Cheap for the amount of features it has.

None that matter.

This is for the RV31
I just want to clear up one thing. Some people are saying this player doesn't have good bass. I think one problem some people may be having is the fact that they have the Enhanced Bass turned on.
Here is the problem: When the Enhanced Bass is turned on, it sends Bass to the Bass Out RCA jack on the player, and removes it from the normal outputs. So you will only hear good bass if you have a subwoofer hooked up.
This little nugget of information is buried in the manual. Also, this is not the normal operation for a Bass Button.

I just have a ProLogic amp, so I'm going to get a bass speaker and hook it up to see what happens.

The players seems good so far. Also plays MP3s, which is kind of neat.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic, Sony

Excellent picture and sound quality!

Remote not great ..... but at this price ...who cares. Also, no coax output

I did alot of research to picking out an entry level DVD player so I thought I would share it ..... so that it might help someone else with their decision.

It pretty much came down to either the Sony S360, the Pioneer 333, and the Panasonic DVDRV30. While the Sony offered a few more features and more outputs on the back, I think that the picture and sound quality of the Panasonic was better. Also, I was able to pick up the Panasonic for about $100 less than the sony. The Panasonic offers the optical audio outputs and two analog audio outputs (so check your receiver). There is no Coax output on panasonic ...but it does offer component outputs, single (RCA type) video, and S video.

The Sony had an annoying disktray spin whirl noice that I know would annoy me over time. Also, the picture on the Sony was not as sharp as that of the Panasonic. The Pioneer just seemed too cheap, and I didn't like the display or the remote on that player. However, the Pioneer played CD-R's ....while the others don't. While a good feature, I was buying a DVD player, not a CD player ....so that feature didn't matter to me.


Oh yea .....I got the Panasonic for $138 !!!
Here's how. I did a few searches and got the best possible price online (go to Yahoo shopping, etc). I went to a site called best4digital.com and found it on sale for $188.88. Go to sears (I think sear.com does it too) and they will meet any online price! Then, panasonic has a $50 rebate on this.

Just go to the Panasonic web site at: http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/promotions/rebate_offers.htm and found that they have a rebate in effect, starting Nov 15 running until Jan 31....$50. Coupon is printable.

People on this site have offered me enough advise to save some money ....so I thought I would do the same for soemone else. I've only had the DVD player for about a week now ..... but love it! Value-wise, you can't beat it ....so I give it 5 stars (how could I not for $138). The only reason I am giving it a 4 star overall rating is because it lacks the ability to play DVD's and doesn't offer coax output. If able, i would have given it 4 1/2 stars here.

Hope this helps
Lou
=)

Similar Products Used:

Also reviewed Sony S360, Pioneer 333

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.

Similar Products Used:

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

Excellent Picture, Sound, Build Quality (Made in Japan)

No Zoom

No complaints with this machine. I was prepared to spend $400-$600, but after reading everyone's reviews and comparing the performance with high end units, decided that $200 with $50 rebate (good until end of January 2001) I could not go wrong with $150 final cost. I can live with no back lit remote, no zoom and a machine that does not play CDR's. I will wait to spend the rest $400 on another machine when I upgrade the rest of my system - who knows, by then, the progressive scan DVD / DVD-A's may finally reach a "standard" format!

Currently using 36" Cinama Series Toshiba TV, Bose A7's, and Technics Pro-Logic Receiver.

The overall performance is exceptional with my current needs and set-up. I am glad that I went this route - excellent value for $150

Clear picture

Can't play cdr, cdrw

Good entry level DVD player. Sharp picture and clear sound. Easy to set up. I just connect the component video cable to TV and optical audio cable to receiver. The simuated surround soundsounds cheesy. Great value for $180 (after the $50 rebate from panasonic).

Similar Products Used:

sony

NO ZOOM, ITS NOT A TOSHIBA, SAME COMPONENTS AS YAMAHAS PLAYER THATS 400 DOLLARS

REMOTE SENSOR REALLY HAVE TO AIM

HAD THE PIONEER FOR THREE DAYS BEFORE IT DIED, THIS A GREAT PLAYER FOR THE PRICE

Similar Products Used:

