Price Paid:  $345.00 from ebay

Summary:
Easy to use dvd player with awsome picture quality. Havent tried the dvd audio yet but thats comming. This dvd is a steal for 345 and ive just seen it for 325 on ebay. GO BUY this dvd player if you are in the market. No need to pay any more then this, it has it ALL. HD-dvd will be out in 4 years anyhow.

Weaknesses:
A little on the light side.

Price Paid:  $429.00 from ecost

Summary:
Like most equipment with various options, this can be a bear to set up but once done, you forget it''s there. It just does it''s job, well. This player misses the first split second of play when starting or changing tracks, manually. Most noticable during music. Listening to music is dull. It''s fine for background noise, but I''d never just sit and listen to this player. My stand alone pleases me more. Scan lines appear, for a split second at a time, during fast scenes. I have a Mit WS86955. This has gotten really annoying. I know this was probably a refurb unit but that''s no excuse. I don''t use the panny remote. I use the Marantz RP2000. I highly recomment any one looking for a good universal remote. This remote is available alone, easily found on EBay. I shy away from those all digital, no button remotes. They are not as useful as one might think. The RP2000 is half button, half screen. The play button in VCR mode is the play button in DVD mode. How cool is that. My equipment Marantz 19EX Panny DVD 2 Parasound 855 amps Sony ES CD75 PSB Stratus Gold all around 2 Sunfire Jr subs MitWS86955 IXOS interconnects

Strengths:
Plays everything under the sun except SACD. great DVD movie audio. Various output types, analog digital

Weaknesses:
misses the first split second of playback when starting or changing tracks. scan lines

Price Paid:  $495.00 from eCost

Summary:
Almost too many features, stunning picture, smooth sound, great buy for videophiles. I bought this to replace a Toshiba SD-1200 (a fine basic unit) and feed a Panasonic 47WX49. I immediately noticed a substantial gain in picture quality, but the improvement in sound quality was more subtle -- warmer, perhaps, than the Toshie, and smoother. I especially like the ability to tone down each individual component color as the Panny RPTV is known for its "red push" problem. Reducing the red setting a couple of clicks brought the colors into better balance. And the colors are stunning. Very smooth, dimensional, lifelike and reminiscent of film. I went through about 10 DVDs, including Fantasia 2000, The Mask, etc. and the picture was spectacular without a hint of grain or artifact. I look forward to watching many, many films on such a high-quality source. P.S. Why haven''''t they changed the menu so one can click on "2002" for the model year???

Strengths:
Many adjustable settings, picture and sound top-notch, gold exterior (which matches the trim on my gear rack) is attractive.

Weaknesses:
Uhhh--TOO many adjustments? As previous reviewer stated, us sausage-fingered guys will find the remote tricky.

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba SD-1200, friend''''s mid-level Sony

Price Paid:  $445.00 from Video Direct Distrib

Summary:
After reading many reviews and searching for different DVD players this is the one that i decided to buy and Im so glad for making this choice. In its category and for the price I paid for it this Panasonic its in a league by itself.This DVD Player will perform just as great (if not better) than those units costing over a $1000. I strongly recomend this DVD player. Way to go Panasonic!

Strengths:
Great Picture,Nice looking DVD Player,Lots of settings and features,Best Progressive Scan Ive seen so far.....

Weaknesses:
Not enough space to move the joystic on the remote for someone with big fingers.Otherwise its a great unit!

Similar Products Used:
Sony DVP-NS900v,Denon DVD-2800

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Sound & Video

Summary:
Notwithstanding all the barking from other reviewers - I found the manual to be acceptable.

Picture is great - blows away the line doubler in my XBR.

Available control over picture image is almost too broad - I find myself constantly playing with the thing, trying different settings.

I didn't realize how much of a difference progressive scan can make. Colours are much more saturated - image is more clean/crisp.

Downside is that it makes the rest of your video options look pretty lame.

Strengths:
Fabulous picture, good control over picture characteristics, multi-channel audio. Pull down menus.

Weaknesses:
Blue light.

Similar Products Used:
RCA, Sony