Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Not having been that impressed with RCA's electronics offerings in recent years, I did not have huge expectations for this unit. I was pleasantly surprised.
The RCA DRC630N (aka DRC630) is a dual screen portable dvd video system. It is designed for use at home or in the car (and includes power adapters for both). After trying out and returning a similar dual-screen system from Emerson, I decided to give this one a try. It was reasonably priced at less than two hundred. It would be put to the test on a drive halfway across the country with a 2 year old and 6 year old in the back seat.
First Impressions:
Out of the box, the unit is tucked into a compact nylon storage bag that has interior dividers to keep the components separate. Other than the two screens, there are two car headrest mounting brackets, various connection cables, a game controller, and AC and DC power adapters. The mounting brackets are well-thought out and use long velcro straps to secure to the headrest. There is an attached thick foam pad on the back of the bracket that protects your headrest and provides extra grip and cushion for the unit. The genius of the brackets is that the screen just slide onto the brackets and lock automatically. As such, the screens can be easily removed and re-installed in seconds. This allows extra security by removing the screens when the car is unattended (e.g., overnight in a hotel parking lot).
Another well-designed feature of the system is that unlike other dual-screen systems, there is only one cable to connect between the two screens. There is a unique multiple-plug connector on each end of the cable, making it impossible to get the cable plugged into the wrong holes. The cable is plenty long so that it can be tucked out of the way. So, two plugs to connect the screens and one more to connect the power source really makes the setup a 1-2-3 process!
THE PLAY:
The real test is in how the unit plays. And what it plays. All of the player's controls are on the front of the main screen, and a slider button on top unlatches the screen section, which flips down to allow for disc loading. If you are using the system anywhere other than a car, there are flip-out stands on the back of each screen and the main screen also has a standard tripod mount on the bottom. Both screens have headphone jacks for private listening. In short, the unit played everything I threw at it. Commercial discs, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD DL. All played without a hitch. I was especially happy about the Dual Layer because the other system I tried choked on DL. Video and color quality was quite good compared to most other systems I've seen. The audio is about what you would expect from the small speakers, and volume was adequate for our uses. Even on bumpy roads, there were no indications of skips or pauses. My 6 year old could easily navigate the DVD menus with the buttons on the unit. I noticed that if a movie was playing while I turned off the car (which killed power to the system), when I turned the car back on again, the system powered up and resumed the movie from the point it had stopped.
A few other notables:
-The system is a progressive scan player and includes the cables for hooking up to a TV or monitor. You will have to settle for composite video quality, however.
-The system has a TV Guardian feature, that when activated can apparently monitor the subtitle text and mute the sound when offensive language is detected. (I didn't test this feature).
-The main screen has a USB port that allows the connection of an MP3 player or flash drive, and will play stored pictures in slideshow or play digital video files. So the system could be used as a digital picture frame as well. (I didn't test this feature).
-The system comes with a game controller for use with the 30 games stored in internal memory on the secondary screen. The system allows for a movie to be playing on the main screen while games are being played on the secondary screen. (I didn't try out the games, so I can't report on their quality or attraction).
-The system does not come with a remote, which could be a negative for some people. A remote has limited usefulness in the car anyway, since one can just reach out and use the on-unit buttons. And it's one more thing to keep track of.
-While there is a connector on the back for a battery pack, the RCA website does not mention one and there are no obvious ones for sale.
Overall, I'm impressed with this system. It was thoughtfully designed, is easy to use, and works like it is supposed to. I'll be keeping this one for other long trips. I've only had it for two weeks (of heavy use), so I can't attest to its durability.
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