While the Mustek PL607 performs better than many other low-end portable DVD players, it still has enough quirks to make you wish you'd invested in a higher-quality product.

The PL607 is slim and lightweight, so it is extremely portable no matter where you take it. Images on the 7-inch LCD screen are bright and well saturated, and the wide format lets you watch movies in their original theatrical presentation. The built-in stereo speakers don't deliver a strong or particularly impressive sound, but this is a frequent complaint even with more expensive portables. Using a set of headphones substantially improves the audio performance.

One of the more frustrating aspects of the PL607 is the lack of onboard controls. The unit features play, stop and volume controls, but nothing more. Every other function is controlled through the tiny remote. If you lose the remote or the remote batteries die, operation of the PL607 is severely limited.

A second problem we encountered concerns disc playback. On the face of it, the PL607 offers plenty of versatility, boasting compatibility with DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, SVCD and VCD, CD-R/RW and discs loaded with MP3 and JPEG files. Unfortunately, playback is extremely erratic. The unit struggles to read some discs and completely fails to read MP3 files loaded into subdirectories. In other instances, the player skips or freezes up during DVD playback.

On the positive side, the PL607 does come with a car power adapter, so you can keep the kids entertained in the backseat without relying on the rechargeable battery pack. The Mustek PL607 is an inexpensive portable DVD player, although we question the overall value of the unit considering the flimsy construction, reliance on the remote and inconsistent playback performance.


Pros: Compact and lightweight, inexpensive
Cons: Almost all operation requires the remote, erratic playback performance, low-quality construction, short warranty

Warranty
90 days