opps:

how well do 4:3 DVDs display on the WXGA?

how well do 4:3 DVD display on the WXGA?

Instead of getting an expensive, thousand or several thousand dollar laptop just to watch DVD's.... why don't you get a portable DVD player, which will only set you back a few hundred? Have a look here for a few (BTW: you can find them much cheaper than at this store, I'm just trying to show you what they're like).

stu

They looked at the portable DVD players and were not and were not satisfied.  Amoung other thigs they want a larger screen and specifically requested a Dell notebook.

If you want a big screen the 8600 is great. If you want something light and get the 600m. The 1100 and the 5150 are good too, but I don't like the keyboards.

I replied to your reply once, however the text seems to have disappeared.

Thank you for your reply.

One question, I see in your signature that you have the 600M. Does the battery in that model last long enough to play a 2 hour + DVD? I guess this question could be asked for any model.

Am I to conclude by the lack of responses the people reading this thread all agree the best Dell notebook to purchase for DVD playback is the Inspiron 8600 WXGA as only one person has replied?

Or is it that you have no opinion on the subject?

I am not just trolling here, I am seeking advice.

My battery has been lasting a long time. Like almost 4 hours. I haven't watched a full DVD on it yet, but I dont' think I'll have a problem. I've had laptops with worse battery life get me through movies. I'm going on a trip next week, I'll be testing it then.

The 1100 and 5150 barely last long enough to watch a DVD movie. (About 2 hours abttery power).

The 8600 can play DVD's without getting choppy at max power saving settings. That is cpu locked at lowest 600 mhz setting and graphics card at lowest speed. This way my battery lasts 3 to 3.5 hours. Together with the optional media batt It gets more than 5 hours, but then you need to copy the DVD's to the HDD first as this batt & DVD-reader can't be installed at the same time (too bad).

The Wide screens are perfect. Best is to watch 16:9 DVD content on them. You can either have small horizontal bars (much smaller than on a non wide screen) or strech the image. Both give very good results. The WUXGA screen is better at displaying DVD though, just check out the review at www.anandTech.com to confirm that.

The 8600 is definitely more suited as DVD player because of the longer battery life and wide screen.

Audio output is very good. I have bought some external 5.1 speakers with build in DOlby DTS decoder to connect to the coaxial spdif out. Beautifull sound! . Headphones are very good as well, but no surround sound

5150 easily lasts thru movies, 3-4 hours battery life. But from what you need it for, 600m sxga may be the best bet. My 2 cents.  

5150
P4 M 3.06 HT
64meg Nvidia
768 Ram
UXGA Samsung
30 Gig 4200 Fujitsu
1300 Wireless
DVD+RW NEC 5100a
Bios A29

The best option for battery life, sound and screen quality would be a 3 spindle design with a Pentium-M and a WUXGA screen.  A 3 spindle design would give you the option of 2 batteries and a DVD-ROM.  With a Pentium-M you would get anywhere from 6 to 8 hrs of DVD playback (on 2 batteries).  Dell used to offer Ultra Bright UXGA screens, so an equivilent WUXGA would be nice.  Unfortunately, I do not believe Dell offers such a configuration.  I love my i8200, but a Toshiba may give you this setup with much better speakers.  If I had to choose a new Dell laptop I would go with either a D800 or 8600.

I agree with your 3 spindle design recommendation, I like it on my I8100 so I can have 2 HDD and a DVD or two batteries.

For simply displaying movies, I'd reccomend the 1100 with SXGA. It would be the cheapest and under a grand. For a few hundred more you could get the wide aspect 8600 which will make the video bigger.