Picture, Sounds, Features, Price

No zoom

Just wanted to pitch in my two cents. After three months of research, I narrowed my search down to the Panasonic RV-30 and the Toshiba 1600. Then my brothers-in-law bought us the RV-30 for Christmas and our decision was made for us!

I have put this thing through all the paces (Matrix, Gladiator, X-Men, etc.) and it has performed very well. It is amazing how well this DVD player works considering its very affordable price. I can't speak for the player's durability, but I am definitely happy with it so far. For the price, the remote works better than I expected it to. If you want the zoom feature, my research suggests that the Toshiba 1600 is a good, affordable choice.

Similar Products Used:

none

As good as you can get. Both audio and video are great!

Doesn't play CDR or DVD-R? Copyright protection? that's why I give it 4 star.

I really can't image how can it get any better. Unfortunately the first dvd I rent was 'saving private ryan', wow, that was bloody, it should be rated NC17! Also I don't understand why so many people bashing BOSE. It's quite good, actually very good.

Similar Products Used:

Sony

Great picture. Sound is good and will improve when the budget allows for a new receiver with many speakers! $50 rebate. Panasonic quality. 100x search.

None yet, really, haven't had it long enough. I probably wouldn't have mentioned the remote, but having read it here so often, I do think the buttons push funny.

So far so good. I don't have much to compare it to, but I really like this machine. I was given an RCA 5215 for Christmas which I had to return. It was locking up on various movies. Then I started doing research (read ALL the reviews here) for a machine in the same price range, knowing I wasn't going to get the top of the line for $200-300. I'm happy with all the features of this one and it works well with my RCA 27" TV - although I know now that a new receiver/surround system is not too far away -- I attached my stereo speakers to my TV jacks and it sounds 100% better. So far all disks, except one, work well, and I'm curious if anyone else has a similar problem. (Please e-mail me, if so.) The Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" disk is not synched right. The audio on the singing matches the video singing pretty good but the guitar picking (on "Psycho Killer") and especially the drumming on "Thank You For Sending Me An Angel" are at least 1/2 to 1 second quicker than the audio. It's very disconcerting. Is there a problem with the player? Do I have a bad disk? Is it a combination? (A friend is trying it on his Sony tonight.) I hope it's the disk, as I can get another one and all my other movies - and concerts - play fine.

BTW, great site and I'm coming here before I buy any other electronics.

Similar Products Used:

RCA 5215

Picture, Sound, quick load, has many features.

No zoom, no co-axial digital output

Hi,
I wanted to give this atleast a months worth of playing before I wrote this review. Here are my thoughts on the player.

When I went looking for a player I did lots of research and it came down to the Panasonic RV30 and the Pioneer DV333. They seemed to both be competent players. I decided to go with the Panasonic because it had more features that I thought I might use.

Picture:
The picture of DVD is superior to VHS in general and this is one of the first things I noticed. As for the Panasonic, I found the picture to be very clean. I have yet to see any kind of artifacts from downconversion or any pixelations. And I’m only running a Composite connection!

Sound:
I don’t have a digital receiver. I have the RV30 hooked up to my Pro Logic receiver using the RCA stereo analog outputs. The sound is very good with the analog outputs which is to be expected.
I find that although a DVD will include a dedicated Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround track to complement the 5.1, I choose to use the 5.1 because the downmix to 2 channels by the player to my ears sounds better than the dedicated 2.0 track! The downmixed 5.1 track sounds more clearer with a wider soundstage.

Features:
Dialogue Enhancer – this is the primary feature that made me choose the RV30 over the Pioneer. Since DVD movies have such a wide dynamic audio range I knew I would be hard-pressed to hear dialogue at times, especially with the more louder action movies. Well, the Dialogue Enhancer is actually a center channel enhancer. And because the center channel carries almost all of a soundtracks dialogue, Panasonic can get away with calling it a Dialogue Enhancer. The DE works by increasing the center channel in a 5.1 mix (or any mix with a discrete center channel) by +6dB’s. This feature seems useless for those with a Digital receiver (and somewhat with a DPL receiver) and a center speaker because the same effect can be achieved by raising the center channel volume on the receiver by +6dB’s in relation to the other channels. This feature however really benefits those with a 2 channel setup because when the DE is ON, the center channel’s sound will be boosted before getting downmixed to 2 channels. Thus you will still hear an audible increase in dialogue over a 2 channel setup or with 2 speakers.
I can attest that this feature does increase the dialogue. But because it’s really a center channel enhancer, its going to increase other sounds as well. This almost defeats the purpose since the majority of a movies soundtrack is mixed to be center dominant. Its increasing the dialogue but also a lot of other stuff as well. But this feature DOES work in making dialogue a lot more audible, better with some movies than others.

