Worked well for 2 1/2 years, Customer Service

Manufacturing/Design Defect with Laser/Optical Pickup

My A-110 which I bought in July 1998 began pixilating and locking up 45 minutes to an hour into just about every movie we tried to watch. I declared it dead last Saturday evening and began looking for a replacement.

During that search, I ran across the problems reported here. I saw all the work arounds that had been devised, and found them to be totally unnacceptable to me. A couple of those reporting here were succesful in getting a new player from Panasonic. So before buying another player, I decided to give it a shot.

My efforts met with very easy success. I packed up the A-110 tonight and am sending it back to Panasonic. Upon receipt, they will be sending me a brand spanking new DVD-RV65. I'm only out the shipping to return my A-110.

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Here is the procedure:

1. Call 1-800-211-7262 and speak with a customer service rep. Tell him/her about your problem. Have model number, serial number, and date of purchase handy.

2. They will tell you that someone will be getting back in touch with you within 24-48 hours. They will give you a case number. Be sure to note the number.

3. Wait. (I got the call from the return department almost exactly 48 hours after my initial call). I suppose if you don't hear from them within that time frame you could call back the above number and inform them that the call is overdue.

4. Tell the return rep. your problem. Reference the fact that there was a design/manufacturing defect with the laser/ optical pickup that apparently existed on an extraordinarily high number of 110/310 players. I mentioned internet news groups, forums, etc. The rep. I dealt with was very friendly. After finishing my speil, she said that because the unit was 2 1/2 years old she didn't have to do anything. She said a repair would be very costly, and if I went with a repair, I would have to pay for it. But she said she talked with her supervisor, and she got clearance to really help me out. She said she wanted to send me a new player - the RV65 (I asked about upgrading to the RV80 for an additional charge, but they do not manufacture it any longer).

5. Return the 110/310 to the address provided.

6. Wait for new player to arrive.
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I found her approach, apparently dictated by Panasonic, to be quite interesting. It really appears Panasonic has decided to make quick offers of replacement to keep down the threat of more organized consumer action. I guess they figure that's cheaper than a full recall of all of the players. If those of us concerned enough to call are kept happy with new players, the chances of it going any further are slim. The first cust. serv. rep said that an entire department had been set up just to deal with the 110/310 problems.

So, if you have a 110/310 player that has given you trouble, I would highly recommend attempting to get a replacement player. You certainly have nothing to lose.

Those utilizing fans, special "open-air" placement tricks, 6 month regular lube jobs, etc. should give serious consideration to attempting to get a replacement. It's a pretty good deal to go from a faulty 2nd generation player to a brand new 4th generation player with component outputs for the price of shipping the A-110.

I give it 1 stars for obvious reasons, but really I am quite happy about the whole situation. You can't beat buying a 1998 player, using it for a couple of years, and then getting a free upgrade to a brand new player once the technology has matured somewhat.

Hope this helps,
Cliff

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A-110 only

4 years of great pictures and sound. Only now am I thinking of upgrading to prog scan

A lot of whiners bought it

In a previous post I suggested that some of the other posts were fakes. I stand by this. I have used this machine for 4 years without any difficulty. Perhaps those with problems have been trying to stuff their false teeth into it.

Panasonic is a great company.Why else would the camelot $5000 player use the 310 as a base. Shame on those with nothing better to do then whine.I will post 3 stars so as not to skew the socalled rating.....

Easy to use, Nice remote, Good Picture and Sound

Remote not illuminated, Occasional freezups (rare)

I have use this machine since Aug. 1999. I have had little problems with it. It has always performed adequately. I have noticed hesitations when changing layers, but discovered that at the time machine was manufactured this occured with a lot of players. My only complaint is that with some DTS DVD's that do not have a sound setup button it will not play the DTS track. If allowed to select DTS in setup it will play DTS. I have had no temperature problems. I have even sent this machine through the mail twice and have shown no ill effects. I have owned Panasonic/Technics equipment for years and have been very happy, as well as Sony. Presently looking to buy a progressive scan model.

