Panasonic DMP-B15 (DVD Players)

How many times have you bought a Blu-ray movie, got chatting about it with friends and agreed to lend it or bring it over - only to have to cancel plans because no one else you know has a Blu-ray player? With a lot of us now buying-up Blu-ray bargains,...

BD Live, Viera Cast, DivX playback from disc, SD Card slot

Slow to load, slightly impractical design, pricey

This is a great Blu-ray player, period. If nothing else it will save space on your home entertainment rack but makes Blu-ray a play-anywhere possibility

Although the idea of a portable Blu-ray player with an 8.9-inch screen sounds daft, the quality of the Panasonic DMP-B15's screen, together with the fact that it also works really well with a telly, has won us over

Clever design ; Surprisingly crisp pictures ; Works really well with a TV ; Surprising amount of multimedia features ; Comes with a car charger

Rather flimsy build quality ; Chunky ; Screen isn't really HD ; No Wi-Fi ; Battery life is only just good enough ; Screen's viewing angle is rather limited ; Slow to boot up

Conclusion Unless you're really serious about fully exploiting the Panasonic DMP-B15's portability, you'd be better off buying a much cheaper stand-alone player instead. But, if you do travel extensively, especially with children in tow, the DMP-B15's...

The Panasonic DMP-B15 is a top-notch Blu-ray player that just happens to be portable.

What we love about the DMP-B15 is that it's a top-notch Blu-ray player that just happens to be portable, thanks to Panasonic's generous decision to pack it full of features you'd find on a standalone deck, including BD Live, Viera Cast, 1080/24p output...

The Panasonic DMP-B15 is the world's first portable Blu-ray player.

Ironically, the Panasonic DMP-B15 works better as an in-house Blu-ray player than a portable one. While there are things to like about the DMP-B15, the device is simply too expensive to overlook its flaws.

Too chunky to be truly portable, but a brilliant Blu-ray player

BD Live ; Suerb interface ; Picture quality

Bulky ; Exensive ; No USB ; Slow loading times

Portability might not seem like an obvious plus point for a Blu-ray player, but Panasonic's first attempt at such a beast is mostly very successful, despite its hefty price tag.

Decent picture, good range of features including Viera Cast and BD-Live, quality standalone Blu-ray player, portability

Small viewing angle on screen, limited video/audio formats, unimpressive battery life, not cheap

The Panasonic DMP-B15 was the first portable Blu-ray player around and it comes with a built-in stand. The profile 2.0 compatible DMP-B15 has an 8.9-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 1,024x600 pixels. It has an HDMI output, a bitstream output for...

The Panasonic DMP-B15 is the world's first portable Blu-ray player. It combines an 8.9in LCD screen and a BD optical drive in a (semi) portable packag...

Versatile design, bundled car accessories, can be used as a regular Blu-ray player

Expensive, short battery life, 1024x600 screen resolution, bulkier than most portable DVD players

Ironically, the Panasonic DMP-B15 works better as an in-house Blu-ray player than a portable one. While there are things to like about the DMP-B15, the device is simply too expensive to overlook its flaws.

One of three nominees for best product in the Home Video category at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Panasonic's new $799 DMP-B15 is the world's first portable Blu-ray player. Of course, savvy electronics consumers are probably asking...

Can double as a player for your home entertainment system; LAN connectivity enables firmware updates; BD-LIVE content; Web video via Viera Cast

Expensive; bulky and heavy; swapping discs while the device is mounted to a headrest is a hassle

A surprisingly multipurpose movie machine, the biggest problem with Panasonic's portable Blu-ray player is its price.

The Panasonic DMP-B15 is Australia's first portable Blu-ray player and features an 8.9-inch screen and LAN network functions.

Lets you watch your Blu-ray collection on the go ; HDMI output for use as a stand-alone player ; Full access to YouTube and Picasa if connected via Ethernet ; Comes with cigarette lighter adapter and headrest mount for car use

Very expensive, with Blu-ray-equipped laptops available at similar prices ; Bulky design ; Short 2.5-hour battery life ; Small screen limits the capability to see the full detail of Blu-ray ; Can't output a standard 1080p signal ; Less reliable...

Beyond image quality, we did experience a few freezes and glitches with the DMP-B15. The first full movie we watched, Batman Begins, made it all the way through glitch-free but playback got "stuck" for a couple of seconds during the credits. We ignored...