Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DVD-LS83 8.5-Inch Portable DVD Player

The other people didn't read the package: it says 6 hours playback when the brightness of the screen is dimmed. On an airplane or train with the shades down it is perfectly visible on the moonlight setting.

I use one of these on an exercise machine to keep up with documentaries. For the past year I've been using a Sony DVP FX-820, but it would skip if A) I was playing content "late" in the disc (outer edge) or B) the exercise machine was vibrating more than usual. This really was a pain so I started looking for a player that had an anti-skip buffer like you find in most CD players. This was the only model that I could find that had it!

Further, this player offers lots of zoom options, including some that maintain the original aspect ratio (i.e. don't distort the image). Most players offer just one nearly useless stretch mode, if they offer any zoom at all!

This review is based on my experience with the LS-86, but that's functionally identical to the LS-83. The only difference between the 83 and 86 is the battery life, which I don't really care about.

I bought this primarily for the hinge design, due to the fact that this replaces a Best Buy brand (insignia) because it failed at the swivel hinge. We recently used this new DVD player on a 2 hr. road trip. The battery was fully charged. The picture quality is decent. However, if you want to see it brighter you waste more battery power. We had to use the car charger on our way back. The volume max was not enough to be heard over the trafic noise, so we switched to headphones, then we were able to drown out the traffic noise (still maxed volume) With the insignia, we would have to lower the volume to the bare minimum with headphones. Overall a good value for the money. We were able to watch two good movies on an otherwise boring car ride.

The box was badly damaged when it arrived but I have to say our delivery service has a habit of this. The player was in good condition however and my relatives who received it as a gift are thrilled. The picture is great and it's easy to use. Thanks

Warning. The battery does not last 6 hours. It barely last 3 hours. Panasonic use to be good while I was growing up, but now it's almost like false advertising saying the battery last 6 hours. There's a catch and that is you have to turn down the brightness and/or contrast for the battery to last and turning it down makes it look real bad. No one watches a dvd like that in real life.