Panasonic DVD-LA95 EBS

Author's product rating:   

Picture Playback	Excellent
Sound Level	Poor
Range of Features	Excellent
Durability	Good
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Looks sexy, Easy to use, Lots of features, Excellent Picture
Disadvantages:	Poor sound, may be a bit expensive

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This is my personal opinion. Laptop DVD players are a great idea that have yet to fully come to fruition. While a grand is perhaps justifiable for a business, its not so tempting for a luxury, most useful for killing time on long journeys. A decent paperback provides similar distraction and can be had for a fiver.

However this portable player was a present to me so that may be one of the reasons why I have grown to love it even more. I think there is nothing you could have on your lap that’ll make you feel more smugly satisfied than this Panasonic- with the possible exception of a Playboy model.

The quality of portable machines has steadily improved over the last 12 months to the point that each new release seems to impress me more than the last. Just incase you didn’t know, I’m a bit of a DVD junkie.
This model surely must be the new high watermark.

When closed it is small enough to be carried without it being obviously flashy. Open it up, however, and you’re suddenly sitting in front of the best looking piece of A/V kit I’ve seen in a long time.

The screen is a whopper. At 9”, it’s apparently the biggest currently available. On the move it’s big enough to hold your attention. Its variable brightness is useful for preserving battery life when it’s dark.

Most portables look impressively slim until you realise that you have to bolt on the battery pack. Trust me I know this. It usually doubles the physical size and trebles the weight of the unit. This baby has a cylindrical battery that slots into the hinge.

It’s a fantastic design but it does have a down side: two-and-a-half-hour maximum battery life. Don’t settle down with Lord of the Rings or even Star Wars Attack of the clones. I found out a large bolt-on battery pack can be available as an extra.

Switch on the LA-95 and the full extent of the player’s class becomes apparent. The clear blue navigation joystick glows and pulses when there is no disc in the drive. It’s unnecessary, but for this price I’d want a few spangly frivolities.

The disc drive is situated under a flip-up lid and operates silently. All the controls are present on the unit, rendering the supplied remote largely superfluous. The buttons are well labelled and responsive. The shuttle dial makes navigating films a swift process.

The LCD panels are never as sharp as a TV but this screen is a pleasure to watch, presenting a bright and colourful image. Blacks are reasonably well defined and movement is handled well. In short, this is one of the best LCD displays that I have yet witnessed and believe me I’ve seen a lot.

The built-in stereo speakers are, as is usually the case with these lap theatres, pretty awful. The sound is unbearably tinny, sounding nothing like a film soundtrack but uncannily similar to a three-year-old child who’s just discovered the recalcitrant pleasures of blowing raspberries.

I just can’t understand why manufacturers refuse to include a decent pair of headphones with such a high-priced product.

So, little has changed: the price is still prohibitive, although £899 is a step in the right direction at least. I think machines will just keep getting better, though; for my money well my girlfriends money, she got me it, this will remain a king to be honoured until someone releases a version that massages my thighs while I watch.