You've survived your share of long plane flights and car trips with the kids, and now that they're teens, you figure they should be mature enough to stop whining. But just in case, you still urge them to pack their Walkmen and their music, maybe their portable CD players, PSPs, some educational books-on-CD for all of you, lots of snacks, flashlights for late night entertainment, panoramic cameras, binoculars, inflatable pillows and favorite blankets.

Then you hear the entire family is moving from Anchorage to Miami by U-Haul. What's a parent to do? Here are some good reasons to spend money on a DVD player to quiet those backseat grumblers.

Panasonic's DVD-LX110 Portable DVD Audio/Video Player
(Panasonic; $499.99; ages 12 and up)
You may still find a shop that rents mini-TV monitors with built-in VCRs, but they won't compare with this elegant, tiny and well-designed gadget that delivers superb quality picture and sound. In a silvery 4.4-lb. package you'll get enhanced digital video on a 11" display plus clear, bright sound, as good at playing film scores as music CDs. (If you've got lots of kids, the small screen and limited audio range will definitely cause some squabbles.) The whole system can run on AC, with a car power converter, or on its own 6-hour built-in rechargeable battery pack. Once you get to your destination, you can connect it to a full-screen TV and enjoy your own DVDs while saving bucks on Pay-Per-View. That's some consolation for the hefty retail price, which costs more than your home DVD player sans monitor.

Disney Dual Screen Portable DVD player
(Disney; $179.99; ages 8 and up)
Disney has created a sibling-friendly portable DVD player, which simultaneously displays a movie or video game on two 7” screens with independent volume controls and headphone jacks. The DVD player includes a full-function remote control and two power supplies for use in either the car or the house (a no-go for airplane trips). Kids can decorate their player to their liking using either the "Pirates of the Caribbean" or Tinkerbell graphic plastic inserts. The product was a hit with our young reviewers, Jorge and Nadia Cianca, whose only complaint was, “We wish it would work inside airplanes, not just cars.”

Averatec 2300 Series Ultra-Light Notebooks
(Avertec; $849.99; ages 15+)
Imagine a wireless laptop with a 12" XGA TFT widescreen, up to 5 hours of play time on a single battery charge, R-DVD drive, Windows XP Media Center operating system, and the ability to play video or audio CDs, DVDs, or MP3 files while weighing only 4 lbs. The dualcore processing guarantees good performance even while media is playing, and the remote eliminates front seat/back seat squabbles.  This 1" thick notebook bundles a lot of computing power with long-life batteries, better quality speakers and a screen big enough to host three sets of eyeballs from the backseat. You can’t go wrong with so much entertainment potential in a small package. Look for competing HP and Toshiba models in this price range.

Now, turn around and look at that back seat. Can't you imagine them giggling with "Elmopalooza!" or practicing their magic tricks with "Harry Potter:  Order of the Phoenix" ?

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