BigPete

I started out with an A110 - purchased when that model first came on the market - it stopped reading dual-layer discs after 18 months.

I replaced it with an A120 which has lasted me until last night when it refused to read my spotless Toy Story DVD.

2 Years ago, I also purchased an RV32 for the living room and moved the A120 into the bedroom.

So anyway, if it isn't obvious, I only have experience with Panasonic players and need to know if it's time to branch out or is I should simply go pick up the next model in their line.

Aside from the life span, I have been extremely pleased with my units thus far.

Spiky

Life span has been an issue recently, but their units aren't bad for pic and audio quality. Pioneer usually has a nice smooth pic. Does this just plug into a basic analog TV or do you have other stuff in your system?

svadas

Pioneer 588a, or just get another Panasonic.

BigPete

I use the RGB outputs to a Sony Wega with the 16:9 compression mode. I also use the optical out into my Onkyo HT650. That's about it.

BigPete

That 588A looks quite attractive, and a nice change of pace since Panasonic has been a dog regarding compatibility since day 1.

The surprising thing, however, is that I can only find 2 "reputable" places that sell it online - onecall and jandr. Most price engines don't even list it.

Spiky

Well, most online places are unauthorized ripoff joints, anyway. One Call and JandR are decent places. You can pretty much bet, if a place beats JandR's price, it is not authorized. I'd bet that 588A is a good buy for you.

DVD Josh

You should pick up the Oppo Digital player. Dear lord is it a good player. I used it to upscale the Incredibles over DVI, jaw droppingly good. Even my mom, who knows nothing about A/V, immediately saw the difference from my old progressive scan model. At $200, it's an absolute steal.

Down

But apparently is nothing to write home about over component...

DVD Josh

The bottom line is that if you are going to spend $200 for a player, you SHOULD be using an advanced input. And people have said if you TV does the scaling, the interlaced signal is actually quite pleasing.

Down

I'm certainly not bagging on it, it's on my short list of 3 DVD players I'll be auditioning. I was just mentioning that, like anything in the

Big Worms

Who carrys Oppo? I saw it on their web site and Amazon. Anybody else?

Down

http://www.extremephono.com/

Ya really can't bargain shop on it though, it's pretty much gonna run ya $200 regardless.

NestoJR

I can attest to the Oppo being a great player. Use it along with my Denon 2900. Great picture, PAL > NTSC conversion if you need / wouldn't mind having it, region free out of the box or easily done with the remote. oh and they have been great with firmware updates it seems. Only thing is, the chipset isn't used if you use anything but the DVI output. Great deal and if you don't have DVI or HDMI, might wanna upgrade anyhow =)

Spiky

Mike at Surf started carrying it, too.

Red Dog

Got the Panasonic S97 a few months ago. No complaints.

QuiGonJosh

My Panny 5-Disc that I had for 3 years died last month, I replaced it with the newest model Sony 5-Disc and it's glorious! Better than the Panny.