Rating: 
Summary: Great player, short lifespan
Review: I bought this player based upon the stellar reviews posted herein and at (...). The player worked terrificly for the first four months (exceptional audio and video on our standard 27" TV). However, after 4 months, it started freezing up randomly more and more frequently until it doesn't play DVDs at all. Occasionally, it gives an "H02" error before it freezes (as alluded to by several other postings for this player at Amazon). When I called the Panasonic repair center, they were very discourteous and rude and told me to send the player and $90 to have them fix it (with no estimated return time). I've decided to purchase a different brand instead. Bottom line: there are an inordinate number of people in this forum outlining this same problem with this player after a few months of use. Also, the warranty period for labor is a very short 90 days. I suggest that the model design may be defective and that potential buyers stay away.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Customer Support & Audio Flexibility
Review: I had problems with my unit from the beginning. The major problem was hooking up the audio. This unit has only one analog audio (RCA) line out and one optical digital audio line out; no coaxial digital out. From previous reviews I did not think this would be a concern since I would just hook it up to via optical cable. But BEWARE! I could not get my digital optical hookup to work. After repeated calls to Panasonic's customer service, and getting various degrees of help from none to fair, it appears that my digital cable was broken. I haven't heard of this in previous reviews, but evidently, digital optical cables are know to break fairly easily. I could not get the digital optical line out to work after buying three cables and spending many hours of time. So, it may also be a defect in the unit, despite what customer support said. Another problem with digital optical is that some cables (e.g. Monster) have plastic protectors that are not easy to detect and when inserted in the stereo or DVD, may come off; or the cable type (round v. square) may not be fit correctly. I am told if the protector comes off, it is very difficult to get out. So, using optical cable definitely has pitfalls. Therefore, the best way to hook up audio, I found out, is through coax - which does not exist in this unit. Without using the optical digital cable for audio, the only remaining option is the analog RCA connection. However, with only one set, you need to choose between connecting your stereo to either DVD or CD connections; you cannot connect to both since this unit doesn't have an extra set of RCAs. If someone else is using your system and does not know better, it causes a real problem. Other nuisances are that the video menus do not seem to be as intuitive as with others (e.g. GE) and it takes some time for the CD/DVD disc to open/close and play. Maybe I have a lemon, but because Panasonic skimped on their audio line-outs in comparison to many less expensive units, and their customer service is poor, I think it deserves a very low rating. I spent a lot of time reading most of the reviews on this unit and did not find the concerns I'm expressing. So, be careful. Even if the video works great, what good is it if you don't have excellent sound, or it takes you days getting this unit set up?
Rating: 
Summary: great DVD player.
Review: This is a terrific DVD player. The images are sharp and the DVDs load pretty fast on it. It has a large number of features for a player with its price, and the controller is easy to use. I also found out recently (according to consumer reports) that its really good at reading damaged DVDs. I am very pleased.
Rating:
Summary: Best Bang For Your Buck!!!
Review: First of all for those who say it won't play the MATRIX, it does! I just tried it on mine which I have had for about 6 months or so and it worked great. Anyway this is a great DVD Player for anyone. And yes it may not have all the bells and whistles as some have but it has a lot of options for the price on it. It plays CD,DVD,CDR,CDWR, and MP3's... What more can you ask from a DVD Player for this price... NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Problems after 5 months
Review: This was a great DVD until.... 5 months later I'm getting "H02" errors on every DVD. All of these DVDs play in my other players. The text book solution? Unplug the player for a reset.... no work. Time for the dreaded maintenance depot. Next time I'm buying a player at Circuit City and getting the extended warranty.
Rating:
Summary: Panasonic Has A Good One Here.....Good Value Too!
