The DCP750 is a small hardback book sized device which packs a 7" screen and allows your 5th generation iPod to slide in providing a bigger screen to view and inbuilt speakers to listen too. Measuring 210 x 178 x 39mm and weighing in at a lumpy 1.8kgs the DCP 750 may sound beefy but its actually a good sized unit and doesn't feel at all bad to cart around

The package needs a charge in order to fill up its internal battery or it can be used directly from the power adaptor, once charged we flipped open the lid to reveal the dark black interior and the large 7" screen. A nice touch of the design is that the screen rotates 180 degrees meaning its easy to get the correct viewing angle and the screen is also a good matt finish so it isn't too reflective.

In fact our first viewing of the DCP750 screen using our test 5G iPod showed the screen off to its best with the movie 2 fast 2 furious loaded the 7" display made the most of its 480 x 234 pixels which on paper sounds a bit lo, but in reality does a good job. Philips quote a raft of technology behind the screens performance but all you need to know is it will make the most of your videos stored on an iPod even if they are a little over compressed.

The integration of the iPod dock is well executed, it takes just seconds to sit the iPod into the dock inside the unit and once in it fits snugly and will start to charge too from the Lithium polymer battery or the AC adaptor. The main controls of the iPod are accessed via the 750's control pad and there are also buttons which are specific to the extra dimension of the Philips unit, the DVD player.

Yes for those who perhaps don't have lots of video on the iPod or who require access to a wider range of movies the unit has an inbuilt DVD drive which is controlled through the same interface and also the supplied remote which rather handily sits in the iPod dock space when the iPod isn't in there.

Add in a nifty SD /MMC card slot and support for MPEG-4 files and you have an all round winner when it comes to entertainment on the move. Our short test was on a flight to Amsterdam and the Philips unit sat well on the seatback tray table much to the envy of other passengers. As soon as the seatbelt light went off the iPod was in the dock and 2 Fast 2 Furious was playing in crisp and vibrant colours, the audio was on headphones due to the environment. It took the return trip to finish the movie but we can happily report that the battery lasted the full length and was getting close to a good 3hrs before it eventually gave up.

After both legs we have to admit to being rather taken with the DCP750 which is possibly hte best video docking system we have seen to date. It may be a tad big but the battery life and cool design take your mind off that. Priced at around £120 the Philips DCP750 is good value for money too and there is a larger model for a bit more cash should you need a bigger screen.

Published - 14/09/2007

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