No comments about Panasonic SC-DK3 5-DVD Home Theater Compact Stereo System.

5 comments about Toshiba SD-6980 DVD Player.

1. I replaced my DVD player because as I watched Hi-Def TV, I began to dislike lower quality video. The Toshiba SD-6890 upconverts all DVDs to a higher quality image, usually 720p. The difference is very noticeable. I wish I'd done this sooner. It also came with a HDMI connector which is expensive to buy so I feel the price/value ratio is excellent. Great performance at a very reasonable price.



2. Great DVD Player. Easy to setup & operate. Does everything I wanted it for. Excellent player for the money. Would recommend.



3. I'm not a techno guy, but this unit works great for my purposes, which is simply watching DVD movies. So far so good and it came with it's own HDMI cable.



4. Works great. Has a great picture on my Toshiba HD. As usual....remote is a bit complicated. I'm sure I don't use half the buttons. Very nice look to the unit.



5. I found the product to be very easy to install in spite of my lack of electronic knowledge it was also at an excelent price it was also working great with all the DVDS i played on it.

5 comments about Toshiba SD2705 5-Disc DVD Player.

1. Other Toshiba products have performed reasonably well but this one's a dud. It's a good value featurewise but the control actions are agonizingly slow and the panel input went out after 4 months (after the labor warranty ran out). AND there's a strange sound distortion when playing half of the CD-audio discs that I've tried. Avoid.



2. I genearlly don't like things that are "average."
   I bought the unit for its design, and to match the small Toshiba TV/VCR that sits on top of it.
   The complaints I have are as follows:
   1) It turns itself off unexpectedly, this seems to happen usually when the TV is off. What this means is that if you want to listen to music CDs with this unit, you have to turn on the TV first.
   2) It responds slowly to input from the remote and the buttons on the unit.
   On the positive side:
   1) It has all the buttons you need to play DVDs, and to access special features, menus, etc without using the remote. The is an advantage over many other DVD players which require the use of the remote even for basic DVD operation.
   2) The remote is well designed and fairly compact.
   Overall: I got what I paid for.



3. I bought this DVD player for my husband for Christmas 2001. We used it very little until the last six months. I agree with the other reviewers that the control actions are agonizingly slow, but I could live with that. Then we started to have problems where it skip and freeze up -- periodically at first then frequently. Now it has stopped working entirely. This DVD player was a complete waste of money.



4. I bought this thing approx 1 1/2 years ago for $75 here at this site . . . little did i know what a piece of junk it is.
   
   I buy on average, 1-2 DVDs a week - would bring them home, play them and 1/2 the time they wouldn't play at all (even the menu unaccessible) OR I'd watch 3/4 of the movie just fine & then the whole ending would skip through to the very end. Like an idiot not thinking, I thought I had just hit a bad pile of DVDs - kept bringing them back to the store complaining . . . sometimes even 3-4x for the same exact one - wondering why kind of goods these stores were receiving.
   
   Little did I realize that the whole time, it was THIS player - Toshiba is junk. My realization? The paperwork that I had just received in the mail for the CLASS ACTION SUIT that's being filed against Toshiba for just this reason . . . supposedly Toshiba KNOWINGLY made defective players that were not up to code/ standards and sold them anyhow - all the people in the class action suit have all had the same playback problems, etc.
   
   Thank God I only ate $75 compared to what some of them paid . . .
   
   Be very wary of TOSHIBA products!



5. This unit has never given me a problem. I have owned it since about 2001, and it has many "miles" on it. Too bad it doesn't record, but there were not many DVD recorders back when I bought this.

5 comments about Sony DVP-NC80V/S SACD DVD Changer, Silver.

1. I needed to replace my old RCA 5-disc changer and was surprised to find a combo CD/DVD player by Sony for so cheap. So far it has been great, but I agree with the 2 complaints aired by Jimbo Jones:
   
   1) The viewing angle on the display is terrible because it is set deep behind the glass. You basically have to have it almost at eye level in order to read it.
   2) The buttons on the unit don't respond well. I have not tried the remote yest as I plan to use a universal.



