Damn good video and sound READ BELOW FOR HELP TO GET RID OF LOCKUPS AND PAUSING

Sensitive to smudges and runs too hot causing all the lockups and eventual failures

This is an update from my October post. After i put in a small computer fan and drilled vent holes in the side in October i have had no more lockups or anything at all. I watch 1-2 dvds a day and sometimes like just recently 3 dvds straight in a row. I repeat I have had no more pauses, lockups or pixelation when before I modified the player I did. I know you shouldn't have to do this but hey it saved my investment. Before you throw it out try this I almost guarantee it will work unless you have already fried the chips inside. The thing runs too hot with no ventilation that's the reason for the problems. They should have designed it with chips that could have taken the heat. I haven't tried it with just the holes drilled and no fan yet. I will unhook the fan and see if it still runs well therefor not needing the small fan. I found this solution from another post way below this one. If this helps anyone please post to help others.

I recently purchased the Panasonic DVD-A310 unit and I must say it is truly an excellent value! I compared the features to the others: Sony DVP500, and Denon DVD-3000. The problem with the Sony is that it does NOT detect DTS bitstreams.Since I have a Denon AVR3200 with 6ch inputs I can enjoy DTS software. The Denon
DVD player does have DTS capability but lacks the shuttle control and costs 300 smackers more. I hooked my DVD-A310 up via digital coax in 10 mins and I was watching Terminator 2 in all its DD glory. The picture is breathtaking!! The remote has a little "nipple" that Panasonic calls a "joystick" that takes a little getting used to but the remote is very very good. The manual is ok, I just would rather every other page not be in french or some other language I should have studied for in school.
I like the smooth search (about as smooth as it gets in DVD world) and the bookmark feature. The 10bit D/A converter makes my audio CD's sound noticeably
better(smoother). This product wont let you down, you simply must see-hear this
DVD player. Then you too can laugh at those guys who spent $1000 on the Sony and now find out that they cant play DTS encoded DVD's on their unit.
By the way I spent $549 for my unit here in Atlanta.

Really wanted the Sony DVP600, but the lack of DTS drove me off. Since I picked up the Yamaha 2095 at the same time, thought this Panasonic was reasonable both for the price ($450) and for the features (DTS, etc).

This Panasonic has been a very good performer. Picture quality is excellent and sound is just as good. So far i have experienced no glitches on any dvd's. With DTS capability is is ready for that. An excellent player. I am very satisfied.

Ive had my A310 for 5 months now and still love it. For the people who say they cant play CD-Rs, try again. The A310 has no problem playing CD-Rs or CD-RWs. I do it all the time.

I bought the A310 last week and have played 6 different DVDs on it. On every movie I played the image was grainy and the A310 kept freezing ( for a split second) throughout the playback. Am I missing somthing or is this unit defective. I have the DVD player hooked up through the component video input which is supposed to be the most vivid picture. Right now the playback is similar cheap, broken VHS player.

I've had this DVD player for nine months now and love it. It sounds great, has great features (including DD decoder, forward/reverse scanning, joystick remote, component and S-video out, optical and coax out, DTS compatible but no DTS decoder), and plays great. I've read snippets of newsgroup discussions about some skipping problems, but I've never encountered any problems.
I bought it for $520 back in March 1998 and it was a great buy. I've heard that it's available for around $400, which makes it an even better buy.

I have this DVD unit for almost 5 months now, and thanks to the video rental stores I can say that at least once a week I've seen a movie.In the beginning I wasn't much into DVDs format especially since the price is usually 50% to double then a regular CD. Now, I can say that I'm very pleased with it, and it even plays music better then my regular CD player, not to say about the outstanding picture quality.
I got this unit in August as a present and let me tell you that I had mixed feelings in the beginning about the A310.
First of all is the fact that is to light, almost like is nothing in it, and second was the fact that it has the AC3 built in which is redundant with my receiver which makes it kind of expensive in Canada. Now I don't care because the unit delivers an outstanding sound and picture.
Other then the fact that is sort of expensive (not as much as a Sony), I'm recommending this unit with all my hart.

I have owned the Panasonic A-310 for almost 6 months now. I paid $500 incluing tax. I wanted to get the A-110, but I my TV had component video, so I went for the 310. My only gripe with it is that it has a Dolby Digital Decoder which is idiotic for this market segment. I chose the Panasonic because it was the first DTS compatible player on the market, and it was rumored to be very good. It is. It has worked flawlessly. Frankly, with the exception of aesthetics, I see no need for anyone to buy a better DVD player. The Panasonic is very easy to use and setup. I really like the remote too. The joystick is invaluable (even though many reviewers have criticized it). As a CD player, I find it to be more neutral than the $500 Rotel and Marantz units. Not quite as good as a comparable NAD, but better than the above two units. However, the review in Audio Magazine saying it was almost as good as the $3000 Meridian 508.24 is a joke. But for a solidly mid-fi HT, the Panasonic would be great as a CD player. Six months later, the Panasonic is still a competetive player. It has fewer glitches than any other mass market DVD player. I think it also has the best CD performance of any mass market DVD player too. Picture and sound quality is right up their with the new Toshibas. It also has DTS, which the Sony doesn't have, and i is built better than the Pionner. The Panasonic A-310 has also been reduced to $499 street, so it is a good value. Highly recommended.

I've had this unit sinch March and it has been flawless. Before this I purchased the Sony 3000. The Sony had better build quality but I hated the picture softness when playing anamorphic enhanced DVD's while the 310's picture is sharper and more detailed. I also don't use the decoder but I chose the 310 over the 110 for the superior remote and an extra $25 rebate. The only downside is that it won't play cdr's.