what's bad about the panasonic F85's video quality? (1 Viewer)

[Fong]

i did some searching, and saw that some people didnt like the video quality on the F85. what's bad about it exactly? and can anyone give some suggestions for decent ~$200 dvd player? i dont really care about sacd or dvd-a, im just looking for something to replace my yamaha DV-S5350. damn thing is skipping and stuttering at random places in movies, and its getting very annoying.

thanks for any input

 

[Mike Pollmann]

I just picked this unit up the other day. I think the video quality looks great on my 32" CRT. I'm running it in interlace mode through component cables. I'd say it looks slightly better than my ancient Sony DVP-S500D that I replaced. No complaints here.

 

[Richard Gilmore]

I replaced my RP-62 (drawer died) with the F85. At first I thought the image was inferior, but I discovered adjustments that allow you to dial in the picture exactly as you like. I like it.

 

[Fong]

richard, you were one of the people that didnt like the F85's pq. im glad you like your dvd player now. what type adjustments fixed the video for you?

so is the all-in-1 chip on the panny F85 is ok?

 

[Jim A. Banville]

IMHO, you shouldn't have to fiddle with player picture controls to get a good picture. In fact, I'm a videophile that likes as little fiddling with the picture short of having the video controls on my TV calibrated to proper NTSC specs via a DVD like AVIA or Video Essentials. Why not pick up the clearly superior Panasonic XP-30 for $199?

 

[JohnnyG]

My F85 is in 'Normal' mode and I think the picture quality compares quite favorably with the DCDi-equipped CP67 that it's replacing. I have not seen even the hint of combing artifacts or anything else that would detract from the picture.

Sound & Vision magazines just had a review of a Panasonic HTIB box that has the same chipset as the F85. Luminance response was very flat and all other measurements were very good. The lab report is here:
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/ass...1200313346.pdf . I imagine the F85 must have SOME superior circuitry to this unit too.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Really? No combing at all?

When I had the S35, I saw very slight combing on rare occasions during movies -- not the DVD extras -- on my Panny 53". One such moment was in Titanic during the transition from the party in the deck below (right after the big dinner for the "hero" scene) to the next morning in the parlor w/ Rose and her fiancee (and the maid). There was very slight combing in the middle of the image towards the end of that transition. It was presumably a bad edit thing. Interestingly, I didn't see this combing effect on my Panny RP91.

But in any case, to me, it was quite acceptable since it was so very slight and might not be noticeable at all in many such cases. What was more bothersome was the excessively soft (almost blurry) picture I saw for the really problematic discs like The Red Violin. And the real deal breaker for me was the totally unwatchable PQ of letterbox zoomed images (ie. scaling) on the 53". It bordered on giving me a headache and mild dizziness.

_Man_

 

[KeithH]

Jim asked:

Why not pick up the clearly superior Panasonic XP-30 for $199?

Here are a few reasons:

1) Perhaps the 'F85 is not as bad as some think. Consider the comments here and the lab test that Sound & Vision published.

2) The 'F85 is $50 cheaper. $70 cheaper when Circuit City has it on sale.

3) The 'F85 is a five-disc changer.

4) The 'F85 handles DVD-Audio.

I know you were focusing on picture quality, but again, the 'F85 may not be a horror show there. Then, there are the other advantages of the 'F85 that I mentioned.

 

[David Susilo]

rather off topic, but if I do NOT want DVD-Audio, the 65 has an exact spec for video compared to the 85, right?

 

[KeithH]

David, I believe you are correct. Interestingly, the 'F65 can play stereo DVD-Audio tracks through the stereo analog outputs. It lacks 5.1-channel outputs, so it cannot play the multi-channel tracks. The 'F85 has 5.1-channel outputs.

 

[David Susilo]

Thanks for the info. Now if only I can get the "5-disc" logo on the tray's faceplate off.

 

[KeithH]

David, no problem. I just looked at a picture of the 'F85 on Crutchfield's web site (they don't have the 'F65), and the "5 DISC CHANGER" logo is large, but not too bad in my opinion. I guess it's there to remind you of what you bought.

Actually, I think the 'F85 looks nicer than last year's 'CP72 in silver. I didn't like the mirror finish on the 'CP72 carousel drawer.

 

[David Susilo]

Keith (or anybody else who knows), how is the picture quality compared to Panasonic RP-56. I love the PQ for the 56 except for the annoying flicker-bug.

 

[JohnnyG]

David, the F85 has extra video options that the F65 does not have, including Depth Enhancement, 3D NR, Block NR and Mosquito NR. If you're not interested in DVD-Audio, just ignore it!

 

[David Susilo]

Thanks, JohnnyG.

If I buy a DVD player, it will be the F85 then. However, have anybody compared it to the older Panasonic RP-56? The one with Faroudja de-interlacer (but not being mentioned due to licensing issue).

 

[Fong]

well i picked up the F85 at CC for $130 last week. havnt had a chance to sit through a whole movie with it yet, just a few demos. everything seems great. i especially like the mirror finish over the display panel. the tray is very quiet, too, which is a plus. i'll watch a movie on it later, but the picture and sound quality seemed good during my short time with it. thanks for all your input guys.

oh, i might as well go get some dvd-a discs a try. do i just need some rca cables to hook up the analog outputs to my receiver? and any recommendations on some well recorded music? i like mostly everything except for pop music, from boy bands (ugh) through now and rap.

 

[KeithH]

Fong, congrats. on the purchase! For DVD-Audio, yes, you need to run analog cables. Six RCA cables from the 5.1-channel outputs to the 5.1-channel inputs on your receiver will do the trick.

Here are some suggestions for excellent DVD-Audio titles, both musically and sonically:

* Eagles Hotel California
* Steely Dan Two Against Nature
* Metallica Metallica
* Fleetwood Mac Rumours
* Queen A Night at the Opera

I've also heard great things about Donald Fagen The Nightfly. The CD sounds great, so I can only imagine how good the DVD-Audio disc sounds.

 

[marc]

I will second the Queen and Eagles selections. I purchased the F85 3 weeks ago and have nothing but great things to say about it. The only item that I do not like it the remote, but I am using a pronto, so it does not matter.

 

[Francois L]

What about the chroma bug on the new Panasonic?

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

The S35 seems to have some sort of a chroma bug (or at least some sort of chroma oddity), and all the new Panny's share the same all-in-one chip. Also, Don Munsil from the Secret's Shootout commented on AVSForum that the new Panny's do have some sort of chroma bug.

_Man_