Wonderful Picture second to no other portable.

Battery makes unit slightly heavy

Did a lot of resaarch before picking this player,it is as good or better than my expectations.Everything you need comes with this player(cables & charger are Included)unlike some other brands.Picture is exceptional,Speakers are a Joke,Headphones are a must.I use the Panasonic HTP 970 which make a perfect combination of sight and sound.I have used this player everywhere at home,work,in my truck(saved a bundle over getting 1 permanetly installed in my truck)Recommend this player Highly

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Aiwa - Panasonic

Good for starting fires.

Tends to explode......

After inserting a DVD the machine spontaneoulsy combusted and burst into flames. I suffered severe 3rd degree burns and scaring on my face.

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blenders...

Much larger screen than competing portable, very nice picture even on non-anamorphic zoom, color and brightness adjustments for monitor, ALL cables included, innovative docking station for battery pack, good sized remote, "beginner" and "expert" setup menus, DD and DTS support for HT

Cumbersome and flimsy-feeling clamshell door makes for poor disc removal, not quite as "portable" as the Panasonic L50, no virtual surround feature

First off, let me start by saying that I was an owner of the Panasonic DVD-L50 and still feel it is a fantastic unit (see my 1/4/00 review under the name 'J.T.'). The ONLY reason I ended up switching to the Pioneer was because I was able to get it through the military for $899 delivered, just $100 more than we paid for the Panasonic just before Christmas. Suddenly, that extra 2" of screen real estate seemed remarkably affordable. Were it not for this price factor, I would have gladly stayed with the Panasonic.

Rather than prattle on about the coolness factor, or portability, I'll simply say that this player is about on par with the Panasonic on virtually every level (but in some minor aspects, the Pioneer falls just a bit short). It has DD and DTS support, the ability to pass 96kHz/24bit signals, and a rechargeable battery rated at 3.5 hours. The remote is credit card sized, though a tad longer than the Panasonic's, making it less likely to be misplaced amidst pillows or papers.

Hooked up at home, the Pioneer performs on par with my Pioneer 606D player, picture quality and audio performance seem identical, or at least, close enough (IMHO). The player allows you to enter "Beginner" or "Expert" setup modes to tailor what kind of hardware/software menus are accessible (picture quality/aspects, digital out options, OSD options, etc.). One cool feature is that the Pioneer displays bit-rates just like the home players, nothing groundbreaking, but neat nonetheless, especially in a portable. The unit supports DTS which is nice if you want to use it at home, but my impression is that anyone seriously considering this player probably already has a dedicated home player and isn't concerned about how close to reference the DD or DTS signals sound through a home theater system. For the record, the DTS and DD mixes sounded full and aggressive on my home system, maybe not as refined as my Denon DVD player, but certainly competent and effective.

Unlike the Panasonic, the Pioneer comes with all cables necessary for hookup, including an optical cable. But BEWARE, the Panasonic uses a standard mini-TOSLINK cable (like the kind used for MD players) and has a standard S-VHS jack. The Pioneer has proprietary cables for at least one of these connections as it uses a special mini-jack to S-VHS cable (making replacement or longer cable runs a bit more problematic). The headphone jack also doubles as the digital output, but I'm not sure if a standard MD-digital cable will work here (I haven't had a chance to check yet).

On the go, this player is clearly in its element. The extra 2" of screen (over the Panasonic) really does make a difference (though until the price came down, I wasn't willing to shell out THAT much for it). The Pioneer's picture is even wide enough to share with another person while the same wasn't necessarily true of the Panasonic. Don't get me wrong, each screen is watchable, but the Pioneer's larger screen makes the movie that much more enjoyable. Non-anamorphic titles looked okay in a zoomed full-screen window, maybe a hair better than the Panasonic in terms of less artifacting, but not by much. Obviously, with the increased screen size, anamorphic titles look great--though somewhat dependent on the source material (see review at E-Town for details). But pictures matted at 2.35:1 (like the Mummy) which have horizontal matte lines even on an anamorphic screen look much better on the Pioneer simply because they were that much smaller to begin with on the Panasonic.

The Pioneer does offer both brightness and color adjustments on the monitor, a nice step up from the brightness-only setting on the Panasonic. Sadly, the Pioneer doesn't have a Virtual Surround Sound setting like the Panasonic. From what I could tell, this basically added a bit more delay in the 2 surround tracks from a 5.1 mix creating the illusion of a larger soundstage when using only 2 speakers. While this wasn't a deal breaker for me, it was nice when hooking the Panasonic up to a pair of portable computer/CD speakers and I'll miss it.