Review: This Panasonic unit has proven to be very reliable product since I purchased it. I've never had one single problem with it. Has never skipped while playing any disc, which I know can be a problem on other DVD Players. This fine little dandy can play just about any disc: DVD-Videos, VCD's, as well as Audio CD's. It will not play the new Audio-DVD discs, however, UNLESS such a disc is also encoded with a Dolby soundtrack (which I understand several are). I think you'll be very happy with this unit....Picture quality is quite good, and the VSS (Virtual Surround Sound) feature is a nice bonus for people like myself, who don't have room for the complete six-speaker set-up. The VSS feature gives the audio a "boost", and makes you think you've got those speakers behind you when you don't!! As for the remote control on the Panasonic RV-31 (as well as the nearly identical RV-20 series of players), I find it very user-friendly myself! Easy to handle and good reaction time when keys are pressed. A very good remote. Overall, Panasonic has produced here a good solid player that takes it easy on the purchaser's wallet!
Rating:
Summary: Great Value and Quality !
Review: Thank You Amazon for the fair price and Free Shipping!
Yes..there may be some cheaper players. But why bother.
This Player has every feature you need and more. This is a very nice easy to use and setup DVD player.
Picutre Quality is Fantastic. Bright, Sharp and perfectly accurate Colors. I don't really see the neeed for the front panel
jog/shuttle dial. But some people may find it usefull. A Front Panel MENU button or chapter buttons would
have been alot more usefull. The front panel dispay is big ,clear, and easy to read.
The On Screen display/ Menu controls are also easy to
read and navigate. It does not interfere with the picture like on some SONY players. A nice feature is by using the players on screen Brightness
and Contrast controls you are able to 'tweak' the picture. The cinema mode works well and memorizes your picture settings.
The Surround Sode Modes work well,even using the TVs speakers. There is a TIME Elapsed but NO Time REMAINING display
for DVDs. This seems to be a PANASONIC thing.
Many of thier more expensive players also omit this feature. The disc drawer opens an closes smoothly and Quietly. This should be your first choice for the ultimate in
picture quality without spending big bucks for it!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, basic player
Review: I have the RV30. I got it from Amazon last November and have had ZERO problems with it. I have only watched movies with it (and accessed special features of them), but it has performed flawlessly. The remote is easy to operate. I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Panasonic DVD-RV31k, made in Japan too.
Review: I have own this DVD player for more than 4 months, so far it hasn't give me any major problems. Plays DVDs flawless, even with the ones that are badly scratched. The anti skip is just wonderful. However, this player is not great with VCDs, it plays them fine but with some of the VCDs, the picture on the screen shows little bit streched.
Yes, this DVD player supports mp3 as well. It doesn't have randon play but plays mp3s fine on CDR/CDRW.
I highly recommend this model.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a good, not great DVD player.
Review: I bought this player after owning a Panasonic A-120 model which I really liked. I got the RV31K because it will play CDRs, CDRWs and discs encoded with MP3 files which the A-120 would not. I have rated this player only 3 stars for a couple reasons. First of all, even tho it will play MP3-encoded discs, I have found that it will not play all the tracks on some discs. I'm not sure why except that I heard that if the MP3 file isn't encoded at a 128K bit rate it won't play it. Not sure if this is true but I do know I have a disc with over 100 tracks and the RV31K only recognized 25 of them. The second reason I only rate the RV31K with 3 stars is that the build quality is very flimsy. The player is extremely light and doesn't have that solid "feel" to it. It doesn't have the nice large round insulator feet that I have come to expect on all consumer electronics items. It has 2 "fake" insulator feet on the front and none at all on the back. The drive itself is also relatively noisy when loading and unloading discs compared to the A-120 and other players I've looked at. A kind of high-pitched whine emanates from the player when loading/unloading discs. The A-120 was completely quiet. To its credit the player has several nice features and Panasonic improved the size and layout of the buttons on the remote compared to the tiny buttons that were on the A-120's remote. And I've not had any problems with the player thus far other than the MP3 problem, having owned it for about 5 months. I just wish Panasonic had not cut back on the build quality as much as they did. It feels more like a "budget" player, e.g. Apex than one from one of the biggest and I think, best consumer electronics companies in the world. But I'll probably hang onto it till affordable DVD recorders become available in the next couple years.
| 
