Pioneer PDV-LC10 Portable DVD Player

by Pioneer

Product Details

Product Manual [1.66mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00004RFIP
• Item model number: PDVLC10
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,955 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The slick Pioneer PDV-LC10 is one of the smallest portable DVD players available. The player sports a 7-inch diagonal active-matrix LCD panel that satisfies traveling video enthusiasts and, alternately, serves as a screen for portable presentations. You can operate the LC10 for up to 3.5 hours (a longer period of time than competing brands offer) on the supplied NiMH battery before the battery needs recharging.

Pioneer thoughtfully provides all the necessary hookup cables and accessories, including a miniplug-style optical cable for connecting the DVD player to a Dolby Digital/DTS processor or audio-video receiver. In fact, when it comes to music, the LC10 is among the best sounding portable CD players we've auditioned. As a stand-alone DVD player, with the supplied optical miniplug connected to an audio-video receiver and the S-video cable hooked up to a big-screen TV, we were extremely impressed with the Pioneer's audio quality, both in DTS and Dolby Digital surround sound.

The PDV-LC10 includes a pair of built-in stereo speakers, which are fine for audiovisual business presentations, but are of little value for movie-watching enjoyment. Fortunately, the LC10's 24-bit digital-to-analog converter delivers superb stereo sound quality through its miniplug headphone jack.

Unfortunately, we were disappointed with the Pioneer's LCD picture quality. Although the 6-inch wide (7-inch diagonal) screen serves up good color balance with natural flesh tones, its resolution is not on par with competing models. Picket fences show up as staggered steps instead of vertical slats. Overall picture detail lacks depth, with the edges around objects and actors breaking apart. Motion detail is also below average; in crowd scenes, people look like colorful artifacts rather than moving bodies. The LC10 also suffers from poor off-axis uniformity. We had to adjust the angle of the screen just right in order to produce an acceptable picture.

Of course, this is a portable LCD player. Setting aside our high videophile expectations, the LC10 is more than acceptable for enjoying DVD videos on an airplane or in a comfortable hotel suite. The Pioneer holds up well under difficult ambient lighting conditions, offering good contrast and no "hot spotting," where the lower-middle portion of the screen appears washed out.

What the LC10 lacks in screen resolution, it makes up for with its smart design. Pioneer opted to use a flat-black coating for the inside panel and screen frame, significantly reducing the reflection and glare that are prevalent in competing models. We like the laptop computer-style control-panel button, which allows you to perform all the basic functions, including accessing the onscreen menu and setting up the configuration options. A thumb-size up/down, left/right cursor and enter button make navigating a snap, so you don't have to spend a lot of time setting up before you can enjoy a DVD video. The LC10 also has small thumb-operated dials below the screen for color and brightness adjustments, plus you can change the screen size from 4:3 to 16:9 with the touch of a button.

The svelte remote control that comes with this portable DVD player is a nice touch. It runs on a miniature ni-cad battery and allows you to operate all functions, including CD and DVD programming options.

Build quality is average. The player itself is solid and sturdy, but the plastic encased battery pack seems a bit on the thin side--no doubt to lighten the overall weight of the player, which feels heavier than its competitors when the battery is attached.

From a laptop point of view, Pioneer's PDV-LC10 is a comfortable fit. Its screen serves up an acceptable picture with good color rendition and superb sound quality through the headphone output. If smart ergonomics and an intelligent portable design are more important to you than video resolution, the LC10 will give you many hours of pleasure. --Eric Gill

Pros:

• Good color rendition
• Excellent sound quality through external output and headphone jack
• Great ergonomics
• Easy to set up and use
• All necessary cables, battery, and adapters are supplied
• Flat-black inside panel and screen frame reduce reflectivity

Cons:

• Below-average video resolution
• Mediocre sound from built-in speakers

Product Description

Metallic gray Stereo 1 year warrantyThe Pioneer PDV-LC10 is the first portable from Pioneer with a ground-breaking 14.5CM screen! Comfortable enough to hold on your knee this light-weight portable gives the most am

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Killer, March 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Pioneer PDV-LC10 Portable DVD Player (Electronics)

This portable DVD player is killer. After months of research and comparing the available portables - as well as those that are soon to be available - I finally sucked it up and bought the Pioneer for less than a grand. For a price comparable to that of Panasonic's 5 inch model, you get a 7 inch screen - side by side the two are not even comparable. Picture quality, while not perfect, is much better than on the smaller models, and is enhanced by the non-metallic portion of the player that is visible when the player is open. It's a lot easier to watch than the Sharp or Panasonic models. The attachment for the battery is a little goofy - reminds me of a cardboard egg container, only a little sturdier - but that just keeps the heat down. Definitely the best of what's available, and nothing really superior appears to be coming down the pike any time soon. By the way, it does come with an adapter, even though the write ups rarely mention that.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Choice, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Pioneer PDV-LC10 Portable DVD Player (Electronics)

I chose this unit after side-by-side comparisons with the most popular Panasonic and Sharp models. The picture quality and larger size make for excellent viewing, and the speakers' sound quality is much better. Hooked to the large scren TV, it performs fantastically. It is well worth the extra cost compared with other models. Our first use was on a 9 hour flight to Italy, and with a spare battery we watched three movies on the way. My suggestions would be to get the extra battery, and a "boosteroo" audio jack that allows you to plug in multiple headphones and ups the headphone volume. The Pioneer comes with a battery charger and extra power cord so you can watch and charge at the same time -- but beware -- you cannot use the AC adapter to charge the battery while it's in the player. That was unexpected, and is occassionally inconvenient. Still, on the whole, I'm close to buying another, because my girlfriend takes this one to the office too often.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Choice, July 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Pioneer PDV-LC10 Portable DVD Player (Electronics)

We purchased the Pioneer PDV-LC10 after a side-by-side comparison with the most popular Panasonic model. The Pioneer's 7" screen was far better, and the resolution is great. We bought ours when it was $1500, and it was well worth the extra amount for the better picture quality and wide format screen. The speakers and controls are also superior, and the black face surrounding the screen enhances viewing compared with shiny silver models. The one main flaw is that the battery cannot be recharged while in the player's battery case. A separate recharger and cord is provided, but it's worth buying the extra battery for long trips, or to use one battery while the other is recharging. I would also recommend getting a multi-port headphone amplifier (about $20) if you're going to have more than one person listening in a noisy environment -- for example, on a plane. You can plug in two headphones to the player itself, but the amplifier is nice if you want to hear soft dialog very clearly over background noise. Definitely a head-turner. We normally keep it hooked to our very large TV, and it works great as a home unit.