Worked flawlessly for a little over a year

Continuous, intermittent problems like those mentioned below. EXtremely annoying and frustrating.

This DVD player should be taken off the market immediately!! If they were giving it away, I wouldn't take it. Since I don't have the time or patience to deal with Panasonic I am just going out and buying at least a FUNCTIONING DVD player. DO NOT BUY THIS PIECE OF S**T, SOONER OR LATER YOUR GOING TO REGRET IT!!!

* GENERAL COMMENTSPeople need to understand that virtually every model of DVD player has exhibited some sort of peculiar performance, and rarely are these quirks
reliable enough to conclude that the particular model is defective--or that the company 'sucks'. Sometimes it's the disc, sometimes it's the player, and sometimes it's the combination of the two. [And don't discount the possibility that a reckless or ignorant *user* is the ultimate problem.]


DVD players are relatively light and delicate machines. Don't drop them; don't shake them; and don't bang them. And don't trust UPS, Fed Ex and other carriers to baby them if you purchase by mail order. It is noteworthy, then, that my Panasonic DVD-A310 has been in major transit TWICE: first when it was delivered to my home (US), and again when I moved to Taiwan (as a carry-on item, courtesy of American Airlines). The unit is now 8 months old and has logged hundreds of hours of playing time (with both DVDs and music CDs). My player is, and always has been, near 100% reliable. I don't expect any audio component to please me 100% of the time (particularly one with moving parts), and so the Panasonic has proved to be one of my most enjoyable purchases.


* SPECIFIC COMMENTS
Unless you hear the same complaint from several independent sources, don't
give any credence to negative reports--they are almost always idiosyncratic!
As a case in point, one DVD-A310 user (Tim S) reported problems with the layer change in 'Mask of Zorro'. Specifically, his player skipped an entire
chapter in 3 out of 15 trials (yielding a 20% failure rate). I conducted my own test and found the layer change to be flawless in 10 out of 10 attempts. And I should add that I've watched 'Mask of Zorro' in its entirety twice, without problem. Yet, the first time I played 'Contact' my Panasonic seemingly
struggled with the layer change, producing an annoying jittering sound inside the unit (the video and audio were unaffected). My initial remedy was to stop play, advance the laser to the previous chapter, and run through the layer change again. Problem fixed! I have since played the 'Contact' DVD several times, and the layer change has always been smooth and without incident--as if the player 'learned' how to properly read and execute the layer change. I am starting to believe that DVD players, like amplifiers and loudspeakers, exhibit characteristic changes over time. That is, they benefit from a 'burn-in' process.


Main Point >> Don't be surprised if you *don't* come across other DVD-A310
users who report the same problem playing the 'Contact' DVD. Tim S has
intermittent problems watching 'Mask of Zorro' and I had an isolated problem
with the layer change in 'Contact'. These two events are distinct and
difficult to replicate, and hence are unlikely to stem from a genuine
defect. The probability that you would encounter the same problems with *your* A310 player is effectively the same as your chance of winning the state lottery.


* SOME PRAISE FOR A WORTHY PLAYER
The A310 is my first and only DVD player. I chose the Panasonic because
it's loaded with features, has a built-in Dolby Digital decoder, received
stellar reviews from various sources, and was competitively priced at only
$485US (shipped). Incidentally, I also enjoyed the $50 credit toward the purchase of two DVDs. At the time my a/v system was 5.1-ready, and so the A310 provided a cost-effective way to jump into DVD and Dolby Digital with a single
component. There's an ongoing debate concerning the quality of on-board vs. external decoders, but the simple truth is that Dolby Digital sounds superb with the A310.


My opinion is that components should add cosmetic character to an audio rack
or wall system, and the A310 just happens to be one of the sexiest players
on the market. Its sleek and attractively simple looks are second only to the
picture it delivers. When connected to a quality monitor using S-video
cable, the Panasonic delivers a brilliant, artifact-free picture that rivals the performance of newer 3rd-generation units (primarily because there is too little variation at this level of performance to begin with). Even today, the A310 is still ranked among the top 5 players (it is currently ranked the 3rd most popular player being sold).


In short, the audio and video performance of the DVD-A310 each are fully deserving of five marks. The player's features and looks merely sweeten the deal.

I seem to share a common complaint among others in this group. I too own the Panasonic DVD-A310, and it worked fine for 4 months. Then, blocks started to appear in my picture. After about 5 minutes, the disc player hung. I did the old Windows 95 approach to the problem (turn it off and on and hope the problem goes away). Unfortunately, no such luck, and my screen came up with "Unable to identify this type of disc [it was a DVD]". So, I am returning it. Piece of junk machine. Also, the middle channel was way too LOW.

