Great picture quality and DTS decoder, um, while it worked.

Didn't even last 1.5 years with light-to-moderate use.

Looks like I am one of the first unlucky ones in regard to the longevity of this player. I got mine in January, 2001. Now in May 2002, mine has died without any warning. Expect more posts like this to follow because other 2000 model Panasonic DVD players are dying an untimely death as well. FWIW, mine was manufactured in August, 2000, in Japan. It worked flawlessly for seventeen months until May 19th, 2002. I watched a movie without incident the previous night. When I ejected the disc the next morning there was "blocks" all over the screen. None of my connections went bad or became loose, so I dug out the owner's manual and reset the processor. Nothing changed. Thinking that somehow condensation might be to blame, I opened the disc-drawer to let it air out for about twenty hours. Still no change. The player menus still work but much of the screen is obscured by the "blocks". It won't read any discs, even CDs. I then took off the cover but nothing appeared to be wrong (no burnt traces, dirty laser, or unlubed rails). Looks like I'm out of luck. As an aside, I kept my player on top of my AV cabinet so it got plenty of ventilation and never ran warm the way my A110 does. It's a damned-shame because the picture was indeed sharper and smoother, with better color purity (even at the S-Video output, although I used component video except when recording to S-VHS) than my Panasonic DVD-A110. Ironically, the A110/A310 are know to have faulty laser modules but mine is still working fine after four and a half years. It can't match the RV-80's picture quality but at least it still works. I also don't have DTS now (my pre-pro does Dolby Digital but was made a year before DTS DVDs). I hope everyone else has better luck, but after seeing all of the problems people are having with the RV30, I doubt it.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic DVD-A110

Very Detailed Picture, New Technology

Small Buttons on Remote
No Menu Button on Front Panel

This Player doubles the processing speed to give a much
improved picture. Without the need for any special TV Inputs.

Your average DVD player has a 27mhz Processor.
This player uses the new 54mhz processor technology.
The doubling of the processing speed gives an improved picture.

This is the only 54mhz DVD player to use this improved technology, that does NOT require your TV to have a special progressive scan input.

This player sets a new high standard in picture quality.
For all players in this price range, and maybe even higher.

The player seems more sturdier built than most.
It has a large Jog Shuttle wheel on the front panel,
but not on the remote. It also has a headphone jack.

The Front Panel time / chapter display is large,
and easy to read. It also shows a progress display
of the disk loading time.

Disk loading was Very Quiet and Fast.
It takes Only 5 seconds from Power on to Play.
It has super fast chapter searching.

The Surround Sound mode was great, even on the TV speakers.
Video Quality was bright, detailed, accurate colors and has
exceptional contrast.

The more detailed contrast is very noticeable in dark scenes.

The Picture was very sharp. So using the Video Sharpness
control may only make the picture noisy.

The Fast Scan modes go as high as 100 X.
They were smooth even at higher speeds

A nice feature is bar graph that displays how fast
your scanning speed is.

There is a 2x speed with Sound feature.
But on most movies it just makes the sound unintelligible.

The Player has 5 Slow motion speeds which all worked fine.

There are No Menu controls on the front panel.
So if you misplace the remote, you wont be able
to access the Players or the Disks Menus.

The Remote has small buttons, but it has Menu
cursor controls that light up.

A smart idea would have been to have
the Menu and Play controls light up.

There is no Time Remaining Counter.
Which is useful when watching the DVD Extras.
Those times are rarely listed on the DVD box.

Without spending a lot of money. This is the only player
to purchase if you want to view DVD movies using the most
improved DVD technology. Especially since there's no need for
any special TV inputs to get the best possible picture.

There are so many audio and video options to choose from.
So you will need the manual to fully appreciate them all.
But they work well and are easy to learn!

I believe that this player will set a new standard
in picture quality for all new 2001 Model players.


Sound: Excellent; professional quality
Ease of Use: Good; all features are easy to learn and apply
Picture Quality: Excellent, Sharp!
Durability: Good; solid.
Recommend to other potential buyers? Yes
Recommended as a gift for: Trendsetters

Similar Products Used:

SONY 360

54mhz processing,fast load and play,great picture enhancement options

sometimes too good?