2. An acceptable DVD player, although it does take much longer than any other DVD player I've even seen to switch, load, or play discs. However, mine just stopped playing discs after about 7 months. Plan on a warranty exchange or two if you buy a Sony DVD player.



3. I can't believe this 5-disc player cannot be set to shuffle songs from all 5 discs. You can only shuffle songs within one cd. If I would have known this I never would have bought it. What good is it to have a multi-disc player when it can't shuffle between different discs?



4. I bought this machine for one purpose -- continuously play multiple DVDs and shuffle chapters on all discs at my office reception room. This machine does not do that. I returned the machine, and purchased an RCA DVD changer. It does not shuffle between DVDs either. Did anyone here find one that shuffles between DVDs?



5. Well this can be billed as a durability review as I've had this model for about three years now and it's never given me a problem. The only mild complaint I have about it is that it's a little slow on the controls and the remote has to have an almost completely uninterrupted line of sight.
   
   But other than that, this one gets an A+. I do alot of avi movie downloading and converting, this player has never failed to play a rip so it's hard to beat that.
   
   For todays standards, some might think it's a bit oversized but it's still not bad at all. I like this player, it does what I want and what I need and it's difinately reliable.
   
   Speaking of the remote control, there's nothing I can think of that can't be done--angle, subtitles, fast forward at 3 different speeds, etc. It's awfully hard to beat the price as well.

5 comments about Panasonic DVD-F87S 5 Disc Progressive Scan DVD Player, Silver.

1. The unit is easy to learn how to use, it works well. It is nice to put in 5 DVD's and let it play. We do not watch TV, since we do not like 50% of our time being spent with someone trying to sell us something. So we can load a full days worth of movies and play them at the rate we chose.



2. I have owned this unit for nearly three years, and have no complaints. The price is very low for such a well equipped player (you can even adjust brightness, contrast, etc, just as you would on your TV), the motor is fairly quiet, the zoom is INFINITELY adjustable (just select MANUAL zoom rather than automatic and you can move back and forth in tiny increments), setup is easy (once you become accustomed to the fact that the primary menu buttons are called DISPLAY and GROUP), DVD-Rs are supported, and all the outputs are in place for DVD-Audio discs and optional subwoofer. You can also enhance dialogue and the video signal on low quality recordings.
   
   I don't know what more one could expect at this price.



3. Great 5-deck DVD player! Needs additional equipment for surround sound, but otherwise a good solid machine! If it holds up anything like my last Panasonic, I know I'll love it!
   
   I'm not sure if I'll need a splitter when all the new digital stuff comes out, but thus far, I love my machine! :)



4. Great Product and the 6-channel audio is still the best for reproducing theater-like surround sound while still hearing dialogue at a normal level.



5. I bought this to replace a cranky old Sony which refused to play DVD+R and had a hard time with mass copied DVDs. The Panasonic does okay with home burned DVDs, but chokes on marginal quality commercial DVDs. The showstopper: A lot of the time, I watch part of a DVD, then turn the unit off and return to finish later. This unit will not automatically remember where you were in the disc - you have to press a cleverly hidden button on the remote - and it's a button which no universal remote I have can duplicate. So the drill is to put down the universal remote, find the Panasonic remote, find the magic key, press it, then use the universal remote to power off the DVD/TV/audio system. If you don't hit the magic button, the DVD will play from the beginning. Pain in the butt.

5 comments about Samsung DVD-C631P 5-Disc Progressive-Scan DVD Player.

1. No, you can't play CDs randomly. But, if you have a home theather system and need more than 1 set of outputs for audio, both analog and digital, as well as 3 different video output types, this machine is great. The picture is clear, sound is too. For the money, you can't find a better set of features. Everything is easy to use and I haven't even had to look inside the manual yet. And its progressive scan, so it will work with high def TV down the road.



2. I have to marvel at Samsung's engineering on this product. As is mentioned by dozens of other reviewers, it won't play across discs, random or otherwise. Unbelievable. If a team designing this came to me and told me this was what they were planning on sending out the door, I'd fire all of them on the spot, give them glowing job recommendations to my competitors, and bring in some high school kids that had some vision.

