Plays mildly warped/scratched discs, plays new "high compression" Provac-manufactured DVDs, plays MP3s even if they are within folders (no need to burn MP3s onto root of CD-R), too many more features to list here...

Can not play MP3s randomly (I don't care, I've got software to burn custom playlist MP3 CDs)

LONG REVIEW WITH EXPLANATIONS OF MP3 FEATURES ON RV-31 (Read for more info)
-------------------------------------------------------

I just got my RV-31 yesterday and was blown away by what this unit could do!

I already have a CreativeLabs DVD Encore12x with DXR3 decoder and it would NOT play Provac-manufatured DVDs... kept giving me BSODs since even at 12x my player could not uncompress the data fast enough to play the DVD (I'm talking about "Oasis-Familiar To Millions" DVD in case you're wondering). I popped the disc in the RV-31 and bang! right away it played without any problem!

It also has the great ability to read slightly warped or lightly scratched discs... I popped in a DVD witch I accidentally scratched and couldn't play in my DVD-Rom, the RV-31 played it no problem! I also tried a music CD-R I had left on the dash of my car last summer... the thing was freakin bent like a pretzel... I put it in, waited a few minutes and it played it (I did notice a few extra "static" noises, but it still played the disc!), I then tried a disc that wasn't as badly warped and this time it played to perfection.

I still have A LOT to learn about what this player can do, but so far, I've discovered that it can play MP3s even if they were burnt in directories... what the RV-31 does (according to the manual), is prioritize and reorganize the play order of the mp3s based on 3 different criteria:
- Any numbers in the name of the track (plays from file #1 to file #whatever)
- If a filename starts with capital letters or not (plays files without capital letters first)
- If a file is in a directory or root of CD-R (plays files on root first before playing files in any dirs)
- The alphabetical order of filenames (will play a file starting with A (Aerosmith) before playing a file with Z (ZZ Top) same with the name of dirs)

So all in all, you can get around this by grabbing an MP3 Database Utility, archiving a list of all your MP3 files on your PC, searching for which songs you want to use, organize each song in the order you want to play them and start each filename with a number going in the play order you want to play the songs (1 Aerosmith-Jaded.mp3 to 130 ZZ Top-Black Fly.mp3)

You have to really experiment to see what does and doesn't work. That's what I will be doing the next few days... CD-Rs are so cheap lately that it don't care if I waste a few.

The only "annoying" things I've found about the player are:

-VSS... The VSS system when used in position "1" REALLY makes the sound louder than usual (at least that's what it does on my JVC tv), so you have to watch it if you live in an apartment and try playing the "Lobby Shooting Spree" scene in The Matrix at 1am in the morning. (I almost got kicked out of my apt. for doing that last night! LOL)
-Cinema Mode "image enhancer" for dark scenes... if the picture is full screen, you don't notice it, however, if it is in letterbox format (as most DVDs are) you automatically notice the black bars on the top and bottom of picture constantly dimming/brightening when a dark scene comes along. I found this a bit annoying... might get used to it eventually.
-The remote isn't backlighted (I don't really care, I've got the "cadillac" of all RCA remotes... the 8-device, programmable, blue-light model... forget what model # it is)

That's about it.

In conclusion, for $459, shipping & 2-year "everything's covered" warranty at FutureShop, I consider this to be one hell of a deal compared to what I'd be paying for JUST a Sony brand player with no warranty, etc.

Sorry for the length of this post, but hey, I figured I'd let everyone here know what they've been thinking: How does this thing work with MP3s?

Well,
I'm off to the local video store... I'm gonna run this thing through the "Gladiator" test along with some other Provac titles.

I strongly recommend this DVD Player to anyone who's on a budget and would like an EXCELLENT quality product. If you buy this at FutureShop, I also STRONGLY recommend that you purchase the 2-year Custommer Satisfaction Warranty just as an extra insurance policy. (Hey, at $50 CDN extra, it's well worth it considering what it covers)

Later.

Similar Products Used:

Similar products seen in demo: Apex

Price, price, price.....excellant picture quality, no glitches...what more do want from a DVD player?

Chinzy remote....

Been waiting to write this as I just got my theater set-up complete. I have a Pioneer 409 DD/DTS receiver with sub/center/surrounds, Mitsu 50" TV and satellite box - connected with the RV 30 it is just awesome.

5.1 channel sound with S-video and optical link makes for great movie package. Even with big screen, picture quality on playback is without any bleeding or weird color shifts.
Bells and whistles mean nothing to me - just give me a clear/clean image and I'm a happy guy.

Digital sound is awesome - ya' just gotta try Jurassic Park if you haven't seen it for a while - crank it up and enjoy. No reason to go out to the movies ever again - just think of all the money you will save, and with Sear's match the price and Panasonic's $50 rebate how could you go wrong for $150?

Similar Products Used:

All my friends ahve Sony's costing $100 more and IMHO this player puts out a crisper, clearer image and great sound to boot.

componet video outputs. Optical audio output. Panasonic $50.00 rebate!

no coax output

Was ready to buy a sony player before I read all reviews!
Read about the panasonic and was impressed by the reviewers satisfaction. Also, panasonic just came out with a $50.00 rebate for this player! Got my best price on line and sears.com matched it. 188.00 - 50 rebate = 133.00 (add tax and shipping).
Player is trouble free and quiet. Reviews said the sony model I was interested in had a loud drive motor.
Great value for this price. Do yourself a favor and buy this dvd/cd player!

