mp3 playback! good on-screen menu, accurate color reproduction, very quiet operation. great overall value.

slow start-up, loading time. special functions aren't very special.

i'm a college student living in a house with four other guys, and my budget is extremely tight. between the five of us, we had the bit and pieces to make a pretty decent a/v system. after my buddies sony receiver went on the fritz, i figured i would sink some money into purchasing some equipment, hoping that it will survive for at least the next 3 years. my dad is a huge audiophile, so i have some elementary knowledge of brand reputations, etc. i did some research on other dvd players, however, when i walked into the store and saw that this $189 player could play mp3's, i was sold. i really didn't care what else it could do. having ridden the mp3 wave for two years, i have accumulated about 1,500 songs on my computer, but without a great system to play them on. luckily, this player does a lot more that mp3. color, sound, slow-mo, and menu functions all work great. my only gripe is that the loading time is a bit long. great purchase!!!

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Excellent value. At this price, it's almost disposable, assuming it holds up for a couple of years at least.

No zoom, but hey - it's $189!

This refers to the DVD-RV31 model.

This is my first DVD player. I wanted something inexpensive since I can't see spending lots of money on a DVD player just to run it into an analog/NTSC viewer, no matter how "advanced" it is. I've worked as an engineer in network television and seen the best NTSC there is. You can tweak it and enhance it all you want, but it ain't high-def, and never will be. There's a reason it's refered to as "Never Twice the Same Color" in the industry.

Fortunately, the DVD-RV31 worked great out of the box. It's also fine as a straight audio CD player, which was important for me. You get programmability and shuffle play, as well as a multi-speed shuttle control on both DVD and CD, which is cool. The only tiny gripe is that I like to display time-remaining for each cut, and you must go through a couple of menus using the TV to get to that function. And, it reverts back to elapsed time display once you eject the disk. But, that's really being picky.

I rented The Matrix and viewed it with no problems or artifacts that I could see. Since I'm new to DVD, I really appreciate some of the improvements over tape that most of you probably take for granted. I like the rock solid frame search, freeze frame, and the multiple speed shuttle. The first forward shuttle speed lets you hear choppy audio. Anything faster and the audio is muted. (And no rewinding the tape after the movie is over!)

There's a dialog enhancement feature that takes center channel information (if present) and puts it into the two front speakers in a more pronounced way. It really does make the dialog (and some sound effects) easier to hear. Also, the audio expansion processor circuit works pretty well without sounding weird. (I don't have surround sound and don't like it; it's a silly gimmick to me. I don't want to hear aural cues coming from behind me when there's nothing going on back there visually. It draws attention away from the story.)

The remote is functional and is probably all you should expect for a unit of this price. No, it's not the best design, but few remotes are. (I can't believe how many people on this forum whine about the remotes they get. Get a life...) I did program an inexpensive universal with back lighting to work with the player.

I haven't seen that many DVD players, so I'll assume there are some that have better video and audio, or do a better job implementing various features. But, I have to agree with others here that for this price, this is a very satisfying unit. I bought the extended warranty for $40, so if anything goes wrong in the next four years, they'll replace it. They'll also clean it as often as I want. Usually I don't go for extended warranties, but this one is also transferrable to a new owner if I sell the unit.

I bought this unit at Best Buy because they're four minutes from my house and I wanted the unit now, and I also wanted to be able to return the unit (if necessary) without the hassle of shipping it somewhere. I hate going to places like that, though, because the people who work there are generally useless. If you ask them a question about a unit, they look at the little sticker on the display case for the answer. They then try to BS you and act like they know what they're talking about. They should make a token effort to become familiar with the products they sell; at least skim the instruction manuals during their shift, instead of standing around doing nothing. (End of rant...)

I would recommend this unit as an excellent choice for anyone who wants good DVD and audio CD performance, a decent amount of features, the ability to play CD-Rs, (I haven't tried that, yet), and doesn't need progressive scan to feed a high-def set. The DVD-RV31 will give you excellent performance and let you feel very smug about how little you paid to get it.

Excellent value. At this price, it's almost disposable, assuming it holds up for a couple of years at least.

No zoom, but hey - it's $189!

This refers to the DVD-RV31 model.

This is my first DVD player. I wanted something inexpensive since I can't see spending lots of money on a DVD player just to run it into an analog/NTSC viewer, no matter how "advanced" it is. I've worked as an engineer in network television and seen the best NTSC there is. You can tweak it and enhance it all you want, but it ain't high-def, and never will be. There's a reason it's refered to as "Never Twice the Same Color" in the industry.

Fortunately, the DVD-RV31 worked great out of the box. It's also fine as a straight audio CD player, which was important for me. You get programmability and shuffle play, as well as a multi-speed shuttle control on both DVD and CD, which is cool. The only tiny gripe is that I like to display time-remaining for each cut, and you must go through a couple of menus using the TV to get to that function. And, it reverts back to elapsed time display once you eject the disk. But, that's really being picky.