VSS – I tested the two VSS modes out and I guess they do as good a job as most VSS modes out there, which is actually not very convincing at all unless watching exactly in the sweet spot. I found that the VSS modes really enhance the environment/ambience sound effects, those that would be sent to the surround channels. I would call the VSS an OUT-OF-PHASE enhancer. For example, sounds such as wind blowing or crowds cheering that are mixed to be out-of-phase/diffuse and hard to locate are raised in volume while dialogue and in-phase sounds remain at the same level. An example would be in M:I-2 at the beginning where Tom Cruise is climbing the mountains. With the VSS ON, the wind sounds are much louder and prominent.

I found the layer changes handled by this player to be great. On the majority of my DVDs, I cannot detect them at all (Matrix, M:I-2, X-Men…). On a few (Magnolia, Gladiator), the layer change will be noticable but only in the form of a split second pause. No big deal at all. I don’t understand how people can say that a noticable layer changes end up ruining the whole movie watching experience for them. Remember back to VHS and LD where we were required to insert another tape or flip the LD to continue the movie?

The Dynamic Range Control was a feature I knew I would use because of living in an apartment (don’t want to disturb the neighbours). I must say at first, I still thought the dynamic audio range was still very wide with the DRC ON and was a little disappointed. But then I tried watching a movie with it OFF and then I noticed the difference. The audio compression by the DRC is very subtle.

I guess the only complaint (and a minor one at that) is that sometimes the tray will make a pulsing noise. However it only occurs with certain DVD’s and not all of them and it only seems to occur with Menus. During the Magnolia and Gladiator menus, I can hear the player making a pulsing noise of some sort…its not distracting or loud but I can hear it. But as soon as I press play and the movie starts and the counter appears, the pulsating stops. I think maybe its when the player is idle on a menu that it makes that sound and ONLY with a few DVDs. During the movies, its silent. Not really a problem but something I did notice.

The Remote is kinda ugly and I think the feature buttons are misplaced making them hard to locate unless you really get use to it.
I wish it had a zoom. It doesn’t have a co-axial digital output which is a drag since co-axial connections are much much cheaper.

Well, I know I really appreciated the reviews before mine in helping me with my decision so I hope this review will help others too.
I would recommend this player. It’s a great entry level player for those wanting to get into DVD and a great player that can take on the more expensive players as well for those home theater enthusiests out there. I have had no problems thus far and couldn't be happier.

If anyone has any questions about the RV30, feel free to email me at andykim@accessv.com and maybe I might be able to help.

My setup
Receiver: Technics SA-AX730 DPL
Speakers: Mission 700 (fronts), Mission 70c1 (center)

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Compared with the Pioneer DV333

great picture, sound, very quiet!

doesnt play cdr's

great DVD for the price i have it hooked up to my toshiba 50" cinema series tv. I use S-video from DVD to TV with monster cables! Gladiator is a visual masterpeice! I have hooked up cambridge soundworks surround sound package, I bought 8" powered sub-woofer. connected from my TEAC reciever with fiber optic cable from dvd to reciever great pix and sound!....great dvd player! for the price why go to the movies anymore?...wll maybe for the popcorn!

Panasonic finally got it right! After several other lemon models, here comes the current generation. Two things that I do like about this player is the fact that it uses brushless motors for both the pickup stepper(the mechanism that moves the laser back and forth on the sled) and the disc spindle(the mechanism that spins the disc). Remote ergonomics are about the same in quality as they were in the previous generation, adequate but not as intuitive as the Sony remote controls. Picture and audio quality are both very good. Panasonic continues to make the majority of their players in JAPAN, although a majority of their previous players don't seem to perform as well as the current generation. I still prefer Sony DVD players, but it's good to know that Panasonic is finally starting to get it right. - Reinhart

Smooth playback, Panasonic reliability.

Poor analog video output, cheap remote control, no menu buttons on the console, not user-friendly.
Dialogue Enhancer needs work.

