Hey All!
We are heading to Oahu and Maui in June 2005. We have a portable dvd player that we will take with us to pass the time on the plane but the problem is that the battery only lasts 2.5 hours and the flight is way longer than that. Has anyone solved this problem of a longer battery life?
Thanks

Don't you have an adapter to plug it in? Most planes have DC outlets now.

Yes, earl30 we do have an dc adapter plug. We're flying American. Do you think they've got them? It's not something I've ever paid attention to in the past, didn't have a reason.

never been on an American flight where I couldn't plug in my laptop that way.

While most widebody planes have DC outlets, most seats don't, unless you're flying first class or business. And different airlines use different types of plugs. For example, CO uses Empower.

AA is better than most airlines with this, but if you're flying coach, you should look into seatguru.com to find out which economy seat has cigarette-lighter style power plug.

Just to add to the confusion, NW's new 330 has regular AC plugs in many of their seats, not DC. Just an example that one should check carefully.

Thanks rkkwan- this will come in handy on my upcoming trip to Japan on Northwest and I will check this out per your advice(747- coach, but at least the tickets are free FF tickets)

AA has the "regular" DC "cigarette lighter" power outlets on "most" planes. All F seats have them and about 70% of coach seats do. Usually the first 20 or so rows and every other row after.

There are still some "old" TWA planes that are not equipped with the power outlets. The only 2 models of TWA planes that AA kept are MD80s and 757s. AA is in the process of putting in power on these, but they do not guarantee power on these 2 models till early next year.

Most do have it, but occasionally you will run across one that still does not.

All their other mainline planes do have power. That includes the 737, 767 and 777.

As per rkkwan's suggestion, check www.seatguru.com for the right seat location.

Speaking of DVD players, I am considering purchasing one for our trips, but then thought perhaps buying a used laptop with DVD on Ebay might be better, then we could also have internet access in our hotel room. Plus, the size of the screen is bigger....pros/cons/suggestions?

Suggest that buying any used laptop is a recipe for disaster. the new ones are so inexpensive - for a basic model - why risk 50% of that price for someone else's reject. Of course, way more than a DVD player - esp since the newest VCR/DVD player/recorder combos are now down to like $350.

I do have a laptop (actually 2), work and personal. The personal one goes everywhere, and it does have a DVD. It works great for me. I usually get 3-4 movies from www.netflix.com before any long trip. Lately I also downloaded some movies from www.movielink.com. Most of my domestic connecting flights don't have any entertainment so it's nice to be able to kill few hours here and there. I do fly a great deal.

I would be careful about buying a used laptop of e-bay, especially one with DVD. Many times the DVD players are the first thing to go on these. Besides, you could probably find a brand new laptop with a DVD for around $700-800 at your local electronics retailer (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.). Also search the discounters on the internet. This way, you will have a warranty and some security that the DVD player will not skip or stop playing 1/2 way through a movie.

If you are looking at Windows based laptop, I would recommend anything by Compaq/HP or IBM. Had few models of each and only one major problem with ONE. just recently. The hard drive went out.

One thing to point out is that you do not have to take a personal DVD player out to be checked by security like you do w/a laptop. For business, I take the laptop. But when I travel for pleasure, I take the personal DVD player. It's smaller, and I like being able to keep it in my daypack and not having to pull it out for extra security check. I think I will take it to Japan instead of a laptop, although I am still not totally sure of that as the hotels I am staying in have internet access in the rooms and I might need the laptop...

Thanks for the info. I have seen recent advertisements for new Dell Inspiron laptops for $699 (after rebate) that includes the DVD. We really would only use the laptop for playing DVD's and internet access while traveling, neither of us needs one for work, plus we already have two pc's at home.

Most portable DVD players use 4 AA or AAA cells and have a jack for 6v dc, usually used for the AC adapter or cigarette lighter socket. If you go to an electronics outlet, such as Radio Shack, you should be able to find a cord & plug with the matching plug to fit your DVD. Use a 6v "lantern battery" for longer life than those little cells, but make sure you get the polarity ( + and - )of the batteries correct.

Thanks for all the advice! I'll go to seatguru and check it out!!!

Okay went to seatguru and I think I'll have a powersource, thanks again for the advice.