Panasonic DVD-LS55 Portable DVD Player with 7-Inch Widescreen LCD

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002EZ2KM
• Item model number: DVD-LS55
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,860 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Panasonic DVD-LS55 portable DVD player's slender, 1.1-inch chassis hides a built-in rechargeable battery good for 10 hours between charges--that's right, just about time enough to take in all of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. The player offers a 7-inch widescreen (16:9 aspect-ratio) display whose adjustable freestyle design broadens the range of available viewing angles, making the player perfect for suddenly bright/suddenly dark airplane cabins or desktop use in an office. The player handles DVD-Video, high-resolution DVD-Audio, DVD-R, and DVD-RAM playback--as well as standard and recordable audio CDs, including MP3- and WMA-encoded discs.

Designed to take full advantage of both audio and traditional video DVD formats, the DVD-LS55 delivers super high-fidelity (192 kHz/24-bit) sound of DVD-Audio. DVD-Audio software titles offer classic music titles in both multichannel and stereo, though be aware that this model plays discs in stereo only. Most DVD-A discs have compressed Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 surround tracks, however; these can be passed through the unit's digital-audio output to a compatible surround receiver and speaker system.

Audio features also include DTS and Dolby Digital 2-channel decoding and multichannel passthrough, built-in stereo speakers, and Panasonic's Dialogue Enhancer for DVD movie viewing. Advanced Surround Sound (VSS) simulates surround effects from any two speakers or from headphones.

Cinema Mode reduces the detrimental effects of screen glare from ambient light, rendering cinematic colors in pictures that are gentle on the eyes. Further, Cinema Mode improves the visibility of details in dark scenes by automatically adjusting picture contrast. High-speed, five-step Smooth Motion Scan provides crystal-clear forward and reverse scan. At the highest setting, the unit scans at an incredible 200 times normal speed.

Panasonic's Dialogue Enhancer boosts the center channel volume--where most of the principal dialogue emanates when playing a Dolby Digital 5.1 disc--by 6 dB. Cinema Mode lessens glare, providing colors that are more cinema-like, and picture resolution that is gentler to the eyes. It also improves the visibility of details in dark scenes by automatically adjusting picture contrast, and helps to suppress color smearing as well.

This player is HighMAT compatible. High-Performance Media Access Technology is a standard co-developed by Panasonic and Microsoft to improve interoperability for digital media programming between PCs and electronics devices. HighMAT provides an efficient method for arranging digital photo, music, and video collections on recordable media.

What's in the Box
DVD player, a remote control, a remote battery, an AC/DC power adapter, audio/video cables, a rechargeable battery pack, a user's manual, and warranty information.

Product Description

MANUFACTURER WARRANTY: 1 YEAR

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is THE portable DVD Player to own..., November 27, 2004

By 

Radio Man "yarns13" (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic DVD-LS55 Portable DVD Player with 7-Inch Widescreen LCD (Electronics)

I did a lot of research on portable Dvd players before deciding on this one.
This one somehow has been skipped over and most people know it's brother the DVD-LS50. In short I believe the key differences between the LS50 and this the LS55 are the battery life and the fm modulator on this unit. But the battery life is INCREDIBLE compared to any other similar player I've seen. Panasonic says it gets TEN hours of battery life. Most players barely get 2 or 2.5 hours.

From what I've seen so far the battery life is indeed great. I haven't run it a full 10 hours yet so I can't say it really gets a full 10 hours of play on the battery. But I've used it a lot and the battery meter has yet to drop in level. Even if Panasonic is not telling complete truth..imagine even getting 6-7 hour battery life. I did try the fm modulator in my car with Alpine radio. It was very good to so so. I guess it will depend on where you have the Panasonic vs your car stereo and antenna. But it sure does sound great hearing your DVDs thru your car speakers!
I was also VERY impressed that this unit has played EVERY cd, DVD
I own...including home burnt DVD-R, DVD+R DVDS,all vcds, mp3 discs. I haven't tried RW discs yet. But this unit doesn't even say it plays DVD+R what a pleasant surprise. Matter of fact this unit seems to play some of my semi flawed discs much better than my home Sony multiformat DVD player.

The endless angles of the tilt of the screen are highly useable and a great feature too. The picture quality is very good..nice detail, contrast, and color overall.
In short if you want to read more about the LS55 read the LS50 reviews..just add a TEN hour battery and the abilty to stream your dvds on your car stereo speakers.
BTW the battery seems normal size...no huge battery taking up any extra room than the standard 2.5 hour battery.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love it, but ..., January 18, 2005

By 

Gz B (Kailua, HI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DVD-LS55 Portable DVD Player with 7-Inch Widescreen LCD (Electronics)

This is my first portable DVD player. After reading reviews on many different players, looking at the actual players at different stores, and reading descriptions on manufacturer's websites, I finally decided on this one. At that time it was difficult to find many reviews on the LS55 and it isn't readily available in most stores around where I live. I was taking a chance on this one as I did not have much to compare it to other than the LS50, which is very similar in size and shape. I am very much a Sony enthusiast, but found that this Panasonic player has many features to compete with. Here's what I like and dislike about the player.

