Panny RP56 - best under-$220 DVD Player? (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

I'm thinking of treating myself to a new DVD player this X-Mas. Is the Panasonic RP56 the best one under the $220 price point? Is there any other players better at this price point?
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PatCave ; HT Pix ; Gear ; DIY Mains ; DIY CC ; Sunosub I + II + III ; DVDs ; Link Removed
[Edited last by Patrick Sun on November 01, 2001 at 08:26 PM]

 

[Thomas_Berg]

i would say YES! the JVCs (a little above this price range) have been hailed as well, but i personally am not a JVC fan. the RP56 offers progressive scan and a great new video chip. alot of people have been debating that it has better video quality than the *almighty* RP91. Yes, i'd go with the RP56 for under $220
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-Thomas
My HT

 

[Page]

Also check out the Toshiba 3750 at $200 and under and the Toshbia 4700 which can by found at $250 and lower. (Both are progressive.) Both are on equal footing with the Panasonic RP-56.

 

[ShanonS]

I'd have to vote for the JVC XV-S6xxx. I have had mine for a few months now, and I'm very happy with it. There's a post on here somewhere by RonP who actually took both players home and did a side by side AB and he kept the JVC. He's also posted some of the comparison info on HTT and HTS. It might be worth reading his views. I'm sure the Pan is a good player also. I bought the JVC to replace a Panasonic I had used for 3 years without a single problem.

 

[Ron-P]

If you do a search you should find my threads on the Panny RP56, the JVC XV-S60 and the Sony NS700p. The reviews are nothing technical in nature, just my experiences with them, my likes and dislikes.
Peace Out~

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http://home.earthlink.net/~peregrinefalcon

 

[Patrick Sun]

Thanks for the replies. I will probably still go with the Panny, but will definitely check out the JVC, the Sony's a little out of my price range at the moment, but perhaps the holidays might turn a sale on any of these fine possible additions to my HT.
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PatCave; HT Pix; Gear; DIY Mains; DIY CC; Sunosub I + II + III; DVDs; Link Removed

 

[PaulKH]

Patrick - I've posted about the Panasonic RP56, but wasn't impressed due to the overly high contrast and weak color on progressive output, plus the bad ergonomics (can't select progressive/interlace output from the remote, for example).
I found it too much of a compromise.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

Patrick...
Definitely save yourself some time and check out Ron's post that he mentions. He took the time to test all of these units extensively. Conclusion...JVC!
Jer

 

[Daniel Simon]

If it's ok, I'll ask a similar question:
What is the best DVD player out there for $200 or under? My mom is thinking about delving into the DVD world, but price is a big concern for her. I doubt she'll go any higher than $200, as that would be stretching it for her. Progressive isn't an issue for her, as should does not own a progressive TV (not do I see her owning one in the semi-near future).
My experience is pretty much limited to my player, the Pioneer DV-333, which I am extremely happy with. BTW, what is this year's model that replaces the 333?
[Edited last by Daniel Simon on November 02, 2001 at 06:56 PM]

 

[Dave_N]

Patrick,
Sears has a 10% everything sale through tomorrow. Therefore both the rp56 and the xv-s60 will be $207.
I will be picking up an rp56 for my panasonic ct-32hx41.
Dave
[Edited last by Dave_N on November 02, 2001 at 10:23 PM]

 

[WilliamG]

Patrick,
I bought the RP-56 three weeks ago and am really enjoying it!
****
Dave,
I bought mine at Sears ... do you know if they have some sort of "money-back" policy if the merchandise is offered for less within 30 days? You know, "if you find this product offered for less within 30 days of purchase, we'll refund the difference plus 10%" - sort of thing?
Thanks!

 

[David Head]

I've been following all the posts on the inexpensive JVC, Panasonic, Sony and Toshiba DVD players with great interest. I think Ron did an excellent job with his reviews. Here are the links to Ron's reviews for those of you that haven't read them yet:
My new Panasonic RP56 Progressive Scan Player
My results on the Panasonic RP56 vrs. the Sony NS-700p
JVC XV-S65GD Reviews / Opinions / Test Results?
Kwang Suh also had a good overview of the Toshiba SD-3750:
Toshiba SD-3750 prog scan DVD player review
David

 

[Patrick Sun]

Hmm...now I'm intrigued by this JVC player. I don't even have a progressive TV, so I'm stuck in the interlaced world for now.
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PatCave; HT Pix; Gear; DIY Mains; DIY CC; Sunosub I + II + III; DVDs; Link Removed

 

[Dave_N]

Well, I bought the rp56 and rented "Enemy at the Gate". Wow, what a picture on my ct-32hx41!!!
Have not read the maunal yet, but I played around with it to see if I could get it to display in 4:3 mode, instead of anamorphic mode (looked like 2.35:1). I set the "4:3 pan and scan" mode on the DVD player but it did nothing. I then changed the "Video ADJ2 Aspect" on my TV to 4:3 instead of Auto and it did give me a larger picture, but not full screen. Funny thing is latter I, after setting this setting back to Auto, and then trying 4:3 mode again, but this time it did nothing, ie, the picture remained in anamorphic screen size. I am new to the DVD scene so forgive my ignorance. I am assuming that I have a choice of which aspect ratio that I wish to view the DVD. True?
William G.,
I am sure that Sears will refund the difference in price if you find the item cheaper within 30 days. I knew about the 10% off everything sales early this week and the sale's person said I would either have to wait till this weekend, or buy now, and get the difference back after this weekend. I decide to just wait till today. The final cost was $206.99 before tax.
Dave

 

[Trevor Schell]

Go for it Patman..
Get the DVD player and the new TV!!
You know you need it!
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Trevor..

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