Panasonic DVD-S52S DVD Player
By: Panasonic Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 29
More Information
 On: 2008-01-15
The Panasonic S52 is great for at home stereo/television use because it is light,convenient and portable enough to fit in a suitcase between trips. The picture quality is excellent and it delivers deep bass and clear treble which means its ideal as a cd player too whether its hooked up to a stereo or just a tv.
On: 2007-10-01
This dvd player is a gem.The picture is magnificent.I use it on the 1080i setting.Every dvd I play looks great.I love the user adjustments for color,brightness,contrast,etc.With a HDMI cable hooked up to it I doubt youll find a better picture than this unit puts out.The only negative thing about the unit is its factory preset picture modes.I never use any companys factory presets whether its a tv or a dvd player.The Panasonic S52 has normal,cinema 1,cinema 2,etc.For some reason I always get a somewhat grainy picture on my 1080p tv.Trust me when I say adjust your own user settings with this player.You also will get gamma adjustment with the user settings.This will brighten up areas in the picture that are too dark.I tried a Toshiba SD 5000 first and was unhappy with its picture.It wasnt built as good either.Toshiba SD-5000 1080i Upconverting DivX Certified DVD Player
On: 2007-07-16
Product works very well. My only issue is the very flimsy DVD trey. But this is a great value for the low price.
 On: 2007-07-05
I recently moved up at an HDTV, and didnt want to commit to the high-def DVD war.
I honestly dont see any picture difference with the up converting on. It looks exactly the same. Yes, I am using the HDMI output.
There are two other problems that I have with the player. One of them is the flimsy DVD tray. This is not a serious problem, but its such poor work that I worry that Ill break the tray by trying to center the DVD in it.
The other problem is that the menus are poorly laid out. There is a menu button.... then theres also a function button. The features youd expect to find easily are all under Function - Other Settings.
On the plus end, I havent had difficulties playing any disk at all. I havent seen any stuttering of images or other problems.
On: 2007-06-13
I bought this player for 2 reasons. Price and the HDMI upconvert. I reviewd several units on this and other websites. I received the unit today. I connected it to my Samsung 720pLCD. Looks amazing. I put in casino royale and was amazed at the quality. I watched the movie on a standard dvd player a few weeks ago on my plasma on a sd player. 100x difference. I was using the HDMI cable. You must set the player to 720p and then be prepared to enjoy. The only downside, which does not affect me, is that multichannel surround is only availible from the HDMI. THe optical and coaxial audio outputs only will give you 2ch sound. Since i use this as a bedroom unit it is not a problem. Excellent value. I will buy more of these.
 On: 2007-06-13
Bought the DVD player in conjuntion with a Panasonic 42 inch HDTV. Both item sare rated amoung the highest in Consumer Reports and the price officered was the lowest bar none.
On: 2007-05-30
The only complaint I have is it does not come with a HMDI cable.
 On: 2007-05-20
I am not sure why I am not experiencing the better picture via the up-converting most others are..I have it hooked up via HDMI cable to my Hitachi 50 inch RPTV HDVT..the picture is good...but no better than any of my other DVD players. I am dissapointed in the up-converting portion. 1080i is actually worse....and 720p mode makes it as good as my other dvd players.. I doubt my tv has a decent built in up-convertating system since its about 3 years old now..I guess my expectations were higher based on the reviews. As a dvd player..it would be 5 stars..but as an up-convert dvd player..I would give it 0 stars since its no different but will give it 2 stars to be nice..
On: 2007-05-13
I bought this DVD player to replace the Toshiba SD-K860SU DVD player, which was giving me trouble mainly because it would pause every once in a while, apparently to "buffer" the program data. So far, after about a months worth of use this machine does not exhibit that problem - the movies play fine from start to end.
This Panasonic has a feature that I really like, and that the Toshiba and some other players I have had were lacking. It is that if you turn off the unit while you are watching a movie, it will remember the exact location you were at so you can resume at some later point (without removing the disk of course).
Another feature I really like is that you can move captions down, out of the way. That wont matter to you if you dont use captions - but most people do for foreign films, and I use them for most movies because Im hard-of-hearing. When the movie has a very widescreen aspect ratio, you will get a small black letter-box effect at the bottom and top of the screen (when using a 16:9 HDTV), so its great to be able to move the captions down into that black area. The DVD player will not remember that setting from one movie to the next, so you have to set it each time you want it. No big deal. Note that if the movie has the 16:9 aspect ratio, it fills the screen all the way to the edges, as it is supposed to.
It has various audio enhancing controls that Ive played with but dont fully understand. One of them is supposed to enhance dialog, so the background music doesnt overwealm the dialog. I think it works pretty well, but I have not done exhaustive parallel testing. Also I do not have an audio system, just the speakers in my Visio HDTV, which Im actually pretty happy with (someday well upgrade to home theatre audio...)
