Matsushita introduces portable DVD player with industry’s largest LCD
Matsushita Electric Industrial announced the Panasonic DVD-LA95 portable DVD player, featuring a 9-inch LCD, the industry’s largest.
Weighing only 999 grams, the new player is also the industry’s lightest and includes a built-in rechargeable battery and TV tuner. It is also the first portable DVD player that can read DVD-RAM discs. The DVD-LA95 player will be launched in the Japanese market on September 1. Shipment for overseas markets is scheduled for this coming fall.
Portable DVD players are currently estimated to make up 15% of the DVD player market in Japan, with demand for portable players with large LCD displays continuing to grow. The Panasonic DVD-LA95’s LCD screen can deliver high quality pictures in either 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios. A rechargeable battery pack is newly incorporated as well, lasting for 2.5 hours of DVD playback or up to eight hours of DVD movies and 13 hours of TV programming when used with an optional rechargeable battery pack (sold separately).
The DVD-LA95 is the world’s first portable DVD player that can read DVD-RAM discs. DVD-RAM is not only compatible with both audio/video and PC applications, but its optical format also boasts superior rewritability, allowing roughly 100,000 rewrites per disc. Not only can the DVD-LA95 play back a DVD-RAM disc created from either a PC or DVD-RAM recorder, but it also has the ability to accommodate multiple digital entertainment software, including DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, DVD-RAM, DVD-R (discs besides those recorded with the Panasonic DMR-E20 DVD video recorder may not be able to be played back, depending on the disc used and recording conditions), CDs, CD-R, and CD-RW formats.
Other features include built-in DTS and Dolby Digital Decoder, and Chapter Review, whose fast 5-speed Smooth Motion Scan function scans up to 100 times faster than conventional players using a shuttle ring dial for ease of use.
Portable DVD players are currently estimated to make up 15% of the DVD player market in Japan, with demand for portable players with large LCD displays continuing to grow. The Panasonic DVD-LA95’s LCD screen can deliver high quality pictures in either 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios. A rechargeable battery pack is newly incorporated as well, lasting for 2.5 hours of DVD playback or up to eight hours of DVD movies and 13 hours of TV programming when used with an optional rechargeable battery pack (sold separately).
The DVD-LA95 is the world’s first portable DVD player that can read DVD-RAM discs. DVD-RAM is not only compatible with both audio/video and PC applications, but its optical format also boasts superior rewritability, allowing roughly 100,000 rewrites per disc. Not only can the DVD-LA95 play back a DVD-RAM disc created from either a PC or DVD-RAM recorder, but it also has the ability to accommodate multiple digital entertainment software, including DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, DVD-RAM, DVD-R (discs besides those recorded with the Panasonic DMR-E20 DVD video recorder may not be able to be played back, depending on the disc used and recording conditions), CDs, CD-R, and CD-RW formats.
Other features include built-in DTS and Dolby Digital Decoder, and Chapter Review, whose fast 5-speed Smooth Motion Scan function scans up to 100 times faster than conventional players using a shuttle ring dial for ease of use.
