2112 Posted March 24, 2008 #1 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Ok, I have read here that a DVD player is a must to keep a toddler occupied on a long flight. I took a look and it seems most of these players (at least in the $150 and under price range) only have a 2 hour battery life. Not sure how much good that is going to do for me on our 10+ hour flight. Also, since my soon to be 2 year old has never seen anything like this, I am not sure how gentle he'll be with it. Anyone care to give me any recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted March 24, 2008 #2 Share Posted March 24, 2008 THIS is what we have for the youngest, it's called a VIDEO NOW JR http://www.amazon.com/Videonow-Jr-Player-Yellow-Purple/dp/B00022H9B4 But it only plays Video Now DVD's. It takes regular batteries. And it's made to take a beating from a toddler. We've had ours for over a year now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherishrwil Posted March 25, 2008 #3 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I can't remember the exact model of our dvd player but it is a Sony and the battery lasts about 5-6 hours and if you got an extra battery it would last about 10 hours. Even if you didn't you could keep them occupied with toys, snacks and maybe even some time for naps. We can't travel any where without our dvd player though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onessa Posted March 25, 2008 #4 Share Posted March 25, 2008 We've had the same portable DVD player since 2000?! Paid a pretty penny for it back then - Panasonic. DD was not quite 4YO and was not allowed to touch it, just able to watch it. Now she (12YO) has a Disney Mix-Max -- it has a 2-3" screen and plays movies she burns from a DVD to SD cards and stores about 2Mg of audio as well. There are similar units specifically designed for preschoolers -- many will accept only their format of media -- but hey by the time the kid outgrows the content, he'll be ready to deal with a more sophisicated technology. Sorry, no specific recommendations -- but just some encouragement that it can be done! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genngee Posted March 25, 2008 #5 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I do not have a specific player to recommend but I can tell you with my 3 year old I have to use the over the head earphones not earbuds so you may want to grab a pair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulders Posted March 25, 2008 #6 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I picked up a Panasonic DVD player at Costco just before Christmas. It seems to have a 4-6 hour battery life - you can adjust the brightness down to extend the life. It was about $189 and came with the case. It's been dropped on the floor several times and keeps on ticking! Also, some planes, specifically Airbus 330's, have screens in each seat with a selection of movies and games preloaded in them. For long flights, I try to book flights with those planes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattyW Posted March 25, 2008 #7 Share Posted March 25, 2008 We have 4 extra batteries for our portable DVD player because the battery life stinks! It only takes a second to switch them out; if I were to do it again, I'd get the cheapest one I could and spend the money on batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoothy Posted March 25, 2008 #8 Share Posted March 25, 2008 we bought 2 of the super cheap-o ones from Best Buy (they were $65 each on sale) for our 2 little guys. When we changed aircraft we plugged them in for as long as possible while waiting to board to top up the battery. Remember too, many of the long haul planes have plugs in each bank of seats. Funny, we didn't even run them out completely during 6 hours of flying as the boys fell asleep on the second leg of the trip :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VCR Posted March 28, 2008 #9 Share Posted March 28, 2008 No recommendation, but just wanted to say that these are also great in the ships dining room for when your kid starts getting antsy from the long dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneParticularHarbour 71 Posted March 28, 2008 #10 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I do not have a specific player to recommend but I can tell you with my 3 year old I have to use the over the head earphones not earbuds so you may want to grab a pair Yes, our kids all prefer the headphones over the earbuds as well - also make sure to practice putting them on before the flight so he will be used to it - we didn't do this and our toddler had a fit when we tried to put them on him for the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclipsepearl Posted March 29, 2008 #11 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Ok, I have read here that a DVD player is a must to keep a toddler occupied on a long flight. I took a look and it seems most of these players (at least in the $150 and under price range) only have a 2 hour battery life. Not sure how much good that is going to do for me on our 10+ hour flight. Also, since my soon to be 2 year old has never seen anything like this, I am not sure how gentle he'll be with it. Anyone care to give me any recommendations? I fly between Europe and California about twice a year and I only bought a portable DVD player when the youngest was 3 years old. I got a Panasonic which has a 10 hour battery life. They don't know it has speakers. They had to practice with the earphones. They have to have the band over the head. Earplug styles don't work too well on kids. They can only watch it in the air, to save battery life. No, you can't recharge them on most aircraft. I have never seen this and when it is available, it's only in First and Business. They can't put any "open" drinks on the same tray table. I bring sippy cups, even for the 8 year old. Another option is to have him watch the videos without sound. Not sure if you can manage this, but it's an idea. Perhaps a new video that he's not used to hearing without sound? Hth! Sharon http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com F/A 13 years, 2 companies 3 kids ages 4, 6 & 8, flying since each was 4 months old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoothy Posted March 29, 2008 #12 Share Posted March 29, 2008 . . . No, you can't recharge them on most aircraft. I have never seen this and when it is available, it's only in First and Business. . . Depends on what airline you fly. If you look on seatguru.com it will tell you (select airline and aircraft) where the plugs are. Air Canada for example, has 2 plugs on each triple set of seats on almost all its aircraft. Other airlines, like US Air don't seem to have plugs on any aircraft. Is it worth paying $100/ticket more to get an airline that has power ports? I don't think so, but if its a long flight and ticket price is comparable, it is probably worth picking the plane with the power supply to avoid having the DVD die mid-flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoelsCat Posted March 29, 2008 #13 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Look, as a mom with a two year old with enough airline miles to get a free trip to Europe already I can definately recommend that you buy the cheapest DVD player you can find. I recently bought a friend one at Target for less than 80 bucks... and Kohl's had them on sale recently for only $59 bucks! I let my son decorate it with stickers and stuff -- and when it's cheap like that you don't worry near as much as if you spent $150 or more! My son knows how to completely operate it by himself -- but before when he was a button pusher, I would simply put a piece of packing tape over the buttons to prevent any damage. In addition, you can buy an additional external battery for trips. I bought an energizer one that gives nearly 10 hours of DVD life that has been a lifesaver for oversea flights. HTH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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