't suppose that's a fault of the unit but of my cable configuration.
It was a bit difficult to install because unlike a a regular TV that you just set on a table, this one you have to mount under a cabinet. This requires a little woodworking skill. The paper template is meant to be placed on the bottom shelf of your cabinet, but most electric drills are too tall to be used inside a kitchen cabinet. This means you will have to drill from underneath. This isn't an insoluable problem but it does take a bit of figuring. The default configuration expects precise alignment. If the bolts came up from the bottom rather than down from the top it would be lot easier to install - but that would leave nuts on the floor of the cabinet instead of just nearly flat bolt heads.

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Audiovox SIR-PNP2 Sirius Satellite Radio Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)Sirius satellite should be considered a great complement to your audio system, whether in home or car. It should not be considered an end all to music selection. It will not replace CDs, mp3s or typical over the air radio. Once this expectation is established, it's good to see Sirius as a decent addition to those who love music.
First off, how much does it cost? You'll need a receiver, then a docking system for the home or office. Then there is a setup fee. So you're looking at a little under $200 to get started. Quite a huge investment for just checking out a new type of radio. I would advise getting Sirius professional installed in your car, unless you don't mind wire flaying around when you drive while looking at a tacking do it yourself setup. Also, if you want both home and office, you'll have to buy a boombox. This can run to about $350 total. Quite pricey, especially when it doesn't include any monthly fees.
Secondly, how about the reception? It's surprisingly well in my car, but does suffer some dark spots when you go under a tunnel or when travelling through a tree line street. However, I was unable to get any signal in neither my home nor my office, so don't automatically assume that it will work at your home. The only consolation is that if you sign up for Sirius, you get monthly web access.
Thirdly, how about the playlist? The best way to describe Sirius's playlist is probably a lot breadth, but not quite a lot of depth. For music, unless you love every type of music available, you'll actually only have about 10 music stations to listen to. For example, all Classical, Latin, Electronic, Jazz, Children and Love stations are absolutely useless to me as this not my type of music. In terms of sports, it's got the NFL, NBA, and if ever, NHL. The best game for radio, baseball, is with XM satellite, which is a huge bummer. Many of the news stations and entertainment stations are just audio replays of audio stations, so it's got commercials and aren't altogether suited for radio. For example, you'll hear, "take a look at this replay". Well, I can't look, it's radio. All in all, the talk and music is the equivalent of doubling the FM and AM radio stations of a big city. You'll still listen to your normal stations, but the number of stations will be expanded.
Fourthly, how about the receiver itself? It's pretty good. The display is huge. You get to see the band or song name before switching to a different station. I love that. It can store 20 songs, which, when one of the songs comes up, the receiver will beep and give you the option of changing to that station. The only small problems were that sometimes the stored songs didn't come up, and the turn wheel will lacks a grip, which is annoying when driving.
Fifthly, what were some of the major problems of Satellite radio? Besides the high cost for the equipment, the fact that they charge an activation fee was annoying. I'm willing to pay a monthly fee, do I need to add another fee to that? Secondly, the nickel and diming continues with the fact that the receiver contains no basic antenna nor power supply. You must buy a docking kit no matter what. I bought a car docking kit, but it only had a power supply for the cigarette lighter, which meant that all setup has to be done outdoors, in the car, with the car running. I couldn't even test it to see if it would work indoors, so I had to buy a boombox to test, only to find out it didn't work, and then return the boombox. A cheap home AC/DC power supply included in the docking kit would have saved me hours without costing me fifty dollars for the other docking system. Also, the customer service is not that great. The people on phone are nice, but you have to endure the navigation system along with a large self-serving tirade about how well Sirius radio is before you can get to the menu. In order to get stream player access, you have to e-mail them for the password, but no one bothered to reply to my e-mail, so I had to call them again. When the company won't give you the password for the free web access, and won't reply when you follow the website instructions, it gets annoying. Another thing is the repetitiveness and limiting factors of the playlist. Some of the bands I'm interested in, Carbon Leaf, the Streets, Perfect Circle, Tool - groups that I thought should appear for paid radio, are not really there. However, Ashlee Simpson, Maroon 5 and Leonard Skynard are pretty much on 24/7. Not quite the original playlists I was hoping to get.
Finally, what were some of the things that surprised me? First off, it's still cool. To be free of Clear Channel's chokehold on music radio is great. The web access is free. XM charges you about four dollars a month, making it more expensive monthly if you use web access. If you get Dish Network, the music stations are there already to listen through over your television. If you don't get Dish Network, you can get a free preview via the web for three days. Nice. Finally, I've become acquainted with many bands that I would not have known or just barely remember. It's nice to hear Traffic, Public Enemy, Guns and Roses, Flogging Molly, N.W.A., etc.
So, all in all, it's a nice complement, but it's no magic musical panacea.
Pros:
Song preview
20 Memory Storage
Large display
Free online access after signing up
Free 3-day online preview
Cons:
Nickel and diming
Very repetitive song list
Entertainment and News is Just a Replay of Television
Customer Service is lacking
Signal cannot be received in many places.
Minimum Setup Cost ~ 200 dollars
Optimal Setup Cost ~ 350 dollars
Monthly Cost ~ 13 dollars

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Listen to the future of radio today with the plug-and-play Audiovox SIR-PNP2 Sirius satellite radio receiver. The SIR-PNP2 decodes the incoming Sirius digital-quality radio program information from over 100 music, news, and sports channels and delivers an audio signal to your radio or other audio output equipment. It's easily transportable, and enables you to listen to satellite radio programs in your home or car.
The SIR-PNP2 lets you enter your desired channel stream number directly, or search for programming by scrolling through the category list. You can program up to 30 presets of your favorite streams, as well as search by stream, artist name, song title, or category. You can also store up to 20 artist/song title combinations, and the SIR-PNP2 can search the incoming Sirius signal and alert you if it matches the artist/song title stored in memory. The Look Ahead feature allows you to stay on and listen to the current radio stream while browsing other streams to see what's playing. Time-based functions include an alarm, sleep timer, and program alert that allows the SIR-PNP2 to switch to a preprogrammed stream at a selected time.
The SIR-PNP2 has a 6-line amber monochrome display featuring artist name and song title. Two information bands at the top and bottom of the display show stream channel number and name, signal strength, clock, and category name. The multiline display can be configured into a larger display that will scroll artist, title, stream name, and number. It has a 10-level brightness/contrast control, and an autodimming feature that adjusts brightness control for day and night driving conditions.
The SIR-PNP2 Sirius satellite receiver must be used with one of the following adapter kits:
Audiovox SIRHK1 home kit
Audiovox SIRCK1 vehicle kit (with wireless FM transmitter)
Audiovox SIRCK2 vehicle kit (without wireless FM transmitter)
Sirius satellite radio is a subscription service that provides up to 100 channels of programming, from digital-quality music to news, talk, and sports. It is available only in the lower 48 states--not available in Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories.
What's in the Box Audiovox SIR-PNP2 Sirius satellite receiver shuttle unit, remote control (P/N1363539), and 2 AA batteries.

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