Price Paid:  $99.00 from Ken Crane's

Summary:
As part of a killer deal, I got two XP50s and two SA-XR10 digital receivers for arond $100 each. Not bad, huh?

Even though it's a bit older than my 1080i upscaling Zenith DVB318, the Panasonic beats it in virutally every detail. It looks better, it functions better, and it sounds better.

It was the dramatic improvement in sound quality that impressed me first, but the picture quality is impressive, too. The image is much more stable with far fewer artifacts than the Zenith.

The inclusion of DVD-A capability is a plus, though software is limited. Due to minimalist design, the remote is essential; lose it and you've out of luck.

Despite being a few years old now, this player will still best most current players. It's still in the top six on the Secrets DVD Player Benchmark rankings.

However it's hard to find, and you're not likely to get it as cheaply as I did.

Strengths:
Slimline design
Appearance
Quality build
Six channel direct outputs
Sound quality
Picture quality

Weaknesses:
Small display
Button placement

Similar Products Used:
Zenith DVB318, Denon 1600, Panasonic RV33, Pioneer DVL700

Price Paid:  $279.00 from abtelectronics.com

Summary:
I bought this player based on people's recomendations on avsforum.com.

Build quality: You can tell materialwise it is a very high quality product. Its metal and has some definate weight to it. I have no doubt I could drop it and it would still work. You know panasonic is proud of the model when it comes with its own polishing cloth

Video/audio quality:. According to experts the internals are top notch. It looks absolutely gorgous even on my 116" projection screen. DVD Audio sounds great.

Disc playing: In the year I have had it it has never once freaked out on a DVD - even some pretty scratched up ones from blockbuster.

Summary: Several of my friends that are audiophiles desperately tried to buy one of these after seeing mine (both seeing the unit and the picture) but it is not available anymore - if you see one snatch it up asap!

Strengths:
Build quality
Video quality
Great looking slimline

Weaknesses:
as previously mentioned the display is unreadable from more than 1 or 2 feet away.

Similar Products Used:
Various DVD players from Sony, Toshiba, Magnavox, JVC.

Price Paid:  $200.00 from ebay

Summary:
I bought this player sight (and sound) unseen, based on the glowing reviews in several different audio mags. My previous player was a Toshiba 1200 that did a good job reproducing dvd video and (I thought)an adequate job of reproducing dvd and cd audio. Since I don't own a dedicated cd player, I use my dvd player as my sole audio source. After reading about the much improved sonics of the XP-50, I decided to take the plunge.

After taking advantage of an ebayer's shaky financial condition, I received my lovingly cared for XP-50 and wired it into my system. Whoa! I immediately started hearing things that I had never heard before. The detail, the soundstaging, the imaging, all combined to make my cheapo Polk Audio rt15i speakers sound like they had morphed into WATT/Puppies! I had never known what I was missing until that moment (I don't get out much). In fact, it made my entire system come alive. The bass from my Energy ES-8 was tighter and more defined, the dialog from my Infinity Sterling center channel speaker no longer got lost in the mammoth explosions that I so dearly love, and the TV picture through my s-video connection was noticably improved.

All in all, I would have to say that this is the best $200.00 upgrade that I have ever lucked into. Had I been forced to pay twice as much, I still would consider this purchase a bargain.

Strengths:
Sound clarity, video detail and really cool thin-profile styling

Weaknesses:
unreadable front display (Iguess you can't have everything!).

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba 1200

Price Paid:  $350.00

Summary:
The Panasonic's strong performance on its picture, particularly using
progressive scan, is what recommends this player above all others at its price range.

Word of note: if you're not watching on a screen larger than 36", the rather wide range in quality of the progressive scan feature on different brands and models of DVD players is fairly negligible. But if you are using a big screen, you will appreciate the Panasonic's use of the Sage DCDi chip when watching video-based DVDs. Film-based DVDs will appear smooth and without the shimmering halos and color bleed that are often present in other brands. The shadow detail and color are very strong, and it is recommended you make adjustments in the setup and display menus to match the equipment you're using.

Your monitor is not the only piece of equipment that determines the quality of your picture.

DVD-Audio is a feature that depends largely on your audio setup, and software, as you know, is limited. But it's the picture quality of this player that sets it apart from the others.

Check out CNET's review of the XP50: http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-6342369-1304-8407420.html?tag=txt
Plus, Sound and Vision does a comparison review which includes the XP-50:
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/equipment/PrintArticle.asp?ArticleID=176

Strengths:
Its progressive scan picture. On the cosmetic side, its silver and chrome styling is complementary to the trend in silver used on television sets. Sturdy quality for the price range.

Weaknesses:
The XP-50 uses an LCD display which is very hard to read.

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba SD-4800
Sony DVP-NS755V