Plays standard audio CD's quite well, component video out, remote is nice (I never use it though), movies seem nice.

Can't play CDR's, CDRW's, or HDCD's. VSS is useless.

I've been using this unit as my CD player for the past year since I blew up an Aiwa shelf system. This unit has put up with my constant abuse for over a year. (living in a college Dorm room). Surprising, I figured it would have died.

My main complaint (and my reason for ordering a dedicated CD player) is that the unit claims it can play VCD's, yet can't play completed CDR's. Don't even bother with CDRW's. It's pretty resistant to CD's being scratched.

For movies, it's wonderful. The remote wasn't exactly planned. It looks like someone threw darts for placement of buttons on the remote. I pipe all of the audio through my receiver, so the audio is wonderful out of the unit. It's light, which is nice if you plan on taking the thing with you on trips. I'd at least give it a look for durability. I use the unit about 4 hours a day and it hasn't needed any repairs whatsoever. Not even an alignment, if you can believe that.

Similar Products Used:

None.

easy to use, excellent picture quality and audio outputs are great.

remote a little small

From a technicians point A120 is a great machine. I have seen and repair other DVD's that are made and sold in 2001 that don't stand up to A120 reliability. Most of the resent DVD's....the optical pick up unit (laser optic) don't last long. If you DVD can't read your dvd or cd your optic is bad. Go buy a new dvd before your replace the optical pick up unit.

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Pioneer DVD-333

easy to use,good picture quality

does not play cd-r vcd's, or cd-rw vcd's

Overall its nice player, has played all dvd's without any problems or noticable glitches. The only thing im realy disapointed in is that it does not play cd-r vcd's or cd-rw vcd's despite the claim that it is able to read cd-rw's. i give it 3 stars. No cd-r or cd-rw support is very disapointing.

Good Video & Audio for the Money

Reliability

Although, I have always consider my DVD player to be a weak link in my component system, I was pleasantly satisfied with my choice of a DVD unit (since that was my first DVD player & the price of the unit was very reasonable). However, recently my unit stop reading DVD's like dozens of other posters here on this board. I let the local repair shop here look at it, they quoted me $175.00 to repair it.

Seeing that I've only had the unit for about 2 years, and that other owners of this model have had had similar problems with this unit, I wouldn't recommend this product to anyone. Since that I'm back in the marke for a DVD, I'm not going to consider anything from Panasonic... thinking about the Denon 2800 or Toshiba SD9200 or some other higher end unit...

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Panasonic LaserDisc Player

Nice picture quality, when working

Doesn't play about half of new discs

I've had this player for about a year and a half. Within the last month, I've started getting the dreaded "This type of disc cannot be played. Please insert a different disc" message when playing about half of the new discs that I rent or buy. The problem seems to be mainly associated with new and dual layer discs. But it's made the player worthless to me. Does anyone know of any reset codes which might correct this problem - or should I just toss it into the trash, and get another brand? Before this player, I had an A110 which had freeze-up problems, but they were solved by a reset code. Because of these experiences, I will likely switch to Sony for my next DVD player purchase.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic A110

Simple to use, good quality sound and picture. Good price, great deal.

Can't play CD-R

It's very simple to use. The sounds and pictures are great.
The price is very fair, and it has everything you need for regular uses. The quality is very good, it has never had any problem with DVD movies after using for over a year. The only complain I can think of is it can't play CD-R, which is not a big deal since DVD and VCD are very easy to find now. Panasonic has done a great job on this player.

Similar Products Used:

Sony

I had the A110 for three weeks, but decided to exchange it for the A120. I liked the A110, but the A120 is much better. Some features only found in the A120 are:- component video output
- black level output selector (just like the flaky Toshiba)
- dialog enhancement (increased center channel audio level)
- 100x Fast Forward/Rewind

The only "feature" that the A120 does not have, and the A110 does is headphone output and its volume control.

Great unit!

I researched and researched and researched. It looked like A120 was the one to go with. I was very excited when I finally got it. It wasn't for long. Well, I decided to give it a try with all movies that I had (I only had six at that time). With two(!) of them I had some problems. They were "Contact" and "12 Monkeys". Going from chapter to chapter I got distorted picture (missing pixels or even parts of the frame), sound drop outs and black screen for a fraction of a second. When it happened first time, it gotten worse very quickly. I decided to take some of my DVDs to the local store and test them on Sony 5-disc DVD player. No problems. I even tried it on old RCA player. No problems either. I sent A120 back to where I ordered it from (OneCall). They contacted manufactor and both were able to reproduce this problem. I don't think I'll be getting another Panasonic though. Yes, it could've been just a bad unit but I think I'll try something else next time. BTW, my new JVC 501 is on it's way to my house. Just wanted to share my experience with y'all.

I have had the new Panasonic A120 DVD player for a fewdays, and would like to recommend this as one of the
best entry level DVD players out there.

Here are the highlights of this model:

- Smooth scanning in both forward and reverse
in 5 speeds. This is an excellent feature that
helps you locate any point in a movie.

- Five user defined locate or marker points to jump back
to any scene.

- AB repeat modes.

- Crystal clear, rock steady still images.

- Clear slow motion both forward and reverse in 5 speeds.

- Almost dead quit operation. What a difference from a
laser disc player!

- Outputs DTS bitstream from DTS DVDs. (Get the Apollo 13 DTS DVD.
There is no going back to Dolby Digital after you hear this sound
track in DTS or, try the Alan Parson's "On Air" DTS CD - one of
the very best multichannel recordings in DTS)

Note: The factory setting for DTS is set to "OFF". Be sure
to set it to "Bitstream" via the initial setup menu if you
have a DTS capable decoder hooked up.

- Outstanding sound quality even from analog outputs.

- Excellent picture quality - no artifacts. Absolutely
no video noise. Lack of video noise by itself makes
a striking difference when compared to analog laser discs.
Superb contrast and black level.

- Very spartan, easy to use front panel.

- Component video output jacks in addition to S-video and Composite.

- Toslink optical and Coaxial digital outputs.

- Very easy to use on-screen setup menus and displays.

- Priced right!!! I got it delivered for $300 including shipping
from Uncle's Stereo. Jimmy, the owner (800 978 6253 ext 15) is a
very helpful and sincere guy. They shipped a factory sealed unit carefully double boxed with extra packing.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a third generation DVD player
with DTS capability and component video outs, with a budget around $300,
the Panasonic A120 should be on your short list. This is the
perfect player to buy as an interim product before the DVD-Audio
capable players become available and affordable.

Best regards,

Tapas Das

I just purchased this DVD player at a local Sound Advice for only $315!!! It has a much higher list price (around $450), but I was able to get a great deal from my local salesman. This player has some great features that can't be found at a similar price anywhere else. The component video is excellent, and looks vibrant and sharp on my 50" Mitsubishi TV. The player is fast to load a disc - it is playing usually before I can get back to my couch. The sound is fantastic, picture is fantastic, price is fantastic. The remote is a little small compared to others I've seen, but doesn't bother me (yet). Comes with a cheesy RCA connector - don't use this (obviously). I have a Monster Video3 component cable for best picture results. I have found no glitches or problems, and can only praise this unit. If you are looking for a great player at a great price that has features of higher-end players, look no further. Other specs: 2 digital audio connectors (coax, optical), two RCA audio outs (l,r,l,r), component video out, removable power cord, simulated surround sound for 2 speaker systems.
TK