Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DVD-LV75 Portable DVD Player

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.

1) BATTERY TIME
2 tests. Fully charged overnight each time, brightness set to "0" (goes from -5 to 5), using headphones ONLY:
Test 1 --> 4h:55min + 18 seconds
Test 2 --> 4h:50min + 44 seconds

(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.)

2) PICTURE QUALITY
(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.
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.

3) SOUND
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)

4) EQUIPMENT
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.

5) OVERHEATING
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.

6) ACTUAL SIZE
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).

7) EXTRA BATTERIES
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 [...]

OVERALL VERDICT
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.

Last suggestions: Buy the 7 inch instead of the 5. Get a good pair of headphones.

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.

-----> 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.

I recently purchased a panasonic lv75 and have been in dvd nirvana ever since ! This player has it all : built in dolby digital and dts decoders , great for those without dts decoders in their home receivers. With the optical in/out minijacks you can not only send the dvd signals to another source, tv, vcr, receiver, etc..., but also use the input feature allows you to view movies from your camcorder . The picture is razor sharp on the seemingly spacious 7 inch screen .The sound is great from the two built-in stereo speakers , and is even better with headphones . It has plenty of control features to tweak to your liking and has a very handy "credit card" sized remote . For those out there who aren't willing to spend thousands on a plasma display digital tv's and all in one receivers with progressive dvd output etc.,etc., this a is less expensive and more conveniant way to experience an all digital enviroment . All in all a great purchase .

WOW!

I shopped around and this unit was a dream compared to the others. Excellent graphics, video display and sound quality. The credit card like remote is great and effective. Highly recommend purchase with an S Video cable, and an extra battery.

This is a great toy and having owned it for two months and compared it in stores with other models, I'm very happy with my choice. The on screen display is a pile of mystic symbols but lets face it, you probably never will need to switch most of these options. It works well on flights, charges quickly, and is also a real bonus when at a vacation home. If you are in hotels a couple of weeks a year I would higly recommend it but, it is a good chunk of change, so if you aren't away from home too much you may not get enough use out of it. If you are able to spare the money then this is a fun gadget.

This is a terrific player. I got mine in December and have fallen in love with it! I have taken it on 3 trips by plane so far and let me tell you, it's a God-sent! This is a truly great player but there are just a few things I wouldn't say that I don't like but they could be different. The players buttons are a little dainty if you know what I mean....the navigation button is the worst, I always feel like it might break off in my hand at any given moment. When the player is in the stop mode and it is just sitting it goes to a blue screen which was a little disappointing for a thousand dollars. I was expecting a graphic when stopped instead of the very trite blue screen. I'm used to my home Sony DVD player, when stopped says "SONY DVD" in a really cool graphic. It's not the most important thing to have on a portable DVD player but it still was a little disappointing. Other than those two things I have to say I was VERY impressed with the quality of the player! The picture is magnificent! And despite rumors the speakers are much more than "adequate". Speaking of rumors, let me disperse one right now, this player DOES play double sided disks! I don't know what some of these crack-smoking reviewers were talking about! It absolutely does play them! Oh, I love the fact that all of the buttons are inside of the player! This way, when it's not in use all of the buttons are protected (when closed). That is except for the power button but believe me, it's not easy to accidentally turn on. You have to hold the power button in the on position for a few moments before it kicks on, which is a nice feature. The buttons are nicely placed in relationship to the player as a whole. The only thing that is a little awkward is the placing of the buttons on the remote but hell, how many times will you use the remote anyway? Okay, enough rambling.....you could nitpick every detail of it forever......BOTTOM LINE: let's just say this player is a must-have and in terms of quality it blows all other portable players out of the water!!!!