Read top consumer ratings: Panasonic DVD-LV55
Ratings
Category: Electronics
Brand: Panasonic
Model: DVD-LV55
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Panasonic DVD-LV55 Report
Panasonic DVD-LV55 Review by Jamie Pruden (Hayward, CA USA)
I bought this unit to use for travel and it's turned into an invaluable and indispensible little unit. The unit has worked perfectly for my daughters to watch Jackie Chan movies on road trips and for me on business trips. Not only does the battery last for two movies (~3.5 hours+), but the picture is fantastic.This unit cannot be beat for the money.
The only con is the lack of some sort of dynamic compression circuit. Many DVDs have too much dynamic range to be heard properly through headphones on a noisy plane. Invest in a noise cancelling set of headphones and you'll be VERY happy with this unit.
Panasonic DVD-LV55 Review by keviny01
Though the LV55 is advertised as having a 5" screen, the actual viewable screen size is 4.8" diagonal, with a 16:9 width-to-height ratio just like a widescreen TV. There are several "display modes" that let you change the image size. One of them lets you enlarge a non-anamorphic image so it will fill the whole screen (albeit resulting in a more pixellated, less sharp display). One of the display modes turns off the display, so that you can save battery power while playing audio CDs.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.
Panasonic DVD-LV55 Review by Barry B. Edison "Barry B. Edison" (Brooklyn, New York USA)
The quality is second to none! Not only was I shocked at how wonderful and workable the five inch screen is - when you hold it on your lap, it's the same ratio as watching on a 52 inch TV several feet away. The surround sound is incredible and really works - even via headphones! I sit in my back yard late at night and enjoy great movies - the overall enjoyment and relaxation is better then watching from a large screen TV in my living room. This is the best product I've ever bought!
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Panasonic DVD-LV55:: Description
For movie buffs, few experiences in life are as rewarding as watching your choice of DVDs on a train, plane, or automobile. Heads turn, new friends are made, and best of all, we have the chance to catch up on our movie watching. The Panasonic DVD-LV55 delivers all of that, with some true state-of-the-art features.
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
Panasonic DVD-LV55 :
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