What's in the Box
DVD player, full-function remote control, AC adapter, high-capacity rechargeable lithium battery, composite-video interconnect, analog audio interconect, and a user's manual. Spare batteries are available by contacting Initial's customer service; headphones are not included.

UPDATE: 11/27/2003
Still using the player nearly daily. Working great! Very pleased with investment.


Pleased with my purchase   September 12, 2003
 186 out of 191 found this review helpful

I purchased this player prior to a 8-hour car trip with my 10 year-old son. The player worked great! When we got back home, I hooked the player up to the TV in my bedroom and am pleased with the quality of the sound and video. Another bonus that I did not realize when I bought the player is that it also accepts audio and video input. Though the documentation that comes with the player does not describe how to do it, I hooked the player up to my son's Gamecube and it worked fine. So next time we take a long car trip the Gamecube is coming too! Some minor nits:
1) The included documentation is mediocre and could be more complete
2) The power connection to the DVD player needs to be securely seated; on a couple of instances it jostled out which is annoying in the middle of a movie


DVD is great value! But beware of customer service   January 24, 2004
 49 out of 50 found this review helpful

I loved this little player. I spend a lot of time on the road
suttling my daughter around (the life of a divorced dad who
child lives 160 miles away!). My daughter loved it too.

But then, tragically, one day it died.

We closed the top with the unit still on. The unit overheated and melted inside. Shouldn't have done that, but it did.
AN automatic off button MIGHT be nice... but it didn't have
it.

Chearfully, I sent it too Initial for repair. It was out of
the 90 day warrenty, so, it was going to cost 44.99 for repair.
I gave my credit card number. They said it would arrive right
away. THat was... lets see... last November. It is now late
January. After numerous calls and "yes, we will get back to you"
"No, I don't know why it hasn't shipped" etc... the
unit has not arrived.

I think there could be a worse customer service department. I
am saying that because I always want to be conservative
and leave room for an extreme case. But it is hard for
me to envision in my mind what worse customer service would
be like.

The bottom line is: Consider this a disposable unit.
Then think if the low price is really worth it...


A Letdown   March 3, 2004
 44 out of 50 found this review helpful

When I first saw the Initial IDM-1731 I'd bought for my mother, I was envious. I'd just purchased a little 5-inch GoVideo/Memorex for myself and was impressed with the sharpness and clarity. Now I was looking at a 7-inch screen. Talk about poor timing!

But when I turned it on, the envy left me immediately. The sharpness and clarity was more like that of a VHS. There was no shadow detail and even on widescreen, the image looked stretched. When changed to TV ratio, the perspective was perfect, but you lose half of your screen size. Good enough for mom, probably but I was awful glad I'd gotten the little GoVideo.

No matter which one of these guys you go with, drop by a Radio Shack and pick up a small amplifier. Powered by a tiny battery, you can plug your headphones in and use it on an airplane. If you don't, you won't have the volume to hear over the engines.

And, again, get the 5-inch screen. This and the GoVideo are obviously made by the same company. And why haul around something as heavy as this around when you don't have the benefit of a sharp screen.


They want to Hide this From You   December 18, 2003
 37 out of 42 found this review helpful

My wife bought this unit in August but we didn't really use it until October. I was looking forward to enjoying a couple movies of my own choice on a cross country trip. But - you guessed it, half way into any movie, any disk, it would freeze up. I would have to stop the unit, restart, then try to find where I left off then it would freeze again.

I spoke to the tech guy at Initial (1-800-216-5156). I told him what happened and mentioned the fact that so many other reviewers had the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. He said that most of those were because people had 'dropped' or 'trashed' their units! Since the 30 days had elapsed Curcuit City couldn't give rip (basicly telling me tough sh*t)and Initial says they will fix it for $45 plus shipping and a 5 week wait. What great service!

Basically I think this unit has a serious design flaw and Initial is trying to avoid a recall. I don't know how you get a recall going but I would be the first to demand one.

Spend a little extra money for a better unit (Panasonic maybe?)with REAL service.

I will say that the picture on my unit was great. When it is frozen you have a lot of time to really look at the detail . . . .