I purchased this unit after selling my pioneer combi player and the sharp. I went back and forth about which dvd player to buy next, because I wanted have it for a while. I considered units from pioneer, onkyo, and toshiba before deciding on the rv80. The decision came after comparing progressive scan units with the rv80. I saw tha the prog scan units had the same type of processor(54mhz)as the panasonic which is interlaced. Being a guy who likes the latest technology, I bought the player and have not regretted my decision. The picture seems to get better with every use and the clarity of the picture is outstanding through s-video on my flatscreen samsung. Sometimes though, there is some picture noise on certain movies(Carlitos' Way)for instance that have me question the player or the source because other movies look fantastic like the criterion editions of Rushmore and Armageddon. If you're in the market for a first rate player with prog scan-like quality get this machine before there all gone. It is highly recomended.

Similar Products Used:

pioneer dvl 909,sharp 600u(mr.freeze)

Fantastic picture by itself, but it shines when used with the iScan Pro DVDO machine.

Slow menu

Well I was in search of the Holy Grail of DVD Players and I found all have flaws in someway or another. But the inexpensive Panasonic RV-80 along with the iScan Pro line doubler does wonders for DVD Playback. These are amoung some of the best images I have seen on my 92" sceen and even better than the standlone units by Pioneer and Denon. This unit has a few useful items over my reference Sony S-7000 and is a tad better even on video. If you can find one still for sale keep it!!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

S-7000/Pioneer Elite 37/Denon 2800

The RV80 does play CDRW's

I've owned and test seven DVD players and this is by far the best interlaced DVD player I have owned and even beat out my former Pioneer DV-09.

I won't bother with a write up since I'll just repeat what's been said below.

One thing to note, it does play CDRW's, I use them all the time on my RV80. The reviewer below might have tried only one kind that didn't work.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer DV-09, Sony DVP-S7000

Price, picture, color, built in decoder, does not lock up (so far)

No zoom, no CD-R

I have been searching for a DVD player for about a month now. I live on an island about an hour flight south of Anchorage, so I was limited to the internet and Wal-Mart; and Wal-Mart had crap. I had to be very careful about my decision because I could not preview it, and I would have to use mail order. I was contemplating a Pioneer 333, and the Sony 560. Reviews of the two products made it apparent that they tended to lock up with certain movies. I was getting frustrated until I read about the Pansonic DVD players. At first I was just looking at the RV-30, but then I looked at the specs on the RV-80. The reviews seemed promising, and I made my decision. I have been very pleased.

The picture is very clear, and the colors are beautiful. The player had no problems with the Matrix (which I read can cause some players to lock-up). The sound is good. I had to run it thorough my girlfriend's JVC shelf unit (non-digital), because all of my A/V equipment is back in Ohio. Even without the dolby digital, the sound was far better than I have ever heard coming from her system. Even she noticed the difference.

I would recommend you check out outpost.com if you are considering this unit. It was a necessity for me. Shipping costs are outrageous up here ($50 - $70). Outpost shipped it overnight for FREE! Simply Amazing. Combine that with a $300 price tag and a $50 rebate and you have a very good deal.

Great sights and great sounds!!!! Cinema mode is a great feature. 5.1 and DTS decoders.

No Zoom!!!!!!

Not that I have anything to comapre it to, but I love this thing. Sounds great through my Aiwa System. My only complaint is that there is no zoom! JandR.com gave me a great price and great service. I paid $315.00 with shipping! I had it 2 business days later. I have watched Blade, Any Given Sunday, Sleepy Hollow, The Blair Witch Project, Austin Powers (I), and Heavy Metal 2000. All with no problems (difficult reading/processing). There is hardly any loading time.

Similar Products Used:

None

Wonderful Picture/Sound, 54Mhz 4X Sampling for video, Bulid, Price, DD and DTS decoder.

None that I have found.

