Decent playback when it works..

Does not work about 1/4 of the time.

Looks like I am not alone. Worst mistake I ever made was buying this player.. Never again. To anybody looking for one, leave it ALONE!!!!

Good video and audio playback, great remote and on-screen controls.

None.

I purchased an A110 when they first came out, in May of 98. I haven't experienced most of the problems reported here, and I have really been pleased with the unit. I do notice a slight pause at the layer change on some discs, but I have never seen any pixelation at the layer-change. I got the dreaded "NO DISC" message once after playing a bad disc (I assume it was a defective dic since I also tried it in a Sony and JVC player and neither could play it). When the "NO DISC" message started coming up, the whole player was locked and I could not play ANY discs. However, I was able to reset the player through some arcane remote key sequence mentioned in the manual, and everything worked fine. Other than that problem, the player has worked great on over 120 discs including The Matrix.

Picture and audio quality on par with the best, budget priced or otherwise

No component video out, time display can not count backwards (useful for recording CD)

I just want to say I've owned mine for nearly 2 years and have had absolutely no problems. Perhaps I've just been lucky, but it seems to me that people with trouble-free machines are not writing in much. I've yet to find any DVD player that has no reported problems from at least some users. For those that have problems with the A110 it is a damn shame, for the performance when working properly is superb. From this site it is clear that Panasonic needs to step up their customer service to the level of Sony ES or Parasound for example. Hopefully I will continue to have glitch-free operation. I don't plan on upgrading my A110 until there is a substantial amount of DVD-Audio software available. By that time there should be a DVD-Universal player with progressive-scan component-video outs and SACD playback. At this time I would not pass if it were a Panasonic or Technics.

Similar Products Used:

Philips 825 and 815

great picture and sounds

freezes, didn't recognize DVD discs

Called Panasonic last year when the player stopped playing DVD and CD discs. They wanted me to pay for a diagnostic evaluation and any subsequent repair.

Read about the lubrication fix here and tried it. It worked for more than several months. Then the problems started again.

Was very happy to hear that Panasonic was starting to stand behind this product so I calle them again. It took more than a week before someone got back to me. (Was told it would be no later than 48 hours.)

A Panasonic rep sent me a letter that explained:
1) I was to send the unit to the nearest service center
2) Panasonic would pay for the repair

I wrapped up everything, insured it, and mailed it off on July 2.

Today I got my player back. They fixed mine rather than replaced it. The work order says they replaced the optical pick up unit and installed a software update.

The thing works. I would have preferred a new player, but the thing works.

If it keeps working, Panasonic may have won me back as a customer.

Todd

lots of output

in the shop

my player have been in the shop for about 7 weeks now.
i have own this player for since january, then about
8 months later i would not be able to play movies after a 5-30 minutes (probably when the player heats up) - I would get distorted images, rectangles (pixelation?), then eventually the movies would freeze. I then have to power down the player then power it up again to remove the disk and this takes a couple minutes too since the panasonic player seems to be confused.

a close friend of mine also bought the same player at the same time i did and have had no problems with it. so I don't know what's up with panasonic. i think they need better QA folks.

Reliable, Plays CD-RWs (But Not CD-Rs!), Dual Audio-Outputs, Optical Out

None that I've had

I feel very lucky when I read some of the horror stories that others have had with this machine. I bought it last December from Computability for $335 (a top price at the time for a 2nd generation player with AC-3/DTS capability) and have had not a single problem with it. (Plus, I found it plays my CD-RWs, but, strangely enough, not my CD-R discs.)

This was the first Panasonic machine I've bought (I have a Toshiba 35" TV, 2 JVC S-VHS VCRs, 2 Mitsubishi VHS VCRs and a Sony DB830 Receiver. Though I probably won't purchase anything else from Panasonic in the future, I really have no complaints with the A-110 -- it was the best machine for its price/performance last year and it never let me down.

Great picture, nice features, and reliable service (and I actually found the remote nicely laid out and easy to use).

Similar Products Used:

None

Good looks, price

Inability to play DVD's

Question - What can be more disappointing than bringing home a new DVD and then getting the "No Disc" message? Other than the poor performance of this DVD player how about the poor support from Panasonic? Half the DVDs in my collection (including Blade, The Matrix, Saving Private Ryan) give me the "No Disc" message or lock up during play. I share my DVDs with a neighbor who has a newer generation Sony player and he has not had a problem with any of my DVDs. When I contacted Panasonic, they indicated that they are aware of no problems with the player, other than the fact that the first versions of The Matrix were problematic. They offered to send me a new version of this movie. When I inquired about firmware upgrades, they told me that they are not aware of any. Basically, the message I got is that the problems are due to the DVD standard and not the player. I don't think its good for business to use the consumer as a guinea pig for developing standards.

When I bought a first generation Dolby Digital Decoder from Adcom, I had trouble with the audio from certain discs. They told me that there was a problem with the Dolby Digital 5.1 standard. Rather than blowing me off and telling me that it wasn't a problem with their hardware, they said they would get back to me when they determined the extent of the problem. They took responsibility and fixed the unit with a firmware upgrade. No problems ever since. Adcom, you just added another loyal customer. And Panasonic, you got the last $400 you'll every get from me until you acknowledge the problem and take responsibility.

Everything

NOne

I have had this product for a short period of time, but very
impressed with price and quality. I paid $129.00 and have
played some of the same movies that some are complaining about and had no problems. Maybe I just got a great piece for the money.

Will not play CD-R's. Low output volume. Cannot display time remaining. Defective after 7 months.

Make sure you hang on to your box, you will need it when you ship it to a service center to be repaired. Mine worked great for seven months, then came down with the pixelization and "No Disc" errors. Panasonic firmly denies that there is a defect in the players. I had to pay to have it repaired. Now it quite often stalls (3-5 sec) on layer switches. This is the last Pansonic product I will ever buy.

Great Overall Picture and Sound Quality

Pixelization and disc error has recently begun on my once trouble free unit. Can anyone tell me how to reset the software???

A software reset was mentioned in some earlier posts. Can someone tell me how to do this?