Customer Reviews
Panasonic LA-95 
2004-11-04
Its great when workinging but at less than one year picture quite working. Still under warranty but involved to get corrected and approx $100.00 to fix under warranty. For an Expensive unit should have a longer life expectancy.
This is THE one... 
2004-08-22
First, I've owned this unit for over five months--don't waste your time reading reviews of someone who has only had their product a few days. I shopped around on-line and narrowed my list down to three. At the time, this wasn't the cheapest one, but it offered all the features I wanted, and the size was just about right.
I wanted the biggest screen I could afford without it being overbearing or cumbersome. The unit is lightweight, thin, and will fit nicely into any briefcase configuration you can imagine. I use it on a treadmill with headphones. It fits perfectly into the book ledge.
With headphones and with the screen dimmed a little, I can get more than two hours out of one battery charge. The speakers are adequate but their range of sound is limited to dialogue and a little bit of background music. With the headphones you get a great viewing experience.
I really liked watching movies on my laptop because of the portability and privacy. It's like you're in your own little world. This player makes the experience perfect because of its smaller size and lighter weight.
It seems reliable enough--I'm sure I've watched over 200 hours by now. It shows no signs of wear.
UPDATE: TWO YEARS LATER, 8/27/06
Still working, and I bought a newer model by Panasonic for my wife. So far so good, but my opinion of Panasonic has been ruined by some recent VCR deaths I've suffered. Their DVD players seem to be fine, but I wouldn't buy anything else from them.
Excellent bit of kit, but... 
2004-08-08
I've had an LA95 for a couple of years now, and I'm generally delighted with it (as are my children, from whom not a peep is heard on long journeys when they can watch DVDs in the back of the car).
The point of this review: Twice the player has failed. On the first occasion, the unit failed to recharge; the other time it would play non-region-protected DVDs and CDs, but DVDs with (any) region protection would produce a message stating that: "This type of disc cannot be played. Please insert a different disc."
In both cases, the problem was resolved by simply allowing the battery to discharge (not a deliberate action on my part - I just left the thing in a drawer for a month or two while I tried to decide what to do with it). I suspect that the same effect could be achieved more quickly by removing the battery for a while. (Perhaps the player should've had a "Reset" button?)
I have a suspicion that the problem is connected with the additional, external (Panasonic) battery I bought. The problems happened after I attempted to charge both internal and external batteries together. The way to do it seems to be to disconnect the external battery and charge the internal one until the red LED lights up. Only then should you (after disconnecting the charger) reconnect the external battery, reconnect the charger and charge the external battery.
Hope this helps anyone who may have problems with his or her LA95.
Pricey, but worth it. 2004-08-06
I was terrified when I first unpacked this thing - with grim reminders of the expensive and short-lived electronics of my youth (no matter how much I spent, every Walkman I bought lasted about a year). That said, the LA95 proved to be a champion, worth every penny. With its 2 hour battery, I had trouble-free watching while on an extended car-trip last winter. A nifty speed-scan ring allows you to skip past the boring parts with no problem. Though it's thinner than a Nicholas Sparks novel, and much lighter, the LA95 is durable and looks to be in about the same condition as it was when I unpacked it earlier this year - and since then it's been used largely by my 4 and 7 year old kids. Since this is my first portable DVD player, I can't really say anything about the quality of its picture or sound - but it's a movie that comes in your hand, how nifty is that? While 2 hours seems a bit short, the extended battery doesn't seem a bad buy considering that notebook batteries seem to cost about as much. Though it doesn't come with a carry case, mine was packed in this nifty bubble packing which seems to be as durable as the unit. (if it came with something to stick the adapter inside of, you wouldn't need to buy a case at all). On the downside, for a player that sits on your lap, it does build up some heat. I would have sacrificed some size and weight for a decent heat-sink. That said, it's expensive, convenient and durable. After months of trouble-free use, you'll know where your money went.
