AOD

I called all over the place to find a Panasonic XP50 DVD player and was told (by Fry's and Magnolia Hi-Fi) that they were discontinued. What's going on? If this is the case, why is Panasonic already pulling these great machines with the excellent Faroujda/DCDi chips off the shelf so fast? These players are harder to find than my lost keys.

I finally found what I wanted (an XP50) at 6ave.com for $243.31 shipped, but anywhere else they are nowhere to be found. If they are infact already exctinct I provided a link below so you can own one of the great DVD players.

The price is actually $225 plus shipping. I called and they do infact have them in stock. Best wishes.

XP50 at 6ave.com

nekobus

The XP30/50/RP82 have been out of production for quite a while now. Panasonic has decided to compete in terms of price, not features with its new dvd players. The Faroujda chips were the first casualty of the cost cutting.

mapson

Which current players have the Faroujda chips in them?

AOD

nekobus,

If you click on the link, the zip code is not mine, it is the default zip they put in. All you have to do is put your zip code in and hit "update zip code" and that will give you your shipping cost.

I knew the RP82 was oop, but I didn't know the XP30/50 were on their way out too.

AOD

If you are talking about the Panasonic one's it's the RP62,RP82,XP30,XP50,CP72, and I believe the RP91 (Can't remember cuz it's a little older player). That's all I can remember off the top of my head.

nekobus

The RP91 doesn't have it. The recent Panasonic players with the Faroujda chips are the RP56, RP62 (early builds only, those with a "B" in the serial number do not have the Faroujda chip), CP67, CP72, RP82, XP30, XP50.

The newer Panasonic "S" models do not have the chip. They use Panasonic's new all-in-one chip.

The XP30/50 had very short production runs (only a few months) last year and have been out of production for quite a while. They have been sitting in the retail channel, but were very overpriced when compared with the RP82. Then three things happened at around the same time:

--The 82 became almost impossible to find.
--It was discovered that the XP50/30 use the same video section as the RP82 and have similar picture quality.
--Panasonic lowered the price of the XP models to clear them out of the retail channels to make room for new models.

mapson

Thanks for the info regarding the Panasonic players and Faroujda chips. Any other brands that carry the Faroujda chips besides the Panasonics?

iveal

Off the top of my head:

Denon 1600
Yamaha c6480, c920, s2300, cx1
philips 962sa, 963sa
Samsung (upcoming) HD1000, 931

AOD

Does anyone know how long these 3 models were actually on the shelf before Panasonic decided to pull them. It doesn't seem that long. I know you can find them here or there still, but I was wondering how long they were officially available. Thanks.

nekobus

If the three models you mean are the RP82/XP50/XP30, they were all released into stores in late spring, early summer of last year (June for the 82). Their production runs were very short (three months in the cases of the XP models). The amounts produced were also very small (10,000 units for the RP82) when compared with players sold in big box electronic chains. The RP82/XP50/XP30 were not sold at places like Best Buy.

New models are constantly coming out in the very competitive dvd player market. DVD players models at the consumer level are changed often. The RP91 was an exception to this, but was getting very long in tooth in terms of technology. It too has also gone out of production.

The recent Panasonic players with the Faroudja chip (RP82, etc) were the "golden age" of dvd player engineering design at Panasonic. High quality components were used, picture quality was paramount and the price/performance ratio was high. Unfortunately, this led to several player designs with similar features spread around too many price points. The XP50/30 were very slow sellers as they were overpriced when compared with the 82.

This has lead to a change in the Panasonic's marketing strategy where they are now going to compete in terms of price and not features. Panasonic will now have lower priced models and go for unit sales, rather than producing smaller runs of different designs.

Once word got out about the RP82 they were quickly snapped up. Even before the newest DVD Shootout was posted, the 82 was getting difficult to find. Finding the 82 became even tougher after it received their first ever "recommended" rating.

People then started to focus on the CP-72 (essentially a changer version of the RP82). It had a cheaper price than the XP50/30 models and had been tested in the Shootout. The CP72 was also sold in places like Circuit City. However, there were more concerns about the CP72 units (more mechanically complex, "white flashing") and so the 82 was still considered the King.

The Secrets later tested a XP30 and it also received a "recommended" rating. At the same time (end of last year), the XP30/50 models had a price drop to start clearing them out of the retail channel to make room for the new "S" models. People in various forums started picking up the XP models and comparing them with the 82 and the results were good, so now the XP models are becoming more difficult to find.

AOD

Thanks nekobus. Very informative. Glad I got my XP50 when I had the chance. Best wishes.

AOD

6ave.com just sold their last XP50. Best of luck.

VashTheStampede

Heh,

I just picked up an XP50 from them last week and have watch a few movies on it the past few days......it's TOP NOTCH. The video and audio quality for me are noticeably improved. The player navigates very quickly too. I am real happy with it. I would recommend getting one while you can.

VTS

AOD

Update:
I must agree with Vash. This player is worth EVERY penny! It replaced a non-progressive Sony 530D and it is head and shoulders above the Sony. The picture is absolutely beautiful and it has tons of options (including DVD-A). I can't say enough good things about this great player.
Question for Panasonic:
Why in the world would you take the fantastic Faroujda/DCDi chip out of your top players? I know, I know, the profit margin for these players was not very large, but they sold like hotcakes (with a side of hashbrowns).
I would have paid double for the quality picture of my XP50. Doesn't the sales statistics of the CP72/RP82/XP30/XP50 speak for themselves? I am fully satisfied and am glad I didn't spend over $1000 for a Denon and I got the same quality picture and sound in my XP50 (with no chroma bug!). 110% recommended! All of this of course IMHO.

VashTheStampede

This quote is taken right from the shootout regarding the RP82...which is pretty much the same thing as the XP30/50.


"The RP82 is just as good in the core video department as it is in the deinterlacing department. How is it that they can get it right in a $229 player while some of their competition can’t for 2 and 3 times the price? We recommend that all of their competitors pick up an RP82 and see what a DVD image should look like!"

Strong praise indeed.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b...rch&articles=5




VTS

DB

If you hurry, you can get an xp50 -- though along with a receiver in a package deal for $350 from goodguys.com.