I picked this up after briefly reviewing the competition's specs. When you are shopping for a portable DVD player, the features you essentially want to pay attention to are screen size, picture quality, and battery life. If you are burning your own DVDs or playing certain styles of downloaded content you'll also want to pay attention to the format capabilities.

I finally decided on this device because it advertised 13 hour battery life and I was flying to Europe (a 9 hour flight from WA State). I was also going to be tossing it in a backpack and going. The folding design seemed like a logical choice to protect the screen with the applicable rough use.

Here's what I found, hope it helps you make an informed decision!

Pros:

- Design is elegant and fairly durable.
- Sound quality was surprisingly great.
- Controls were pretty intuitive.
- A/V cable was included accessory.
- Saves your place and starts up right from where... Read more

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... Read more

I have had several of these over the years and this one is, by far, the absolute best of the bunch. Outstanding screen\picture, clear, crisp, great colors. The surround sound is superb (although using the enhanced bass setting is just too much bass). Does not last the 13 hours per. the company's claim but still the longest in the entire group- around 8 to 9 hours, enough for FOUR MOVIES, the longest. Can't recommend this one enough, love it, great for travel or home use.