Wintal PD900 User manual

FB123 CMYKDHS 23-JAN-2008 PAGE

6Herald Sun, Wednesday, January 23, 2008 connect

HERE are some of the gadgets parents might

consider buying for schoolchildren:

Memory stick: All students should have a school

email address and/or a memory stick. Get two

256MB ones, clearly labelled, rather than a 512MB

or bigger, if you’re worried about your child losing

them.

Mobile phone: Primary students don’t need mobile

phones unless they travel on public transport and/

or their parents want one for peace of mind. Junior

secondary students can be offered the choice.

MP3 player/iPod: If the iPod is

being used regularly for

schoolwork, parents could

consider buying one.

PC: Stick with brand names. Cost

will depend on whether you want to

use the computer solely for

schoolwork or whether you want to use it to play

games and DVDs, edit videos or create graphics.

Laptop: Some schools have compulsory one-to-one

laptop programs. Parents usually buy it through the

school, depending on the deal with a computer

company.

Broadband access: All students should have

access to a computer with the internet at home.

Plans are as cheap as $5 a month for internet

access. If you can afford it, choose broadband.

Printer: Printers can copy, scan, colour print and

print photos. Inkjet printers start at about $50, but ink

cartridges are expensive and running costs can be

higher than expected. Worth getting a bundle deal.

Internet filtering device: Choice has

recommended these free government filters via

NetAlert — Intergard, Safe Eyes (for Mac) and

Optenet Web Filter.

Rudd’s revolution: The ALP’s National Secondary

School Computer Fund offers all high schools,

whether state, Catholic or private, the chance to

apply for grants of up to $1 million to acquire new,

or upgrade, information technology equipment such

as PCs and laptops. Parents need to ask their

child’s school if this affects what they need to buy.

LESSON IN TECHNOLOGY

䢇

Children will love the many

features of this DVD portable,

writes Peter Familari

A picture of

luxury, kids

EVEN in a world conquered by the

ubiquitous MP3 player, there is still a

place for DVD portables as good as

Wintal’s PD900.

Moreover, at $349 the PD900 (right) is an

audio-video bargain.

Though our household iPods seem to

hang permanently off our ears and are

tailor-made for music on the move, our two

Generation Y youngsters took a shine to

the PD900.

At first the main attraction was the

novelty of using a DVD portable with a

rotating screen that looked and felt like a

tablet PC.

They took turns borrowing the PD900 so

they could lounge around in bed, staying up

late to watch the latest releases rented from

our local DVD store.

Connecting the player to their an-

cient CRT TVs in their bedroom was

a cinch, thanks to the amount of

input and output connections built

neatly and discreetly into the

PD900’s chassis.

These include a 2.5mm head-

phone jack and single 2.5 AV

input and output, 2 USB

ports, RF-in for an antenna and

a slot for a card reader. Cards

supported by the PD900 are SD, MS and

MMC flash memory cards.

The kids liked the size and clarity of the

PD900’s 9.2-inch 16:9 widescreen, as well

as hearing the movie soundtrack through the

supplied headphones.

They were also surprised by the range of

discs read by the player.

The Wintal will play back DVD, all the

DVD recordable and rewritable formats

including DVD-ROM, CD-R/RW, and

discs recorded with MP3 audio, MPEG4/

DivX (four and five-channel) video, and

S/VCD, CVD and JPEG files.

It has a USB port and a card-reader input

that supports audio and video formats via

USB devices and SD, MS and MMC cards.

In the following weeks the Wintal was

used to fight boredom in the back seat of the

family car.

The 9.2-inch screen rotates through 270

degrees and is quite large for a DVD

portable, most ranging from 5-7 inches.

The screen can be folded back against the

PD900’s main chassis facing up, which

makes for neat and comfortable in-car

viewing.

The 12-volt power supply was conven-

ient, too. When the built-in battery ran flat

the fix was as easy as plugging in a cable

bundled with the PD900 into the car’s

12-volt cigarette-lighter socket.

The Wintal is a dual power supply model

that can get its power from a 240-volt mains

power outlet as well as a 12-volt power

supply. Fully charged, the battery provides

up to 2½ hours of viewing.

You might be wondering how you could

get a TV station on to the screen of a

DVD portable.

The PD900 is the first of its genre to have

a handy built-in standard definition (SD)

digital TV tuner, as well as analog TV

reception.

It’s not a feature that proved useful for us,

because our vehicle doesn’t have a TV

antenna.

But many caravans and boats have

sturdy, sophisticated fixed aerials.

With a strong TV signal, the PD900’s

tuner pulls in any available telecasts.

When you’re not watching DVD movies

or TV on the PD900 you can play games.

Wintal bundles a joystick and a disc with

300 games into each PD900.

So how does it perform?

Very nicely, thank you. Provided you are

using a quality DVD or a decent broadcast

of a digital-TV channel, video images are

crisp and laced with powerful colours.

Moreover, they’re delivered without a

trace of digital distortion.

When it comes to sound quality, the

PD900 won’t create the nuances of the

subtle high-treble frequencies, nor does it

dig deep into the lowest bass notes.

But what’s there is tonally full and

satisfying.

The PD900 isn’t the last word on sleek

styling.

However, there’s no shortage of features,

a good picture, a reasonable sound — and

it’s well made.

Throw a low price into the mix and the

PD900 clearly emerges as a best buy.

Radio Parts Group: 9321 8300, www.wintal.com.au

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