The Pioneer is the size of a double-disc DVD case versus a standard CD player for the Panasonic. If you want to imagine what it's like to watch a movie on either, open up a DVD case and CD case and look at the inside cover...that's about as wide/large as the screen you'll be seeing. Personally, I like the Panasonic's case size better as it was a bit more portable and carrying-case friendly, but I'm still glad I have more screen to watch.

True to the other review on this site, the Pioneer doesn't get as hot on the bottom as the Panasonic. While the Pioneer's outer case feels about as solid as the Panasonic's, the Pioneer's clamshell disc cover is pretty flimsy and doesn't open very high. On the Panasonic, you could easily reach around both edges of a disc and remove it from the player via recessed sections in the disc platter and case. On the Pioneer, there's only one place to put your finger in under the disc to lift it out making it more likely you'll scrape the disc on the spindle or disc platter while trying to remove it from the player. Again, a small quibble but something I noticed nonetheless.

In the end, I would sum up my recommendation based on price alone because that's the only thing that swayed me. I didn't think the larger screen warranted an extra $300-$500 over the Panasonic. But, for just $100 more than the Panasonic, I was willing to forgo a few nice-to-have features for a larger view-screen.

Interestingly, the new Panasonics, both the 5" and 7" models (http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/wces00/ces4.html), are designed like the Pioneer to be about the size of a DVD case, so the portability of the L50 over the PDV-LC10 really won't be a factor after this year's introduction of the new models. But Sony, RCA, Sharp and Toshiba are also releasing portable players this year (with the Toshiba sporting a progressive-scan screen!) so the competition for Pioneer's big-screen top-spot will become stiff. But, if you can't wait for a portable player (like me), and if you can find the Pioneer competitively priced to the Panasonic, I would have to give the edge to the Pioneer for screen size alone--otherwise, I guess it's a matter of how much MORE you're willing to pay for that extra screen over the price of what (IMHO) is already excellent portable player and great value in the Panasonic.

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Panasonic DVD-L50

Large Display, Good Sound, Great Ports, All Accessories Included

Battery pack makes it twice as thick, Only 3 1/2 hour battery life

After digging on the net for a good price (almost $1600 retail), I was able to nail down $989 through www.mysimon.com (a free price searching service). To be honest, I came VERY close to buying the Panasonic DVD-L50, but the screen was so small... The Pioneer has a 7" screen, and 16x9 movies look GREAT. Also, the sound is miles better than the Panasonic. The battery life is only 3 1/2 hours, but that is better than the Panasonic. Also, the extra batteries are available for only $99 (I bought one).

The machine comes with tons of ports -- Digital Audio out, S-Video out, A/V in/out -- Yes, I said A/V in! I hook up my camcorder and can preview things in my hotel room regardless of whether the TV has A/V jacks. Also, the unit comes with ALL cables and a separate battery charger. This way -- with two batteries, you can watch on one and charge the other if there is not an outlet nearby. The charging time is only 2 1/2 hours, so, you can flip them at will. If you have a nearby outlet, you can just disconnect the battery pack and the unit is TINY.

This leads me to the battery dock... It is not shown in any of the pictures, but it is just like a docking station that has the same footprint as the player with about the same thickness. With the battery dock attached the unit is 7.5 x 6 x 2.125 -- without it, the unit is 7.5 x 5.5 x 1.125 (inches). Most of the docking unit is air -- with the battery snapping into the middle (so you can change it), but this fixes a major problem with the Panasonic unit. The Pioneer does not get hot -- warm, yes, but not hot.

I have been looking for a portable unit for awhile. Last year's Panasonic was very cool, but I usually avoid 1st generation products. The new model is great. Other users on this forum love it, but some mentioned the Pioneer. Side by side, there is no comparison. It all comes down to price. I would rather pay $989 for the Pioneer than ~$700 for the Panasonic. In both cases, you need a second battery. The Pioneer batteries are cheaper, and can be charged without needing the player (i.e. one on the road while the other charges at home).

My two cents...