   I also tried burning some MP3 and Windows media audio files onto 2 different types of CD media, even at 1x, only to be rewarded with a continuous "loading" message, followed by a message that this disc can't be played. I've also had problems with it locking up completely while playing 2 different DVD's, and needing to be unplugged.

   I rate this player not "one star", but "5 poopies". I can't believe that this is a product released since 2000. My old Sony, which I was never that fond of, despite not being billed as being able to play alternate media types, performed the basic functions an order of magnitude better. Samsung should make toasters for a living, home electronics is clearly too challenging for them.




3. I actually do have an HDTV capable set (one of the Sony 1080i models), and can comment on the video quality of this player. My old Pioneer progressive scan player broke, this player was cheap, and I figure that it would probably be a good choice. My TV accepts 480p signals, and automatically letterboxes 480p signals with anamorphic compression. My biggest beef with this player is that it doesn't properly output an anamorphically compressed 480p signal.

   What is anamorphic compression anyway? As you've probably noticed, HDTV sets are wider; they have a 16:9 aspect ratio instead of a 4:3 aspect ratio. When you display a 16:9 picture on a 4:3 set, it is "letterboxed," meaning that there are black bars on the top and bottom of the screen. DVDs are encoded with 480 lines of vertical information. Ideally, you'd want to use all 480 lines for picture, and not for black boxes. That's the problem that anamorphic compression solves: it stretches a letterboxed image out to a 4:3 screen, to make the signal about 33% sharper. Specifically, it means that your DVD player will output a video signal with all 480 lines of resolution, and your TV set will squeeze it onto the right size screen.

   The problem with this player is that it does not correctly output an anamorphically compressed widescreen signal. On several discs (like the Matrix), I couldn't get the player to properly output an anamorphically compressed widescreen signal to my TV. So, I had to resort to letterboxing the image, losing 33% of resolution in the process. This causes a greater difference to the picture quality than the difference between a progressive and interlaced signal.

   So, in my mind, this is a useless player for the serious videophile. Along with the useless changer mechanism (see the other reviews), I can't recommend this player.




4. I agree with most of the above reviews.I was also disappointed that this changer does not change to the next disc automatically.You would think that a 5 disc changer would play a disc all the way through and go to the next disc number and play that one too.Not so.You cannot randomly play 5 music cds.There are mistakes in the owner's manual.I found this out by calling the 800 number and explaining that the screen does not show what the manual says it should show.Two things that I love about this player:The picture and sound.I hate the fact that on some movies if you stop the player to grab a sandwich and come back and push play again the movie starts all over again.What a pain.Also I wished that when you power up the unit it would not go into autoplay before you get a chance to go to your easy chair and sit down.Subtitles are hard to get rid of.The default position is on.It doesn't matter if you don't speak German or Italian.It will still put the first language listed on the disc subtitles into action.You have to hit Subtitle on remote to turn it off.I like the picture format changer located on the remote.You can changer from letterbox to screen fit with the remote while the movie is playing.I bought mine brand new in box for 69 dollars.



5. The picture quality this player produces is quite up to par. The sound quality is also good. I have but one qualm with this product...a major qualm, actually:

   It is not good at actually playing DVDs. The tiniest scuff or scratch results in audio/video skippage. I have attempted to clean the player numerous times, but to no avail. Perhaps my room is far too dusty? I don't know. I routinely find myself trying to use it, hoping it won't skip, but to no avail. I almost always end up having to watch the DVD on my computer.

   Again, perhaps the skippage is due to the environment that the player is in. In any case, I find it practically unusable.

5 comments about Panasonic DVD-F87K 5 Disc Progressive Scan DVD Player Black.

1. The unit is easy to learn how to use, it works well. It is nice to put in 5 DVD's and let it play. We do not watch TV, since we do not like 50% of our time being spent with someone trying to sell us something. So we can load a full days worth of movies and play them at the rate we chose.



