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Panasonic DVD-S97S DVD Player (Progressive Scan - MPN: DVDS97S)
Description: If you have even a moderately complicated home theater setup, you probably have a pile of tangled cables on the floor behind it. Imagine replacing all those cables with a single cable that carries both digital video and audio at the same ti.... Read More Description: If you have even a moderately complicated home theater setup, you probably have a pile of tangled cables on the floor behind it. Imagine replacing all those cables with a single cable that carries both digital video and audio at the same time. With the HDMI standard, that's exactly what you get. HDMI carries high-quality digital video and audio over the same thin cable, allowing you to run one cable from your DVD player to an HDMI-compatible TV or home theater receiver. The goal of any playback device should be accurate reproduction of the original content. In the case of DVDs, most of that content is film-based. Utilizing advanced progressive scan playback techniques and very accurate MPEG video decoders, this DVD player provides an image that faithfully represents the image you see at your favorite movie theater. Most people think of their DVD player simply as a movie machine. This DVD player not only plays prerecorded DVDs and DVD-R/DVD-RAM discs, but also MP3s, CDs, CD-R/RW discs, WMA, and DVD-Audio discs. When compressed digital audio such as MP3s and movie soundtracks is created, higher frequencies are lost due to limited frequency response. Most of these frequencies can't be heard by human ears, but their presence conveys subtle nuances. When they're missing in a digital recording, it doesn't quite sound the same as the live performance. Our multi re-master feature examines the audio signal and helps compensate for these lost frequencies, providing sound quality closer to the original performance. Minimize |
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| Date Reviewed: 01/15/2005 |
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Strengths: Picture quality is fantastic. I use hdmi to connect to my Pioneer 4340HD at 480p and upconverting resolutions. The picture is bright, colors are fantastic and it is very well constructed.
Weaknesses: None so far, and I am very picky so this is a fantastic dvd player.
Summary: Best player on the market in my opinion.
I probably now have way too many dvd players in the house searching for the right one. I have the DVD-S97 connected to my Pioneer Plasma Display (4340HD) via HDMI. Both the upconverted 720p and 1080i look excellent. I normally leave it at 480p (progressive) as my display does a great job upconverting to the display native resolution. I have had this player for a month now and have no complaints. I have been using dvd players since they first came out and this one if my favorite. The picture quality is excellent on all dvds that I have tried and I never have encountered the usual "hiccups" that dvd players seem to exhibit these days with slow transitions etc with double layered discs and other problems. I give this player my highest recommendation!
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| Date Reviewed: 01/29/2005 |
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Strengths: Good looks, solid construction, nice remote, easy to use, excellent video quality, HDMI interface, audio decoder.
Weaknesses: Cannot get it to display elapsed time on front display
Summary: 2005-01-29 15:13:38 Traded in the Toshiba SD-5970 after it simply became frustrating to use. It was cheap feeling, the remote was horrible, and it seemed to have some incompatibilites when using the HDMI interface to my Philips HDTV.
The Panasonic is a highly superior device, though it did cost more than the Toshiba. The first impression pulling it out of the box was that it "felt" high quality. (compared to the Toshiba which felt like it was a $20 no-brand unit!) The appearance of the unit is very classy and well done. The remote is easy to use. The number of options is large, but easy to access through the menu settings. There are MUCH more options for the HDMI interface than the Toshiba.
Video quality is excellent. I have tried the various upconversion settings and find the 720p setting to work best with my Philips 42" Plasma HDTV. The ability to switch between the HDMI color schemes is also nice to fine tune the output to your specific TV display.
Another advantage of this unit over the Toshiba is that it has built in digital audio decoder (either 5.1 or 6.1 can't recall). I don't use this but some people might.
Of all the DVD players I have owned, this is the best. One of my biggest beefs with some players is how long it takes to eject a disk by pressing the "OPEN/EJECT" button when the unit is powered off. The Panasonic does this nearly instantly, which is VERY nice.
HIGHLY recommended!
98% of People (44/45) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 03/30/2005 |
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Strengths: Worked great out of box, great remote, decent HDMI cable included, DVD's look great, no problems!
Weaknesses: None. Though front blue light display on unit is fairly bright...nite/dimming function would be good.
Summary: This unit worked flawlessly out of the box at 720p resolution (what I needed with my Sharp LCD HDTV). Easy setup with the included HDMI cable (cable is expensive if purchased separately) Watched Predator and Predator2 SE DVD's, looked awesome. Must say, its a bit hard to tell how much better these 480p res movies look when upconverted to 720p...its already so much better watching a progressive scanned DVD on an HDTV vs a regular TV. Remote also full-featured and well-designed as is the DVD unit itself. In the end, after serious researching for these upscaling DVD units, it was worth the extra money to go with Panasonic's model...