You can set the various menus to be semi-transparent, so you can see the action behind the menus while the movie is going on. I like that.
Of course this player is an "upconverting" model. I am no videophile, but I am extremely impressed with the pictures I get on my TV from this DVD player. They are brilliant, and quite satisfactory.
Meanwhile speaking of pictures - this DVD player appears to be much more "intelligent" that the Toshiba in this way: A lot of the time the special features on DVDs are presented in 4:3 aspect ratio - maybe to save space on the DVD or save production costs. The movie itself is typically in 16:9 ratio or some such. The player is "smart" enough to show each in its correct ratio. With the Toshiba, I would have to manually switch to 4:3 when watching the features, and then switch back for the next DVD. (Unlike some people, I really prefer to watch the pictures in their original format - I dont get the notion of stretching the picture, which distorts all the images. I know using 4:3 on a 16:9 set "wastes" the space on the sides, but so what?).
Now for the ONLY thing Ive found that could be improved: On my old machine (the dreaded Toshiba), if I pressed the "info" button, it would tell me the elapsed time, the time remaining, the chapter number, and the number of chapters. The Panasonic will give all that information, EXCEPT for the total number of chapters. I would have liked that information, because the main on-board digital display just gives the current chapter number (no elapsed time, like on some DVD players), so you dont have a sense for how far into the movie you are, unless you are watching the clock. Of course this is completely irrelevant if you are watching a gripping movie, but when youre watching "My Dinner With Andre" you really want to know how close to the end you are.
I read some other reviews indicating that the DVD tray was flimsy. It is not made of iron and I wouldnt use it as a sledge-hammer rest, but it seems sturdy enough to me.
Delivery of this machine from Amazons vendor was rapid and uneventful, and setup was quick and easy.
I have not used the remote, since I use a universal remote (the Osiris MX-350). I used a pre-programmed Panasonic DVD code on the remote, but had to make numerous manual programming adjustments to get all the buttons to work. As every Osiris owner knows, making those adjustments are VERY fun and something to look forward to.
Im very happy with my purchase and expect to use this DVD player for a long time to come - at least until they settle on an HD-DVD standard and HD-DVD players become affordable.
On: 2007-05-08
I have used Panisonic VCRs only for years. When I was looking for a DVD, I compared serveral. Such as Sony, RCA and Toshiba. I picked the Panasonic. It does everything that I wanted in a DVD. Very, very satisfied. Wouldnt choose anything else.
On: 2007-04-25
Very nice picture. Looks best in 720p mode. Read the manual first. Worth it if you own an HDTV and want to see DVDs looking better than they do in 480p.
On: 2007-04-13
Im using this with a Panasonic Plasma TV. The picture is terrific, and its nice to have the convenience of a single controller.
On: 2007-04-10
This is areally great dvd. It has a lot of features, which took me awhile to figure out, but its so cool. The picture is awesome, putting it on night mode and evrerything. I would buy it again in a heartbeat!!!
On: 2007-04-03
Works as billed. I am currently playing a DVD+RL that would not play on any other player. I have not purchased a 1080P LCD TV, but it is why I purchased an upconverting DVD player. I have tried DVD+R and DVD+RW. I will be trying audio formats later. I would recommend this product to anyone who is waiting for the HD versus BlueRay to determine which will be the dominant technology and for its price to come down.
On: 2007-03-28
I am very pleased with this Panasonic unit and the only reason I didnt give it 5 stars was because I had nothing to compare it to. I am using the HDMI connection - that and the upconverting feature warranted my upgrade from an older Magnavox unit. If you are looking for an under-$100 player for the same reasons, this is a good one to purchase. This one was actually under $80 and arrived on time in perfect condition.
On: 2007-03-23
This DVD player works fantastic! Fast loading, fast responses, and lots of features to fine-tune your picture! Make sure you get a HDMI cable or component cable if youre hooking it up to your HDTV.
On: 2007-03-23
Ive got this DVD player hooked to my Panasonic 42" plasma, and with the 1080i upconversion, the picture is fantastic! This player has numerous options to tweak the picture & audio to your liking. I highly recommend picking up a HDMI cable if your gonna hook it up to a HDTV.
On: 2007-03-16
This panasonic player is an excellent basic unit. It does everything that it advertises. For the money, it suits my needs well!
On: 2007-03-09
Really do love the upconversion. The picture quality is second to none. I have a blue ray player and i find little difference in the 2 pictures. The unit is very sturdy and great looking. The disk tray is flimsy though and you have to be careful. All in all, a fantastic buy for the cost.
On: 2007-02-23
This is a nice sleek looking unit that matches my comcast motorolla cable box. I was easily able to figure out the settings and connections without taking one peak at the manual. Connected the optical outlet straight to my surround sound system and it sounded great! Connected to my HDTV and it looked great! Cant beat this DVD player for the price.
On: 2007-02-20
Rejected DVD+R discs. Otherwise it pretty much plays any discs u throw at it, even MPEG4.
