Panasonic DVD-LV65 5-Inch Portable DVD Player

The LV65 has a built-in widescreen LCD monitor that uses approximately 337,000 pixels for clear DVD images on the go. The 5-inch screen lets you watch movies in the standard 16:9 widescreen format or conventional 4:3 formats such as letterbox and pan-and-scan. The screen's Freestyle design lets you adjust it to many angles to suit a range of viewing positions.

The included rechargeable battery fits neatly in the main unit, so the thin, stylish body remains intact when the battery's in use. The battery holds up for about 2.5 hours of viewing time (with the brightness set to its lowest level) before you have to recharge it. An optical digital-audio output passes DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound for hookup with a surround-decoding audio-video receiver, providing six discrete channels of exhilarating digital audio.

Use normal, full, or zoom mode to adjust the picture size displayed on the LV65's screen to best represent the picture format of the software you're viewing (standard 4:3, 16:9 widescreen or letterbox). Advanced Surround (V.S.S) simulates surround sound using only the front two speakers, so you can enjoy Dolby Digital 5.1-channel discs without an elaborate home theater system. Hi-Speed Smooth Scan scans as high as 200x, so you can scan a two-hour movie forward or backward in merely 40 seconds and find your favorite scenes in a jiffy.

Product Description
Have a seat. You're about to enter the digital dimension. Inside the DVD-LV65, you'll find a digital Cinema Mode that combines brightness control with picture noise canceling. The result is a clear and crisp image that appears on your screen. And from the comfort of your chair, you can adjust the picture on your screen. Built-in Advanced Virtual Surround (VSS) provides channel surround sound that will blow back your hair. It's like going to the movies or a big concert without even leaving your home or being outside! You can watch the movies anywhere because this player is equipped with built-in widescreen LCD monitor that uses approximately 337,000 pixels for clear DVD images on the go. The LCD even allows you to watch movies in the standard 16:9 widescreen format or conventional 4:3 formats such as letterbox and pan-and-scan. That's the digital dimension.This product comes with SD-MovieStage Ver.1.1U CD-ROM. This software allows you to record still and moving pictures from your computer onto SD Memory Cards.

Sound through the speakers wasn't quite loud enough for freeway driving, so we hooked the audio-out to an FM transmitter to feed the sound through the car stereo.

Overall we've been really happy with this player. The one negative point came when we bought the car power adapter. Prepare to be gouged if you do the same. It easily cost four times what I would have expected, so don't consider it an after-thought add-on. But for our situation, it was a necessity.


Very good picture and sound - great price!   April 25, 2003
Lara E. Fisher (Gaithersburg, MD)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

After shopping around for a portable DVD player, I was lured by a sale on this model. For under [money], you get a very good picture and excellent sound quality. The remote is compact and the screen pivots which is an added bonus. It's great for playing CDs (regular or MP3). You can also hook this up to a TV and the quality is comprable to most mid-range DVD players on the market. Highly recommended for heavy travellers or someone looking to hook up a DVD player on their spare TV.


A Lie if you think it plays JPEGs   December 17, 2002
12 out of 30 found this review helpful

BEWARE of the fine print! I was so thrilled when I first read it can play jpgs. I thought this can replace a laptop when I am traveling. When I got it, the fine print says it plays jpgs on a SD memory card. Now, who is going to go out a buy a SD memory card and the transfer their pictures on there? What a big LIE! With a laptop, all I have to do is burn all my pictures on a cd and take it with my other cds. Now I have to pay extra money to buy SD memory card, a reader, and the works. This little memory card cannot have all the memory (~128mB) of your cd (700mB). In addition, all my investment in Compact Flash cards are worthless now.

I ask myself now why I didn't pay the extra money for a [$$$] low end laptop that can play dvds. I don't know. I guess I was taken by the corporate tagline. Sorry for any spelling errors but as you can see, I am visably upset.


Impressive Player   November 30, 2002
Rajendra Bansi (Trinidad and Tobago)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

I bought this product after reviewing the ratings on this and other brands. I must say the ratings proved a correct guide. At first sight the product looked sleek. When I tried a DVD (Jurassic Park 111), the clarity of the video on the LCD screen and ease of play really stunned me. The Audio was also impressive, especially with stereo speakers. The real test was whether it could play my DVD+RW that I cut on my computer using Pinnacle studio DV8. To my satisfaction it played without any problems. I also tried a Video CD and this worked quite well.

I then tried to connect to my Infocus projector and this also worked well. The only drawback is that the unit did not come with a separate s-video out connection. After reading the manual I discovered that the s-video out connection is achieved via a separate cable which connects to the video jack and is not shipped standard with the product. I have since purchased this item and awaiting receipt of the item.

The bottom line, Impressive product. Plays video and audio well with a lot of user features to suite one's taste.