Panasonic DVD-CV50 5-Disc DVD Player
Can't handle smudged/scratched CDs and certain DVDS
The first player delivered to me would skip at the same point on several CDs. These same CDs played fine on every CD player I could find and on one other DVD player. I figured I had a lemon and exchanged it for another one (actually, I would have exchanged it for a Toshiba 5-disc changer, but they were out of stock). <br />The second one immediately worked better (so I kept it), but still skipped once on every 10 or so CDs I played on it. Most of the discs that skipped had at least a small flaw or defect, but I've observed a skip or two on brand new CDs. Initially, the DVDs I tried on it worked great (see following paragraph) which influenced my decision to keep the second player.<br />I've had the (second) DVD player about 5 months now. For the first few months, I played a total of about 15 different DVDs and none had any problems. All the advertised features of the player worked fine. The video and sound quality were very good. The built-in Dolby Digital decoding was first rate. Now over the past month or so, I've run across several DVDs that had major skipping problems. There was one chapter in \\"Anna and the King\\" that would not play. \\"Traffic\\" skipped, paused, and stopped numerous times throughout the DVD. Both discs were in perfect condition with no visible flaws. It seems that many of my CDs are skipping more frequently now as well.<br />This player may be a reasonable value for someone whose collection of CDs and DVDs are in pristine condition. I can't recommend it however, since it is more prone to skipping on audio CDs than an el-cheapo [price]portable CD player and it seems to struggle playing certain DVDs.