It is somewhat ironic that several weeks after I posted my positive review of the DVD-A310, I was initiated into the 'video artifact' club, to which many of you already belong. I wrote Panasonic, citing the two commonly-reported problems (i.e., layer changes and video artifacts), and was informed that, yes, PANASONIC DOES ACKNOWLEDGE A PROBLEM WITH VIDEO ARTIFACTS. To quote Panasonic, "The problem you describe seems to be resulting from a synchronization matter between the spindle motor and the microprocessor."

To clarify, I am referring to the problem where the picture breaks up and sometimes freezes; I still have not had problems with layer changes. In my own case, the video problem is thus far limited to 'Dances with Wolves' and 'From the Earth to the Moon' (there may be a dual-layer correlate here). In light of the fact that there is a genuine problem with the A310 (or at least a real potential for a problem to occur), it may be prudent to return your machine if such an option is still available to you. [I was unfortunate in that my warranty had since expired.] Alternatively, it is possible to have the problem serviced, according to Panasonic.


So, I am posting this message to 'officially' revise my earlier review, and to assist anyone who recently purchased (or is planning to purchase) the DVD-A310 player. I can no longer recommend this particular model. Ideally, I would prefer to post a -5 rating to mathematically cancel my original rating without affecting the mean score; but I cannot. Thus, I submit the lowest rating possible ("1").


Back to the drawing board! Soon I will be in the market for a new DVD player, and after reading all the reviews for the other players (like Toshiba, Sony, and Denon), it seems as if NO player has established itself as truly reliable.

I can not believe some of the things I have read about this Player. I have had absolutly no problems with lock up. I use this player at least 3 to 4 times a week and the only problems I had are with the rentals. The picture quality is great. I checked out the Sony 7700 and the Panasonic A120 on my system for comparison and I think the Panasonic blows away the Sony's Lip-sync machine as for the A120 I would also recommend highly. Though the 310 is built much better then the 120.

My husband and I received our dvd player as a gift for Christmas, and about six months later started having the problems a lot of people are having, Digital Artifacts in the picture, along with audio chopping problems. After a few days it progressed to where it would not play dvds at all. But would still play most audio cds. We then took it to BEST BUY to have it repaired and they LOST my dvd player. They told me they would replace it, (what a bunch of crap) they wanted to replace it with models that were much cheaper than thanks to BEST BUY we don’t have that option any more. Anyone have any thoughts on which players are good and in the same price range? the A310. But to make a very long story short I finally got the $499 back. The picture and sound on the dvd player was very good, and we were very pleased with the player until this problem, but had it have been fixed we would have loved to gotten it back, but

My husband and I recived our dvd player as a gift for Christmas, and about six months later started having the problems a lot of people are having, Digital Artifacts in the picture, along with audio chopping problems. After a few days it progressed to where it would not play dvds at all. But would still play most audio cds. We then took it to BEST BUY to have it repaired and they Lost my dvd player. They told me they would replace it, (what a bunch of crap) they wanted to replace it with models that were much cheaper than the 310. But to make a very long story short I finally got the $499 back. The picture and sound on the dvd player was very good, and we were very pleased with the player until this problem, but had it have been fixed we would have loved to gotten it back, but thanks to BEST BUY we don’t have that option any more. Anyone have any thoughts on which players are good and in the same price range?

I had K510 which should essentially the same as A310 but with Karaoke funtion. My story is that I just spent $270 to have the player repaired (I had for 15 months). Panasonic said the laserbeam pickup was dead and the cost for this part is %150 and then plus labor, shipping and tax (strongly they charged tax even the repair was done in MA, I live in CT).
I found the digital noise problem when I had it for 8 months. I thought it was due to disc problem until it got worse and worse and finally cannot ready any disc.

Any ideal I can get $270 repair fee back from Panasonic? I know I can buy A DVD player with this money.