Great Picture Worth the Price 2004-06-06
I purchased the LA-95 last year for a roundtrip flight from NY to Hawaii. From the reviews, I knew that I needed something to extend the battery life if I wanted to use it for more than a couple of hours without recharging. I purchased the extended battery from Panasonic which worked beautifully, more than six total hours. I also purchased what was advertised as an adaptor for use in the car or with airline power outlets from J + R. It turned out to be incompatible. I was able to connect the player to tvs in every place we stayed but one, so we had dvd movies everywhere we needed them which was not very often since we were in Hawaii. I've taken it on every plane ride since and have hooked it up to tvs in many hotels and condos. As long as there's a compatible input, I can watch movies. One little glitch did develop a few months ago. The lcd screen got what looked like a black splash across the screen which obscured the picture. Since it was under warrantee, I had it fixed for $65. They replaced the lcd panel. Fortunately, I only had to drive to New Jersey. My other option was to ship it to Texas. I don't know how this happened since it had been stored for about 3 months in a padded case in the closet, not dropped or mishandled. It must be very delicate. I did not ask how much it would have cost to repair if it wasn't under warrantee; I was afraid to know since between the unit and the extended battery, I have a considerable investment. It is a LOT of fun, though and you're never stuck with airplane or expensive hotel movies.
Great Portable DVD Player 2006-12-14
I owned my first Panasonic DVD-LA95 Player trouble-free for several years, and it worked great until I dropped it and cracked the screen. Getting it fixed was a hassle, and I agree with the complaints about service. I gave up on the service angle and just bought another used one. They sell on eBay for prices ranging from $100-$160.
For decent (lengthy) performance, get one (or two) of the auxillary batteries. I'm talking about the large flat one that attaches on the bottom of the player. There are 2-3 variations of this battery ranging from 5600 mha to 6800 mha. The largest one will, along with the 'little round one' that comes with the player, play movies for about eight hours.
The batteries charge together when it's plugged in, so you can just leave both batteries installed. Never have to take them off.
The video quality is outstand, but on a plane you need earphones. For the best experience in the air, I got two sets of Bose Quiet Comfort ear phones and a splitter so that my wife and I could both hear the audio. The Bose headset really cancels the outside noise and we enjoy several movies during long flights. Sound quality is outstanding.
I'm very pleased with the Panasonic DVD LA95.
Great picture, terrible quality 
2005-08-08
Beautiful picture quality and great features - too bad I can't recommend it due to lousy reliability and worse service policies. The first laser failed about 14 months after I bought the unit. I replaced it for about $300, and that laser failed in 8 months. Panasonic doesn't seem to have many (if any) dealers or spare parts - so your only recourse is depot repair which is slow, expensive and unreliable.
Love the picture but this thing is just too fragile and not worth the hassle - avoid.
broken player rats! 2005-04-13
We have had this player for about 2 years and loved it until it broke. We bought the extra battery pack which gave us aproximately 5-6 hours total playing time. It went on a lot of long car rides and plane trips with us. My son at age 6 dropped the player and then we had playing problems. I had a very difficult time getting service information. Finally I sent it to an indepentdent dealer who told me nothing could be done as Panasonic no longer makes the spare part and even if it did it would cost about 400 dollars. The service tech said they only make so many spare parts and when they run out that is it. I think this is shameful for such an expensive product. Buyer beware this product can't be dropped and should not be handled with small children.
THIS DVD PLAYER IS GREAT!!!!! 2005-02-04
I BOUGHT THIS FOR MY 12 YEAR OLD SON FOR CHRISTMAS OF 2003. HE HAS HAD IT FOR OVER A YEAR AND USES IT JUST ABOUT EVERY DAY. IT IS GREAT!! IT WOULD BE NICE IF THE BATTERY LASTED A LITTLE LONGER BUT, THAT IS OKAY, AS LONG AS YOU PURCHASE AN INVERTER FOR LONG TRIPS.
Buyer Beware 2004-12-11
When my Panasonic, no longer under warranty, needed a repair, I discovered that I had two options, either throw it away or buy a rebuilt player. The problem was a dead backlight, something that should have been a simple repair, but due to way machine is designed turns out not to be. I bought the rebuilt player and that was defective. It does come with a 90 day warranty, but local certified Panansonic dealer won't honor it. And on and on the story goes.
So beware, product was good, but once something happens and you enter the service system, you will experience frustrations.
