Decent video, good sound, ample outputs, and it plays 5 discs.

Unusually long start-up time; noisy transport mechanism; limited display options.

Since I have not used any other DVD players, I'll only judge this one on its own merits.

First, audio and video performance are quite good. If you use a receiver with built-in DACs, there is no question that you are getting the same digital information that any CD player would generate. So that's fine.

The fact that it has two sets of analog outputs for audio, two digital outputs (one each coax and optical), and component video output seems to almost put it in a class by itself at this price point. Connection flexibility literally couldn't be better.

The only real gripes I have with the unit are that the there is no easy way to view remaining time (a baffling design decision); the transport is slow compared to other CD players (I understand it is faster than other DVD changers, however); and my main complaint is the glacially slow start-up sequence.

WIth my old CD changer, I could power it up, hit the "OPEN" button and it would immediately open up and be ready to accept a disc. I expected to be able to do the same thing with this unit, and since it is my main CD player, the fact that it takes 10-15 seconds is mildly annoying. It's not a big deal, but certainly affects my opinion of the unit.

In the end, this player is a reasonable value with good video and audio. Anyone that expects it to be state of the art is fooling themselves. Likewise, anyone who tells you it's the worst player in the world is fooling everyone else.

Good sound and picture quality. I am very happy with this product combined with a new theater system.

Takes to long to switch disks and makes alot of noise when doing so. Not good for random CD play.

The whole DVD thing is relatively new to me so it'll probably take me about a year watching the panasonic and watching other freinds' systems to really notice any major differences. I am pleased with my purchase except for the fact that I bought it for $499 and found it for $399 about two months later at AOL's discount warehouse. Be sure to shop around.

Similar Products Used:

N/A

5-Disk Changer & Built-In Dolby Digital Decoder

Poor On-Screen Display, Poor FFWD & REW Scan Features, Poor Remote Control, and very un-stylish look to unit.

While looking to purchase a mutli-DVD/CD player for my girlfriend's parents for Christmas I thought I had found the unit that would suit them . . boy, was I wrong.

The Panasonic DVD-C220 looks as if Panasonic were simply trying to get a 5-Disk Changer onto the market before competitors because they certainly didn't spend any time in refining it's features.

The remote isn't terrible but it is not nearly as easy to use as previous Panasonic DVD remotes.

The FFWD & REW Scan features are a major turn-off. I went to the store to buy this product and knew (by previous reviews here) that those features might be lacking. Well, those features made using this DVD player simply unbearable.

The straw that finally broke my idea of purchasing this unit was how UGLY the on-screen display was. Previous Panasonic DVD players have a VERY pretty and easy-to-use display. Not only was this display a jumble of white text but you can hardly figure out what you are looking at. It looks like a bunch of statistcal information on your screen. Very scarey.

And the last thing was that my girlfriend kept saying that "the style is so . . so . . 70-ish." Well, I can't blame her . . she is always right on style.

Anyway, I went on to buy a Toshiba SD3109 which has its own drawbacks but, if you are in the market for a multi-DVD player, was far better in comparison.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic DVD-A310
Toshiba SD3109

5 disk changer replaced a dead Teak 5 disk changer and plays DVD's to boot.

remote buttons

I've played 5 movies and scores of CD's since Christmas Day. One DVD from Blockbuster was scratched. It skipped and pixelated for a few seconds. But so far it has worked flawlessly. I am still trying to figure out all the features. I have the sound connected to the VCR input of my Technics SA-GX910 Pro-logic receiver. I tried to hook it to the VDP, laser disk inputs, but the sound was so low I could hardly hear it. If any one knows if I will still get Pro-logic surround sound connected this way, let me know with an e-mail. Breck

Similar Products Used:

Teak 5 disk CD carousel. First DVD player.

Remote control

I am very new to DVD so I do not know much of what to expect from this unit. I can say that I am extremely happy with the audio and video quality I have experienced so far. I find this unit very easy to figure out (I have yet to read the manual). The remote control could probably be improved on. The buttons are very small and positioned a little too tightly together, but I can live with it.

Overall I think this is a great choice for the price and would definately recommend it to friends.

Plays CD-RWs. Price. Sound quality.

Won't play CD-Rs.

I would highly recommend this product. For all those who are annoyed that it won't play CD-Rs, have you tried CD-RWs? I was also initially disappointed that it wouldn't play my small CD-R collection, but then on a hunch, I tried a CD-RW, and it worked fine. Go figure. Anyway, it's a lot easier and cheaper just to reburn those CDs onto RW discs. After all, the rest of the features on this DVD player are fantastic...at any price.

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Tested and researched many DVD players.

Not to many girls write in here...but here goes...Actually...I can only agree with you boys...what a wimp of a machine...and those damn meaningless lights...Panasonic...what's up with those?...Look up "junk" in the dictionary...it will probably have a picture of this crap...Jules Smith.

Bang for the dollar

Budget market features

This DVD player makes a lot of sense for those on a budget; it has a high bang for the dollar. It, however, is not anywhere near as good as the Sony 650 which costs at least $100 more.

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Sony 650

Yeah, and the same dude who spells Panasonic as "pannasonic" has posted under about 10 different names!! Get a life!! I purchased the 220 a couple of months ago and the sound and picture are superior for the price, even playing scratched rentals and other DTS movies. have fun with your Sony 200 disc changer! If its anything like my Sony 200 disc CD changer, the carousel will assuradly snap the DVDs in half as the player will not recognize the CD and smash it into the loading dock! Good luck!

I'm glad to see that the same 2 or 3 people have posted about 30 one-star reviews of this player. It's rediculous and you should be banned from posting here. This is a good player, especially for the price. The performance is on par with Panasonic's other players (which have rather high ratings here) as well as other players that are under $500. I have no complaints with the one I actually own.