Panasonic DVD-LV60 5.8 in. Portable DVD Player

That?s it!?! A lousy %@#$ pretzel !?!
My job requires me to travel quite a bit, and with the recent changes to the flight industry with increased security and exponentially increased waiting times, I realized that I needed a highly portable distraction to help pass the time (and keep my sanity!). I bought this wondrous portable DVD player as a Xmas gift to my self this last holiday season and have not been disappointed. It can be easily packed into a backpack or even most protective ?Walkman? type CD player cases. Additionally the considering the added convenience of selecting your own movies when and where you want to watch may almost make one think they are flying First Class! It could only get better if one could do something about airplane cuisine!

All that and a package of chips!
I did a quite a bit of research comparing competing models and reading some reviews. The only thing that really swayed me was seeing them work in person. For my money you can not find a more compact and attractive unit that also makes the most of its screen and sound. The case is plastic silver/gray with transparent blue trim. The case seems to be fairly rugged, but I would not risk dropping it any further than table to carpeted floor or lap to linoleum. It comes with a battery that slides snugly and securely into the bottom rear of the unit. The battery provides a good 4 hours of use. The battery adds a bit to the weight, but I found it added to the stability of the unit sitting on a tray in turbulence. I highly recommend purchasing an additional battery if you travel quite a bit. The AC adapter powers the player from conventional power outlet as well doubles as the battery recharger. An adapter for the car may be bought separately from various sources. I was very impressed with the amount of cables and accessories that came with the unit. They really give you everything that the common user could need or want. However specialized adapters such as S-video conversion and additional batteries can only be purchased through the manufacturer and may be rather pricey. Finding a remote with battery was impressive, however as noted on previous reviews it does just about everything but change the volume. Nevertheless, this is only a minor inconvenience as I can only imagine using the remote when piping movies into the hotel room TV; therefore volume is better controlled via the TV remote. Speaking of which, transferring your movies onto bigger TVs or monitors is very easy with the provided RCA composite video cables (Right/Left Audio and Video connections).

Hmmm?where is that manual?
Use is fairly straightforward. The lid opens to reveal the compact LCD. A button releases the latch enabling you to place your DVD/CD in. Close and press play. Only when you wish to access some of the more advanced features (and it has plenty) do you need to carefully study the manual. The LCD is clear and even maintains decent visibility in filtered sunlight. The LCD screen is in 16:9 format and, you have 3 other modes to view in; Widescreen, Normal (4:3), and zoom. I am not sure to the usefulness of the zoom as it pixilates and almost severely degrades the picture quality. Depending on the format of the DVD playing, you may or may not get the horizontal bars in 16:9 mode. You may also get Vertical bars in Normal mode. Getting the right video setting may take some fiddling with, as the unit does not always select the best view mode automatically. On screen menus are easily navigated with the prominent clearly labeled trackball and menu buttons. Some other menus and player status can be found on a small LCD display on the face of the player. At first it can be confusing as to where to exactly find a certain function. Discovering how to use the fast forward and rewind was fun. A momentary press on the Forward button promptly advances you to the next chapter. This can be highly inconvenient if you just want to go forward or back just a bit! F.F./Rew functions are accessed by pressing and holding the F.F./Rew. button for a few seconds. It seems like Panasonic should have reversed these functions making chapter changes a holding function and F.F./Rew momentary button presses. Audio is fairly impressive considering it comes from two small speakers. They even do a decent job in emulating surround sound! I highly recommend purchasing a good comfortable set of headphones for use in the plane or kids in the car! I also was pleased to discover that the unit may be used to play those video games (Playstation and Nintendo with proper adapters not included), that the kids can not do without! This is an inexpensive means of placing an entertainment system into any car! Obviously a necessity for long family road trips and virtually ensures that the adults will keep their sanity and patience.

And they lived happily ever after
Prices on these beauties are holding steady. However, there are deals to be found out there. Look around and compare. The Internet will probably fetch you the best price however you risk great difficulties should something go wrong with your player and you need to resolve issues with your online retailer. Panasonic?s reliability is fairly solid. Moreover, this is not the first generation of portable DVD player; thus most of the bugs have been worked out. Therefore I would not recommend purchasing additional extended warranties unless you like to pay extra money for little peace of mind. It will last until something better comes along. Some users have reported compatibility problems playing certain CD?s. I have not had any problems playing retail CDs however problems may arise from CD created on home computer burners. This is also not compatible with any of the DVD-RW formats currently on the market. I heartily recommend this portable player with little reservations.