Having the Sony S3000 since the inception of DVD. This unit has been a real treat to use, but now since it has been about 4 years now I thought it was time for me to start looking for a new one and transfer that one to the bedroom. So my extensive search was on. My main goal was to find a DVD with excellent picture quality that wasn't progressive scan. (Don't have a HDTV and not planning to buy one until the whole DTV is finalized on the format) SInce it was going to be used as a transport for my Lexicon. I look at everything including the players listed above that my family owned and decided that I would go for the Sony S7700. Once I got to the store the salesman recommended that I take a look at the Panansonic unit. One look at the picture and this was the player for me. The picture is beautiful crips, clear and vibrant. While the rest of the interlace players are 27MHZ video processing this unit was doing it at 54MHZ and 4X sampling. No other interlace player can compete with it add that with the numerous video tweaking features,bulit in decoder for DD, DTS and the ablity to pass 96Khz audio. You have yourself a winner here. Anyone out there looking for a player go check this unit out. I think you will be happy that you did.

Similar Products Used:

Sony S3000, S7700, Pioneer 333, Toshiba 3109.

decoders, picture, features

build quality, 100 Hz internal decoder crossover

Notable features on the Panny are onboard DD/DTS decoders (I suspect they are the same as the setup in the Technics SH-AC500D), 54 MHz video chip, user setable preferences for gamma correction and DNR and a Cinema picture mode. Notable non-features are that 24 bit/96 kHz bitstream signals from DVDs (DADs) cannot be output from the digital outs though the unit can decode them with it's internal DACs and the internal DD/DTS decoders' crossover is fixed at 100 Hz so you are stuck with that cutoff frequency (IMO, 80 Hz would be a better choice).

How do I like it? Very much. First impression wasn't too good as the case is flimsy. This seems to be standard on 'budget' equipment though. I like the remote. Controls are easy to get to except the play and enter buttons are a bit small. Setup was a bit long since I wanted to setup the DTS decoder; manual was OK in this area but could have been a little more straight forward. I set all speakers in the Panasonic speaker setup to small and used internal test tone to calibrate.

The picture out of the box was good though not significantly better than my Sony 300, IMO. I used Titan AE as my main reference video disc. I expected a little more from the Panny. Playing with the user controls for gamma and DNR didn't do a whole lot and I ended up just using the player's normal mode which sets all 'corrections' to zero. I tried the cinema mode and found it OK but decided to not use it as my TV is calibrated using VE. I would not buy this player for just the picture (if you are using a direct view TV as I am). Maybe the 54 MHz chip would be better served using a RPTV, I don't know. I'm a vidiot anyway so you can probably ignore this paragraph.

Sound from the Panny is very good on my modest setup. DTS improves the movie watching experience b/c, IMO, it does a better job with music encoded on the soundtrack. I tried the DD decoder and it works good too but I preferred the one in my Denon. Why? I like the 80 crossover in my Denon vs. the 100 Hz crossover in the Panasonic.

As a CD transport, the Panny sounded identical to my old Sony. I tested this by using duplicate CDs from Dope (self titled album), Tool (Undertow) and Godsmack (self titled) and switching b/t the digital inputs on the Denon. Comparing DACs in the Denon and Panny, I preferred the multi-bit DACs in my Denon with 2 channel redbook music CDs compared to the (I think) 1-bit DACs in the Panny; the sound was a bit more refined with the Denon but the RV-80 sounded quite good. Listening to a Telarc CD of Mozart was very engaging on the Panasonic.

Overall, I like the unit and am happy that I bought it. If you have a DD receiver or preamp with 5.1 inputs but your DVD player doesn't have a DTS decoder, this unit is a (relatively) inexpensive way to add DTS to your system. Price over the net is at $300 and, at my local B&M, they wanted $360.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 300

Fantastic Picture-among the finest downconversions in a DVD player, Sound, feature packed, this player will probably appriciate in value

Construction

My preliminary review of the Panasonic DVD-RV80

It has been over a month, and I’ve been itching to write a review about my DVD-RV80. Although I’ve only watched about six movies in their entirety (and parts of about 15 others), there is no doubt in my mind that I have years of theater-like movie watching ahead of me.