The picture quality on this player is very nice and I haven't had any problems with dead pixels. The picture is a little dark, but easy to correct with the brightness or cinema control which enables you to sharpen darker scenes or enhance the scene's a/v quality. One of the most convenient qualities about this player is that it can swivel the screen in almost any angle forward or back, or to lie almost flat against the bottom half of the player. It does not swivel to lie perfectly flush against the bottom half of the player, which is not really important but good to know if you're spending your money on this player. Controls on the player are easy to use, however I would have liked to have more of the remote functions as easy to reach on the actual player itself. I don't think I would ever be far enough from the player to have to use the remote. The remote itself is simple to use as every function is labeled, but is the size of a full sized remote. This may be good as it's harder to misplace, but it takes up space if you're traveling around or storing it. I would have like to have a smaller more compact remote. Even without the remote, navigating DVD menus is simple with the direction control on the player itself. The blue LED on the player which brightens the up/down/left/right control is able to be set to be turned off.

Video out is excellent. It can be set to 4:3 pan&scan, 4:3 letterbox, or 16:9 widescreen. Unfortunatly this must be set before playing the movie in the player's main setup screen. On the player itself, there is a button to change the monitor mode from normal to full to zoom. The A/V out cord is composite. The manual does show that there are S-Video adapters as well as optical adapters, but these must be purchased separately. I don't see the sense in it because they are shown to be plugged into the same outputs as the composite output cord.

DVD+R/W's, DVD-RW's, CD-R/W's all work flawlessly. I had no trouble playing mp3's from a CDR, but have not yet tried mp3's from a DVD+/-R. It played video CD's well, but could not read DiVX or other formats in a data CD. I think I will be using VirtualDub to convert some movies. I don't understand why the manual says that it doesn't play DVD+R's when it actually does.

Maybe I read the technical description of the player on Amazon's site incorrectly, but I somehow thought that this player had 1 video input. It doesn't. It does have 1 video output, 1 audio output, and 2 headphone outputs. You could count the FM tuner as another audio output as well. I haven't had the time to try the FM tuner yet.

Battery life IS in fact excellent, which is the main reason that I decided on this player. What is the point of having a portable DVD player if it can't even play an entire movie or two without having to be plugged into an outlet? I haven't tried to use the player for the 10 hours that it says it will, but I have used it for over 6 hours without a problem. The power cord is lightweight and comes in 2 sections, one length to plug into an outlet, and the other that is the small 'brick' (~4.5x2x1") that begins with the brick with another length of cord that plugs into the player. I know it sounds like complaining, but the long battery life comes with a slight imperfection. The battery makes the player longer (depth wise), when the player is flat on the table facing you. I would have to say a little more than half an inch. It also lifts the entire back of the player higher (about 1/4 inch) off of whatever flat surface it is resting on. This makes the player tilt toward you, but not so that it's a problem because of the easy tilting of the display. It just makes the player not seem as sleek as it could be if it had a battery that was flush with dimensions of the player itself. I suggest looking at a display model if possible first to see if it may affect your decision on purchasing the player.

Overall, I like this player very much as it is convenient to have wherever and whenever I choose to watch a movie. It's been difficult to find a case for the player, but there is a promotion from Panasonic going on until March (2005) for a FREE case + car adapter. I just wish that I had the case when I purchased the player because I'm paranoid about carrying the player without one. I hope this review helps as I've tried to describe the features that I did not find in other reviews. I WOULD buy this portable again knowing these features.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some nice features, March 23, 2005

By 

hiendtime "Andy F." (Northeast USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic DVD-LS55 Portable DVD Player with 7-Inch Widescreen LCD (Electronics)

Did a lot of research before buying the LS55. Considered players from Samsung and Toshiba, both of which offer more bells and whistles like progressive scan and video inputs, and personally I believe sharper pictures (likely the by-product of progressive scan). Gave up the sharper picture and video input for longer battery life, compact size and the flexibility of screen positioning. Battery life was a huge consideration as players that cannot last 6 hrs are of no use to me. 2hrs of viewing on a 6hr plane ride is a waste. Haven't had the opportunity to drain the battery yet but will bet it goes at least 6 hrs under normal conditions (mfg claims 10 with brightness all the way down). The screen flexibility is really cool. When on the train I move the bottom edge of the screen to the front of the unit and put the thing right up against my stomach rather than having to hold it out on my knees, which is where is see other commuters holding their conventional portables. This will come in handy when flying when the person in front of you reclines as you can flatten the screen to view. The size is a huge positive as well. Even with the battery on (clips underneath on the back of the unit and extends slightly both under and behind the body) the thing is like a large calculator. Most of the other machines I looked at would have been the equivalent of carrying a laptop. Picture quality is acceptable (I am a bit of a fanatic who only has hi def at home). You can see some pixilation and jaggered edges, which would go away with progressive scan. Strange that at this price point Panasonic opted for no progressive scan (maybe that's how they get 6+hrs out of the battery?). Sound is better than anything I have heard. I can hear subtle sound effects in movies that I didn't know were there previously (I use Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia ear buds which are outstanding). Haven't used the FM transmitter yet but can use the Belkin I bought for my iPod, so I may never even use the one that is built in. Build quality is outstanding. It feels like it has an aluminum chassis. Super solid all the way around.

Bottom line, if you want a highly portable unit with phenomenal battery life and screen flexibility for viewing under any position imaginable then this player is probably the one for you. Offer for free travel case and car power adapter til 3/26 also swayed my decision to buy. At this price it's criminal to have to go out and buy these items.

However, if value is what you're after check out the GoVideo DP 8440 for $249 with progressive scan, video inputs and a 8.4" screen. Personally, I think the picture on the GoVideo was outstanding. Also, the Toshiba SD-P1600 is a nice player at just over $200 (no progressive scan but has a video input for game systems, camera hook up, etc.). Best picture quality goes to the Samsung DVD-L300 hands down.