superb image and audio quality. Simple basic looks. This player is a solid dvd player with no gimmicks like mp3 playback

other people on this site say that it is unreliable and not very tolerant with scratched disks- i have had no problems so far.

i now have a full home cinema, nice. this dvd player is a quality product. I like the simple design of marantz products, they seem to make products for purists, they don't chuck in bucket loads of fake sorround crap and they dont compromise the quality of their products by making them play mp3's and stuff. I have yet to try any rental dvd's that would probably contain scratches, if these scratches were to cause a problem richer sounds have assured me that they will be willing to give me a refund or a replacement. I can't be arsed with mumbling on about the sound and visuals because they are just outstanding. This player has had the money spent on it where it should be spent, it is a simple product that performs real well. If you already have a cd player and are only looking for a out and out dvd player this is a fine choice. I got mine for 200 quid from richer sounds reduced from 300 quid. Baaaargain.

Similar Products Used:

toshiba sd-210e, yamaha dvd s510

Everything

Nothing

I have had this player for nearly a year and have had no problems. These problems that everyone else mentions (skipping) is probably due to dust on the laser therefore get it cleaned instead of moaning about it!! Seriously now, it is a brilliant player with excellent sound and visual quality. I seriously recommend this DVD player and I also recommend Richer Sounds, a cheap shop and a helpful bunch of people!!

Simple Design, Audio and Video quality

Loading time, does not read CDR and sensitive to scratches on disc surface

I bought this unit after looking at reviews in this site, so I knew the problems like skipping, loading time but also the excellent audio and video quality associated to this unit. I would like to thank all the people that spent their time posting their honest and unbias reviews (it helped in my buying decision process).

THE PROBLEM
As soon as I bought the unit, set it up and loaded a cd (primary use of this unit is to listen to cd) I noticed straight away that the loading time takes ages. I timed this with several cd and it vary from 10 seconds to 1 minute and 10 seconds. Anything longer than this, the disc will be ejected and the display will say "Disc Error". It was a worry to me because I could hear that the motor was spinning, stop then it will spin, stop. This process is repeated a few times until eventually it either play the disc or reject it. It seems this only happen to CD not DVD. It also sensitive to surface scrathes, where it usually reject the disc. Again it seems that this only happen for CD not DVD (Tried rental DVD and no problem). But I use the unit daily for CD and rental DVD every two weeks. I must admit that after a while I get more comfortable using the unit because it still read CDs that is in a good condition although it take a long time in the process. May be this is caused by the lack of Twin Wave laser.

THE GOOD NEWS
As I mentioned above, the primary use of this unit will be for CD, although I really should buy a CD player instead of this unit, I just cannot go pass the price of this unit. I paid less than half the original price because in Australia DV4100 is replacing this DV3100 and the unit is brand new. Not only that I also notice that the audio and video quality is also superior to my other DVD player (the Pioneer and Yamaha has the common audio quality 'problem' that I notice for DVD player which is a little too bright for music). With the price that I paid, I feel that this is one of the best sounding DVD player. The vocal is clear but not too bright, the bass is smooth and deep. The video also is very clear and more colorful than the Pioneer and Yamaha.

MY RECOMMENDATION
If you want DVD player that has good audio and video quality then buy this unit although I must say that I am not prepare to pay the full price tag (around USD$520 in Australia). Otherwise if you want something that sure will read almost your CDs collection, with quick loading time then the Pioneer and Yamaha beat the Marantz. 5 star for value and 4 because it is hard to live with, except all of your CD/DVD collection is sratch free and I mean scratch free as if they were new.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 626 and Yamaha (Cannot recall model number)

Great Video and Audio

Takes too long to load DVDs; Absolutely no tolerance for imperfect DVDs; Issues with certain DVDs

I've had this DVD player for a few months and have used it extensively (we typically use it about 6-8 hours per week, primarily on the weekend).

The picture quality and sound quality is exceptional. However, the system takes a long time to load. I have had a lot of problems with DVDs that may have had minor imperfections (e.g., scratches) which play fine on my older Panasonic DVD player. The disk will either stop playing, start skipping like crazy or go into some weird version of slow-motion. Renting DVDs has been a problem. I have also owned several DVDs that are region 1 encoded and play fine on my Panasonic, but the Marantz will say that these DVDs are not coded for Region 1.

All in all, I am satisfied with the DVD player for $200, but I would not be satisfied if I had to pay retail for this product ($500). Although audio and video is noticably better than other DVD players, it doesn't matter if you can't play the disc.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic DVD A100

Excellent DVD picture quality.
Excellent CD sound.