Component out, AC-3 Decoder built-in, slim design

Doesn't like CDRs. Supposed to have DTS passthrough, but not working for me. starting to see 'pixelation'

Toshiba and Sony. That's what I tell anybody and everybody that asks me what they should buy as far as a DVD player.

I wish I knew then, what I know now. Spending the extra money for the AC-3 Decoding built in was a COMPLETE WASTE, since I bought the receiver with decoders about 2 weeks later. And thank goodness DTS never really became a standard like AC-3 because I've never been able to get the DVD player to properly send the audio from a DTS DVD to the Receiver (like it says it's SUPPOSED to be able to do).

I also recently purchased a MiniDV Camcorder and was hoping to create some VCD/SVCD to play on the DVD. But this player doesn't seem to like CDRs either.

And to finish it all off, I'm starting to see pixelation.

In the time I've had the unit, it has been a good performer on the basics. But has fallen short on the extra items it's SUPPOSED to be able to do and is now starting to degrade in quality.

Initially, I had heard such wonderful reports about Panasonic's quality in the DVD arena that I eagerly selected the A310 for my entree into the world of DVD. Unfortunately, I should have taken some of the reviews herein to heart and given more consideration to my purchase.
I'm returning my unit today. It freezes like crazy. I rented Bug's Life and within 15 minutes the problems began. Later, thinking it may have been the disc, I rented Enemy of the State. This time, the problem started within the first chapter...and it didn't improve as the film progressed!

Perhaps it's an issue with rental discs only but since a majority of my viewing will be utilizing rentals, my feeling is that the A310 is not up to par. I'm out looking for a replacement. Anyone have a solid recommendation?

Hi all, I have had a great experience with the a-310 until now. Popped in Enemy of the State the other night and pixilation problems started and the disc eventually locked. Now it won't play any dvd's at all. The player won't recognize that it is a dvd. This is the first time this has happened, how do I fix it? Do I have to send it to the manufacturer and hope it doesn't happen again? (wishful thinking)?
4/5 unless there isn't a fix.

I've owned my Panasonic A310 for over a year and have had absolutely no problems with it. I recently gave it to my Dad and purchased a Toshiba SA9000. The Toshiba does have a slightly more detailed picture. In terms of sound, however, it doesn't quite have the magic I experienced with the Panasonic while playing movies through the digital input of my Acurus ACT-3. I did not realize that bitstream data could sound different from player to player. The picture of the A310, though admittedly not as good as the SA9000's, is excellent. And I really like the remote and on-screen menus. The Toshiba is a beautifully-built player with a truly amazing picture, but somehow its digital output not as good a sonic match for my ACT-3 processor as the Panasonic's. Now I'm actually considering giving the Toshiba to my Dad and taking the Panasonic back. The right sound is that important to me. And that's also how much I like my old A310.

I have the A310, not by choice, but because it was a free gift. I have the Pioneer DVL-919 as well for comparison.
(1) Occasional Video Artifacts on about 1 out 10 DVDs - Yes.
(2) Difficulty tracking some DVDs - Yes
(3) Lousy power supply - turn on a fluorescent light and the thing skips/ loses digital lock - Yes.

The above 3 things are not present on my Pioneer DVL-919. The DVD player was placed on a dedicated Target Stand and plugged into a mains conditioner.

I don't think that this is acceptable, even for a budget player.

Great Picture quality, easy to use remote, very good sound

Remote not lighted.

I've used this player for over a year and have really liked it. I noticed a lot of people rating this player down b/c it freezes on lots of DVD's... I've only had that happen a couple of times, and everytime, it was actually the DVD. The Matrix even worked fine for me. This is not to say that freezes will never happen, in early generation DVD players, there are going to be things that need to be ironed out...

The DD decoder works very well, and the picture quality is excellent. I don't regret buying it at all. For it's generation, I think it was one of the best out there.

Back when it was still in production, it was kind of pricy and a bit one the pricy side. But now, if you can find one used, it would probably be better than a lot of new ones out there that you could by for the same price. It would definitly have more features at least.

None

Doesn't work.

I've had the DVD-A310 for about 9 months. It just started crapping out on me last month. Same problems that everyone else is having. Player crashing, pixalation, etc... It's a piece of #!$%#%. Not even fit to be used as a doorstop. I won't buy anymore of their crap anymore!