PIONEER HUNKA JUNK DV 333

Bought the RV30 (NOT 31!) back in October and I thought it would at least last me longer than it has. The good part is when it works the Panasonic has excellent picture quality. Never did it fail to read a disc, and it never paused during layer changes (like everyone else has already said). The problem is it doesn't like to work anymore. I too once thought Panasonic was a good reliable name in the industry, but recently the RV30 has been freezing up some ways into the movie and just won't play anymore. When this happens, the picture just stops and then it breaks up into digital artifacts, almost like someone took a knife to my tv. Something tells me my roommate, who I think enjoyed abusing my equipment to no end, has something to do with this breakdown, but seriously now there's no reason for such mechanical shoddiness. Since the manufacturer's 90-day parts and labor warranty (what a joke) is up, I'd have to pay for it to be fixed. After this incident however I don't think I want another Panasonic. My friend has had two Panasonics crap out on him within two years, and so he bought Pioneer. Maybe I should have taken note. Although I'll probably buy Onkyo or something like that. A little higher up the ladder, but then again they actually know how to build quality products.
Be wary that no one else has any problems to report because they are still in the "wow" period- ownership for less than a couple months. Also, while the picture was very good, other brands can easily equal or surpass it. Me, I have bad eyes anyway so it doesn't matter all that much.
I'll just say one last thing: I should have known not to purchase electronics from Best Buy.
Value: 3 stars.
Overall quality: 2 stars.

Excellent picture; robust; lightweight unit

Lousy remote; drive gets noisy occasionally

After having a painful experience with the Samsung DVD-711 (and after having discovered this site as a result), I purchased the RV-30 based on the review scores here. I'm not disappointed.

The video quality (component video) is excellent, and is, in fact, better than the DVD-711. For example, I noticed some artifacts in Toy Story 2 on the 711 that did not show up at all on the RV-30. My audio is going to the TV via banana plugs, so I cannot comment with any authority on the audio quality.

I did have a problem with the first unit I bought. When I first played a letterbox movie, I noticed that the image appeared quite lopsided near the bottom (at least a 2 cm difference in thickness of the letterbox border from left side to right side). I exchanged it for a new one, and the lopsidedness was less noticable, but still there. At first, I was going to return it and buy something else, but when I tried the player on a different TV, the tilting effect didn't show up. To convince myself that it was the TV, I tuned into AMC (letterbox movies 24x7 :), and noticed the same tilting effect (while the tilting did not show on the alternate TV, as expected).

So I'm still convinced there was a tilting problem with the first unit I got (which was amplified by my TV's tilting problem), but the second unit seems bug free.

The remote is lousy. The one thing I liked about the Samsung 711 was the ability to control the TV and the DVD with a single remote. No such luck here.

The drive is generally quiet, but it occasionally produces a soft high-frequency hiss when reading certain positions on the DVD. Not too bothersome, really.

Similar Products Used:

Samsung DVD-711 (condolences welcome)

Great picture and operation

None so far

This is my first DVD player, and I just have to say it is working great for me, despite the fact that it was the Circuit City floor/demo model (manufacture date stamped on the back is May 2000). Understand this: I am borrowing my brother's 8-year old, dusty, crappy 19-inch tv, and playing Disney's Tarzan with this DVD player made the sucky picture on this old TV look absolutely incredible. Plus, it's just hooked up with the rca jacks cuz this ancient tv has no optical input. I'm not using those super-expensive Monster cables or anything either (on a side note..don't ever buy expensive "pre-packaged" speaker wire". Buy all your speaker wire from Home Depot where they pull how much you want off a big spool. Even the heavy, really good speaker wire is like .18 cents a foot or something). Back to the DVD player: It was also easy to figure out most of the on-screen menu/remote stuff without even looking at the manual. Lastly, Circuit City was cool enough to match the lowest internet price I could find, and then take off $20 cuz it was a floor model, plus I got the rebate and full warranty of course. I hated Circuit City because of Divx, but now that divx is (thank goodness) dead, they just won my business back by giving me such a good deal. I would recommend first-time buyers to go to C City or Best Buy and get the floor model, because the worst that could happen is that sometime in the distant future it breaks down, but then you'd get an "upgrade replacement" because the RV30 has been discontinued. You can't lose.

Astonishing Sound (with toslink/digital cable), Great Picture... Easy menus. & as easy as 123 to install.

Playback with CD's --- mid ranges distorded a bit... but keep in mind that a DVD lens is more sensitive. Its not meant to read analog CDs.

Good DVD player. Nice & smooth picture ... Even smoother with the "cinema" mode. All the great features of a 800$ DVD player.

I recommend it, Panasonic kicks ass... And please dont take all these reviews too much seriously... Seems like ppl tends to panic . This is all electronic... It isnt perfect. If it was, we wouldnt need so much brands.

Lata !
Life's a big party =)

Similar Products Used:

Philips - Hitachi