It worked well for a year

It only worked well for a year

As previous reviews have stated these problems have occurred one year after purchase.

pixilation
no disk messages
lock up

I am trying to get it fixed but I won't hold my breath after reading some of the reviews. I am looking for a new player - NOT PANASONIC.

I have the additional burden of being in the UK

AUDIO IS GREAT FOR CDS, PICTURE IS CLEAR

NONE AS OF YET

THE SOUND ON THIS UNIT IS BETTER THAN MY YAMAHA. I play my cds on this and the sound is great! It kicks the subwoofer in overdrive on good movies.

Was a great player for a great price.

Is a piece of cr*p worth next to nothing.

NO DISC ERROR. FAULTY OPTICAL UNIT!
Not just my unit.
I'm boycotting Panasonic.

Similar Products Used:

Anything else I've ever owned that, due to a manufacturing problem, breaks down after only a year.

I have had the pleasure of owning the Panasonic DVD-A110 for almost a year now and can honestly state that it's still one of the best DVD players available to date. The images are stable and clear, leaving little to be desired. Dolby Digital and DTS DVD's spring to life with a quality unheard of from other media formats. This player will certainly enhance your Home Theater experience!
Some jaded enthusiasts will actually visit sites like this and plague a product's reputation by comparing it to another at twice the price- this is simply unfair. If a product shines for what it is and does, then give credit where credit is due- of course a Lamborghini will outperform a Camaro, but it still doesn't detract from the Camaro's appeal. The DVD-A110 is for everyone, 'nuff said.

If the object is to acquire an affordable DVD player that will produce remarkable results, the DVD A110 is for you.

No failures - HERE'S WHY !
Awesome video
DTS Outputs
Styling

Runs HOT - see Review for cure
Can't play blue CD-R's
Remote not the greatest.

Unlike the dozens of 'A110's owned by other reviewers, my player has yet to exhibit any problems playing DVD's or CD's - in a year and a half of use (touch wood). I noticed early on that the DVD's I played in it came out feeling very warm to the touch, and the player ran very hot. Heat kills electrical and optical systems, so alarm bells went off in my head. My solution: I USE A FAN to blow a ton of cool air over the player! Neither the discs nor the player get warm now - even on 2-1/2 hour movies.

I might get serious and install a proper cooling fan inside it one day... now that the warranty has expired.

Other than this issue, I love the player. It has been playing rental DVD's 99% of the time, with no problems from scratches, fingerprints or cracks they come with. I hardly ever notice layer switches when they happen, the change is seamless 95% of the time. The remote is hard to work in the dark, but I'm know where the right buttons are by memory now.

Summary:

If you have one of these that still works, give it the fan treatment !

Similar Products Used:

None - it's my first DVD player

When it was new, worked fine, flawlessly

Same as the 110 owners. NO DISC error

My DVD A120 is starting to exhibit the NO DISC error
atypical of the owners posting here with the 110 units.
I will pull it apart and try the vaseline fix.

I experience NO pixallation, no layer switching problems...just the NO DISC error (so far)

can't say it's abused either. It exhibits no problems
(seemingly) with single layer discs. Peculiar.

We will see what gives after tearing apart for the fix.

Similar Products Used:

JCCOM in PC DVD player

UPDATE -- Panasonic Customer Service

UPDATE -- Panasonic Customer Service

(See my previous post on 28-DEC-2000)

As I mentioned, I contacted Panasonic Cust Support regarding their bad product.

Got a call back from them (finally), and after a few days of exchanging phone calls and information, they agreed today to replace my faulty player with a 2000 model DVD-RV30!

Thus, my faith was somewhat restored in Panasonic. (At the very least, I am now a little more secure that my Panny TV might not crap out prematurely!)

Just though I'd share the news that there IS hope out there!

Good luck!

This is an excelent player, but my c.d changer blows it away on sound quality. The cheapo version of a sony player was my first choice but
no d.t.s? You never know, maybe they'll get their act together and
you might actualy be able to use this feature, and I don't think that it's
too much to ask for 400 bucks.The layer change problem rears it's ugly
head rarely and then only for a few seconds. For some strange reason
this problem seems to occure only on the widescreen version of a movie.
HOMEGROWN was the only movie I've seen that I couldn't watch after the change.
Most of the time it,s unnoticeable. The only thing I really miss from the
Toshiba;s I rented from Blockbuster when I was test-driving this format is
adjustable black level and picture zoom. Other than that this is a well
thought out product, and if it,s STILL too much(and I think it,s a
bargain)then get the Phillips version, the exact same player for 50
bucks cheaper.Just don't try to replace your c.d player with it. the sound
will pass with a push, but just doesn't have the deapth of even my
el-cheapo c.d changer.And the 16 bit menu system is really cool. Little
touches like that show that panasonic sweated the details on this
little jewel. Nothing's perfect, but since I've just about worn this
thing out and still can't find anything wrong with it I just about have to
give it 5 stars

Come on people!! As Rich said earlier on in the reviews, this is NEW Technology. This is the price we have to pay when we want the latest and greatest.
I bought my A110 early July 1998(Over a year ago!)when these 2nd Gen. units first hit the shelves here in Ottawa. Just a month ago I've started to have the same symtoms as other people, pixelation and lots of lock-ups half way through a movie. I brought my unit back to my dealer and found out that a firmware upgrade is required. Fortunatley, I don't have to pay a cent for it because I deal with a highly reputable company and people.

Just think back when music CD technology first hit the shelves. There was no such thing as firmware or simple firmware upgrades to resolve problems. So, If a problem did arise you couldn't play a new CD because you didn't wait for the next generation CD players, you either lived with it or had to purchase a new player.

I think we, "Latest and Greatest Cutting Edge Technology Freaks", should be glad that a simple firmware upgrade can save us ALOT of $$$$ in the long run. As for the warranty issue, I think you, the people who are complaining, should look around for a better dealer and not blaim Panasonic. It'll take time before the DVD rollercoaster has settled down. Don't be surprised when you see more incompatibiliy problems and Next Gen. issues in the next couple of years.

As for my player, I love it! It has done me VERY WELL the past year. I'm sure it'll do very well again when I get it back with the new firmware!

5 Stars All the WAY!

Thanks,
Todd.

I bought this player 14 mos. ago, I have had sporadic pixelation & "no disc" problems. 4 weeks ago, the unit did a ratings lock for no reason. I did a re-initialization, but it didn't fix the problem. I could no longer open the disc tray. I have sent it for repair and the price estimate has come back more expensive than a brand new, next generation unit. I'm dissapointed with Panasonic reliability and will not buy another Panasonic unit.