Panasonic DVD-F87S 5-Disc Progressive Scan DVD Player
Works well, but tricky to set up.
I received this unit via my home insurance after my RCA 5-disc changer was stolen. <br /> <br />The unit itself is solidly built, and I don't have any issues with the playback performance or picture quality. I think if you get this unit, you'll be pretty happy with it. <br /> <br />What stinks is the documentation, remote, and setup. <br /> <br />The manual is your typical poorly-translated engrish guide that most people have come to expect from inexpensive electronics. Fortunately, if you've had any experience setting up a DVD player, there's not much different here. <br /> <br />Unless you want progressive scan. <br /> <br />Here's what you have to do if you want to use progressive scan mode: <br /> <br />1. Connect both the component cables AND an S-Video (or composite) cable to your TV. Hopefully it has both inputs (most HDTVs do). <br />2. Put your TV on the S-Video (or composite) input. <br />3. Enter the Setup menu (not to be confused with the Options menu!) and choose Progressive output. <br />4. Now you can unhook the S-Video (or composite) cable and put your TV on Component input mode. <br /> <br />Thankfully this is a one-time hassle, but it's still assinine that Panasonic couldn't have either designed an autodetect or used a physical switch like my old RCA had. With the RCA, I just hooked up the component cables, flipped the switch, and set up the DVD player for 16:9 aspect ratio and I was done. <br /> <br />Lastly, the dreaded H07 error. I think I figured out what's probably causing the majority of them: when you eject the tray, the currently playing CD/DVD is still on the motor and continues to play. A neat feature for swapping the other discs without interrupting your music, but the upshot is that the ejected tray has an empty slot in it. <br /> <br />Can you guess what happens if you accidently put another CD/DVD into the seemingly empty slot by mistake? <br /> <br />To avoid this, instead of using the Eject function, use the Swap function. This willstop the playback and make sure all the discs are out of the drive and avoid damage. <br /> <br />Overall, a great player for the price. Just be careful with it and bear with the tricky setup!