Rating:  -
I purchased this particular model after reading countless reviews. I was mainly interested in a unit that could play all the different formats available, especially DVD's that I was taping from television and then duplicating using my computer DVD-R drive.
This unit has worked well so far. It is easy to navigate and understand the controls. The picture and sound are fine for a small player but I'd suggest ear phones for optimal sound.
This player is great for taking to someone's house who doesn't have a DVD player. It's simple to hook up to their TV for viewing, all the cords are included.
A bit pricey, but worth it in the long run. This was one of the few players that would last through a two hour movie with it's rechargeable battery.
Check around for the best price. It can flucuate as much as $100 difference.
Rating:  -
After a couple of months of light use, the dreaded H03 Error Message showed up and the DVD will not spin. Another model (older) Panasonic put out is famous for this problem and once you get it, you'll pay big bucks to fix it because Panasonic does not have a great customer service. All other people writing positive reviews here probably did so right after they purchased the product and it was working great. But given a few months it will start to break down and I expect that more of this H03 problem will be reported here. Don't buy this product unless you purchase an extended warranty along with it.
Rating:  -
The Panasonic DVD-LS90 portable DVD player is a very nicely made portable DVD player, unlike the other brands out there which you find at Best Buy, Circuit City, Walmart, etc: Initial, Mintek, Audiovox, Samsung, Shinco, ... which often look like they'll fall apart after you pick them up. The LS90 has a solid and confident build and nice styling, and is surprisingly lightweight for such a big-screen portable DVD player, even with the battery attached.
The LS90 is very easy to use, and it loads DVDs quickly compared to the other brands. (I've owned quite a few portable DVD players over the years. I was very glad to see Panasonic returning to this market after a couple years of hiatus.) The screen, in classic Panasonic manner, is "free style", meaning the clamshell that houses the screen is flexible and you can adjust the screen in a back-and-forth motion, kind of like tilting and telescoping at the same time. This proves great when I watch DVDs on the subway and hold the player in front of me, because I can move the screen closer without having to hold up the entire player.
The battery life seems pretty amazing. Panasonic claims "up to 6 hours." You know how it is, these companies always exaggerate a little (or a lot). The 6 hour batttery life can be achieved if you turn the backlight all the way down, use headphones and turn volume to low and turn off any virtual surround sound effects, and run a DVD continuously (i.e., not pausing, stopping, forwarding, rewinding, etc.). Nobody watches DVDs this way. In my abusive everyday use, I can get about 3.5 to 4 hours of battery life, which is still amazing compared to all the other portable DVD players I've owned or used. At the minimum, you should be able to finish a long movie like "Once Upon a Time in America" (director's cut version, of course!) on one charge with minimum compromises on settings.
The reason I can't give the LS90 five stars is its screen cold be better. Meaning two things: 1) it could be brigher. Even at the max brightness, it's not bright enough if viewed outdoors. 2) the resolution could be higher. While most high-quality DVD videos will look good most of the time, sometimes you feel the screen is a bit "low-def." To be honest, I laughed when I read someone else claiming his/her Mintek had a sharper screen. I've owned two Mintek players and their screens are no better (or worse) than the LS90's. I just feel a little let down given Panasonic makes some of the best HDTVs on the market. For this price (and given the fact this player is assembled in China by cheap labor), they should have put in a slightly better LCD screen.
Conveniently, the player has two headphone jacks, so two people can watch a movie or listen to music at the same time. The DVD drive is reasonably quiet.
Even though the LS90 costs more than other brands, it just feels so much more solid and reliable, and it's also quieter and more responsive. Is it worth the extra money? If you are the type who drives a Buick or Lexus or BMW or Acura, I bet you'd say yes. Other people such as myself who drive Corollas and Civics and Malibus and Neons, we can still enjoy the high quality and thoughtful convenience Panasonic has put together in this stylish portable DVD player.
Rating: -
I researched several high end portable DVD players and selected this one because of the larger screen, ability to swing the screen over the DVD player for easier viewing and longer battery life. I have been very pleased with all of these features (althought the battery does not last the indicated 6 hours). I have used it for one month and find it lives up to the product description and excellent reviews it had received. For the money it was a great choice.
Rating:  -
My trusty Mintek MDP-1720 started acting up (and is no longer manufactured, apparently) so I started shopping for a new one. I went with this one, despite the warnings about picture quality, since 1. it was 9 inches, 2. I got a good deal where I bought it from, and 3. it's Panasonic and I've bought good stuff from them in the past.
Sadly, I have been spoiled by Mintek. Looking at them side by side (my Mintek still works three quarters of the time, you see) the picture quality of the DVD-LS90 is crushed by the MDP-1720. The Panasonic has often has weird, unnatural colors (images frequently have an orangey tinge); images have poor clarity; there's noticable distortion around things like subtitles and credits. If this is your first experience with a portable, I mean, it probably has everything you want: big screen, multi-adjustable screen, movies load fast, a great remote that controls ever aspect of the player. It even has things you may not need like DVD-RAM support (which hardly any DVD players support, portable or not.) But in the end it's a movie player. Movies should look good on it, but it can't beat the allegedly inferior Mintek. Maybe it's just a question of TFT vs LCD displays (I thought they were the same thing, but don't have a clue about the technical differences.)
Avoid if you place any priority on picture quality. I think I'm going to take it back.
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