Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DVD-LS50 7-Inch Portable DVD Player

I bought this after noticing that the DVD player rental chain in many airports uses Panasonics exclusively, which to me says something about durability. Comparing this unit with Audiovox, Mintek and Magnavox, it is obviously much more solid. The great thing, though, is that for the same screen size, the unit is slimmer and lighter. The swivel screen makes it very easy to hang on the back of the driver's seat in the car for kids to watch, since it folds flat and won't protrude from the seat back. Others have noted short battery life. I took it on a plane trip from Alaska to Arizona and watched all of the extended version of The Two Towers (over 3.5 hours) and didn't run out of battery. I turned the brightness all the way down, but the picture was still very clear and easy to see in a darkened airplane. The great thing is that the battery is much smaller and lighter than other DVD players I've seen, and doesn't really add to the size or weight of the unit. This thing is great for viewing my CR-RWs with lots of family photos on them, as well as listening to MP3s or WMAs (it even recognizes playlists, although I haven't tried this out yet). The controls on the player allow you to easily operate it without the remote, except for specialized functions. With the free case and airplane/car power adapter offer through Amazon (I'm still waiting for mine), and Amazon's great price, you just can't lose with this. The only thing the Mintek has that this doesn't is A/V input, but if you don't need to play video games on it, it's not a problem. Don't waste your money on a slightly cheaper unit that doesn't even compare with this. You'll be glad you spent a little more.

I frequently take the 4 hour bus ride between New York and Boston and was growing tired of lugging my 7lb laptop to watch DVDs. I was also concerned about this $2000 work computer getting lost/stolen. So although it was tough to justify the cost because I already had something that was 'free' and had a 15" screen, I was ready to buy a portable.

When I first shopped a year ago, I really liked the look and feel of the Toshiba P-1200. But online reviews citing battery problems scared me away. And a guy in work had it happen to him. It just died. I was hoping they fixed it with the P-1400, but I still saw a few users saying they had battery issues. Meanwhile, the reviews for the Panasonic were glowing. Here were the pros and cons between the two:

- Toshiba $70 less vs. Panasonic
- Toshiba 3-3 1/2 hr battery life vs. 2-2 1/2 hr for Panasonic
- Toshiba credit card remote vs. big remote on Panansonic
- Toshiba comes with car charger, but Panasonic has charger AND case via rebate
- Toshiba 3.25 lbs vs. 1.75 lbs for Panasonic

So it came down to this. Should I pay more money for a smaller, lighter product that had better reviews, even though the battery life might be an issue. So I went to see them in person.

The result? No contest. The Panasonic is very small and very light. Much easier to toss in my carry-on messenger bag. And the screen is bright and clear. The coolest thing is how the screen can be contorted into so many angles, which is very helpful when the person in front of you reclines their seat halfway into your lap. Additionally, the remote is a non factor for me. I leave it at home. Why? The Panasonic has a very slick shuttle dial that lets you FF and REW through the DVD at different speeds.

In summary, I've used it on one bus ride and one flight so far and it's been great. While I don't want to completely diss Toshiba (I just bought an awesome 30" Toshiba HDTV), for my money the Panasonic has been the right choice.

I just purchased this unit after owning a 5" Panasonic DVD player. The chief differences between this unit and similar units of others brands are:
(1) The picture is much brighter and sharper
(2) The simulated surround sound using headphones (I use the
Koss Porta Pros) is much louder and the sound is more spacious and open
(3) This unit plays "marginal" DVD's with make other units skip
(4) The screen tilts to virtually any position making its use in planes or other tight spaces more flexible
(5) It is much more solidly built than its competitors
(6) It immediately recognizes the DVD that has been placed in the unit and adjusts the size of the picture automatically
(7) There is less wasted space around the 7" screen making the unit smaller and lighter..it is barely larger than the actual size of the screen.
(8) It's battery is virtually internal, simply snapping onto a recessed area in the bottom of the unit. It appears to be "built directly into the unit"
(9) It's remote control is "full size" Although it occupies little space in my bag, it is much more user friendly than the small remotes that come with other units.
(10) It's price is only about $50 more than the competition, and given all of the above, it is well worth the difference, especially considering the "rebate package" which includes a case and a DC adaptor.

I bought mine at B&H Photo...The shipping charge is only about $10, and, although the delivery promises 3-5 days, I received mine the very next day (in CT).The price was also as low as any out there.

Panasonic portable DVD players have the sharpest, clearest screens around! I bought a Toshiba to replace my old Panasonic, but what a piece of junk! The contrast was too high, and it skipped with the slightest bump! I saw the panasonic LS50 and was enamored. It plays DVDs, DVD-Rs that my Toshiba locks up on, MP3s in files (I like to put artists on one disc and then categorize them in seperate files by year of album release.) It plays DVD Ram, JPeg files (The Toshiba won't play any Jpegs over 300 dpi, this one does at least up to 600 dpi!,) and the flip screen is the coolest. I can finally watch a movie holding the player flat! Awesome! It has 2 headphone jacks, the 7" screen is crystal clear, No volume dial to move by accident- buttons are used, the only down side to this amazing player is that it doesn't offer a line in to use it as a monitor like my old Panasonic and Toshiba. (I use this feature when recording to my Panasonic DVD recorder.) The speakers sound great, as usual for Panasonic!The player is not heavy even with the battery. It is very hard to make this player skip! Panasonic is simply the best!!! The price is one third what I paid for my old 5 inch Panasonic years ago- what a steal!!!
Edit:01/25/06- last night I received the HO2 code! After reading some other complaints of the HO2/HO3 error codes, I decided to open it up and look. It seems that that Laser chassis is held onto the base of the unit by 3 rubber bushings on plastic pins. They are obviously there for shock buffering. When I opened the base, the laser assembly fell out! It was obviously loose (this after many, MANY uses and airplane flights, etc.) I pushed the assembly back onto the plastic pegs, and closed it up. It now works perfectly again!

This is my first portable player and I am very happy with it.
First it plays all the disc's I throw at it. dvd+r and +rw.
It actually states in the manual that it does not play +r, but it does. The screen tilts, You don't realise how useful this is until you use it. The screen is very clear and the footprint of the unit is nice and small. Battery slots in nicely too.
the Sound via the headphones is excellent, speakers less so.
Battery life is not great, but it seems to be a common complaint with all these players.
Finally I have been very happy with my purchase, there are cheaper machines out there but the panasonic seems solid and well made. I would highly recommend it. Also with the car adaptor and bag as a mail in rebate.