On: 2007-02-14
Phew.. I doubt if I will ever find all the functions on this fine instrument.. it seems to take and play everything I can throw at it... and very nicely... nice style and design.. slim... kinda matches the dvr cable box.. only point of confusion.. the rear panel is sooooo thin there is not room for labeling the connectors.. and the COAX dig audio out ... well you figgure it out.. less than intuitive.. I would give this 5 stars but have not explored all the functions YET>..
In my dream world I would like to see... all DVD players this thin and the same size as all the DVD & Cable boxes so they would stack nicely.. and spacer feet for the top and bottom to allow for air flow...
On: 2007-01-16
I read several reviews on DVD players with HDMI connections, and for under $100, this model seemed unanimously favored. Etronics had the best price I could find, online or off, although I was worried about ordering from them after reading some of the comments here. But! my player came in a few days, and I have no complaints whatsoever. Im not a super tech person, but this player seems great. User friendly controls, and none of the weird problems that Ive encountered with other inexpensive players. If you want an inexpensive no-frills and no problems player, I highly recommend this one.
On: 2007-01-14
Ive always liked panasonic, I feel you cant go wrong. We just sold our 2 year old 5 disk dvd changer, we would of purchased the newer version but we wanted the HDMI which it did not have nor did it have the optical which I cannot understand, but anyways we are happy with the picture it looks much better than our old one and our old one looked great, but this one looks even better. I cant tell you how it compares to any other dvd player but I can tell you that you will not be disapointed. I hope this helps
On: 2007-01-09
After purchasing a new 40" LCD HDTV, I started checking out upconverting DVD players. I was intrigued by this player once I read about the "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." After experimenting with the various zoom settings, Im not convinced that the vertical resolution is preserved - it still seemed to lose definition, and I eventually returned to its original state. That being said, this player is a solid bargain. The upconversion looked great, (I settled on 1080i instead of 720p. Youll need a HDMI connection to reach this resolution btw) and the unit was easy to set-up with simple, yet comprehensive menus.
As for Etronics, let me start by saying Ive only had good experiences with them, with fast shipping and great prices. A few days after ordering the player, they contacted me and said the player was on backorder and that it would be 7-10 days before they could ship one. After reading a few reviews here about the issues others were having with Etronics concerning this player, I started to get nervous. Fortunately, 2 days after the backorder e-mail, I received a shipping confirmation e-mail and received the player 2 days later.
On: 2006-12-28
This is a pretty good upconverting DVD player, and I am happy with my purchase. I have it connected to my Panasonic 42" plasma and the picture quality is great!
Note that for the upconverting to work, you have to use a HDMI cable (component outputs only 480p in this player) and turn on 720p/1080i output explicitly from the menu.
On: 2006-12-12
I bought this to replace a sony progressive scan player I bought about 4 years ago. Remember when 480p was the bomb resolution? After recently purchasing a 1080p HDTV I wanted a solid upconverter w/ an HDMI output. I am in no rush to consider (true 1080p sources) HD DVD/Blu-ray until their "war" is over (& price drops on movies & equipment). The HDMI is spec. 1.2a for those who are familiar. The unit itself is very slim (a big plus design wise) and lightweight (about 5 lbs.) The sole drawback is the remotes design w/ its ugly bottom battery bulge. I strongly considered Sonys 75H player, but this model offers more features and a lower cost. In fact I was able to buy an HDMI cable & this player for less than the sony cost! Its nice to see the DVD audio is finally playable through a digital output (HDMI). Keep an eye on these kind of players Im sure they will all be upconverting to 1080p soon, perhaps by next year? In closing, this Panasonic is an overall great value and I would highly recommend.
On: 2006-10-11
I bought this dvd player thinking it should be quality product. At a good price I didnt second guess myself. I have had good luck with Panasonic dvd players. My first one I bought back in 1997 when they first started becoming popular It was over $300. That old player still works flawlessly.
I purchased this dvd player along with my new 50 inch screen rear projection lcd t.v. I hooked it up through HDMI cables. I watched The Incredibles first , being that I have kids. I thought the movie looked good on regular tv but this was not only bigger but better overall picture than my old 32 inch. My kids now call this my Movie theater. I have watched a lot of computer animated movies and they all look as if I am watching a real movie screen. Very impressed with picture of most movies. There are some movies that dont look as good but definatley not bad picture.
As far as the upconversion I didnt see a big difference from 480p, 720p, and 1080i, I keep it set at 720p and this work fine for all movies. I find it pretty easy to jump from one setting to another.
Overall I think I could not be happier, dvd movies look good, not too complicated to operate. On a side note, I think watching sports in HI DEF is the best way to take advantage of this technology. Movies look real good but nothing like watching outdoor game on Sunday.
On: 2006-09-02
This player displays movie dvds 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. Tvs 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.
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.
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.
|
|
