RCA BRC3109 10-Inch Portable Blu-Ray DVD Player

I was also nervous about this player having such a reasonable pricetag (particularly used), but never fear -- I can't imagine the "higher end" units providing enough additional features to justify their significantly higher price. The look is sleek and uncluttered (note: Amazon is indeed picturing the BRC3108 for some reason. The 3109 has a black disc door and looks really smooth). The unit is a bit on the bulky side, but since my needs are more for bedroom watching than actual mobility I'll put up with it. Strangely, the remote is full-sized, which makes little sense with a "portable" player, but so far I haven't come across any obstacles to maneuvering around with the on-board keypad. The picture is fabulous with really rich colors (I'm also coming from a 7-inch screen on my previous portable DVD player, so I expected to be wowed here). My Blu-rays seem to load marginally faster than on my main Panasonic player. I can't complain about the volume, I found it to be quite adequate; even needed to turn it down a little during testing. I did hear some buzzing while listening with earphones, but it was only during very, very quiet scenes and completely unnoticeable otherwise. I'm also pleased to report that I didn't experience the audio sync issues another reviewer mentioned when outputting to TV, but I did only try one disc. I'm just thrilled to have this option at all, since previously I was eyeing the only other player in my budget, the Panasonic DMP-B100 that doesn't offer it. I'm not a fan of upgrading again and again and again, so I thought it would be better to get as many features as I could the first time. For people upset about the lack of a resume feature, this is a function of the disc and not the player, as I learned to my chagrin when I bought my Panasonic main player. A couple of cons: It did get a little warm on the underside in my lap, though not alarmingly so. Also the USB port is apparently only meant to play photo slideshows, not movie files; I don't understand why anyone would want this, but from looking around I have yet to find a portable player that can handle thumb drive movies anyway. Lastly, I don't understand the need for three power switch settings, "On/off/charging." Haven't older players already perfected the technology to charge automatically in the "off" position? For the price you can't go wrong with this one. I'm sure all players will eventually come down to more reasonable levels, but if you can't wait this one is priced right now, without sacrificing too much in the way of features.

Overall, this blu-ray player works great. The video and the sound are both clear. The 10" screen makes watching videos on the portable player almost as satisfying as watching them on television. The sound, while not as well-delivered as from a regular speaker system, was still clear and discernible and loud enough to hear from across a room. There are only two cons: 1 - This is more of a pet peeve: The load time for a video is a bit long - anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds 2 - The volume toggle is very close to the power switch and I have accidentally turned off the unit while trying to adjust the volume. Then I have to wait for the movie to load again and go into the scene selections.

I used it while deployed. It didn't work on my non-copyrighted movies but worked just fine with the bootlegs from the TCNs. Seems very backwards to me.

I must admit that I was a bit skeptical when I bought this one. Then again, if they can make a portable DVD player, why not one for Blu-ray? Being totally blind, I have no idea how well the pictures look, but the sound is nice and crisp, despite a low maximum volume. There is no hissing, buzzing, or beeping out of this unit, which is nice. I have owned several portable DVD players, and the biggest beef I had with them is a short battery life. With the ability to play a full moovie of average length, without needing to recharge the unit, I'm well pleased. As for the tinny sound, come on! What do you expect; a subwoofer? It's a portable for goodness sake! Be reasonable! You can't pack that much sound into something so small. Besides, did it ever occur to you that the simplest way to solve the sound problem is to hook it to a sound bar with an HDMI cable?

Compared to two 7-inch DVD players I've owned (Toshiba and Haier), this blu-ray player has a great picture whether playing DVD or Blu-ray disks with a larger viewing area for generally the same dimensions. With both the previous players, the on-board menu button rarely worked. I had to start from the beginning, hit play, and suffer through all previews and the like (the FF and skip buttons seldom worked either), before reaching the menu. With this RCA, all buttons respond as expected. Moreover, it has an automatic resume feature if I restart the player after shutting it off. Wow, I thought I was dreaming at first! (Yes, this is the titular feature of this review.) Other points to mention: An icon gives you brief updates on battery life. It has an HDMI out port. The sound is so-so from the speakers, but I always use headphones. A negative: the on/off/charge switch is a bit lame. It's tough to tell the three positions by touch, and it can move too freely. The charging light it tucked under the beveled panel and you may have to lift the unit to see it. I recommend switching Charge to Off as soon as the light is out and unplug the charger. But be careful. Your powerful finger may switch it past Off to On unknowingly, and the battery will just drain. Overall, this a truly enjoyable player, and I use it during my train commute. Oh yes, the start-up screen features an adorable photo of an adult and puppy RCA dogs.