Panasonic DVD-S52S DVD Player
unique movie zoom feature
This player displays movie dvd's with optional image zoom which can display a widescreen panavision 2.35:1 anamorphic dvd to fully fit a 16:9 widescreen tv vertically as well as horizontal, cropping only the sides of the image and preserving the enhanced vertical resolution of the anamorphic widescreen dvd.  The zoom control settings are specific to standard film types as well as an Automatic mode which works for panavision.  Tv's with aspect control to display the anamorphic widescreen image (via the required horizontal stretch preserving the height) leave horizontal black bars consuming 1/3 of the screen height because of the extremely wide format; you may get the higher anamorphic resolution but not the display height. None of them have the particular mode required even when equipped with various zoom controls.  I have not found any other player with this particular zoom control either, and some will only zoom static photographs.  The panasonic feature allows a 32\\" widescreen tv to display the movies in the same height as would a 40\\" screen, at the cost of some cropping of the sides only. <br />This is less of a problem with less wide Academy Standard 1.85:1 widescreen films, but most films with panoramic scenery are in panavision. <br />For best results it may be necessary to use the new HDMI cable, as the component video connection only outputs 480p; the 720p hd signal is only on the digital connector.