The Fast and The Portable
Written: Nov 30 '01
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Pros: Potable - good image quality -
Cons: heat build up
The Bottom Line: PalmTheatre makes for an enjoyable and functional presentation
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| artic00cat's Full Review: Panasonic DVD-LV55 Portable DVD Player with Screen |
About 8 months ago I found a need to be able to transport and view my DVD collection at various times for various reasons. A friend of mine, who owned an older one, turned me on to the Panasonic portable DVD player. After seeing the model and performance it offered by Panasonic, I put myself in the market to purchase one for myself. I of course did have the DVD on my laptop but that came with restrictions that I was not all that satisfied with. So after doing some price searching I bought myself the DVD-LV55 unit.
The DVD-LV55 Palm Theater is a portable DVD/CD player with the following basic features.
********TAKEN FROM PANASONIC WEBSITE******************
· 5-inch Diagonal Widescreen LCD Monitor
· Super-thin design, less than 1-inch
thick for convenient travel
· Approximately 3.5 hours of playback with included
battery pack
· Built-in Recharger function for added convenience
· Normal (4:3) / Wide (16:9) / Zoom Screen Selector
lets you adjust the picture size
· Built-in Stereo Speakers for great sound just about
anywhere
· Fully-featured for use as a home DVD player
· 35-key Slim Size Remote Control for convenient
operation
· Multi-voltage AC Adapter for use during travel
· Still Picture Display (I/P/B) freezes an image to
allow for precise picture quality adjustments
· 10-bit Video D/A Converter for amazing picture
quality
· Auto Switching Field/Frame Still for added
versatility
· Frame Advance (Forward & Reverse) for incredible
control
· Optical output for DTS®1 & Dolby Digital®2 Surround
Sound allows for amazing home theater sound quality
· Headphone V.S.S. provides great sound even with
headphones
· Advanced V.S.S. allows for a remarkable surround
sound effect even while only using the front two
speakers
· Dialogue Enhancer makes the dialog channel clearly
audible over the other sound channels
· 96kHz/24-bit Audio D/A Converter for outstanding
sound quality
· Digital Audio Out (Optical) for enhanced system
flexibility
· Chapter Preview helps to refresh your memory of a
movie by showing you the first 3 seconds of each
previously viewed chapter
· Easy-to-Use Slide Jog for added convenience
· Built-in Function LCD allows for quick and easy
confirmation of operation
· Hi-Speed Smooth Motion Scan: 5 Speed up to x100
allows crystal clear scan quality while locating
desired locations on a disc
· On-Screen Menu Icons to help guide operation
· Repeat Mode
· Title/Chapter Search with Marker Function
· Skip Forward/Reverse
· Auto Power Off/Resume Play
The DVD-LV55 is exactly as stated by the manufacturer “Portable”. The units size makes it convenient to take just about anywhere you go. The unit has a self-contained 5-inch wide screen LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) that produces immaculate video playback as well as built in speakers for audio and a headphone jack for privacy. The units, battery pack can be removed when not being used and lasts for approximately 3 ½ hours of video playback. This is long enough in most cases to get a full DVD movie in including extras with out the battery dying on you.
The DVD-LV55 has all around functionality that you just cannot get from a home unit or laptop player. Home units are just that they are intended to be set up in your home and used at that location never being moved until fixed or replaced. Due to that the unit are rather big and bulky and not very fun to move around or find space for. The laptop is more portable and gives you a bigger screen but you lose some image quality and cannot easily hook it directly to a TV. The DVD-LV55 is the answer to all the problems of these two units combined into one little package.
The DVD-LV55 allows for complete viewing of DVD’s as a standalone unit, However also allows you to plug the unit directly into a TV that has AV jacks. This allows for you to transport your DVD player, for example if you wanted to go over a friends house and watch movies but they did not have a DVD player – No problem just bring yours. It also has a slim line remote control that resembles a credit card that allows you to set it up on a TV, sit down and enjoy the movie with all normal functions like play FF, RW, and Pause etc. Do you have a long plane/train ride coming up soon? No longer an issue just bring the DVD-LV55 with you and catch up on your backlog of new releases that you have not found time to watch as of yet.
One other thing that I would like to touch on is the addition of Panasonics V.S.S. (Virtual Surround Sound). This is a nice little feature that Panasonic has added that gives an almost believable surround sound portrayal directly from the LV-55’s small integrated speaker system, when using it as a stand alone unit. This allows for a more enjoyable viewing experience while watching the 5-inch screen and does a good job at almost sitting you within the movie like a true home theater. Panasonic has also added an Optical output for DTS®1 & Dolby Digital®2 Surround Sound. DTS uses less compression on the soundtracks, and is said to more accurately reproduce the subtle nuances of the original soundtrack, meaning that it basically has a better sound quality. Not all DVD players have DTS and a special DTS processor chip has to be built into the circuitry to allow for proper DTS decoding.
Overall the DVD-LV55 is a great unit and has yet to give me any problems. It always works and seems to have a flawless playback every time. The picture quality is superb and the sound is more than expected from such small speakers. The only downside to the unit is that it tends to run a little hot when in use and becomes very warm to the touch, which makes it uncomfortable to say sit on your lap while you are watching. The LCD screen produces brilliant images but much like a Projection TV the image can be impaired if not viewed almost perfectly straight on. I would however recommend the Panasonic line of Palm Theaters to anyone in the market for this portable technology.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 499.99
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Epinions.com ID:
artic00cat
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Location: New York
Reviews written: 100
Trusted by: 90 members
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