Price Paid:  $174.00 from Dumoulin in Montreal

Summary:
I have new 36 inch Sony without high scan so I can't comment on the progressive scan capabilities of this DVD player. I have though tried and owned many DVD players in the past and this one's just as good, if not better.

I love the 5 disc caroussel practicality, the audio sound is great and I actually use it as my CD player too. I found Panasonic DVD players had the best picture since I bought my first DVD player and they seem to continue this trend, at least in the inexpensive domain.

Strengths:
Plays DVD-Audio, HDCD and just about everything else. Most important is the picture quality of the video.

Weaknesses:
Doesn't play SACD, just SACD hybrid discs.

Similar Products Used:
Panasonic DVD-RV30, RV31, RV32, S27 and Sony 575 model, Toshiba older model.

Price Paid:  $125.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
I was looking for a DVD changer so I can put most all of a TV season set in it and just play it through. I noticed quite a bit of variation in quality noted in reviews here and elsewhere. In the end I took a chance on a new unreviewed F87 as Circuit City had it on sale (quoted price is out-the-door taxes and all. I got lucky because it plays quite well has good video and audio. My multi function remote doesn't seem to get the order to switch discs, however, so I have to use the Panasonic remote or go to the player. I believe the tech used on this model is mature and reliable.

Strengths:
Reliable and versatile. Good audio and video.

Weaknesses:
The commands to switch discs are not intuitive. It has only coaxial digital audio out, no optical.

Similar Products Used:
Various Toshiba, Pioneer DVD players

Price Paid:  $117.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
I don't have an HDTV so I can't comment on the video like the other reviewers could, but for my normal tv this player is as good as anything else I've ever used. I bought this unit more for use as a cd/dvd changer and it doubles very well as a cd changer due to its fast cd change times and random/program mode. I especially like being able to change cds and keep random going (something other players don't offer). All audio sounds great coming out of this thing. It does have lots of features, although I don't really use any of them because I let my reciever decode everything. It did take a little while to figure out how to use the features alongside my reciever which was somewhat of a hassle, but that is really a one time deal. Has a playlist for mp3 cds on tv screen which is nice. This might not be the unit for you if you are a hardcore a/v person, but for a more casual/enthusiast person like myself, this unit is perfect. Everything works really well, and its inexpensive. Plus, it looks very sharp with a clear display. I couldn't be happier with it.

Price Paid:  $150.00 from ABSound, Vancouver,

Summary:
I bought this DVD-changer for two reasons: DVD-Audio playback and multi-disk capability. Previously I was using a JVC progressive DVD player which had excellent video quality, but no DVD-A capability.

The F87 appears to be an exact replica of the Panasonic F85, except that the digital audio output is coaxial instead of optical which the F85 has.

It can play a variety of formats: DVD, DVD-A, DVD-RAM, SACD, VCD, CD, CD-RW, etc. I was pleasantly surprised to find it could read my DVDs which would otherwise give a read error in my old player.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:
I must admit that when I first used the player I was not satisfied with the default quick-setup settings. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that this player is loaded with features (once you find and figure how to navigate all the menus) that can make your video and audio experience a pleasure.

CONNECTIONS:
I connected the player using component video cables, since I have a HD TV monitor. I also

I have it connected to my JVC RX-6030 receiver using the digital coax and also to my Cayin TA-30 tube amplifier using RCA cables (in stereo mode). I use the JVC receiver for movies and the Cayin amplifier for music in stereo mode.

VIDEO PERFORMANCE:
Picture quality:
This player produces excellent video quality in 480p progressive mode with film based DVDs. But it's video quality is average for video-mode DVDs.

Progressive scan:
First and foremost, Panasonic dropped the Faroudja DCDi video deinterlacing chip in place of a less sophisticated chip. This makes the video performance drop considerably in progressive mode for non film-based DVDs (those that are not from 24fps film transfers). Thankfully, almost all DVD movie releases are film-based and it does a superb job of 3:2 pulldown deinterlacing - producing an excellent quality picture. In order to get the progressive scan mode to work you have to do two things: (i) enable the progressive mode in the Video menu and (ii) set the video output mode to 480p in the Display menu. Unfortunately, the second point is stated only in the troubleshooting section of the manual!

There are three progressive mode settings available: "Auto1", "Auto2" and "Video". I found that "Auto2" was the best - it handles both film-based DVDs (24fps with 3:2 pulldown) and video-based DVDs (30fps).

Scaling:
One thing this this player definitely does better than the previous Panasonic DVD players (even those having the Faroudja chip such as the RP61) is scaling. It has a number of zoom modes to suit the DVD format and your viewing style. I have a widescreen HD TV and I initially thought it could not scale non-anamorphic widescreen DVDs correctly. But I found that I had to do two things in order to get non-anamorphic DVDs to scale correctly: (i) set the aspect to 16:9 in the Video menu and (ii) set the 4:3 mode to Auto in the Display menu.

Black levels:
Another neat feature is the black level feature, which greatly improves the picture contrast.

AUDIO PERFORMANCE:
Where this system excels is in the audio performance. I tried both DVD-Audio disks and CDs and in both it produced excellent sound. DVD-A is definitely the way to go, it produces much richer sound than CDs.

I compared this system to my parent's Marantz 4400 DVD player in CD mode and I could not tell the difference.

CONCLUSION:
This is an excellent system if you are aware that the Faroudja DCDi chip is missing. But it indeed produces excellent picture quality with film-based DVDs (almost all DVD movies are film-based). The audio performance is just superb.

Strengths:
1. Excellent sound quality, especially with DVD-Audio
2. Excellent video quality in 480p progressive mode with film based DVDs
3. Excellent video scaling

Weaknesses:
1. Average video quality for video-mode DVDs
2. Manual is not descriptive enough

Similar Products Used:
JVC SA-65BK DVD player
Marantz 4400 DVD player

Price Paid:  $129.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
For a brand new dvd player one would expect a decent picture quality. This unit performed quite well on everything except the most important aspect. The VIDEO!! Colors are not very vibrant and contrast is dull and washed out. I used this player to replace an old JVC and the JVC blows it away in the video quality category. Great player with only adequate picture quality.

Strengths:
Style, disc change speed, dvd-a compatibility

Weaknesses:
lousy remote and dull video reproduction