Panasonic DVD-LS55 Portable DVD Player with 7-Inch Widescreen LCD
Love it, but ...
This is my first portable DVD player.  After reading reviews on many different players, looking at the actual players at different stores, and reading descriptions on manufacturer's websites, I finally decided on this one.  At that time it was difficult to find many reviews on the LS55 and it isn't readily available in most stores around where I live.  I was taking a chance on this one as I did not have much to compare it to other than the LS50, which is very similar in size and shape.  I am very much a Sony enthusiast, but found that this Panasonic player has many features to compete with.  Here's what I like and dislike about the player.<br /><br />The picture quality on this player is very nice and I haven't had any problems with dead pixels.  The picture is a little dark, but easy to correct with the brightness or cinema control which enables you to sharpen darker scenes or enhance the scene's a/v quality.  One of the most convenient qualities about this player is that it can swivel the screen in almost any angle forward or back, or to lie almost flat against the bottom half of the player.  It does not swivel to lie perfectly flush against the bottom half of the player, which is not really important but good to know if you're spending your money on this player.  Controls on the player are easy to use, however I would have liked to have more of the remote functions as easy to reach on the actual player itself.  I don't think I would ever be far enough from the player to have to use the remote.  The remote itself is simple to use as every function is labeled, but is the size of a full sized remote.  This may be good as it's harder to misplace, but it takes up space if you're traveling around or storing it.  I would have like to have a smaller more compact remote.  Even without the remote, navigating DVD menus is simple with the direction control on the player itself.  The blue LED on the player which brightens the up/down/left/right control is able to be set to be turned off.<br /><br />Video out is excellent.  It can be set to 4:3 pan&scan, 4:3 letterbox, or 16:9 widescreen.  Unfortunatly this must be set before playing the movie in the player's main setup screen.  On the player itself, there is a button to change the monitor mode from normal to full to zoom.  The A/V out cord is composite.  The manual does show that there are S-Video adapters as well as optical adapters, but these must be purchased separately.  I don't see the sense in it because they are shown to be plugged into the same outputs as the composite output cord.<br /><br />DVD+R/W's, DVD-RW's, CD-R/W's all work flawlessly.  I had no trouble playing mp3's from a CDR, but have not yet tried mp3's from a DVD+/-R.  It played video CD's well, but could not read DiVX or other formats in a data CD.  I think I will be using VirtualDub to convert some movies.  I don't understand why the manual says that it doesn't play DVD+R's when it actually does.<br /><br />Maybe I read the technical description of the player on Amazon's site incorrectly, but I somehow thought that this player had 1 video input.  It doesn't.  It does have 1 video output, 1 audio output, and 2 headphone outputs.  You could count the FM tuner as another audio output as well.  I haven't had the time to try the FM tuner yet.<br /><br />Battery life IS in fact excellent, which is the main reason that I decided on this player.  What is the point of having a portable DVD player if it can't even play an entire movie or two without having to be plugged into an outlet?  I haven't tried to use the player for the 10 hours that it says it will, but I have used it for over 6 hours without a problem.  The power cord is lightweight and comes in 2 sections, one length to plug into an outlet, and the other that is the small 'brick' (~4.5x2x1\\") that begins with the brick with another length of cord that plugs into the player.  I know it sounds like complaining, but the long battery life comes with a slight imperfection.  The battery makes the player longer (depth wise), when the player is flat on the table facing you.  I would have to say a little more than half an inch.  It also lifts the entire back of the player higher (about 1/4 inch) off of whatever flat surface it is resting on.  This makes the player tilt toward you, but not so that it's a problem because of the easy tilting of the display.  It just makes the player not seem as sleek as it could be if it had a battery that was flush with dimensions of the player itself.  I suggest looking at a display model if possible first to see if it may affect your decision on purchasing the player.<br /><br />Overall, I like this player very much as it is convenient to have wherever and whenever I choose to watch a movie.  It's been difficult to find a case for the player, but there is a promotion from Panasonic going on until March (2005) for a FREE case + car adapter.  I just wish that I had the case when I purchased the player because I'm paranoid about carrying the player without one.  I hope this review helps as I've tried to describe the features that I did not find in other reviews.  I WOULD buy this portable again knowing these features.a slight imperfection.  The battery makes the player longer (depth wise), when the player is flat on the table facing you.  I would have to say a little more than half an inch.  It also lifts the entire back of the player higher (about 1/4 inch) off of whatever flat surface it is resting on.  This makes the player tilt toward you, but not so that it's a problem because of the easy tilting of the display.  It just makes the player not seem as sleek as it could be if it had a battery that was flush with dimensions of the player itself.  I suggest looking at a display model if possible first to see if it may affect your decision on purchasing the player. <br /> <br />Overall, I like this player very much as it is convenient to have wherever and whenever I choose to watch a movie.  It's been difficult to find a case for the player, but there is a promotion from Panasonic going on until March (2005) for a FREE case + car adapter.  I just wish that I had the case when I purchased the player because I'm paranoid about carrying the player without one.  I hope this review helps as I've tried to describe the features that I did not find in other reviews.  I WOULD buy this portable again knowing these features.