Inexpensive Portable DVD Player That Can Live Up to the Backseat Bumps!

With prices dropping on portable DVD players and Christmas right around the corner, I couldn’t resist talking my sister into buying this Panasonic player for her daughter. Of course, I got to try it out to make sure everything worked well! I enjoyed it so much I hated to box it up and give it back and with Amazon offering it for $359 with free shipping and a $50 gift certificate for items purchased over $250 right now, it’s a great buy! Perhaps there will be one under our tree this year as well!

WHAT I LIKED
The size is perfect! 5.5” x 7.3” x 1” with a 5” screen and weighing just under 2 pounds with the rechargeable battery attached and 1.2 pounds without. The thing that first caught my eye was the adjustable LCD screen. It allows you to pull it forward and angle it for better viewing. If space is tight, you can even pull it all the way forward and flip the screen so that it lays flat against the disc opening—this reduces the open size to that of the closed size (just 1” thick!)—something I’ve not seen another player offer.

The picture is clean and clear and very vibrant. I had no need to adjust any settings and good thing, there aren’t many. You can brighten or darken the LCD—beyond that, you’re going to have to just live with it.

The sound with headphones is quite good (of course, the quality of the headphones will make a difference) but the two tiny speakers sound like two tiny speakers. I didn’t expect more so I wasn’t disappointed. For home use you could add stereo speakers or hook it to your TV. For a portable player you’d most likely wear headphones anyway, so this lack of quality sound wasn’t a deterrent.

It looks good and is easy to use. Slide the Open latch to the side and the top pops open. Load the disc with the label for the side you want to play facing up. Close the disc lid and press and hold the On button. It automatically senses the type of disc in the player and goes to the appropriate menu. It has all the normal functions of a DVD player—stop, pause, skip, search, slow motion, and frame-by-frame.

It seems really well made. The hinges are solid and strong and appear to be able to withstand moving it around without worry of wearing out the hinge. The body is tight and sturdy--again, I wasn't worried about it being too delicate for kids to take along in the back seat of the car.

Battery life could be better—run at the lowest power draw settings you’ll just get enough battery power to watch a regular movie. Try to watch one of the 3-hour marathon movies and you’ll have to plug in or buy a second battery (more on that later).

For the price, and with the screen feature, this is a great deal!

DISC COMPATIBILITY
DVD-RAM (RAM), DVD-Audio (DVD-A), DVD-Video (DVD-V), Video CD (VCD), CD (CD), CD-R/RW (WMA, MP3, JPEG)

It won’t play irregularly shaped discs (non-round), PAL discs (used in Europe), DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, CDV, CD-G (use for Karoke with graphics discs), +RW, DVD-RW, SACD, Divx Video Discs, Photo CD, DVD-RAM that can’t be removed from its cartridge, 2.6-GB and 5.2-GB DVD-RAM, and “Chaoji VCE” including CDV, DVCD, and SVCD that don’t conform to IEC62107.

If you need more information on specific formats see their website—the amount of technical information available in the manual is a bit overwhelming. Stick to the commercially prepared, Region 1 (in my case), DVDs and you’ll be fine.

POWER
It comes with an AC adaptor for use in regular household outlets. It also comes with a rechargeable Lithium ion battery pack. This pack snaps on to the bottom and side of the unit (one piece) with ease, but it adds a bit of bulk and weight to just one side. You’ll need to charge the battery pack before its first use—if you’re giving it as a gift its always a nice gesture to do this for the recipient so he/she can play with it right out of the box.

The manufacturer recommends removing the battery pack and/or disconnecting the AC power when the unit will not be used for some time. This is because even off, the unit draws some power.

Like all rechargeable batteries, this one won’t last forever. It’s rated to recharge approximately 300 times—at only 1-2 hours per charge you can see that that time will elapse quickly. Signs that it’s time to replace the battery is that it doesn’t hold the charge and play time drops significantly. To keep your battery healthy, charge at a median temperature—too cold or too hot will increase the charging time and will add wear and tear on the batter. Keep it in the 65-75 degree range and you’ll get the best performance. Using the battery in extreme conditions will harm it as well.

Charging time can take from 4-6 hours dependant on the temperature (see note above) and amount of charging required (the state the battery is in when you recharge). Playing time is dependant on things like how high the volume is so again, that time can be 1-2 hours. Using the LCD also eats up the battery.

