LA95... Wonderful Presentation but Still Flawed Technology

Since the arrival of DVD technology on the US market I've probably owned a total of 8 DVD playing devices. Everything from your generic, ultra discount DVD player from Sam's Club to a Playstation 2 to three different Samsung DVD drives on my desktop. However, all of the above have one major issue; None of them are portable unless you're talking about a DVD drive on a laptop, an accessory which is still not standard in the computer industry.

When I found out last December that I'd be traveling a lot in 2003 I decided that a portable DVD player might be a good buy. My laptop didn't have a DVD drive on it and didn't think that I had the time or the money for another computer upgrade. After a lot of research, I decided to purchase the Panasonic DVD LA95.

First Impressions

I had played around with display models at local stores but out of the box I was still slightly taken aback by the light weight and overall small size of the Panasonic DVD LA95. To my surprise I could easily fit it in my small book bag. The LA95 is no more of a burden to lug around then the average hardback novel.

The clamshell design is pleasant, with an easy click open and closed with none of those grinding catches associated with similarly designed products. For being so small, the screen was nice and large although I did scoff at the included remote control. As soon as the LA95 goes out of arms length or reasonable reaching length, the point to which a remote control would become useful, its too difficult to clearly see the picture or read subtitles. This is one of those "on the airplane tray," "on your desk," or "on your lap" type DVD viewers. For the same reasons don't expect a group of people over 3 to watch anything on the LA95 unless you don't mind your friends fighting over the best viewing angles.

Picture and Sound Quality

To my surprise, for such a small device it played DVDs extremely well. Bright, vibrant picture and no choppy visuals complimented its playback. The first movie I popped into LA95 was a DVD of one of those bright, many colored 1970's Chinese Kung-Fu movies. I noticed that the picture was dimmer then on other DVD players but it was still completely watchable. Unfortunately, this same quality didn't remain with other movies that had darker scenes filmed in less light. In fact, there were several DVDs where the picture was completely unwatchable. After turning the contrast up ALL the way and adjusting a few other settings it corrected the problem... But at the cost of about an hour and a half off of the original of battery life.

The sound quality was good, although if you want that real movie sound feel I'd suggest a good pair of headphones. Although at far distances the sound is still audible it looses many of its rich stereo qualities after about 4 to 5 feet. The little front facing speakers are powerful, but cranking the volume up all the way also effects the battery life.

User Interface

As mentioned earlier, the Panasonic DVD LA95 comes with a remote control if you're feeling really lazy. Otherwise the controls themselves are fairly idiot proof. Unlike some DVD players, it does what you tell it to do when you tell it to. I've noticed an occasional lag on pauses sometime, but that's about it. Everything on the machine is nicely labeled and very aesthetic.

Downfalls

My biggest complaint about the Panasonic DVD LA95 is its short battery life. Out of the box with nothing adjusted you'll get about 3 hours of battery life. Adjust the contrast so that you can actually watch it and turn the sound up (without headphones) and you'll get only about 2 hours. One time the charge only lasted me an hour and a half. With headphones expect, at best 2 and a half hours with the stock battery. Aftermarket batteries will improve the battery life but they're often too expensive after you just bought your $500 DVD player and the improvement it minimal. However, if you're like me, you'll have to purchase another battery after about two months or regular use because the stock lithium ion battery looses its ability to hold a charge real fast. If Panasonic cheaped out anywhere on the LA95 it was definitely in the rechargeable battery department.

Another problem that I've experienced with the LA95 is that its prone to damage. I take very good care of my portable devices but I've already had to send it in for lens realignment just from the occasional bump at school or at the airport (I'm guessing). Someone accidentally set one of my 1500 page text books on top of it about a month ago (just a week after I got it back from repair the first time) and the screen wouldn't work afterwards. Panasonic has been very helpful and supportive and I've had to pay for nothing other then shipping. However, it costs me $10 every time I send it because I have to get confirmation, insurance and all the other goodies on it when its shipped.

Other then the battery life and structural integrity issues, the one thing that really, REALLY gets me about the LA95 is that it has issues with some damaged DVDs, and DVD-Rs. I often buy used DVDs and although I always check them for scratches the LA95 will refuse to read those with a fair amount of scratching. All my other DVD players will handle these DVDs without any problems but the LA95 is always picky. Similarly, many of the DVD-Rs that I've burnt work fine on several of the other DVD players I own but won't play on the LA95 even though it supposedly supports DVD-R. In fact, I'd have to say that I only have one DVD-R that will play on the LA95 at all. VCDs are another problem entirely because none of them play on the LA95 at all but they'll play on everything else just fine! And if it has region encoding... Well... Forget it.

Overall

Its pricy and has some problems but if you travel a lot and aren't in the market for a new laptop its not a bad buy provided you can get it for less then $500. Check Ebay as many people usually have them for sale under full warranty (something I'd also greatly suggest). However, if you're also in the market for a new computer and want portable DVD capability then I'd just suggest a current laptop with a DVD drive on it. That way you'd be getting a larger screen, more compatibility, better battery life and a new computer for about $1000 more, and all in a nice, portable package.

In sort, the Panasonic DVD LA95 portable DVD player is a great product provided you have the money for it and don't mind some of its flaws. The battery life problems were really the big detractor for me although I am still rather happy with my purchase.