So one of the big portable DVD players out there today is the Panasonic DVD-LS86. There are user reviews raving about the product, and, of course, Panasonic is doing their part in pushing it, so the question is whether or not it lives up to the hype.
The answer is: Yeah, kind of. It is a great little unit, but some of the features have been, well, a little exaggerated and overblown in reviews and in Panasonic’s claims.
First off, the battery life. Panasonic kind of took the easy way out in claiming that you can get more than a dozen hours of playtime between charges. That’s technically true, but only if you turn the brightness down, which means that, in a well lit room, you’ll barely be able to see a thing. Using it as you would like to use it, six to eight hours is probably a more accurate estimate of the unit’s battery life.
Something else that may irk the buyer, and this isn’t a huge deal, but it’s kind of inconvenient and bears mentioning, is that the play and stop buttons double as on and off buttons. Needless to say, that takes some getting used to, as the first time you watch a DVD, you’re probably going to accidentally turn the thing off every time you have to get up for a moment.
The unit comes packaged with an A/V cable, which is a great idea. You can use the unit as a DVD player in your hotel room, or plug it into your car stereo for surround sound. You also get a car charger, so there’s no worries about battery life when you’re on a road trip.
One thing we simply cannot complain about is the display. 8.5 inch high resolution widescreen is just fine as far as portable DVD players are concerned. The price isn’t bad, either, as you’ll probably find it in the 150-200 range.
You can listen to MP3s, look through digital photo albums, or watch a DVDRW on the unit, but… no USB port? No flash card reader? Okay, it’s not a huge deal, but don’t expect to plug your digital camera into the unit.
All in all, it’s not a bad portable DVD player by any stretch of the imagination. It does leave a little something to be desired on a few fronts (come on Panasonic, no USB port? Seriously?), but a lot of the complaints you’ll hear about the unit come down to nitpicking. For example, it doesn’t come with a remote control, but how badly do you need a remote control for something you’re probably going to have about three feet away when you’re using it? Unless you absolutely need a flash port, it’s not a purchase you’ll regret, and even if it doesn’t meet the advertised 13 hour battery life, it still lasts about twice as long as the majority of portable DVD players.
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