I rented The Matrix and viewed it with no problems or artifacts that I could see. Since I'm new to DVD, I really appreciate some of the improvements over tape that most of you probably take for granted. I like the rock solid frame search, freeze frame, and the multiple speed shuttle. The first forward shuttle speed lets you hear choppy audio. Anything faster and the audio is muted. (And no rewinding the tape after the movie is over!)

There's a dialog enhancement feature that takes center channel information (if present) and puts it into the two front speakers in a more pronounced way. It really does make the dialog (and some sound effects) easier to hear. Also, the audio expansion processor circuit works pretty well without sounding weird. (I don't have surround sound and don't like it; it's a silly gimmick to me. I don't want to hear aural cues coming from behind me when there's nothing going on back there visually. It draws attention away from the story.)

The remote is functional and is probably all you should expect for a unit of this price. No, it's not the best design, but few remotes are. (I can't believe how many people on this forum whine about the remotes they get. Get a life...) I did program an inexpensive universal with back lighting to work with the player.

I haven't seen that many DVD players, so I'll assume there are some that have better video and audio, or do a better job implementing various features. But, I have to agree with others here that for this price, this is a very satisfying unit. I bought the extended warranty for $40, so if anything goes wrong in the next four years, they'll replace it. They'll also clean it as often as I want. Usually I don't go for extended warranties, but this one is also transferrable to a new owner if I sell the unit.

I bought this unit at Best Buy because they're four minutes from my house and I wanted the unit now, and I also wanted to be able to return the unit (if necessary) without the hassle of shipping it somewhere. I hate going to places like that, though, because the people who work there are generally useless. If you ask them a question about a unit, they look at the little sticker on the display case for the answer. They then try to BS you and act like they know what they're talking about. They should make a token effort to become familiar with the products they sell; at least skim the instruction manuals during their shift, instead of standing around doing nothing. (End of rant...)

I would recommend this unit as an excellent choice for anyone who wants good DVD and audio CD performance, a decent amount of features, the ability to play CD-Rs, (I haven't tried that, yet), and doesn't need progressive scan to feed a high-def set. The DVD-RV31 will give you excellent performance and let you feel very smug about how little you paid to get it.

Picture Sharpness, Everything about this player is great.Also a $50 Rebate which brings it down to $199

none

Like most i've shopped, and looked, and best of all i read the reviews from this web site. Which has been most helpful.
I love this player. I almost went for the Pioneer 333.
But what really grab my attention for the Panaonic RV-30 was the Dialogue Enhancer.Which is pretty cool.
Using my Yamaha receiver the Polk RT-800, Cerwin-Vega! surround, Polk CS 400 center, and Advent subwoofer.
wow this player just blew me away.This player is great.
More than i could imagine.

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Great picture quality! Great price!

No zoom and no coaxiala

I got this for $165 and I think it's worth every single penny. I'm very satisfied with it and I'm sure you will be!

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NONE

Sharp Video, Acurate Audio, Easy Setup, Simple Remote, Solid Constuction and Overall feel.

None.

This is a very high quality model. Panasonic has been putting a lot of effort recently on the quality of
Products. It shows. Very sharp pictures and very accurate
sound. It has VSS and Cinema mode. It has advanced
Surround Sound - You do not need Digital Decoder with
this model - save big money. It rocks you with SRS.

After playing hours,we found no heat dissipation from the unit. Very rare in the DVD products. It is made in Japan.

It has smooth and quick loading mechanism and produces no noise what so ever. This is one heck of a model. It is the best in its category of DVD players around $200. It is a
gem.

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Everything

None

Best buy for your money

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KLH,RCA

Great sound and video. Quiet drive during playback.

Minor: wont read CDR.

The Sony was my first DVD player. But I found I could hear the drive spinning from across the room during playback. That was unacceptable, so I returned that unit, and began researching another DVD.

I dropped a few features I had required my first time around, figuring I dont really need this to read CDRs, and as far as decoders go, I'll wait until I have a better sound space, then upgrade my receiver and get the decoders there. After reading the reviews, this seemed like a safe choice.

And is was a great choice. The drive is nice and quite during playback, which was one of the main things I required this time. It has all the features I need right now, and fits my main requirement: an enjoyable relaxed evening watching the Matrix. :-)

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Too many to list, it's all good....

Doesn't read CD-R's, no coax dig out, just optical

Watching movies on my Panasonic superflat 27" w/this DVD player through my Yamaha DTS/5.1/Cinema DSP a/v reciever makes me NOT want to go to the theaters ever again. The pix quality is outstanding, audio the same, can't think of any other features that's missing on this unit. I Highly reccomend this unit to first time buyers like me.

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EXCELLENT picture and sound, nice and clean presentation, 2ch + bass system

The remote (why put a gray remote with black unit?)

After having a lot of problems with Hitahi unit, I changed for Panasonic. Cost me 20$ for change, but 200% better! Very precise and clear picture, with "Cinema" mode, making picture more lighter. I use it with Panasonic GAOO tv and I can see now the difference. It loads fast, search up to 100x, voice channel can be boosted and you can use a sub -not really necessary- (I run it with Technics SF-DX7 combo, and it kicks! Nice Japan product that will, I wish, last forever. It beats all others brands but with a smaller price. Panasonic/Technics rules!

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