2. I have owned this unit for nearly three years, and have no complaints. The price is very low for such a well equipped player (you can even adjust brightness, contrast, etc, just as you would on your TV), the motor is fairly quiet, the zoom is INFINITELY adjustable (just select MANUAL zoom rather than automatic and you can move back and forth in tiny increments), setup is easy (once you become accustomed to the fact that the primary menu buttons are called DISPLAY and GROUP), DVD-Rs are supported, and all the outputs are in place for DVD-Audio discs and optional subwoofer. You can also enhance dialogue and the video signal on low quality recordings.
   
   I don't know what more one could expect at this price.



3. Great 5-deck DVD player! Needs additional equipment for surround sound, but otherwise a good solid machine! If it holds up anything like my last Panasonic, I know I'll love it!
   
   I'm not sure if I'll need a splitter when all the new digital stuff comes out, but thus far, I love my machine! :)



4. Great Product and the 6-channel audio is still the best for reproducing theater-like surround sound while still hearing dialogue at a normal level.



5. I bought this to replace a cranky old Sony which refused to play DVD+R and had a hard time with mass copied DVDs. The Panasonic does okay with home burned DVDs, but chokes on marginal quality commercial DVDs. The showstopper: A lot of the time, I watch part of a DVD, then turn the unit off and return to finish later. This unit will not automatically remember where you were in the disc - you have to press a cleverly hidden button on the remote - and it's a button which no universal remote I have can duplicate. So the drill is to put down the universal remote, find the Panasonic remote, find the magic key, press it, then use the universal remote to power off the DVD/TV/audio system. If you don't hit the magic button, the DVD will play from the beginning. Pain in the butt.

5 comments about Panasonic DMR-EZ17S DVD Recorder with ATSC Tuner Silver.

1. I bought this unit for the digital tuner. It replaces my similar Panasonic DMR ES15. Basically except for the tuner, setup, operation and remote are the same, so for me it was easy and works beautifully. I use only DVD-RAM and had no problems, although I haven't tried to format it and play it on other players. The reason I'm only giving it 3 stars is I can't help comparing it to the less expensive ES15 and even to an older Panasonic VCR. The S15 is idiot proof. No need to remember to turn the power off so it'll record, it just records. If you're watching something on the disc, it warns you and starts recording. When setting up future programs to record, the unit indicates by blinking that there is a time conflict if you overlap 2 programs. Even my VCR did this! When searching forwards and backwards the unit displays where you are minute/sec. wise. None of these things are true on the EZ17. If you forget to turn the power off, are watching something else or overlap programs, you're screwed. The unit won't record. Trying to search for something? Forget the convienience of a time indicater. It just shows a + or - 1. My advice is if you don't need the digital tuner go for the DMR ES15.



2. I received this unit from Panasonic after another Panasonic DVD recorder broke down after six months. I have had it for three weeks and now the eject button does not work. Panasonic wants me to send it in for repairs. My advice, after many years as a loyal Panasonic customer, is to at least avoid their DVD recorders. Their customer service department is as unreliable as their products. Perhaps Panasonic is slipping in quality overall.



3. Got off to a good start with this unit, mainly got it to replace my old Panasonic DVD player that had stopped working after 5+ years, figured I might as well get a recorder. I hooked it up, and it easily tuned in all my cable TV channels, was able to get the remote to also control my TV. But then I was watching a regular, commercial DVD this morning, and midway through the show, it inexplicably froze.
   
   I ejected the disc, power-cycled, and even unplugged it, and I even tried the "freeze" reset suggested in the manual. After all these resets, it would still not play ANY disc I put in it. I get a "No Read" error. I never even got a chance to try out all the recording features. And this happened on the first day. Seems to me like it has a lot of nice features, but is way too delicate and easy to break. I guess you get what you pay for, cheaply-made electronics that are neither durable nor reliable. I'm returning this and replacing with something else.



4. I bought this unit as a replacement for my previous Panasonic recorder that had stopped recording. I was very happy to see that the learning curve was almost non-existant as many of the controls were similiar or exactly the same. I was also happy to have something that worked so easily without problems. I like the slimness of this model too. It has to fit on top of my old VCR and TV and it does perfectly.



