Sony D-VE7000S: portable DVD for World Cup exiles

By Ingrid Marson on 31 May 2006, 4:26pm

Crave's beautiful 32-inch Sharp LCD is about to hijacked by a World Cup-obsessed partner so we are currently looking into alternatives. Sony's new DVD Walkman caught our eye this morning -- the timing was perfect.

According to Sony, the D-VE7000S DVD Walkman has a 7-inch LCD widescreen, isn't much bigger than a DVD case, and weighs about the same as a hardback novel, so it's ideal for the tattered exile. The three hours of battery life is enough for a Hollywood epic or six episodes of Sex and the City, with the latter our preferred choice for World Cup escapism. (We recommend watching the Games People Play episode, in which Samantha meets a sports addict: it will provide some much-needed empathy with your predicament.)

The Walkman has a dual-output feature, making it easy to share with a friend, and the Dolby Digital surround sound should drown out the 'In-ger-land' chants in the background.

At £199, the D-VE7000S isn't the cheapest on the market, and it doesn't come with a Freeview tuner, unlike say the Mustek DTV-407 -- so you'll have to buy a box set to catch up with CSI Wherever. But we don't mind, at least no one will pilfer our DVD player to watch the 5 p.m. match on the way home. If we can prise the DVD Walkman from Sony's jealous grasp, we'll let you know more... -IM