New Panasonic DVD-S55S progressive-scan DVD-Audio player: Just $130! (1 Viewer)

[MikeSRC]

Newegg may have them, but to my knowledge, only the F65 and S35 are available thus far. I checked with one of the main Panasonic distributors on Friday, and they said that the S55 and F85 should be out very soon, maybe this week. FYI, MSRP on the S55 and F65 is $129.95 and the F85 is $149.95. Ten bucks off any one of them is about as low as you'll see because there's so little profit in them to begin with.

 

[LanceJ]

I saw the F85 again last night at Best Buy. So unless they have a holodeck installed there ............(and thank goodness it shows that "Advanced Resolution" swirley logo on its display card like the discs themselves have.)

They also had three new HTiB's from Panasonic there (but not on BB's website). Very thin-n-slick but subs were kind of boomy.

And those new Athena speakers sound very nice!

LJ

 

[KeithH]

Nick,

Thanks for the link. Newegg.com is a new egg for me. I'll check them out.


Mike,

I'm not expecting deep discounts on any of these players. Frankly, that would be awfully greedy. I mean, with the 'S55S, we're talking about getting DVD-Audio and progressive-scan output for just $130!


Lance,

I'm sure my local Best Buy stores will get the 'F85, but I am reallly interested in the 'S55S. I saw the 'F65 at Best Buy yesterday and didn't like the look of it. The carousel mechanism is very smooth and fast, but the front panel is designed very poorly in my opinion. Above all, the display is too small. I also don't need the changer. The 'S35S looked pretty solid, so I would expect the 'S55S to be built well too.

 

[KeithH]

Does anyone know if Panasonic will be issuing a replacement for last year's DVD-XP50?

 

[KeithH]

Newegg.com lists the 'S55S and 'F85S, but does not have them in stock as of this writing. They list an ETA of May 6th for the 'S55S and May 8th for the 'F85S. If those dates are correct, hopefully I will see players locally this week.

 

[KeithH]

Crutchfield.com now has the 'F85S listed for $150. Like newegg.com crutchfield.com states an ETA of May 8th. Here's a link:

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...=0&cc=01&avf=N

Here also are some pictures.

Front panel:



Remote:



Crutchfield.com does not have a picture of the back panel.

 

[David Coleman]

Does anyone know what the crossover is as far as Bass Managment for DVD-AUDIO? Also, can anyone comment as far as the Jpeg player is for this player? Would appreciate any comments!

 

[MikeSRC]

These players, like the previous ones, don't have any bass management for DVD-A. You get a full range signal to all speakers. This is not unusual, since there's currently no player under $500 that has DVD-A bass management. Previous models with built-in DD and DTS decoders had a LF crossover at 100 Hz.

 

[David Coleman]

Thanks for the info Mike, but I could have sworn on their promotional brochure that they mentioned bass management as one of it's features!

David

 

[MikeSRC]

They probably did, but I'm pretty sure that it won't work with DVD-A. I have an RP-82, and from every indication in its manual, you would believe that the speaker size and level settings would work with DVD-A. The new S55 manual is the same. It has speaker level and size adjustments, with a crossover at 100 Hz. However, in reality, it only works with the built-in DD and DTS decoders.

BTW, for all who are interested, you can now download the S55 manual from Panasonic here: Link Removed

Just type DVDS55 in the model number box.

 

[JohnnyG]

Ryan, the Canadian 'suggested selling price' for the F85 is $299. The S55/F65 are $249 and the S35 is $199.

 

[Chris Shelly]

I ordered an S55S today from J&R. I already have an RP62 and RP82. The S55S is replacing a Panasonic A112 that takes forever reading disk.

The other day I was looking at some of the new DVD players at Best Buy. Not only are these new panny's cheap but they also look very well built. I would take an S35 for $99 any day over the new Toshiba 3900 for the same price. The Panasonic just looks better built.

I am not expecting much out of this DVD player but when I first get it I might hook it up to my HDTV and see how it performs.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Anybody know how the S55 (or S35) compares to the old RP91 for overall PQ?

Also, can anyone confirm whether the new line of Panny's have 4x3 shrink and letterbox scaling for display in Full/16x9 mode just like the old RP91? The Panny site indicates yes in the specs, but we all know how misleading or inaccurate their site (or any other maker's site) can be.

Basically, I've been looking for a player w/ the scaling features of the RP91, but hopefully, better overall PQ (or at least equal, if lower price). At this point, I'm leaning towards just getting an RP91 cheaply (maybe ~$300) off the web and settle for the mediocre video-mode deinterlacing for badly flagged DVDs and video-sourced DVDs since scaling is a must for me.

TIA for any help on this.

_Man_

 

[KeithH]

Chris, if you don't mind my asking, what did you pay for the 'S55S through J&R with shipping? Given the low retail price of the player, I can't imagine they are offering much of a discount.

 

[MikeSRC]

Also, can anyone confirm whether the new line of Panny's have 4x3 shrink and letterbox scaling for display in Full/16x9 mode just like the old RP91? The Panny site indicates yes in the specs, but we all know how misleading or inaccurate their site (or any other maker's site) can be.

Yes, they do have 4:3 shrink and letterbox scaling, as well as an incremental zoom. I haven't compared one to an RP-91, so I don't know if it's as good as the RP-91. Download the manual from the link I posted on the previous page for more info on the new Pannys.

 

[Chris Shelly]

Chris, if you don't mind my asking, what did you pay for the 'S55S through J&R with shipping? Given the low retail price of the player, I can't imagine they are offering much of a discount.

Total price for the player from J&R is $137.08 with shipping. The player was $129.88 and shipping was $7.20. This is only slightly cheaper then Crutchfield by 11 cents however the shipping is cheaper from J&R. Crutchfield shipping is $11.99 but they guarantee you will have it in 3 days. J&R is regular ground service. Depending on where you live you might have to wait an extra day or two with J&R.

I did not know this player offered any scaling features. It might have a place in my main system after all.

Chris

 

[KeithH]

Chris, thanks for the info. I'll probably wait to get it locally unless I see a significant discount by mail (authorized dealer). I don't pay sales tax here in Delaware. I'd also like to wait for more reviews.

 

[Chris Shelly]

I was going to get it locally as well but I could not find it anywhere. I found plenty of S35S's though. Since it would be next week before I could hook it up I decided to order it online and save me the hassle of trying to find it locally. I saved a little because we have an 8.7% sales tax.

I don't see these players ever being discounted all that much. Maybe $5 or $10 but thats about it.

Chris

 

[KeithH]

Chris, I too have seen the 'S35S locally. The 'S35S is built quite well for the money, so I am hoping that is indication of how the 'S55S is built. Anyway, I too do not expect much of a discount on the 'S55S. I mean, you get DVD-Audio and progressive scan for $130! I'm not going to get greedy!

 

[Tommy Ceez]

For all you Panny fans, Sharper Image (thats right Sharper Image!) seems to be the last retailer with the xp-30 available. If DVD-A is not important to you its an incredible unit