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a few simple RP56 questions (1 Viewer)

Jim Tudor

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Apr 10, 1999
Messages
213
I just picked up an RP56 for use on my 47" Panasonic HDTV, replacing my non-progressive Sony S300. The picture looks great, but already I'm missing a few things that the Sony did, but apparently this one does not.
1) Holding it's place when stopped. I like to be able to press stop, power-down the player, and come back to it later. The Sony did this, but I can't figure out how to get the RP56 to do it. It will hold it's spot for a short while, but eventually, when on stop mode (but still turned on), it shuts itself off, forcing you to start over. If I'm watching something without chapter stops, it makes it very difficult to get back to where I leave off every time I have to get up. Am I missing something w/ the RP56, or is this how it is?
2) The Sony used to display the time of each track, not the DVD's over-all length. It seems to me that this wouldn't be a difficult optional switch for the machine to be capable of, but apparently it's stuck on the movie-length display?
3) Frame-by-frame in reverse. Haven't been able to figure this out yet. Will it do it?
I didn't have much money to spend on the new DVD player - I got the RP56 for exactly $200 at Sears over the weekend - but if a comparible progressive player is out there for close to this price, and it does these things listed above (that's if the RP56 indeed cannot), I'd definitly consider exchanging the RP56. I've been reading about the scaling feature for 4:3 material on JVC models, and find myself wanting that feature. Maybe I'd be better off w/ a JVC?
Thanks in advance, and sorry if these are stupid questions.
JiM T
 

Thomas_Berg

Screenwriter
Joined
Feb 28, 2001
Messages
1,422
Location
Dallas
Real Name
Thomas
for #1- i don't believe the Panny does this. however i think the Toshibas do. they just put out 2 new progressive players, the SD4700 and SD5700, that both also do DVD-Audio. you can find the 4700 online for about the same price as the RP56, but the 5700 is only sold retail. both units are under $300, and i think the only step-up the '5700 offers is HDCD decoding.
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-Thomas
My HT
 

Dalton

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 19, 2001
Messages
1,199
Location
Rhode Island
Real Name
Dalton
Jim,
I just exchanged the rp56 for the Toshiba sd-4700. I loved the picture on the rp56 but it didn't have alot of features i was looking for. The tosh lets you pick up where you left off when you press stop(Panny don't as you have found out). It has DVD-Audio which the panny don't. I am not sure about the auto scaling of non-anamorphic discs though. I put my copy of Armageddon in and had to use the Toshibas zoom feature to enlarge the picture somewhat. I did have the JVC unit and it did an excellent job of scaling automatically. Does anyone know if the there is a way to get the 4700 to auto-scale non-anamorphic discs? So far i like this unit, but it does have some annoying quirks. When playing a dvd-audio disc i have to go into the players setup and in the audio setup i have to change the setting from "bitstream" to "analog 6 ch" to get multi-channel dvd-audio. This is pain to have to do everytime but i couldn't find any other way to get 5.1 dvd audio working. The picture quality is good but a little on the soft side. The rp56 was a little better picture wise. Mp3 playback on the panasonic was better because it let you use the digital connection for playback. The Toshiba only allows 2 ch. analog playback of mp3's. I am not too thrilled about that because it takes my sub and PLII (or whatever other mode you like to listen to music)away. It does display the mp3 playlist on your tv though(panny doesn't). I wish Panasonic had released the rp61. I would have liked to try that one. I tried the rp91 but did not really like the picture(even after all the tweaks i tried off this forum and others). So i am gonna give this unit a try for a while. The search continues. Sorry for the long reply Jim. The rp56 is a good unit...just short on features though.
Regards,
Dalton
 

PaulKH

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 3, 2001
Messages
413
Dalton, thanks for your great feedback on the Toshiba. I too tried an RP56, but didn't really like the picture or ergonomics.
I'm willing to pay a lot more, if I get more.
I'm not interested in DVD-A or MP3. I just want a GREAT progressive picture and the ability to either easily scale non-anamorphic material or switch to interlaced via remote so I can scale with my TV instead.
The JVC S60 is beginning to sound good though.
 

nousername

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 26, 2001
Messages
614
1) Press the "Play Mode" button. It'll say "Position memorized" on the screen. Next, turn the unit off. When you turn the unit on again and press "Play", it should resume where you left off...
3) Press "Pause", and then press the large, left arrow key once to advance the picture one frame in reverse.
For slow-motion viewing, press "Pause" and then either one of the slow search keys (the two double-arrow keys below the "play" button).
All of this can be found in the owner's manual...
 

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