Slow in loading up. Cannot show time remaining in a song while listening to CD music (only ellapsed time).

This is an excellent DVD/CD player for the price. Although most people on thie site are correct about the slowness of loading, I have yet to have any problem with CD's/DVD's skipping during play. Everything I put in works fine. The picture is so much better than my old Pioneer, it isn't even funny! CD music is just as beautiful. Very detailed with slight emphasis on bass. All and all, if you can live with the slower loading times, you won't be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer dv-333

great sound and picture

reacts slowly, sensitive to disc blemishes

I have used the 3100 for 9 months and have found it to be a outstanding performer. I have only twice experienced the problems others have had. The first was when it was new and the problem disappeared. The second time was on a rental DVD of the move Dinosaur. Some kids must have mishandled the disc because this was the only other occurrence. I use the machine daily and extensively playing CD's. All of my CD's are new with no scratches etc. Possibly the problem is that the machine is not very tolerant.
The good news is the sound and video are awesome. I get a perfect picture with no artifacts, great color, sharpness, and depth. I get sweet music and clear voices. There are never any skips or other problems. Interestingly I also have the Marantz SR7000 receiver. Whether I'm playing DVD or CD the sound is beautiful and full range. DTS and DD movies with 5.1 are clear and crisp with house shaking realistic effects. Music videos come to life.
I own a reel to reel tape player and have some of the same music, originally recorded from new vinyl, I now have on CD. I did a side by side comparison and the CD (Marantz 3100) sounded better than the reel to reel. It doesn't get any better than that! The music is clean and warm.
I am a happy camper:=)

Great picture and sound

Skips on cd's and DVD's and takes too long to load

I have had this unit for about a month and have found more negatives than positives with this unit like skipping on cd's that are lightly scratched that work on my cd player. Also with dvd's it will start jumping from frame to frame normally late in the movie wich never happened on my toshiba which I paid considerably less for. Also takes a bit too long to load which doesn't worry me that much.
On the up side the picture and sound is of great quality which almost make up for pitfalls of this unit
Overall knowing what I know now I would not buy this unit and expected better from a marantz product

Great sound and picture quality when it's working. Simple, clean contstruction and appearance.

Terrible video pausing and skipping after 6 months of use. Very slow loading.

This unit had some minor skipping in audio and video during the first month, but seemed to disappear. When it was working, the picture and sound were excellent. It loads slowly, but that's not that big of deal. Now after about 6 months, it suddenly skips terribly on ALL DVD video (or doesn't read DVDs at all!) I had reservations about this model after reading the reviews here, and I think Marantz has serious issues with the quality of this unit. Tech support told me on the phone that they have had NO issues with this model, but to send it in and they will look at it. I am very happy with my other Marantz components, but this player is a piece of junk. $150 models at Best Buy work better than this.

Similar Products Used:

Thoshiba, Harman Kardon

Great picture and sound, well built, nice design

Once it could not read a CD

When I decided buying DVD player my major goal was to use it 80% of the time as CD player. So I paid a lot of attention to the sound qualities. Matantz is famous for that, so I was not dissapointed when I heard how it sounded in the shop. But when I connected it to my home A/V receiver (Carver-HTR-885.1) I was very upset - sound was so dull...
After some thinking I threw away the cables from its box and used my old Monster Cable - and the music began playing wonderfully.
The picture - great, detailed but yet without any artifacts or visual distortions.
I've already tried most of my CD's and found one that it failed to read. It was one of those that are bundled for free to musical magazines. I tried others from the same magazineand they played well.
Overall, I love it but this strange malfunction noticed by some other reviewers seems annoying. I wonder if Marantz can give any explanation to this...

Picture quality, sound is amazing for DVD as well as CD play

Seems to light.

I got this to replace a Onkyo DVD changer that had problems keeping the disks in the tray as it spun around. Needless to say I decided I wanted a single disk player as I already have a 300 Disk CD player and would only be using this to play DVD's.
The unit itself feels really light, I think it weighs about 8 lbs, but looks very well build. The front is very steamlined with minimal buttons.
The picture quality is excellent. It brings the movie to life. Also the unit seems much faster at playing and going through menus than my previous player. The sound is also extremely good. I tried it out for music once as well and it just comes alive on this unit. Overall I am very happy with it. I haven't experienced any of the problems the other users have( and hopefully I won't). It does come with a 3 year warrenty so that provides peace of mind. Overall a great DVD player.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo DV-501