Panasonic DVD-LV70 DVD player

This lightweight portable player has a handsome, silver case that opens like a laptop computer. Check out our photo gallery for pictures of this model. Open the DVD compartment by pressing on the "Push Open" button at the left bottom corner of the base and the disc lid pops up. Press the disc (DVD-Video, Video CD, or audio CD) into the spindle until it engages into the hub clips, close the lid, press and hold the "Play" button and the unit turns on automatically and starts playing the movie. As soon as the image appears on the built-in 7-inch color LCD screen, you can't help but be amazed with the detailed, sharp, bright and colorful image. It's simply stunning! And with this player's full host of features and very notable performance, it should easily pull double duty as your primary home theater DVD player as well.

LCD Screen. The LCD screen is sufficiently bright for comfortable viewing even under the brightest sunlight conditions. The screen brightness can be adjusted for comfortable viewing under darker conditions. Color is saturated and also adjustable. A feature we found particularly useful is the built-in LCD screen which can serve as a display for an external video/audio feed. For example, we connected our camcorder (Sony Digital8 camcorder model DCR-TRV103) to the DVD player and watched the Digital8 videotape playback on the 7-inch LCD screen. The image was equally astonishing as that from DVD, since the source is digital video. Our videos looked great on the Panasonic's widescreen LCD, since we chose to shoot our video in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen format. It's a little troubling that the advertised 7-inch screen really measures 6 7/8 inches diagonally. That's an 1/8 inch shy of what's advertised. Hmmm. Anyways, as a final testament of quality for the LCD display, we did not notice any dead pixels on the LCD screen of our sample.

This unit comes with a compact, low-profile remote control, with color-coded buttons (gray, green, blue, and red) that are logically organized. The buttons are just big enough to operate with ease, though they might be a tad small for those with larger hands. Buttons for disc transport controls (e.g., play, stop, pause, scan, skip) and menu navigation buttons (e.g., arrow and enter buttons) are well placed for good ergonomics. Also included are direct access buttons for subtitles, audio tracks, and angle change. Unfortunately, the remote control can't be used to control other audio or video components (such as a receiver or TV, Panasonic or otherwise).

Obviously the mass appeal behind portable DVD players is that you can take it with you anywhere. So you would naturally ask, how long does the standard Lithium Ion battery (same battery technology as in state-of-the-art laptop computers) last between charges? Of course, this depends on how you use the unit. For example, whether you use headphones vs. the built-in speakers, what volume it is set at, and the LCD screen's brightness setting. When we tested the DVD-LV75 last year, we got an astonishing 4 hours and 50 minutes of play time for one charge. Our test was conducted with headphone volume set to a typical listening level ("6" on the volume dial), and LCD screen brightness set to "0" (from a scale of "-5" for dimmest to "+5" for brightest). In our test this year for the DVD-LV70, using the exact same settings as described above, we got an identical 4 hours and 50 minutes of play time.

Philips DCP850

The Philips DCP850 is more than just a standard portable DVD player. It offers an integrated video iPod dock, an SD memory card slot and is DivX Home Theater Certified. While the DCP850 delivers an excellent feature set and all around solid performance for an affordable price, there are a couple of flaws in this player that prevent us from giving it our highest rating.

The neat design of the DCP850 allows for a video iPod to slip into the bay where the remote control would otherwise sit during transit. An iPod locks securely into place and remains flush with the player's chassis. Unfortunately, the remote is not able to control much in the way of playback from an integrated iPod aside from the pause control. Of course, you can easily access the controls on the iPod itself, but it would have been more convenient if Philips had fully integrated the unit.

The quality of the images displayed on the 8.5 inch screen of the DCP850 is good, comparable to most similar sized units. The screen can swivel up to 180 degrees, so you're more likely to find the viewing angle that is just right for you. You can even swivel the screen to turn the DCP850 into a tablet-like viewing device (although that would prevent you from being able to access the controls on an iPod). The audio performance on this portable left us disappointed. Like many similar models, the integrated twin speakers on the DCP850 are tinny and weak. Audio improves when using one or both of the dual headphone jacks, although volume level is still a weak point on this unit.

We were disappointed by the Philips DCP850's battery performance, but perhaps the biggest drawback is that the battery is not removable, so you don't even have the option of carrying a back up for those long flights without AC power. Of course, if you intend to primarily use the DCP850 to keep the kids entertained on road trips, the units includes a car adapter so battery life won't be an issue.

The DCP850 offers excellent disc compatibility. As well as just about every type of home burned DVD and CD it can also access discs loaded with DivX files sourced from the internet. The built-in memory card slot also enables you to access video and photo files from SD or MMC cards. The Philips DCP850 is a competitively priced portable DVD player that will greatly appeal to video iPod owners wanting to view content on an 8.5 inch screen.

Pros: Inexpensive price, video iPod dock, memory card slot, DivX compatible, excellent disc compatibility
Cons: Weak built in speaker volume, disappointing battery life, no possibility of carrying a spare battery

Warranty
1 year, parts and labor