Panasonic DVD-LS86 8.5-Inch Portable DVD Player

We recently purchased 2 of these dvd players for travel with our children ages 3 and 6. So far we have used them on 3 trips and they have worked great. We were able to watch 2 full length films and a shorter Elmo video before the battery went dead - definitely NOT 13 hours but still pretty long.

Purchased this model, as I wanted a small DVD player with excellent resolution and battery life. This unit provided enough battery life to view three full length movies on the Honolulu to Chicago flight and the video quality for such a small screen was fabulous. I recommend this model for anyone who needs a small screened portable DVD player. You might pay more for other models, however I don't think you will find a better value.

I originally purchased the predecessor to this unit, the DVD-LS82. When it worked, I was happy, even if the speakers were a bit soft at full volume on my nightstand. Even after repairs at the Panasonic depot, however, mine was EXTREMELY sensitive to the faintest disc imperfections that my other DVD players ignored. When I returned it to Amazon, per Panasonic's instructions, it was no longer for sale by Amazon. So, I ordered the DVD-LS86.

The only differences between the 2 units are that the earlier incarnation was silver, came packaged with a car kit, and had an advertised battery life 1 hour shorter. The newer unit, while initially offered at the identical price, is, as I write this, now offered at enough of a discount to almost buy your own car kit, if you choose.

The operating manual states that the battery on this unit recharges in 7 hours, when turned off, at 68 degrees F. When I brought my brand new battery up to full charge, it took barely longer than that.

What most people will be interested in is the battery endurance when playing it. Again, according to the manual, this unit will play (always assuming using headphones) for 13 hours at a brightness level of -5. This translates to noticeably dimmer than "Moonlight" mode; unless you're an avid spelunker/movie buff with severe photophobia, it's reminiscent of bright moonlight through welder's goggles. I actually have photophobia (and welder's goggles), and I couldn't stand -5 in my darkened room at night. "Moonlight," which translates to about "-3," however, was fine.

At a brightness level of "0," the manual states that battery life drops to 7 hours; that's about what I suspect most users would compromise for in the trade-off between visibility and battery life during the day. "0" is noticeably brighter than "Moonlight." I tolerated "Moonlight" in a brightly lit indoor location to extend the battery life; it's rather like watching a film in a discount, second-run theater that turns the projector brightness down to conserve the bulb life.

Finally, the manual states a battery life of 5 hours with the bightness on "5." If you use the "Daylight" setting, you get an even slightly brighter picture than that; so, if you choose the "Daylight" setting, you'll get the most vivid picture, but the battery life will suffer even more. You might need this if you want to watch movies on a sunny day at the beach-- if you go to the beach to watch movies.

Personally, I thought it would be easy to scratch a disc on the steel portion of the housing around the lense or bend the disc a bit too much when removing it from this family of units. I wish that they'd design a release mechanism that caused the machine to let go of the disc at least as easily as most cases. I managed to avoid scratching any discs; but, I was uncomfortable seeing the discs bend. I, therefore, wouldn't recommend leaving it to children to change the discs, particularly if the unit is as sensitive to micro-scratches as my DVD-LS82 was.

Sadly, my love of Panasonic products has been, in the case of portable DVD players, so far, unrequited. My DVD-LS86 has a habit of turning itself off at random intervals when using the a/c adaptor. I can't believe that this is a universal product feature, so, I'm exchanging mine for a new one. I hope that the replacement will finally live up to its promise.

Mogo¿ Portable DVD Player Car Mount

We just bought a van and did not want to spend $1500 for the overhead DVD player. I researched portable DVDs thoroughly and decided on this compromise. Picture is not as good as some, but sound is decent, and unit is built to withstand some abuse. I tested battery life, and as expected, did not get anywhere near the 13 hour battery life advertised. I used the daylight setting for brightness and had the volume up to max level to recreate real use conditions. The DVD player lasted 5 hours. I am sure if you use the "moonlight" setting (darker pic), you will get longer battery life, but that is not how we will be using the DVD player. We want the best pic possible. So am happy with this player so far. We used the MoJo DVD mount for between the front seats and the unit works well-the mount is easily installed/removed. It could be better materials, but we were happy to get away from the hanging bag option. Also, the audio out port is directly in the path of the velcro attachment on the MoJo, so not ideal, but the port can still be utilized.