hugene

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $800.00 from International Stereo

Summary:
Bought this unit in December 1999 and have had nothing go wrong with it ever. I use it extensively for DVD movies and CD's. Unfortunately, CD-R's cannot be played but other than that, I've been quite happy with it's performance. Picture and sound are great and when I purchased it, I knew that I was paying a lot but it worked out really well because it is over 4 years old and not that out-dated yet in regards to picture and sound quality. My brother-in-law has the exact same model and he did have to get his repaired when it was 15 months old (3 months out of warranty). Laser gave out. Panasonic ended up paying for the parts and he payed the labor. That was 3 years ago and he still uses it regularly with no problems since. Great product, great features, was a great investment.

Strengths:
Component video, DTS, very good quality picture and sound processing, 5 disc changer

Weaknesses:
no progressive scan, can't read anything except DVD,CD and VCD. No CD-R,DVD-R,etc.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer DVD-V630

hugene

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $3658.00 from A&B Sound

Summary:
Have had the TV since March 2002. No problems yet. Great picture and more features than anything else in it's price range. Especially love the number of video inputs. Won't be outdated anytime soon. Using a Panasonic DVD player without progressive scan and the picture is great!! Having the 4 different modes for picture size is very handy. Love the remote as well. The only complaint is the picture can be too dark. The ALS system leaves much to be desired. Makes the picture way too dark for the lighting in the room. Looks great and is big enough for my center speaker, DVD player, and VCR. Overall, great value.

Strengths:
Remote is great, picture is awesome (with some tweaking of course), large number of inputs (especially love the 2 component inputs for my DVD player and Gamecube), 4 choices for viewing size

Weaknesses:
ALS system

Similar Products Used:
Panasonic 32", checked out Sony, Hitachi but the salesman recommended Toshiba and I've been happy.

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Radio Shack

Summary:
Loved the player, but had a re-occuring and now seems permanent problem with the "No play" issue. If anyone out there knows if it can be fixed please let me know by e-mailing me @ daverpierce@hotmail.com. I love the player but it won't play a single dvd. It will play store bought cd's but that's it. thanks.

Strengths:
the 5 disk option is amazing

Weaknesses:
the "no play situation"

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Amazing! I have the same "NO PLAY" problem listed by two of the other reviewers, which is making the player almost worthless. Mine lasted almost 3 years, though. This is clearly a design flaw, and very disappointing since I have had CD players that lasted 10+ years without a problem. I have heard of similar long-term problems on other Panasonic DVD players, so I don't think my next DVD player will be a Panasonic.

Strengths:
Smooth video decode while it worked Very nice menu system

Weaknesses:
A design fault has crippled my player

Price Paid:  $250.00

Summary:
I am having the EXACT same problem as reviewer Kip (2 posts down). The player was fantastic for over a year and then I started receiving No Play messages -- if you treat it like a pinball machine (bump the sides, wiggle the tray, change disc locations) you can sometimes get the No Play DVD's to finally work. Cracked the tray one night, so I am junking it and shopping for a new one (with MP3 and DVD-Audio capabilities). I do like Panasonic products (especially my new 32" TV), so this is a major disappointment.

Strengths:
At the time, good price for a 5-disc DVD changer with great picture and sound

Weaknesses:
It should have lasted at least 5 years