blackjackmark

I've owned and been VERY happy with a Pana A110 for many years. Recently wanted a new player, so I could move my "old soldier" up to the bedroom. My experience follows!

It's very refreshing to have such an old player and to struggle to find new features/reasons to replace it. I don't have a TV with component input, so that wasn't even a consideration. The only thing I could even think about doing was to get a carousel player.

So, I went ahead and got the new Sony C600. It's now been returned. Reason? Sony has de-contented their players, and it no longer offers the ability to directly access a time-point in the movie...you have to get to the nearest chapter, then fast forward or reverse to get to the spot you want to get to. I wonder why they did this?

Also, it did not offer the feature of sound during 2x forward palyback, which the old Pana A110 had, and that I found useful.

So, I decided that I didn't really want the carousel feature anyway, and got the new Pana RV31, which still offers the direct time access and the sound during 2x forward playback. BUT, now I have experienced first-hand the superior downconversion ability of the Sony. Practically ZERO shimmering when playing the End Credits on an anamorphic movie when watching the Sony, but the familiar shimmer is back when I watch the RV31 (just like the shimmer with the A110).

So, I'm faced with a dilemma: Be happy with the features of the RV31, and just live with the inferior downconversion, or 2) swap for the Sony 300 (which should offer the same "guts" as the 600 carousel?) and be frustrated every time I have to fully stop the player due to a big smudge on a rental disc, AND not be able to hear sound during 2x forward playback.

I'll probably end up keeping the Panasonic, but it made me realize that even Panasonic and Sony players DON'T offer the same features.

Any thoughts? Do the older Sony players offer the features I'm looking for, along with a comparable downconversion ability?

Thanks!

dhmac

I actually prefer the downconversion of the Panasonics over the Sonys. I think the Sony players soften up the picture too much during downconversion in comparison to the Panasonics. In fact, I would attribute the disappearance of the shimmer that you report on the Sony to this softening effect. So I say stick with the RV31.

Blade

There are two types of downconversion for anamorphic transfers.

Basically, anamorphic transfers have 480 lines of resolution. In order for the picture to display properly on a nonanamorphic set, the number of lines has to be reduced. One form of downconversion removes every fourth line. This results in a sharper picture, but can cause a shimmering effect when parallel lines are displayed on the screen.

The other way, averages out the extra lines. This results in a "softer" picture, but no shimmering.

Different people like different methods.

blackjackmark,

If you notice that much of a difference I think you might be happier with the Sony. While the two features you mention are certainly nice, you look at the picture all the time, so I would think that would be a primary consideration.

By the way, are you sure the Sonys don't allow you to move to a specific time point on the DVD? I know it's a hidden and not obvious feature on my Toshiba 3109 remote. I'd honestly be very surprised to learn that Sony wouldn't include such a basic feature on their players.

-David

blackjackmark

I WAS very surprised to find that the Sonys do not allow the direct access of a specific time-code. I experimented with the remote, checked the manual, posted a message on the newsgroups asking for help, even asked the fairly knowledgeable sales guy at Best Buy, who indicated that Sony has removed that capability.

It's such a simple, basic feature. I wonder WHY they would remove it?