94% of People (17/18) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 06/21/2005 |
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Strengths: HDMI, multiple outputs, excellent picture, very versatile player, includes HDMI cable
Weaknesses: no major problems
Summary: I've been very satisfied with this player. When I first get a piece of electronics, I don't like to fiddle with setting after setting, but the opportunity is there with this player. Out of the box it works and looks just fine. After poor experiences with other players, this one has been a pleasant surprise (so far!). It's played home-made DVD-Rs as well as store-bought/rented discs. Haven't experienced any freezing or skipping problems that I have with older players. The HDMI output is awesome. I just wish my TV had more digital inputs! I use it at 1080i, but I do plan to test the component 480p as I've heard its a nice player just using it with the standard DVD resolution (without upscaling to HD). Be sure to go through the setup menus to adjust your TV, audio, etc. to the proper settings. It's a very simple/quick process. One of the first DVDs I watched was the original Star Wars and it stunning!
Audio quality is top notch and digital output works fine with my older Pioneer receiver.
Front blue light is a tad annoying but I can live with it. Instructions sometimes seem confusing for this type of product (probably more confusing for newbies) but I can manage as I have some experience with DVD players, TVs, A/V gadgets, etc.
79% of People (11/14) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 05/15/2006 |
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Strengths: 1) Beautiful design 2) Quick loading tray 3) Upconverting 4) Straightforward setup
Weaknesses: 1) 1080p resolution doesn't look as good as 720p 2) No light or eject button on remote 3) Scanning dvd's is either too fast or too slow
Summary: After reading many reviews on this player dating back to the mid 2004, I decided that this would be the best choice in a single dvd player. This DVD player supports so many formats that aren't even listed. For expample, the player can play DVD+RW dvd's and DVD-RW. The rest are listed under the specs. One thing many buyers will have heard on the internet is that this player has a problem with something called MACROBLOCKING. This is an issue on units with older firmware where high resolution details at 720p and 1080p will have noticable digital blocks. Its like what happens when you zoom in too close at low resolution images and it appears pixelated. You'll be relieved to know that with the latest firmware revision (86H362) that issue has been resolved. I have paired this DVD player with the gorgeous Panasonic TH-42PHD8UK which has been rated one of the top plasma TV displays available on the market today. Using the HDMI cable (included) to attach directly to the TV, you will be able to watch all your DVD is near HD quality without having to shell out the money for one of the newer HD-DVD or Blu-Ray DVD players. Although time will tell if we will need to make that switch someday soon. The upconversion of the unit is incredible where all your DVD's will just have a whole new life to them. This is where words cannot do this player justice and will have to be experienced to understand. Just make sure you pair it with an HDTV to take advantage of such a feature otherwise you'll be stuck at the native resolution of 480p which is still very nice. There's a lot to like with this high quality DVD player and very little to complain about. I've always had an issue with older DVD players (think 1998) that take forever to eject a DVD/CD, this is not an issue with the S97S. The only minor gripe I have with the unit is in regards to scanning VCD's... when trying to fastforward, the unit allows up to, I believe, 4 different scanning speeds. What happens is that either it scans too slow to really be fast forwarding, or else it just scans so fast that within 30 seconds it jumps to the end of the VCD. Some users on pricegrabber have had a gripe with the blue light. Let me say this, it is bright (but shuts off while you are watching a movie), but its nice to have especially at night (when most people watch DVD's) because it lets you easily see the beautiful clear tray when you load a DVD/CD.
78% of People (7/9) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 06/19/2006 |
- Anonymous
- Member Since:
Jun 2006
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Strengths: Solid build quality, complete set of features
Weaknesses: Some macroblocking, interface not that good
Summary: Solid build quality and very good picture. This player has a complete set of features that are only available on much more expensive players. The user interface is not well-designed though, access to some features requires many button presses. The up-converted picture through the HDMI port suffers from some macroblocking, especially visible on large-screen TVs and projectors, but this can be mitigated by playing with the picture settings. Also difficult to tell how much time has elapsed in a movie. Excellent audio options, and I have not seen audio/video sync problems even if audio is channeled through a receiver instead of the HDMI output. Overall, a solid performer.
67% of People (2/3) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 03/29/2006 |
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Strengths: Brand reputation, features, up-conversion.
Weaknesses: Remote control not light.
Summary: This is a really slick looking DVD player, the light on the disc tray is really cool.
Setup is a breaze and the picture quality is great. I am a big Panasonic fan and this player lives up to the brand's reputation.
My only complaint is that the remote should be light or at least glow in the dark.
60% of People (3/5) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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