Panasonic DVD-LS50 7-Inch Portable DVD Player
I managed to fix Code H03
NOTE ADDED on Dec 11, 2006:    I just had another look at the comments about this panasonic dvd player. Since I posted my last message more than 1 year ago, it has functioned perfectly. We have been using it on a regular basis, taking it for traveling, invitations, restaurants, etc, to keep our little one busy if necessary (and more often than not, it was). The battery life is very good, the picture quality is nice, and the sound reproduction is crisp and clear. Apart from the H03 incidence, this player has done a very good service for us.     Since a significant number of reviewers have successfully tried out what I proposed to fix the H03 code in Aug 2005, I would think that it's a relatively well-proven approach by now, and that it's worthwhile to try it out if you run into this problem.     Moreover, the general picture is that one should expect no help whatsoever from panasonic; judging from what's necessary to fix the problem, 100$ is a rip-off.         ORIGINAL REVIEW from August, 2005:    We bought this portable half a year ago for our toddler, and it made travelling, being in waiting areas, visiting restaurants, friends, etc, much, much more bearable. My wife and I really love this little machine, we owe a lot of peace of mind to it.    Then came the dreadful Code H03 situation one evening. Via Google, it was quickly clear that we would have to spend around 100 $ to fix it, as the warranty time was over - so we decided to buy a new one, and were ready to throw the panasonic into the garbage. But before doing so, I decided to take it apart myself, as there was nothing to lose. The good news is that it is working again. I can't precisely tell what the problem was, but I can describe what I did.     Please feel free to give it a try yourself before throwing away the player. I give no warranty at all that what I tried out works in your case. Also, I refuse any liability if you try out what I describe below.     First, remove the power plug and the battery.    There are 12 screws, all at the bottom, four of them only reachable when the battery is removed. Make sure there is no DVD inside the machine, and open the monitor screen. Then, open the case along the front (where the red/orange light is). Put the monitor back down on the table so that you can see it. From the side, the open player now looks like an upside down \\" T \\".     The DVD transport can be easily removed from the bottom part of the case. I cleaned it, and pushed the two connecting strip conductors more firmly into their contact sockets. Then, I placed the transport back, and attached a DVD to it (of course without first closing the upper part of the case).     At this point, reconnect the power plug (but not the battery !). There are three round copper contacts at the lower right corner, below the blue knob which says \\"enter\\". Push the one on the far right. This will turn on the machine.    There are three black plastic buttons at the 2 o'clock position relative to the DVD, arranged like the corners of a \\" V \\", which I will refer to as the left upper, the lower, and the right upper button.     The right upper button interrupts playing a DVD when the monitor is closed during normal operation, and is useless for our purposes. Pushing the left upper, and the lower button simultaneously triggers the player to  check if there is a DVD inside, and if so, to read it. Pushing any of them alone doesn't do anything.    WARNING: Don't push them if there is no DVD inside, because then, your eyes will be directly exposed to a pretty strong laser beam !!!     However, if there is a DVD fixed to the transport, pushing the left upper and the lower button simultaneously has in my case caused the player to correctly read the DVD.     Then, I removed the DVD, the power plug, closed the case, and put the screws back to where they belong, and everything has been operating normal so far.    One of the reports here said that sending the player to the service center in Texas has shown that only some cleaning needed to be done.     I suspect this is only a small mechanical problem. Either the strip conductors attached to the transport don't have good contact, or they prevent the laser lens from moving correctly. Pushing them more firmly into their sockets, and removing the transport, cleaning it, and putting it back again can fix this. Also, the three rubber parts on which the transport is based might displace if the player is heavily shaken, and H03 might mean that the transport is dislocated. Finally, it could be that the contacts at the corners of the \\" V \\" noted above don't have good contact, so that pushing them firmly reestablishes the latter.     Good luck, and as I said - no warranty that this is also going to work for you.   Moreover, I refuse any liability.