STORY. Well there’s not much to tell. My Fisher DVD player that turned me into a frenzied home theater buff could not handle dual layered discs. Frustrated, I looked into getting the finest interlaced DVD player without breaking the bank. I was very interested in the Sony DVP-S7700, and I would have bought one had I not heard about the RV80… Reviewers compare the RV80 to Pioneer Elite DVD Players and the 7700. In regards to the 54MHz video DAC found in the RV80, Robert George, a great contributor to the home theater world, said, “The only other players to use similar video DACs are the Toshiba SD-6200 and Pioneer Elite DV-37, both being progressive scan players that are a good deal more expensive than the RV80. The combination of the 54MHz DAC and other picture enhancement features allows the RV80 to compare favorably to both of these much more expensive players for simple image quality (excepting the progressive scan features).” Also, based on the reviews here at AR.com, I told my brother to buy Panasonic’s RV30 long before I heard of the RV80. It has worked flawlessly; no compatibility issues at all. Thus combined with three months of investigation (i.e. reviews, posts, and e-mails) and the impressive performance of the RV30, I ordered the RV80. I called J&R, and two days later, my RV80 was at my doorstep.

OUT OF THE BOX. My RV80 came double-boxed and showed light signs of handling. When I unloaded the player, I immediately noticed its resemblance to the RV30. The RV80 is far from being a tank (plastic parts and a light-weight chassis).

SIDE BY SIDE. In comparison to the RV30, the RV80 adds a few internal and external features including gold-plated component outputs, a jog shuttle, and a whole slew of internal features (including the acclaimed 54MHz video DAC). However, the true test of faith came during the video performance comparison I ran between the two systems.


SIDE BY SIDE & PERFORMANCE. Although I had both setup on a 1998 20” Sony via composite video, the color rendition and layer changes of the RV80 had the RV30 ducking for cover. As for the sound, I connected both players via digital optical cable. Using movies like Gladiator and The Matrix for reference, the RV30 and RV80 sounded the same (if not better…I’ve heard claims that the RV80 sounds marginally better than other DVD players). All in all, I’m incredibly happy that the RV80 can handle movies my Fisher DVD player cannot.

WEGA. After winter break, I loaded up my car with the RV80 nestled in the back seat and headed back to college (the bittersweet irony is that I have no room for my DTS/DD system at school, and that’s why it’s at home while my conveniently sized TV is at school. One or the other I guess). I could not wait to hook up my player to my Wega. Well, after I got settled in, I hooked up my RV80 via component video and made some adjustments in the menu. I used The Fifth Element as reference. To say the least, I was not pleased at all! Grainy! Artifacts! Ugh! As it turned out, my TV wasn’t calibrated properly [enough], so I ordered the AVIA calibration DVD. After I ran a calibration, the picture was stunning. Certain DVDs, however, were lackluster such as American Pie and the Sopranos Season One. On the other hand, movies like X-Men, Toy Story 2, When Harry Met Sally, Gladiator, and American Beauty were simply stunning. When I watched Toy Story 2, I thought there would be at least one glitch during a layer change since it’s such a complex disc, but to my surprise, my RV80 ran flawlessly just as it has with all my other movies. I cannot stress enough how great the picture looks! The black levels are incredible. To me, blues and reds are the nicest on this player. I can’t wait to get a front projector and DVDO line doubler to use with my RV80.

VALUE. The most amazing part of all is that the RV80 was very affordable. This player is well worth its $500 retail price tag, but $320 isn’t bad either. As a matter of fact, the RV80 was so cheap that I went ahead and spent an extra $20 for two day shipping. I just couldn’t justify spending over $600 on the Sony or even $800 on a progressive scan unit.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS. From my understanding, the RV80 has long been discontinued due to disappointing sales. If I were you, I’d get online and find an RV80 at once! This legend is fading fast, and you owe it to yourself to take advantage of one of the best interlaced DVD players to grace God’s green earth.

5+ stars for Value, 5+ stars Overall

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic DVD-RV30, Fisher DVD-S1000