Out of the Box Failure

Plugged this in with great expectation on Christmas morning only to find that the screen would go black after about 30 sec of playing a DVD (with the audio still running). Given other reviews of unit failure, poor quality control and equally poor RCA product support I would not take a chance on this model.

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Very poor quality, not reliable, even catches fire

We got the unit from Best Buy in December 2005. The first unit failed after very mild use and perhaps 6 hours playing time in a vehicle. We returned it, paying for shipping. The second unit came in in the early spring. After perhaps 3 hours use, while attached to the car adapter, it caught fire with my son barely a foot from it. Returned it again on our dime. The third unit was used less than 4 hours before it began skipping or not playing. Even with a brand new DVD it failed to perform reliably. With that unit we were forced to use the battery only as the vehicle adapter was missing its center post (out of the box that way). After two and a half months of being jerked around by Thomson/RCA, we were told they would not support the unit and that the best they would do is send us a check for $108. After $40 in UPS charges, that leaves us a whopping $68 to spend on another machine. RCA provided VERY POOR customer service, and gave us a VERY POOR QUALITY product. One bad player is a fluke, a second one catching fire is an omen, the third is proof that quality control at the factory stinks. They need to get a new supplier, but in any case, we will never buy an RCA product again, nor will we ever recommend one after the abysmal customer support (and yes, we have two RCA TV's a DVD-R/VCR combo). Never again will we own an RCA. Don't buy this unit (RCA says there are none at their warehouse for replacement and that they do not know if they will receive more for replacement so there may not be any future warranty support for this unit anyway).

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Great Little Portable Player

Bought this for summer trips, camping etc. For the price quality is excellent, battery life acceptable, and it comes with all the accessories you could need. Volume isn't great, but OK and you can attach two headphones.
Totally happy with the purchase!

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