sub out, five disc, mp3, dual laser, disc stabilizer for improved playability and smooth scan.

No coax, On-screen menu, Remote.

I work for Futureshop so I know what to look for in good dvd player. This player has five disc, mp3, cd, and vcd. It has a good track record for not causing problems. Yet it''s not progressive. It has no coax, which is only a little problem because most receivers have opical[coax is better I know.] The menu is not that great - small and the symbols are hard to follow. There''s no text with mp3. The remote could be a bit nicer. I read on one review that there is no decoder. What do you expect in this price point anyway? If You want these features go buy the dvd-cp71. It has all this except the coax. People have to stop wanting a champange system on a Coca-cola budget. Peformace is great! Good picture and sound. This dvd player even has a sub out for those who don''t want a large system but want to add a sub (because we all love bass) This player also has dual lasers - one for dvd and the other one for cd. The motor is a little noisy but it is a machine with moving parts. I recommend this player if you want good value and Panasonic reliability.

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I did own Hitachi for a while, but I have used most brands at work.

excellent picture and sound

STOPPED WORKING, remote, no coax output

Recieved this DVD player as a wedding, and was extremely disapointed to not see a coax output, my tv has no rca adapters. I then hooked it up to my VCR and experienced light fading in and out on a regular basis. So I bit the bullet and bought a new tv ($500). DVD player worked great after that. Exelent picture and sound (sound through my receiver). I invited friends over to watch a movie, and all where impressed. I received 2 DVDs for christmas and was extremely dissapointed when they wouldn''t play. I figured that there was a problem with disks. I bought a DVD for my self and it too would not play. I started to get mad. Then I rented another disk, it too would not play. Luckily the person that got us the player bought the extended service plan, and gave us the receipt with the player. So now it out to service.

Price.

Could have progressive scan. Could use backlit remote. The remote (placement of buttons) and menus are confusing.

I wound up first bying a Toshiba SD3755. It skipped when playing MP3 files so I am returning it. I purchased the CV51 to replace it. So far I am happy with it. MP3 files play great! Piture is good and price was right ($199.00 open box buy at Circuit City).

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Toshiba SD3755

Price, Quality

remote, no coax digital output, loud slow carosel changes, not easy to tell what disk num is playing (small display)

Overall, I like the player very much. Simple, clean looks, good performance.

Small Gripes: 1) the display telling you what disk is playing is very small, 2) the carosel is noisy when changing disks, 3) confusing remote, no 'skip to next disk' button.

One note: if you're using a digital output to your reciever, and your reciever can handle 96khz digital input, make sure your have the PCM Down Coversion setting to 'NO' for better cd sound.

Price. Plays all audio formats (MP3 included) and DVD. Optical output. Random play. Continue play while changing other CDs.

No digital coax output. No DTS decoder. A little slow when randomly switching between CDs.

Very happy thus far. Can't find anything at a better price with all of these options. Can overcome DTS decoder and coax output with a receiver that has an internal decoder and an optical input, nonetheless both of these capabilities should be standard given all of its other options.

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Sony and JVC equivalent.

It plays anything you put in it..DVD,CD,VCD,CDR,CDRW,MP3!

No digital coaxial output. No random MP3 playback. Doesn't keep your spot when you hit stop or quit.

This is the most versatile and economical dvd player on the market.

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Sony Single Disc Gen. I DVD (S300), various computer dvd software

5 discs, Ability to play all audio formats, Cost

No digital coaxial output, Onscreen menus are difficult to navigate, Display always illuminated, Remote could use backlight

Despite the weaknesses, this is a good DVD player, especially for someone looking for a machine to play both audio and video. At the price, you are also getting a fair amount. Although, they seem to have missed on a few of the details. As I mentioned, my two biggest criticisms are that the display remains illuminated during movie play and the remote is not backlit. These two things can easily be overcome given your entertainment set up.

The onscreen menus are annoying at first, because they are more reliant on pictures than text. Often you find yourself consulting the manual to see what picture means what. After a quick tutorial and an initial setup, you'll be able to figure it out.

Overall, this is a good machine for the money, and it provides all the basics while allowing you to enjoy all audio formats. I would recommend it for someone looking for a nuts and bolts DVD/audio player.

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RCA Single Disk DVD

5 Disk Carousel, Ability to play VCD,MP3,CD-R,CD-RW,DVD

MP3 File System could be more intuitive,Slightly slow when swithing between disks,Makes some noise when the carousel turns,No Coaxial Digital Out.

This Panasonic CV-51 replaces a Sony DVP S-360 which is known
to exhibit the dreaded C:13 disk error.

I wanted a player that held a minimum of 5 disks with an
interlaced output (no HDTV) and could play music well (Including MP3's)

This player fits the bill for me, perfectly. The player will
play MP3's flawlessly the only drawback is that the display
does not show file names or ID3 Tags, it only shows track
numbers.

This player uses a dedicated laser for DVD and a dedicated
laser for CD based audio. Audio reproduction is very good
for a player in this price point and far better than the DVP
S-360 ever was.

I have used Dual Layer disks and dual sided disks and have
not had any problems at all. I have noticed a slight pause
between layer changes (half a second or less). The carousel
is a little on the slow and noisy side. I can not hear the
disk spin (no noise during movies) just when you go to switch
over to another disk you can hear the mechanism at work.

The unit is a little slow at reading the disks. It takes
roughly 1-6 seconds to recognize and then read the disk.

Again for the price these are null complaints. I don't think
you will find a better player for the price I paid (not at
this time)

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Sony DVP S-360