Fine Example of What DVD Should Be!
Written: Feb 01 '01 (Updated Feb 01 '01)
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Pros: Features, Connectivity, Picture & Sound Quality
Cons: No Parental Lock?
The Bottom Line: This is a great player for just about everyone, from the newbies to the DVD pros. Great system, performance, and features.
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| gadgetsgalore's Full Review: Panasonic DVD-RV30 DVD Player |
I’ll admit, I was skeptical about DVD when it came out. I really didn’t see much of a need for the “super high quality” movies that DVD boasts. I didn’t have surround sound back then, so a VCR was quite adequate for my needs. I consider myself an avid movie watcher. I enjoy a nice quiet night, a good movie, and a nice girl to curl up to. Now with DVD in mainstream, it’s hard to ignore the hype for long.
A friend of mine goy a Panasonic DVD player a while back, two Christmases ago in fact. I didn’t really think much of it at the time, until I watched it myself. I was impressed. In short, if you are a movie buff in any sense of the word, DVD is for you. There is almost nothing to loose with a DVD player.
Of course, the Panasonic DVD-RV30 isn’t the most entry-level DVD player, but it’s a great player all around. It finds it’s home quite nicely between the cheap DVD players, and the higher end models.
You can pick up a DVD-RV30 for around $200-$300. That’s not too bad. My roommate has an Apex 550B DVD player that cost him $100. Nice. Anyways, this DVD player is nice, and not incredibly expensive, especially if you shop around.
The RV30 is a nice, sleek DVD player. It’s not very flashy, with a nice, efficient design. You won’t see a whole colony of buttons on the front of this player, I kind of like that. The dimensions are:
Height: 3.2”
Width: 16.9”
Depth: 10.8”
(Courtesy of Circuitcity.com)
As far as connections go, there is a set of A/V outputs, along with an S-Video output, Composite out, and Dolby Digital Output. For you newbies, this means it’s a pretty capable player from a connectivity point of view. The A/V plugs are pretty much standard on newer televisions, and the S-Video (A higher quality connection) is quickly becoming a standard of it’s own on larger TVs (still supporting the A/V ports). The component out is SUPER high quality, and is only supported on high-end TVs.
If you don’t have these connections on your TV, you’re not going to get the full DVD experience. Running a DVD player through a VCR, and out to your TV using the coax out on the VCR is going to degrade the quality. The problem is that coaxial cable can only support so many lines of resolution for your TV to display, this is the whole idea between DVD in the first place, higher resolution (more lines). If you’re looking to jump into the world of DVD, you may want to think about getting rid of that old TV, if you really want it to be worth it. Sorry folks, that’s how it works!
The Dolby Digital output is to go to your Dolby Digital receiver, if you have a home theater that supports Dolby. The player itself doesn’t decode the audio, it merely outputs it to the receiver.
As for compatibility, the RV30 supports DVD, CD, and VCD. Not incredibly impressive here. My roommate’s Apex supports these plus SVCD and MP3 disks for at least $100 less. Oh well.
On to the good stuff. The sound from this player is top-notch. The sound is crisp, and rich. My roommate has a Kenwood 5.1 surround sound system, and let me tell you, it’s incredible. There were no sound problems I’ve accounted. The picture is bright and crystal clear. Many of the cheaper DVD players can lack in this area, but with the number of outputs on this machine, the quality is only limited by your TV set.
In terms of features, the RV30 has most of the important ones. For example, the Still Picture Display allows you to pause the DVD without those annoying fuzzy lines that VCRs have when they pause a VHS. The on-screen menu is nice for helping you out with the player and it’s features. It also has a 5x/fast forward/rewind function that comes in handy if you want to skip a part of a movie, without going to the next chapter. Unfortunately, the only thing that I found wrong with this player (maybe I couldn’t find it) was that there was no parental lock, or parental controls to lock out the kiddies from watching movies they shouldn’t be seeing. It is possible, however, that I may have overlooked this feature. I didn’t have that much time to play with it, unfortunately. As for the remote, it's a simple, logical design. Should be easy to figure out with some moderate use.
In any case, this is a super DVD player. If you’re just entering into the DVD market, and are still unsure about a few things, a low-end model is always a good way to get started. However, this would be a great machine for a home theater system, one that will support many future component upgrades. If you can find this player for under $200, it’s practically a steal in this crazy DVD market.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $200-250
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Epinions.com ID:
gadgetsgalore
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Location: Williamsport, PA
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Penn College of Technology student, Computer Networking major. Loves gadgets!
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