I have own the 310 for about a month now.I previously own the JVC2000 which I then exchanged with 310.
With the same price, 310 is a much, much better value.
With regard to the problem where frames were freeze for split second,
it happen to both players and my friend's SONY300 on one of my DVD disk
as it changes the chapters. So I guess that's normal.
Slow/Fast search work better than the JVC, VCD movie and KARAOKE work
just fine. Never have problem with the picture using S-video
(haven't tested the components out yet). Loading speed just as good as
the JVC and SONY. Haven't try the Dolby5.1 and DTS yet.
My complaint will be on the remove : I don't really like the joystick
that much, and the TV control should have tv/video button.

One other problem I have and I would like to ask those who has used it,
is that the sound was so low coming out off my Pro-logic receiver when I
play the Dolby5.1 DVD movie such as Armagedon. The receiver has the input
level indication that really showing much lower volume comparing to Dolby-
Surround from DVD or video-tape. The level was fine if I set the audio to
be 2-channel Dolby-Surround but some DVD disk only has 5.1.
Is that just the way it is ? Or I am missing something ?
Any advise is greatly appriciated.
I just afraid that I will still have the same problem if I use the DD or
DTS receiver, will I ?

Overall, I thought it has a great value, and I believe in the dependability
of Panasonic products as I have used many of them over many years.
I'll give it 4 stars.

Great Picture and sound quality

Has trouble reading gold plated discs.

I have had my A310 for about 13 months now, and have had no problems to date. But something is definetly wrong. I have did some research in to this and found that alot of the DVD's that people have had trouble playing on there unit has been mentioned on other reviewed sites of some Toshiba, JVC, Sony, units. All these DVD's are the gold plated discs. There is something about the way the laser reads the gold tint that is making all of these units freeze up. I have found a site on the internet that has confirmed that this is the problem. I will get the address and post it on another review. Frankly, I am a bit disturbed on how I was treated when I called Panasonic and asked them about this glitch. They completely denied that there was problem with this player reading the gold layered discs. On the other hand I called the Toshiba technical support line and told them I was having the same problem and they told me if I send the player they will fix my unit. I don't really own a Toshiba I just wanted to see what they would do about it and they were completely apologetic. 100% turnaround from Panasonic's rude customer service. When and if I ever have any trouble with mine I will not buy Panasonic again. But I am very happy with how my player has preformed so I will give a high rating. I am mainly dissapointed in how I was treated by Panasonic.

Good Video, Sound, Remote Control

None so far - keep fingers crossed

I've had my DVD player for about 8 months but have not had the problems that so many of the other reviewers have described. Unfortunately I did not know about this review site before I bought my A310, otherwise I'd have made the safer choice of getting something else.

I'm quite happy with its performance thus far although after reading the reviews below, I half expect my DVD player to go on the blink at any moment.

Similar Products Used:

none

Good Video, Sound, Remote Control

None so far - keep fingers crossed

I've had my DVD player for about 8 months but have not had the problems that so many of the other reviewers have described. Unfortunately I did not know about this review site before I bought my A310, otherwise I'd have made the safer choice of getting something else.

I'm quite happy with its performance thus far although after reading the reviews below, I half expect my DVD player to go on the blink at any moment.

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none

Best picture & sound at the time

Cheap remote.... and the problems (50s horrorflick music plays)

Although i own the european version of the DVDA310 (It's called DVDA350 over here, and lacks DTS out), i can say it has the same problems as the A310 does. Picture freezes, Audio pops (very loud). 'Pixelation' in my case meant 'all green screen, occasional floating mouth or car". Especially scratched discs, and discs made by paramount (Truman Show, First Contact) seem to 'freeze'. I couldnt take it back to panasonic, as my player was modified to play region 1 discs. However, my dealer (who also did the modification) replaced the entire drive and MPEG board last year. Although the lock-ups and pops haven't occured since that repair, the chapter-skipping-after-layer-change stayed.

All in all, the player itself is great. Best picture and sound at the time (Sony didnt make DVD-players back then!). The problems, and what i've read in other reviews here, the customer service of Panasonic simply isnt worth it. Stay away.

