Panasonic DVD-RV31K DVD Player, Black
Superb DVD Player: Highly recommended.
I agonized over which low-budget DVD player I was going to purchase as a Christmas gift for several weeks. I was orignially intending on purchasing a Samsung M101, but I held off fearing the reported disc problems and access times. Instead, I purhcased the RV31K and have had no problems. Although I was intimidated by user reports of failures of this unit, it has been used relatively heavily without the slightest problem. The picture quality is superb via the S-Video connection: you have to see it to believe it! The audio quality (although I don't have a surround system) is convincing using VSS and the dialog booster really does work as long as you are listening to a standard 5.1 ch track. Access times are also very good and the remote is not nearly as annoying as I thought it would be. The optical digital output (which I use for dubbing CDs to MDs) is excellent as well.<br />I have no problem recommending this unit to anyone... although I hope it doesn't burn out like others have reported. So far, no problems at all.