Best for performance

Sony DVP-FX930 £200

This Sony’s screen opens like a laptop but can be twisted horizontally to adjust the viewing angle or pivoted 180 degrees and closed to create a tablet-style player, making it ideal for mounting on a car headrest (an accessory is provided for this). The comparatively high-resolution (800 x 480 pixel) 9in screen was highly watchable and reproduced accurate colours and shades of black that didn’t blend into an inky-grey smudge. The tiny speakers were unexceptional, though no worse than rivals. If you want to watch films saved on anything other than a DVD, the lack of a memory-card slot will be a disappointment. There is a USB socket, though, and in our tests video fed through this from a flash drive played without a problem. The DVP-FX930 might look blander than Sony’s swish laptops but it does have touch-sensitive controls and is solidly built. Perhaps too solidly, especially when the battery is clipped to the underside. The upside is six hours of playback per recharge.

Verdict: If you can handle the price, this is the one.

www.sony.co.uk

Best for battery life

Panasonic DVD-LS84 £170

You can unclip the lower edge of this player’s 8in screen then reattach it screen upwards, though this is a less effective design than that of the Toshiba and Sony. The seven-hour battery playback is good, but why no memory-card slot or USB socket? Colours from the modest 420 x 234-pixel screen were over-saturated and the disc tray was flimsy. The in-car kit is handy but there is no remote.

Verdict: Stamina aplenty, but so-so video quality.

www.panasonic.co.uk

Explore Personal Tech

• InGear