Panasonic DVD-LV55 Portable DVD Player

Surprisingly slim (especially before the rechargeable battery snaps on), the DVD-LV55 easily fits into a briefcase or backpack. As with all electronics, we suggest you treat it gently--even though the build quality is exceptionally solid. Similarly, the unit can take a good amount of jostling without any compromise in picture or sound. (You can also use it as a portable CD player!) The DVD-LV55 appears to share the same chassis as its bigger brother, the 7-inch LV75. The extra margin around the 5-inch LCD screen draws even more attention to the display's slighter stature.

The picture is bright and sharp, even on fine details and when viewed up close, which is really the only way to watch a 5-inch screen. For optimal playback on the built-in 16:9 monitor, we recommend watching anamorphically enhanced 1.85:1 widescreen movies. However, be forewarned that you will lose a bit of quality on nonanamorphic titles, and 2.35:1 CinemaScope movies, which introduce a black bar at top and bottom, will look really small. You can also connect a video camera to view your camcorder work on the 5-inch screen.

The two 1-inch speakers located left and right, just below the screen, are a pleasant alternative to headphone listening, but their size and design make them inherently limited. While voices and most higher frequencies sounded just fine, there was no bass to speak of, and loud noises at high volume constantly taxed their limitations. And even the highest volume is not very loud. The virtual surround sound (VSS) works to expand the sound stage when using outboard speakers or headphones, and creates the illusion of rear-channel effects. VSS is quite convincing, and offers two settings, depending on just how much processing you enjoy.

Through a proper audio-video setup, picture and sound are both outstanding, with a crisp, colorful image through the S-Video connection and rich reproduction of both Dolby Digital and Digital Theater Sound (DTS) soundtracks. Technical performance is as good as most dedicated home theater decks on the market.

The slim-line remote control has 35 soft-touch keys that provide all the functionality you'd expect from any full-size DVD player. Although the 60-degree signal sensor window is a bit narrow, the more than 20-foot range is impressive. All of the basic functions are accessible on the unit itself, with an innovative directional disc in place of arrow keys. The small LCD panel reports system status, including a battery-life indicator. But the single greatest convenience might be the marker system for the start-again, stop-again viewing habits of on- the-go folk, who might need to switch off in the middle of a designated chapter.

Although you can get an additional couple of inches in screen size for a few hundred dollars more, Panasonic's DVD-LV55 is a great portable movie machine that offers excellent picture quality, numerous features, and a lightweight design that we can heartily recommend.

Pros:

• Audio enhancements make the most of movies-to-go
• Excellent forward/reverse scanning, up to 100x normal speed
• Battery now good for one full movie up to about three hours; charges in four

Cons:

• No headphones included
• In general, seems second best to its same-generation partner, the 7-inch DVD-LV75

The zoom screen selector allows you to watch movies in the standard 16:9 widescreen format or conventional formats such as letterbox and pan and scan. Additional features include icon-based onscreen programming, virtual surround sound, a slim remote, frame advance, chapter preview, auto off, five-speed smooth scan, and title/chapter search with marker function.

The player measures 7.25 by 0.9 by 5.5 inches and comes with a remote control, rechargeable battery pack, audio/video cables, and an AC adapter. You can expect up to 3.5 hours of playback time with the battery pack.

Panasonic offers a one-year warranty on parts, 90 days on labor.

The LV55 has a screen resolution of 280,000 pixels, which comes to about 700x400 pixels. This is less than the 720x480 resolution that a DVD is able to deliver, but it is enough to give a clear, sharp picture.

This player only lets you adjust color saturation and brightness, and not hue and contrast. Using "Video Essentials" and "Avia Guide to Home Theater" to test the display, I find that the display has a slight over-saturation of red, and cannot display certain grey scales (which could cause "dithering" in playing black-and-white movies). Also, the player has some built-in edge enhancement that strikes me as rather excessive, resulting in "halos" appearing around borders.

The display also has the common overscan problem, which results in a little bit of picture cut off from the left and right sides of the image. Overscanning is common on most consumer CRT and LCD displays.

The built-in speakers produce expectedly tinny sound, considering the player only uses 13 watts of power. A good pair of earphones or headphones is a must, but even so, the advantage of a 5.1 soundtrack is totally lost without 5.1 speakers. There is a "dialog enhancer" feature that raises the volume of the center channel sound, which is useful in a noisy environment. There is also a "dynamic range compression" feature that lowers the volume of loud sound if you feel the soundtrack is too overwhelming.

The LV55 is able to play DVD-Video discs with Dolby Digital or DTS sound, audio CDs, and Video CDs (VCDs). Although the manual says it does not play CD-R discs, it does play CD-R discs that are copied from audio CDs and VCDs.

The player can also send Dolby Digital or DTS signal to an external DD/DTS decoder's optical input, although you need to obtain a miniplug-to-Toslink cable yourself. It can send its video signal (via RCA or S-Video cable) to an external monitor. It can also receive video from, say, a camcorder, so you can view it on the display.

With the battery pack attached, the LV55 weighs 2 pounds and is 1.5 inches thick, which is a little too bulky for me. But I do like the fact that the screen can be flipped open to an almost 180-degree angle, and that the playback is not affected even if I don't hold the player horizontally; that gives me great flexibility in viewing positions.


Makes long trips a dream come true.   August 18, 2001
 2 out of 4 found this review helpful

Dear Reader, Panasonic has always been a good portable brand, so i trusted it, and i am so glad. All i have to say is everything is a dream on it. You can hook it up to ant tv or vcr or watch on the beautifully lit screen, and the picture is tremendous. I love this small screen. But what i recommed is this new one that is coming soon, it is panasonic and it is only gonna be [price]which is good but i don't know how big the screen is, if it is under 5' whis this panasonic is i say don't buy it 5' is perfect size. Wait and see what the other one is if it is good buy that one, but if it is not buy this one because it is a very good little machine.


Amazing Quality & Ease of Operation: Buy it at this price!   July 5, 2001
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

I could not be more pleased with my purchase and use of the Panasonic "55." Hours now spent in airports, on planes, in hotels and on longer "road" trips speed by. The battery REALLY lasts 3 hours, and 55 is so easy to operate that my 3 year old granddaughter turns it on and watches it, transfixed, for as long as her favorite Disney DVD lasts. Quality? Home theater quality sound and picture, esp'ly with earphones. Screen too small for enjoyment? Dont believe it for a moment; the screen is so close it is NO problem. Price? $... is great, esp'ly when compared to other Portables. Any needed accessory? Yes. Get a recharger for the car/plane. Panasonic advertizes it, but i havent seen it offered yet by Amazon. But perhaps i havent looked hard enough.


AWESOME!!!!   June 24, 2001
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Simply put; worth every dollar. Incredible versitility and fun to use. Good sharp picture and sound and truly the small screen is very viewable.