5. Was hoping someone could help me out... I live in the Philippines and would like to purchase this to record some educational shows from the Discovery Channel and National Geo that my children miss while they are at school. I'm not knowledgeable with regards this matter. Would this electronic work just the same in the Philippines?

3 comments about Denon DVM 1815 - DVD changer.

1. Plays adequately. Excellent sound reproduction (a feature it shares with many players.) The carousel however, consistently causes the discs inside to slide out of their position and to get caught above the rotating tray. This had resulted in catastrophic damage to many DVD's and makes the player useless as a CD changer. Additionally, to avoid damage I have had to load only 1 disc at a time and immediately remove it after viewing. Also, not quite as good at playing discs with light scratches. (the scratches it causes though are not light but very heavy usually).



2. I purchased this product in Sept 2004. I should have done my homework before buying however. Denon products tend to have more problems than many other well-known products. This DVD player was no exception. Within the first year my CD's and DVD's began to skip. Furthermore, the price is way to high for the features you get in this DVD player. You can purchase a Sony or Panasonic DVD player with similar features that is just over a third the price of this Denon and with much more reliability. No more Denon's for me!



3. I was, and still am a Denon fan...just not for their DVD products. We have a Denon reciever that is fabulous so when I purchased the DVM-1815 I thought it would be flawless. However, after a year it experienced "disk loading" issues that would come up almost every time I used the player. After returning it for a new model, the same problems occured again and again.
   
   As in other reviews, the unit does cause small scratches on the disks and they often fall out of the tray. The tray, in my opinion, is very flimsy and poorly made. Denon products are typically the highest priced, therefore you have an expectation of buying a solid unit. Not the case here.

5 comments about Sony DVPNC665P/B 5-Disc Progressive Scan DVD Changer, Black.

1. This is the second Sony dvd player I have owned. The first lasted over 3 years, and then all of a sudden it stopped being able to read the discs. I assumed this was a function of it just being old, so after a lot of research I decided to by the 665. After just over a year, it started doing the same thing as my old dvd player -- I could hear it spinning the disks in an attempt to read them, but it would then say "No Disc". I contacted Sony, who wanted me to mail it out to Texas and pay an additional $80 to have it assessed and then they would let me know how much it would cost to repair it. After weeks of trying home remedies, I decided it would be cheaper to just buy a new one, but it certainly will NOT be a Sony dvd player.



2. and now it cant read any DVD's - there are countless reports of this problem with the unit - the risk of it failing is high.



3. I bought this DVD changer 2 years ago because my old player would not read discs created by my Pioneer Tivo/DVD writer (DVD-R format). The Sony DVP-NC665P played everything I put in it beautifully until a couple weeks ago. Now it will read nothing. :( And of course it is out of warranty so Sony will charge me either $108 to replace it or $133 to repair it. Mind you I purchased it for not much more than that... Ugh. So I think I will not buy any more Sony DVD changers.



4. I have ALWAYS been a fan of Sony. Most of my electronic equipment are Sony products. My DVD player is the second product to go out after merely 3 years of ownership. I am glad to know that this is a common problem (the spinning of the dvd without reading), and will invest in another product. If the normal life of a dvd player is 3 years, then I would give this player 3 stars; however I am not ready to admit that this is acceptable.



5. Unless you plan on buying an extended warrantee, don't get this Sony 5 disc.
   Mine did exactly what other reviewers are posting. About 6 months or so ago I started having trouble with it being really picky about discs being dirty or saying there was "no disc" when there was. Now it reads nothing. I did try using a CD/DVD cleaning disc, but that did not help.
   I paid 150 bucks for this thing, I should at least get 5 years out of it you would think. Anyway... kinda disappointed.
   The "zoom" feature did not work for me either. (This feature should take a Widescreen DVD movie and "pan-scan" it to fit your old Sony 20-inch 4:3
   TV set). It never worked. So I ended up buying a wide-screen TV anyway.
   What's really funny is a Koss $30 DVD player that I bought later had no problem "Zooming" a widescreen movie to fit my old Trinitron's 4:3 screen.
   It's amazing how sometimes you just don't get what you pay for...
   SONY has some great products, but this is not one of them. You end up getting a lot of features for the price, but no reliability or longevity.