Panasonic DVD-S29S DVD Player , Silver
Versatile player, good price
I've used many, many brands of consumer electronics over the years, and I've had trouble with just about all of them... except Panasonic.  I now buy only Panasonic (whenever I can) and so far I have not been disappointed.<br /><br />This DVD player is no exception.  I needed a unit that could play any brand of DVD-R disc out there, since I have a ton of burned Verbatim discs (which skip sometimes on cheaper players), as well as some Fujifilm, Sony, and bargain-bin brands like Khypermedia and Memorex.<br /><br />I've tried Samsung, Memorex, Toshiba, Sony, and Apex DVD players (no, they weren't all mine) and none of them could play all brands of DVD-R without skipping.  The best was (surprisingly) the cheap Apex, which didn't skip, but couldn't play one of the cheaper brands at all (Khypermedia if I recall).  I've used two different Panasonic players, the DVD-S29S as well as an older model, and both handle anything I throw at them.<br /><br />This player also plays MP3 and WMA discs.  I ripped all of my \\"80s Hits\\" CDs into WMA files and put 185 songs (128kbps) onto a single CD-R.  The on-screen song navigation takes a minute to get used to, but is much better than not having one at all.  It also apparently can play video files, though I haven't looked into which formats it can play.  Of course it displays photos on CD and can play VCDs and DVD+R and any other type of disc.  Unfortunately there is no Random mode for MP3 and WMA discs, but this isn't a jukebox after all.  It does offer playback of playlists (that would need to be burned onto the CD with your songs), though I didn't check what format the playlists need to be in.<br /><br />If you have any kind of observation skills whatsoever, you know that the music on DVDs is always 10 times louder than the dialog.  So it's difficult to maintain a suitable volume to hear the voices without getting blown away when the soundtrack kicks in.  This player features a volume leveler that reduces the volume of loud music, while increasing the volume of dialog.  I was a little skeptical at first, but it really works.  This feature is excellent for those people who constantly change the TV volume (you know these people), or for watching movies when you need to keep the TV quiet.  You'll be surprised how well it works.  This feature, combined with many other audio and video tweaks, can be turned on with a single button on the remote (AV Enhancer), or you can fine tune everything separately in the advanced settings.<br /><br />Another nice feature is the auto-zoom, which will crop the video so that the black bars on the top and bottom of widescreen movies are removed.  Unlike other methods, the auto-zoom finds the edges of the video so that it only zooms enough to exactly fill the screen.  This can be great for people without widescreen TVs, if you really hate those black bars.<br /><br />It of course has progressive scan, with component and S video outs, as well as the RCA outs, and a coaxial digital audio out, but oddly lacks an optical audio out.  It does not have HD upconversion, you'll need to pay more for that feature.<br /><br />There are more unique features on this model, but you can read about them in other reviews or on the Panasonic website.  If you just want a simple DVD player for playing pressed DVDs only (store-bought movies), then you may want a cheaper brand.  If you're looking for a high quality workhorse DVD player with some valuable features that can play perfectly anything you throw at it, you won't be disappointed with the Panasonic DVD-S29S.ic, while increasing the volume of dialog.  I was a little skeptical at first, but it really works.  This feature is excellent for those people who constantly change the TV volume (you know these people), or for watching movies when you need to keep the TV quiet.  You'll be surprised how well it works.  This feature, combined with many other audio and video tweaks, can be turned on with a single button on the remote (AV Enhancer), or you can fine tune everything separately in the advanced settings. <br /> <br />Another nice feature is the auto-zoom, which will crop the video so that the black bars on the top and bottom of widescreen movies are removed.  Unlike other methods, the auto-zoom finds the edges of the video so that it only zooms enough to exactly fill the screen.  This can be great for people without widescreen TVs, if you really hate those black bars. <br /> <br />It of course has progressive scan, with component and S video outs, as well as the RCA outs, and a coaxial digital audio out, but oddly lacks an optical audio out.  It does not have HD upconversion, you'll need to pay more for that feature. <br /> <br />There are more unique features on this model, but you can read about them in other reviews or on the Panasonic website.  If you just want a simple DVD player for playing pressed DVDs only (store-bought movies), then you may want a cheaper brand.  If you're looking for a high quality workhorse DVD player with some valuable features that can play perfectly anything you throw at it, you won't be disappointed with the Panasonic DVD-S29S.