MENU
Choose the language you’d like to use to communicate with the player—French, English or Spanish. This isn’t the subtitles for movies, that’s determined by the Disc, this is the menu language.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Use it for a home DVD player by hooking it to your TV with the S Video cord. The connection is on the right side of the player near the volume switch—easy to find and a snap to hook up. You can also use an audio/video cable, but you’ll get a better picture with the S Video cable. It comes with a remote which has all the standard features—play, angle, display, cancel, fast forward, rewind, play, stop, etc. The problem is there are features that are only available through the remote (like multiple soundtracks, subtitle languages, and camera angles), and as a portable player, who’d want to have to take it along? All features should have been available on the unit itself.

Parental Lock-out allows you to set a password required to play discs above the rating level you’ve chosen. The levels are 0-7—should you choose 5, any disc with a rating of 5-8 will require the user to enter a password. I have yet to find out what the rating equate to in the MPAA ratings. If anyone knows where this information is hidden I’d love to know!

Advanced Surround sound (another feature only available through the remote) allows you to enjoy a surround-like effect if you have 2 speakers or headphones. This only works if the disc offers surround sound, but it enhances it if it’s available. I only tried this feature with the headphones and I didn’t notice enough difference to make me want to drag the remote along. Perhaps hooking this to a top-notch stereo would be different, but for a portable player this is just an ok feature.

Use the Marker feature to bookmark up to 5 places on the disc for later playback. This feature doesn’t work during program and random play, but works great for DVDs. Use it to mark your favorite scene to show someone else later without having to search for it. If you open the disc cover or switch the unit to standby your markers will disappear—this is the way to erase them, there isn’t any other way.

Auto Standby helps to preserve your battery by shutting off the unit if a disc is done playing and you’ve not accessed the menu. With the AC adaptor this happens after 15 minutes, only 5 minutes when the battery pack is connected.

SPECS (from Panasonic)
 TV Aspect (Video) 4:3 Pan & Scan 4.3 Letterbox or 16:9
 Screen size: 5 inches
 Built-in speaker: Yes (2)
 Headphone jack with volume control: Yes (.125-inch)
 Signal-to-noise ratio: 60 dB (video), 115 dB (audio)
 Frequency response: 4 to 20,000 Hz (CD/VCD), 4 to 44,000 Hz (DVD-Video), 4 to 88 kHz (DVD-Audio), all formats: depends on individual media
 Dynamic range: 97 dB (CD)
 Video DAC: 54 MHz, 10-bit
 Audio DAC: 192 kHz, 24-bit
 Horizontal resolution: More than 500 lines
 High-speed smooth scan: Yes (5 speeds up to x200)
 Audio outputs: 1 minijack .125-inch stereo analog (left/right), 1 digital (Toslink optical)
 Video outputs: 2 (minijack .125-inch composite-video, S-video)
 Surround-sound output: DVD-Audio, Dolby Digital, and DTS 5.1-channel passthrough
 Simulated surround sound: Yes (VSS simulated surround, Headphone Surround)
 Joystick control: Yes
 Power source: AC 100-240V, 50/60Hz
 Power consumption: 10W (using AC adapter)
 Energy Star compliant: Yes

ACCESSORIES/REPLACEMENTS
 Car Stereo Cassette Adaptor (RP-CC20)
 Mini Optical Digital Audio Cable (RP-CA2120)
 S Video Cable (RFX4139)
 Carrying Case (DY-CC20)
 Headphones (RP-HC100 or RP-HC&))
 Rechargeable Battery Pack (CGR-H603)

MAINTENANCE
Wipe clean with a soft, dry cloth and use eyeglass cleaner to remove dirt from the LCD if necessary. Never use any other chemicals on the unit. Dust the lens with an air blower for camera lenses or use the Panasonic Lens Cleaner kit (SZZP1038C). As with any lens, never touch it with your fingers.

CAUTIONS
Don’t use this unit in a bookcase, built-in cabinet, or other confined space—ventilation is required at all times. Overheating can occur if materials are too close—fire risk! Don’t rest it on your lap for a log time as it can become very hot—it’s best to use a hard, flat surface to prevent overheating.

WARRANTY (Check it out immediately, the warranty period is EXTREMELY SHORT!)
DVD Player--1-year parts, 90 days labor
Rechargeable Batteries-10 days