I'm a relatively poor college gentleman who wasn't too interested in using superior audio or video capabilities to impress girls who come over, but then again I didn't want a DVD player to scoff at. Not looking to spend that much either, I did some research on this site and decided upon the RV-30 based on the constant praise it receives.
The fact that this player doesn't offer coax digital output isn't a concern of mine, as I run everything through analog cables anyway. Had I access to a better television, I would definitely use S-video (or is component video better? I just don't know...).
My experiences with the player have went from horrid to excellent to plain mediocre.
Now, I'm very meticulous about keeping my discs in good, clean condition. However, when watching my Man with the Golden Gun DVD, I noticed a couple of things: first, the dialogue enhancer doesn't help too much when you've got to adjust the volume whenever the blaringly loud background music comes on; second, I've seen less artifacts in an archeaological exhibit. There was even one point in the movie where I saw a sun spot of sorts--those black circular rings you see appear for a second, every now and then, on films in the theatre. I hardly think that a DVD I've watched maybe three times should be so shoddy. Other DVDs play percfectly spotless, e.g. Austin Powers 2 and American Beauty.
I'm wondering if using S-video to a better TV would clear all of this up, or if it's just the quality of DVD that contributes to my plight. It seems to me that DVDs from more recent years yield better picture than those of the past. That is, Liar Liar runs without any superfluous garbage while Fletch produces a sickening "snow-in-Los-Angeles" effect.
As for audio, I'd like to have the Onkyo DV-S525 instead but a good Pioneer even more, since I use CD-Rs and most Pioneers are dual-laser. Due to the Panasonic's unfortunate rejection of CD-R media, I play most CDs via computer. Nevertheless, the RV-30 plays CD music fairly well, and, for what it is able to read, offers better quality sound than my PC can.
The remote is simply awfully designed and cheap, but one can't live without it...literally. There are no menu controls on the actual player. I wish there were more outputs for audio and video on the back, for when I want to set up a home theater.
The first five times you bring up the display menu, you must refer back to the manual to recall what each picture supposedly means. It's almost as if Panasonic targeted the player at us illiterates who like to look at pretty pictures instead of straightforward phrases.
Desptite its obvious shortcomings, the Panasonic RV-30 makes 95% of its competition look like junk, and is a welcome, albeit overpriced, upgrade from my terrible, terrible, Samsung DVD-ROM (I'll never buy another THING that's made by Samsung or in Korea, not even a fifty-cent shoal). I actually like the video and sound on my father's Sony DVPS360 a lot better. My advice is to save up a little more money, have some patience, and purchase a higher-end DVD player that is sure to satisfy even the nitpickiest of critics (how ironic that statement is).

One last thing: my Panasonic actually boasts model no. DVD-RV30 U-K. Does anyone else have this particular model, and what makes it different than regular RV-30s?? Should I expect some sass from the company when it comes time to mail in the $50 rebate for the RV-30?? I would greatly appreciate feedback on this matter, as with all my worries, from anyone who might know how to improve my DVD experience.

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Sony DVPS360, Pioneer DV-C302D (3-disc changer), Samsung SD-612 (PC-DVD).

Great picture, Great sound, Subwoofer hookup, V.S.S, Dialogue enhancer, $50 rebate until Jan. 31

None

The subwoofer hookup is great for my system. This is rare for a DVD player. I have a 10 year old Onkyo reciever with limited hookups. I do have rear speakers but they are plugged in to the "B" slot on the reciever. I am very impressed with the V.S.S.. It sounds very much like surround sound.

The dialogue enhancer is nice. I do not have to back up the movie anymore to hear what someone said.

This unit responds quickly to the buttons pressed on the remote.

If anyone is not happy with the picture or sound it is most likely the cables. I have a great picture via s-video cable purchased at Sears. I bought Monster audio and subwoofer cables.

$189 @ moreaudiovideo.com - $50 rebate = $139. Great great value!

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Pioneer DVD-ROM

GREAT PRODUCT !!

As an update to my previous posting, it was NOT the DVD player causing the problems with the letterboxing being wider on the right side of my screen during viewing of letterboxed DVDs. It is after all my Samsung TV. WARNING: I took the Samsung TV, still under extended warranty from Future shop, to Japan Video in Edmonton. The repair technician used some device to look at the horizontal lines on the TV and even though they are noticeably crooked, he says that it is unfortunately within Samsung specifications, and unchangeable. BEWARE when purchasing ANY TV, ie: Samsung, that the picture will be what you want!!! Sorry to Pansonic for the earlier posting.

Superb menu controls; fine clear playback on screen, fair priced and great value. It also plays video cd and audio cds like other dvds.

minimal weakness - no zoom; it can't play back dvd-r, cd-rw, pal discs. I wish there was more chance to change the TV aspects other than 4:3 and 16:9. I heard some Sony dvd players could do this.

The Panasonic DVD-RV30 is an excellent choice for beginners & audio gurus. The menu bar features are rich and can be easily understood by pressing the remote control. The icons initially gives a person some difficulty, but the manual was written extremely well. The icons choices were well thought out and it takes a little bit for one to get use to it. For features that people use, it is relatively easy to use the remote without the manual. The nice thing about menu bar is that it is very detailed and it doesn't block the picture while changing the menu selections.
The other interesting feature is the ability for one who doesn't have a superb digital system to play rather great sound using the enhance dialogue feature (for 2 levels of enhancement - loud and louder). This enhancement helps if you do not own a center channel. The ability to change the PCM Down Conversion, Dolby digital, and DTS Digital Surround is great for people who may want to upgrade their system. It has a optical digital audio output plus a subwoofer output on the back, too. All three types are video outputs supported: S-video, component, & composite types. Other features include: darkening the black levels from normal and cinema, multiangle views, and very smooth slow motion and fast forward motion. The virtual surround sound (VSS1 - natural effect and VSS2 - emphasized effect) are helpful for those who do not have a fine stereo system. The surround sound effect works well even on our digital pro logic system.
The S-Video adapter greatly enhanced the view on the screen for my television as compared to the normal RCA output jacks. Overall, I believe it's a great player!

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Toshiba