Panasonic DVD-LV75 Portable DVD Player
No regrets.
<BR><BR>Bottom line. I went shopping for one of these for about a month before I finally got the LV-75 and as soon as I got it, I had to really see if all the stuff I read on this board had any validity. Here are my results. <BR><BR> 1) BATTERY TIME<BR> 2 tests. Fully charged overnight each time, brightness set to \\"0\\" (goes from -5 to 5), using headphones ONLY:<BR> Test 1 --> 4h:55min + 18 seconds<BR> Test 2 --> 4h:50min + 44 seconds<BR><br />(each test had about 5 min worth of fast-forwarding, change out disks.etc...  Have yet to test the entire time with speakers on and I'm guessing that these results would drop dramatically.)<BR><br />2) PICTURE QUALITY<BR> (Using about 8 different movies, being viewed from 3 feet away) Sharpness: Over-all, pretty good. Could clearly see pixels but stopped noticing them after about 10 mins. Doesn't match my regular flatscreen but hey, I can't really take a 27' Sony VEGA on a flight so I'm not complaining.<BR> Color reproduction: Trying out all the color settings, I found that I couldn't get truly good skin reproduction without over bleeding the screen. Cooler colors such as blues and greens came out better than my regular TV. I also checked for broken pixels and didn't find one. Overall, the picture is above average to very good.<BR><BR><br />3) SOUND<BR> Best ever micro speakers I've ever heard were from my Thinkpad. Bass was non-existent but overall sound was great. The LV75 comes very close to that performance. The area where the LV75 blows away my Thinkpad is that it decodes 5.1 DTS and mixes it into my 2 channel headphones. Even though it's two channels, it still sounds awesome compared to regular 5.1 digital surround. (Try watching Gladiator DTS/ES which decodes 6 channels)<BR><BR><br />4) EQUIPMENT<BR> If you were thinking about getting this player instead of a regular rack player, think again. I use an optical out on my regular DVD and expected to just plug my Toslink into the LV75. I was rejected! You need to buy a Miniplug-to-Toslink cable that is not provided to get the optical feed. If you still want 5.1 digital surround, you need to buy 2 more Miniplug-to-RCA cables (they provide you with one, which alone will give you 2 channel stereo). The S-video works, but I don't really use it so I don't know if it will give you 5.1, but if it does, you won't have to go shopping again.<BR><BR><br />5) OVERHEATING<BR> The unit does get very hot when you are using it without the battery. (the battery sits on the bottom and insulates the heat from your lap!) With the battery, non-existent. The battery on mine NEVER got warm enough to even notice. I watched half of Almost Famous laying down in bed with the unit sitting on my bare chest and I didn't feel a thing. <BR><BR><br />6) ACTUAL SIZE<BR> The pictures show you this thin little unit, when folded, will be about an inch thick. This is without the battery. With the battery, it gets about a pound heavier and 1.5\\" (I know that it isn't much, but considering it was just an inch before, that's a 50% increase).<BR><BR><br />7) EXTRA BATTERIES<BR> I have yet been able to locate on my manual where shows me how to order extra batteries, I can't really say, but I [found it] on the panasonic website [...] <BR><BR><br />OVERALL VERDICT<BR> Not regretting my purchase in the slightest. This is one of the coolest things I've bought, ever... and it makes me smile just looking at it. <BR><BR> Last suggestions: Buy the 7 inch instead of the 5. Get a good pair of headphones. <BR><BR><br />The biggest thing on your mind while watching this unit is TIME--> how much of it you have left. [...] I on last biz trip to NY, I was sitting in a rear exit row with about 3' of leg room in front of me with my LV-75 sitting on my lap... and everytime someone passed me to use the bathroom, all I could feel were the \\"jealous eyes.\\"  I don't have to say that this thing cuts flight times in half. <BR><BR> -----> If you can't afford it, don't buy it because you won't use it often, but if you travel... don't leave home without it.