Panasonic DVD-A120 DVD Player

Rating:
Summary: Stopped playing certain DVDs
Review: My wife bought me the Panasonic DVD-A120 DVD Player for Christmas of 2000. It worked without a problem for about 1 year and 10 months. The picture is clear, the remote is simple (which is good or bad depending how you look at it), and it played any DVD we put into it. That changed in October of 2002. Even though it had played Disney DVDs in the past, it suddenly stopped playing any Disney movie. It also won't play some newer titles such as Reign of Fire (which has a Disney audio track in it) and Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.

In comparison, we have a Toshiba DVD player from the Christmas prior which still plays flawlessly. The Panasonic is also unusually large (particularly the height) in comparison to the Toshiba.

Regardless, I want to watch Star Wars and my son wants to watch Disney movies, so we just ordered a Philips 5-disc DVD player/changer and will avoid Panasonic in the future. Our 2 TVs, 1 receiver with speakers, and 2 VCRs from Philips/Magnavox have all worked flawlessly for years, which is why I'm buying a Philips DVD player this time.

Rating:
Summary: Great DVD Player- 4 years of Flawless DVD movies & CD music!
Review: I got this DVD player new in 1998- and for four years of playing, it hasn't missed a beat. I have it hooked up through my VCR to my surround sound system and it plays GREAT. I know I annoy my neighbors when I have a great movie like the Flight of the Valkyries scene from Apocalypse Now blasting. This is a tremendous very high quality DVD player that is simple to operate. The remote is very user friendly and easily figured it out without even opening the manual. It is easy to travel as well. I simply unplug the cord and carry it to my girlfriends place and plug it right up to the front of her TV. It is LIGHTWEIGHT and stacks well with other stereo components. It also plays CDs and the front loading tray is great if you want to pop in a CD to listen to without having to fool with a carosel tray unit. This is a great unit and I have been very happy with mine for the many years I have had it and will continue to watch great DVD movies for years to come. I am considering buying another one for my father for Christmas due to its high quality and simplicity to operate.

Rating:
Summary: Stops Working After One Year
Review: This DVD player worked great for one year. The problem started slowly -- it refused to read the dvds, but after opening and closing the tray a few times, it would read them. Now, it never recognizes a dvd, even after opening and closing the tray many times. Seems like this is a common fault according to the other reviews. Since it no longer works, after only a year, I cannot recommend that anyone buy this product.

Rating:
Summary: Worked fine, until...
Review: The dvd player worked great until one day it just stopped reading dvds. And if you actually get the dvd to play when you resume it later it might not work, then you have to fiddle with it for about 10 minutes to get it to work again.. Opening and closing the dvd drawer over and over and over and over again. Glad to have paid 300 dollars for a CD player. Panasonic wont do anything about it they actually want me to pay for an error they know is their fault. Great company. Last time I will ever buy panasonic again. Only played about 15 dvds in it when this happened!

Rating:
Summary: Buyer Beware
Review: Panasonic is a respected brand with a high reliability rating. However, this particular model is sometimes in need of a firmware upgrade. The problem may not crop up at first, but soon you will notice problems arising with various discs. (Pixellation, picture freeze along the most common.)I've noticed it on two titles personally although some owners have reported more. Panasonic has a nasty habit of being in need of upgrades and it is a chore to get them done.

Rating:
Summary: worked fine... for one year
Review: Bought this about one year and one month ago, and I've played an average of about 3-4 discs a month. Worked fine until now. Now I'm getting severe pixellation on a lot of discs, and it can't even read other discs. After checking around on the web, I've found this to be a common problem, and that it's likely the optical pickup that failed. Since it's just out of warranty, and the part costs $..., I'm chucking it. Avoid Panasonic DVD players like the plague!

Rating:
Summary: For DVD Players - Trust Panasonic
Review: I've own this DVD Player (DVD-A120) for over 2 years now. It is easy to set-up, operate and handles damaged DVDs as if they were flawless. I rented a DVD which had a scratch and the A120 played it to profection after a slight moment of correction. All Panasonic DVD players are known for this. Don't trust me, take Consumer Reports word for this (see December 2001 Issue). The picture quality is great too!

Rating:
Summary: A good choice
Review: I have owned this DVD palyer for over a year now and have been nothing but pleased. It has great everything!! Never had ANY problems. My 2yr old son wedged a toy credit card into it, and after we removed it, It still was like NEW. I think it is a good choice if your looking for a great quality, durable DVD player.

Rating:
Summary: great basic DVD player
Review: I bought this last Christmas for my love, and after a year it's still working perfectly. We had one before this that had those pixel blips, but not this one. For a basic DVD player, the picture is crisp and thorough. He hooked it up to our Dolby Digital 5.1 system and the sound is impeccable. My only complaint is that there are still too few films mixed with true 5.1 sound editing.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Player for the money!
Review: I've own this Panasonic A120 for about a year now without any problems and I've played tons of DVDs in it. The picture quality is excellent - its well worth it. Highly recommend this player than anything under $200.