Great Player

The only problems are with KNOWN DVD's with problems.

Since this is the first and only DVD player I have owned, I do not have much to compare it too. The only problems I have had with the player are dirty DVD's. Once I take and clean the DVD's, the player works great. Looking at the reviews, I seems that I have a unique player. The only reason I would get rid of this player is to upgrade to a progressive scan player to use with my HDTV.

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Built-in Dolby Digital, great sound and picture, attractive design, gold-plated terminals

Has a problem playing dual-layer discs

I thought that I had a great deal buy only paying $429.00 for this player when it first came out. I was very pleased with it except for the fact that it wouldn't play certain DVDs. Later on I found out that there was a bad chip in it and wouldn't play dual-layer discs. Then one day it just died on me all-together. No sound, no picture, not a thing! Needless to say I took it back and got a refund. Now I'm looking for a new DVD player to go with the Pioneer Elite VSX-26 receiver that I just purchased. I'm looking at the Pioneer Elite DV-05. If you have a better suggestion I'm all ears.

Lots of Features

Lockups and Pixalation

I have owned my Pana a310 for just over 2 years and it has started to do the Pixalations and lockups that have been occuring to everyone else. This was a good Machine till it started doing that. I bought a second dvd player 3 months ago for my bedroom (the apex 600a) and have sence then moved the Apex into my front room and put the 310 in the bedroom. I'm not going to by another Panasonic dvd player thats for sure. But I will buy a Denon.

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great unit while it worked

reliability - it broke due to poor design

Like many others, my unit's operation degraded and exhibited the pixellation and lock-ups and "no-disc" error messages shortly after the warranty period expired and has set gathering dust since. I also had a similar experience with Panasonic Consumer Relations in that they denied there was any inherent problem with this unit and were of absolutely no help in resolving the issue. I have initiated a class-action legal complaint in my state and would STRONGLY urge others to do likewise - Panasonic (MatsuSH*Ta corp.) should not be allowed to get away with this. If you are a Missouri resident and owner of one of these units, please e-mail me.

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n/a

great unit while it worked

reliability - it broke due to poor design

Like many others, my unit's operation degraded and exhibited the pixellation and lock-ups and "no-disc" error messages shortly after the warranty period expired and has set gathering dust since. I also had a similar experience with Panasonic Consumer Relations in that they denied there was any inherent problem with this unit and were of absolutely no help in resolving the issue. I have initiated a class-action legal complaint in my state and would STRONGLY urge others to do likewise - Panasonic (MatsuSH*Ta corp.) should not be allowed to get away with this. If you are a Missouri resident and owner of one of these units, please e-mail me.

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n/a

Everything was wonderful while it worked

Length that it worked

I purchased this unit March 99 and it wasn't used until about a year ago. It seems like this unit has a life expectancy just past its warranty. My unit started freezing also and then not recognizing the discs. Just like the rest of the stories. My recommendation is stay away from Panasonic products. If you decide to buy one, good luck. If you are having problems with your unit, call customer service and be heard, maybe if enough of use call complaing, it might make a difference. Their # is 1-888-PANA-DVD.

Easy to use hook ups. Nice overall appearance

Everything not mentioned in strenghts

This DVD player bites the big one. When I went looking for DVD players I wanted DTS. and this uit offered it for a reasonabale price at the time. Now I know why. The unit has compleatly failed on me twice now. With the display reading "No Disc" After the first failure I called Panasonic and aquired a rest coade. That worked the first time. Now the code doesn't work and I have a $500.00 paper weight. It still playes Audio Cd's but who cares about that.

I have had tons of trouble with Pixelization and every movie I watch I see the switch between layes.

There is no reason Panasonic should not have recaled this unit. WHAT EVER YOU BUY, DON'T GET THIS ONE!!!!

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