Hi
I have had this player for over a year now! Have had all the above mentioned problems. Sent to Pnasonic Canada! Repaired no charge.So far works fine but the three weeks without bought Sony DVP-S7700 five stars for sony/2stars panasonic. I guess it like the old story you get what you pay for!!!

I bought this player about six months ago. At first everything was great. Great picture and sound. Then you know what happened, the same f***ing problem everyone else is talking about. The picture freezes and the sound skips randomly. I will probably get it fixed, but in the mean time I am definitely looking for a new player. Without the problems I would give it a 4, but considering how annoying it is I can only give it a 2. I will never buy anything Panasonic again. I am considering either the Toshiba 9000, Sony 7700, or the Denon 5000. Any suggestions?

I have owned the A-310 for about 9 months now, as to about 1 week ago I have not have any problems with the player. With the amount of DVD's I have it has probably gone though about 150 movies, to which it performed flawlessly. Starting about a week ago while watching "Blade" I stated getting Digital Artifacts in the picture, along with audio chopping problems, and scan-fastforward pausing. After checking the Disc (which was in perfect condition) and trying a few other movies, and having the same problem occur I decided to give it a rest for that day. Trying it again and again during the next few days brought out the problem in larger and longer quanities. Now I can conclude that their is a serious problem with this player. After reading many other reviews in this website I see that there is serious defect in these players that can occur form day one to several months after purchasing this player. I will be contacting Panasonic about this problem and they will be fixing this player at their cost, a retail priced $700 DVD player should not be failing after several months of use. And to all those people that say that this is just Panasonic Bashing, I am a diehard Panasonic Fan owning the following Panasonic ProductsCT-32SF36 superflat TV
DVD-a310 dvd player
PV-8664 hi-fi VCR
SA-TX50 THX reciever
SLPD10 5 disc changer
RSTR575 Dual cassette deck
SCH500 DD DTS processor
Overall this DVD player earned itself a rating of 5 Stars but with the problems I am currently experiencing i can only give it a 2 Star rating, and if Panasonic gives me any problem with this I will re-review this unit 1 Star.
Panasonics Customer Service is its only redeption with me.

I bought my A310 about 6 months ago for $220 from the first owner. He apparently didn't have it that long. I've used it frequently since getting it and I have had not one problem with it. The picture is great (of course) and I just bought a DD ready receiver so I can take advantage of the 5.1/DTS that is built in. I just wish it had some eye candy on it to look cool and stand out from the rest of the components. Overall, since I've had no problems I'd give it 5 stars. I'd recommend this if you can get it for around $300 or less (new or almost new).

I have had the player for 11 months now, and it has had relatively little use. I came across this site while researching the problem I recently had with my A310. My problem was identical to the many others listed here.

My problems started out of the blue. After finding out this problem is widespread, I spoke with Panasonic Consumer Affairs and my local service center. Since the player has a 90day labor and 1 year parts warranty, I asked that Panasonic pick up the total cost of the repair. I felt this was reasonable because of the obvious design flaw in this player. I mentioned this site as well as dejanews to support my argument. The response from both the repair center and Panasonic consumer affairs was that my findings were here-say. They would not commit to covering any of the labor charges until after I paid the diagnostic fee and they had looked at it. The entire repair experience was VERY painful. There was absolutely NO communication between the service center and consumer affairs until I got involved as the middleman. Ultimately, I paid the diagnostic fee of $45 and Panasonic picked up the remainder of about $60 worth of labor. They also paid the parts portion of the repair. The service center replaced the optical pickup and flashed the ROM.

My rating of 1 is only based on the extremely poor service I received. If Panasonic had not lied to me about known issues and higher than normal repairs for this model, I would feel differently.

Overall performance for the player is good. It has an excellent picture and some useful features. I do not like the remote control, as it is somewhat cumbersome.

Panasonic makes some good products. Unfortunately, their service is terrible. Based on this fact, I will have a very hard time ever buying another Panasonic product.