Price Paid:  $225.00 from Audio Centre, Ottawa

Summary:
What a piece of crap. Right out of the box the player was freezing on play - spindle problem. It took 3 freaking weeks to replace the spindle motor assembly and the IC driver unit under warranty. Very little play and 7 months later, the same problem has creeped up yet again. The freaking dealer will not assist other than to take it down to the repair centre again. I will not buy Panasonic nor will I buy from this dealer ever again!

Strengths:
The problems outweigh any positives this machine has.

Weaknesses:
Problem after problem. What a piece of crap!

Similar Products Used:
Sony DVP-9000ES

Price Paid:  $89.00 from amazon.com

Summary:
Despite the superior Faroudja/Sage chip, the unit died one month after the 3 mo. warranty expired - showing the infamous H02 error (busted spindle). Since Panasonic wanted the purchase price ($89) to repair - their parts warranty clearly isn't worth the paper it's printed on - so save your hard earned $'s and try another vendor.

Similar Products Used:
Magnavox, Toshiba, Enkyo.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
The search for a DVD took me on an adventure that was fun but surprisingly time consumming. The first DVD I purchased was a Panasonic DVD RV32. That machine had an excellent picture and I was very pleased with the price. The only thing was after only 3 movies it developed the show stopping HO-07 error code; an error code which proved fatal to the machine. So much for floor model purchases that day. It was returned. The second player purchased was a Sony NS325 model in black. That machine fared well for the two weeks I owned it. It had a clear and accurate picture and had Excellent sound. The only thing that I found wrong was that the remote and access to features were not intuitive and seemed hard to get to. I guess I was spoiled by the Panasonic remote and level of control it afforded. I had been using our kids PS2 prior to that with the optional remote and found the Sony NS325 to be plagued by the same non-user friendly problems as the play station remote. After some consideration and contemplation I decided to take back the Sony and purchase the RP-62. This model fared very well in the DVD Shoot-out and had Great reviews accross the board. The RV-32 had in my opinion a better picture than the Sony so I was still thinking I was missing out and was rather annoyed with the Sony's controls. I was still a little reluctant with the Panasonic DVD based on my most recent experience however took another chance. Overall this new machine has an incredible level of colour richness and clarity of picture. There really seems to be subtle differences between all these sub $200 players and they all look relatively good however I noticed that this one really stood out as spectacular. The sound is rich and warm and provides great audio on CD's and MP3's, everybit as good as my Sony ES CD player. I have heard that it used a special chip the videophiles all herald as being the one to have. Frankly, I could care less what chip it has as, it's all about what I see on screen and getting the most for your money which I think I did this time, I hope :)!!

Strengths:
Richness of picture and detail. Ease of use and intuiative controls Cinema options Zoom

Weaknesses:
No coaxial out. This is not so much a weakness as it is an inconvenience to some users who may not have a digital optical out.

Similar Products Used:
Panasonic RV-32 Sony NS325 Sony X111ES (CD Player)