A lot of people haven’t heard of the electronic manufacture Coby, but they have been around since 1990. Coby produces a wide range of electronics, from security cameras to portable DVD players, the latter being what I’ll talk about here.

The Coby TF-DVD8500 has a swiveling 8.5” TFT screen, useful for the back of a headrest (mounting bag included), or on an airplane in those cramped coach seats. It plays just about everything: DVDs, CDs (including CD-R and CD-RW), MP3, and JPEG. The player also has built in stereo speakers, but I’m pretty sure that most users will just pop a pair of headphones in.

A rare feature in portable DVD players is A/V out, most only have A/V in. The Coby has both. On the rare occasion you’re at a house without a DVD player, you can just hook up your Coby with the included cable to the TV and you’re good to go. There’s also composite video and optical audio output.

There’s a good number of accessories included as well, the standard mini-remote, lithium ion battery + charger, headphones, all pretty normal, but there’s also a DC car charger, car cassette adapter (put the sound in throughout the whole car), and a headrest mounting bag.

This certainly sounds expensive, but it’s not. You probably know portable DVD players have come down in price, but I’m guessing you’d tag this as a $250 – $300 player. It’s around $150 at most places. That’s a great price, considering my $250 Samsung player has about half the features, and a smaller screen! You can grab one at J&R Music.