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Panasonic DVD-L50

Compact,Well Built,7in. screen,controls easy to use,remote well thought out,picture quality superb for small unit

none that I have identified

I looked at the Panasonic models and also a cheap AudioVox unit and none of them compare to the quality of not only the construction of this unit but the 7in. picture quality.Pioneer supplies everything needed to get started other than a carrying case which is a must.
I found a carrying case for my new Pioneer LC-10 on the internet at www.caselogic.com. These are the people that make CD cases and what have you. However they make a case for portable dvd players. The cost is 29.95 plus shipping.
Although the LC-10 is an expensive little toy it's a must for those who travel alot as I do. It's great on a plane trip. Anyone considering making a purchase of a portable dvd player pay the extra bucks and go for the best that's presently on the market. It only hurts once.

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none

nice big screen, lots of features, easy to use, cool as hell

dead pixels, the

the pdv-lc10 is an excellent piece of equipment, the picture is beautiful, and its just cool as hell. The price is down so now is a great time to get one. the speakers aren't too hot so make sure you have a good set of headphones to plug into it.

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none

Light weight, portability, 7" 16x9 widescreen, Dolby Digital and DTS digital output, S-Video output, A/V output/input

Pricy....

I bought this player on a whim. I basically wanted a new "toy". This unit ROCKS! I *love* the 7" 16x9 widescreen! The built-in speakers deliver surprisingly GREAT sound! I bought some Sony sutdio monitor headphones to go with it and I feel like I'm at the movies while I'm traveling.

I haven't had ANY problems playing ANY DVDs. I connected it to my Pioneer VSX-24TX receiver using the A/V output and it looked GREAT on my TV! I've been taking to my friends' (who don't have DVD players) homes so they can see what a DVD would look like on their TV. One friend was truly impressed with the clarity of the picture on his 36" Sony rear projection TV.

This is truly one remarkable unit to be SOOO small......

If you have the means, I highly recommend getting one. Even though I really didn't have the means, I bit hte bullet anyway! :-)

Peace.....

Tom

Picture size, Cables, Remote, Too much to list

NONE NOTED

This is one of the best little purchases ever made. I have been looking for some time at portable units due to the vast library of DVD's. Other units seem great in picture and size, but the sharpness and clarity of the pioneer far proceeds any other unit I have seen on the market. It's 7 inch screen engulfs you and after several minutes of viewing you hardly notice your only viewing this movie on a small screen. The detials are something to be seen. Infact one friend stated " Are we watching something in 3D".
He went on to say picture just as good if not better than mitshibishi diamond 60 inch TV.
As far as sound goes the speakers sound good mind you only two small speakers compared to the 5 plus sub in Home Theater room. At times actually thought sounds were panning in from off the screen. Now go even futher and plug a good set of headphones in and hold onto your pants.
The sounds were so amazing and crisp that it made me question buying new Home Theater speakers. Saving Private Ryan was something to be seen and heard. Sounds never heard in theater room came alive.
I could go on and on about the player and will after several months of usage Im sure. In closing didnt find that the battery pack and docking station were that much of a pain. Infact when driving in car and letting 2 yr old watch poo help unit to stay in place.

GO BUY ONE AND PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A KNOCK DOWN BLOWN AWAY EXPERIENCE.

TO ALL WIVES WHAT A CHRISTMAS GIFT THIS WOULD BE!!!!!

Gary ---- Electronic Junkie

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NO NEED FOR ANY OTHERS

Battery Life is great. Picture quality good. No problems at all since I bought it last December.

A little big.

I noticed that there are only two reviews for this product so I felt I had to say something here. I have been using this product since last December and it has not had a single problem. It has been dropped and handled by a 3 year old in the car, and still looks and plays great. When I am not traveling this portable DVD goes into the bedroom to play movies for the kids, when I don't want to give up my HT. Needless to say it has logged hundreds of hours of playing Disney cartoons. This is a good machine, and I would buy one again. The picture is great, especially in wide screen. I paid just under $1000 from www.audioexcellance.com. It showed up when promised and double boxed.

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Panasonic L50

Small DVD player (Wows friends and relatives) Big screen(for a portable of course) great battery life and it came with all the plugs, wires and accessories I needed to plug and play.

The optical output seems a little quiter than my DV302C (pioneer 3 disc DVD changer) I have as my home theater DVD player. BUT it still has good sound.

I have had this little jem for awhile, I have always wanted a protable DVD player since sometimes I go over to peoples homes who don't have DVD players of thier own. Since I am a gadget freak I had gone ahead and added the aux input for the pioneer head unit I have in my
car, Now I have In Car theater(no video screens but the one that is on the LC10) Big sound in the car! I have always been a pioneer fan since all the pioneer products I have had have had virtually no problems. Since I have had this little DVD player in my bedroom I have had no problems with it what so ever.

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