P.S. Some other manufacturers players are virtually identical to this one. i.e. Thompson, Denon and some others use the same drive and board for their models... why don't these have those problems? Anyone?

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Pioneer DVD/LD combo, Sony DVD725

Picture quality and ease of setup. Audio CD reproduction.

None that I have experienced.

How can people who own an A310 say it has Karaoki capability. It doesn't. I have never had a problem with vidio/audio quality with this unit.

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Toshiba 2109

Nice when it worked

Crap Optical pick up ..Panasonic won't admit it.

See my other reviews below.
Well we finally got our DVDK510 back AFTER panasonic
sent it to the Wrong address and we waited 10 days
for delivery. I tested Matrix and Mulan no problems so far
hope this NEW optical pick up works.
*** To complain about panasonic go to
www.planetfeedback.com

sits quietly when off

sits quietly when on - doesn't work

This machine is the most disappointing product that I've purchased from Panasonic .. and it will be a LONG time before I purchase another one (bought a tv with a bad yoke that took 9 weeks to fix) of their products.

The first 13 months, the player worked flawlessly!!! Absolutely perfect .. did everything demanded of it without question. Then periodic pixelization started on certain disks in their menu systems. About a month later, it refused to 'auto-run' discs when powered on. Then it refused to play discs at all (even those that I had started watching the previous day and switched off due to time). It would only display certain parts of the movie menu system. Then it wouldn't recognize any DVD .. sat and spun the disk until I had to unplug it (hitting the power button didn't work)

It did play regular music cd's without issue.

Luckily (well, that remains to be seen) I purchased an extended service play from Best Buy. Unfortunately, they've had it for over 7 weeks now with no word on return. Best Buy sent it back to panasonic for a 'firmware' upgrade.

Quite honestly, I have no hope of this unit functioning per normal upon it's return. And I will be looking to other manufacturers of DVD units.

Panasonic, you've sold me your last product.

Features

Pixilazation, wimpy size

I too bought this player due to magazine reviews. "Stereo Review" had good things to say as well as "The Absolute Sound". TAS went so far to say that the A310 was on par with a $4000 CD transport. After hearing this, I decided to use this player as the DVD/CD front end for a modest A/V system. This player is indeed a good audio performer. I have A/B tested it against the Linn CD-12 and it holds its own( as much as you would expect with a $550 vs $20K player). I have had decent luck with the video section. As of late I am encountering more instances of lock-up and skipping. Pixilization is also present, but I think that this is probably what we should expect from a first-gen consumer level player. After reading these reviews, I anticipate more problems down the road. Is this player worth the $550 I paid for it? Not anymore. Technology is off to the races and hopefully reliability will follow. In respect to my fellow audio enthusiasts, I will not recomend this player to others.

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None, First DVD player

One of most beautiful pictures in
DVD land
Excellent DD 5.1 decoder
User-friendly remote

Defective product

Well...I picked this up as an open box 5 days ago for $175. Rented 5 DVD's to watch. Worked flawlessly. Great picture and sound. Excellent 5.1. First-rate color saturation. I was in DVD heaven. Played the first 3 DVD's without any problems. Then on number 4...113 minutes in...layer change... picture pixalation occured...sound warped...image froze...then went to black...and a big audible pop in all speakers. Turned off power. Would not read disc. NO PLAY Put in another DVD...same thing...NO PLAY. Tried again with another disc...NO PLAY. The A310 will not recognize a DVD as being a DVD. Returned unit today and got a full refund.

So be warned...this unit is a defective device. Do not buy it...think about it...consider it...just forget it. Everything most people say about the A310 is absolutely correct. I read every post in this thread a week ago before making this purchase. I was aware of the possible problems this unit was experiencing. I went ahead and bought it anyway...hoping I would get one of the few non-defective A310's.

I was not one of the lucky ones.

If this unit would not have died such a early death (3 1/2 DVDs played)...I would have given it 5 Stars. But to die so young...it gets a ZERO.

DON'T BUY THIS UNLESS YOU NEED A BOAT ANCHOR.

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Sony S300