Similar Products Used:

none

Great price, good picture (via composite with Monster cable Video 2, don't have S-video on my TV). Sound is pretty good. I like the VSS feature as I am using a 2-channel system.

Am having problems with letterbox movies, the black bars at the top and bottom of the right side are wider and very noticeable. Emailed Panasonic today, will see what they say. But I know it is the machine because it has happend with all letterbox DVD's I've played and on 2 different directview TV's. For those who do not have decent cables, the supplied cables are only 3' and could be 6' (2m).

I did much research before purchasing this product: this web site, ecoustics.com, consumer reports and others. This is a great product especially at $300 cdn ($200 US). I have watched the following DVD's, Gladiator, Galaxy Quest, Shaft 2000, Loser, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Patriot, parts of the Matrix. The layer transition is great, had no noticeable pauses. Only one problem: see "Weaknesses"

Similar Products Used:

I looked at buying the Toshiba 1600 but after doing a bit of history I found that Toshiba in the first models it produced had many problems. The problems may not be around any more, as my first hand experience has shown, Panasonic is almost always a great product for the money you pay. Despite my current problems with the letterbox (which I will resolove), I will definetly purchase Panasonic again. I am already looking at their 32" Tau televeision or their less expensive 32" Gaoo.

Ease of setup, picture quality, sound quality

None so far

Purchased 2 of these units as Christmas gifts. With price of $199 and a $50 rebate direct from Panasonic, this unit was the best value for the money. The unit is nicely styled and simple to operate. Both units are hooked up to 32" TVs and the new owners are very pleased. I personally hooked up one machine in literally seconds and then watched several movie and music DVD's.The RV30 is quiet, has great picture, sound, and nice virtual surround sound. It's a simple unit that simply does it's job well.

Similar Products Used:

Sony D530

Great image quality even using composite video. Features such as dialogue enhancer and dynamic compression for low listening level. Virtual surround sound. Dedicated subwoofer output. Quiet transport. Good sound.

For those who care about the following features, the Panasonic DVD-RV30 is unable to perform the below tasks >>
Unable to read CD-R's
Unable to read MP3 cd's
No COAX digital output. Toslink optical only.
No Zoom

Ladies and gentlemen, i have to tell you, this is my first DVD Player and for the price i paid for it ($298 CDN) on sale at Audiotronic(Montreal), this is the by far, the best Bang for the Bucks DVD player you will ever find.

VIDEO : (+) Image is crisp, detailed with no color bleeding. Please note that my findings were using basic composite video output of the player. My current(Toshiba 27 inch)TV set does not accept component or s-video inputs. Features such as still picture and slow motion are equally impressive.
(-) Slightly dark on some scenes. But you can always
disable image enhancing option called (cinema mode)

AUDIO : (+) Simulated soundfield (VSS) is surprisingly effective. Sound effects remained crisp. Subwoofer output works equally well, for those who have yet to purchase their full Dolby Digital, DTS Receiver.

(-) Analog outputs were slightly noisy at low listening levels. D/A converters seem a bit weak. I have not yet tried the Toslink optical output with a Dolby Digital, DTS. That problem should not be present using the digital out of the player.

Conclusion : Price, value, features, picture quality, sound quality, build quality put this player in a class by itself.

If you are thinking about getting an entry level DVD-Player
at this price point, do yourself a favor and check out Panasonic DVD-RV30.....no.. don't check it out, just go out
and buy it , PERIOD.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 333, Toshiba SD1600

fast loading time nice and quiet and no pauses or anything

none

i cant say much about this dvd player because i have a bad tv but from what iv seen it is pretty good and it has lots of features like chapter review and angles and stuff. and i like the way it has most of its stuff on the remote. It is a pretty fast dvd player.

Similar Products Used:

first dvd player

Picture/sound quality. Ease of use. Clean looks.

Construction a little less than solid.

I decided to upgrade to component video outputs so I sold my RCA (which is mfg by Panasonic) and bought a Sanyo DVD-6070 from Wal Mart for $299cdn. The Sanyo's sound cut out for a second every time the chapter changed! This was really annoying. So, I took it back and bought this Panasonic unit. I don't really notice any difference in picture or sound quality over my RCA, but, they are both excellent in that respect.

Great value for the money.

Similar Products Used:

RCA RC5210

SOUND, PICTURE ease of operation

none

I wrote a review last week in regards to the sony 360 i bought. The picture as i stated was alittle soft. Well today i took it back and exchanged it for the panasonic rv 30. what a difference. This player is incrediable for the price. Heck my nakamichi dvd 10 is About $800. and the panasonic can easily hold its own to that player.The picture on the rv30 is excellent! the sound is excellent, i can't say enough about this player.Don't waste your money buying $1000.00 machines, this player is as good or better than anything i have seen so far.It also plays DTS I didn't buy it for cd's or cdr's or to burn this or that or mini disc"s, i think you get the picture. I wanted a dvd player,and this one is going to be tough to beat. Panasonic, you have done a wonerfull job with this low cost unit. HIGHLY recomended!

Similar Products Used:

sony 360

Good quality @ good price

no programed/random play of mp3

I had this unit for about a week and is happy with the picture quality and mp3 playback. But compared to my Sony CDP-CX88ES for playing plain audio cds, I can definitely tell the difference. This may not be a fair comparison, because the Sony CD player is a high end ES model.

When I am watching Matrix chapter 6, the Agent interviewing Neo, there is static noise in the background. Is this a problem of this DVD player or is the recording. I would expect DVD sound track to be free of these kind of statics. Does anybody know?

Receiver used Denon-avr-3801

Similar Products Used:

First DVD player