Panasonic DVD-S55S Digital Remastering Progressive-Scan DVD , Silver

• Plays DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, CD-R, CD-RW, JPEG, and MP3/WMA CDs
• Progressive-scan video output for seamless, flicker-free picture on high-definition and HD-ready televisions
• Cinema Mode diminishes glare and improves the visibility of details in dark scenes; Depth Enhancer reduces image background noise
• Digital re-mastering enhances CD playback
• Dialogue Enhancer boosts center-channel volume during Dolby Digital 5.1-channel presentations

Big pluses imho:

1. Bookmarks

2. WMA support (in addition to MP3, etc)

3. Amazon's price was not just competitive, it was amazing.

4. Arrived to my door in great shape

All the other goodies are here too: built-in decoders (sometimes it's really useful to have these built-in), zoom support, simulated surround sound (which actually works), DVD Audio/VCD/JPEG/MP3 support, speaker delay setting, progressive scan, etc.

I personally found the on-screen display/setup to be easy to use & quite sophisticated for this level of price. Also, according to reviews elsewhere, this model is one of the absolute latest panasonics out there, with the latest/greatest firmware, etc. in other words, people often thought that dvds look better played on this model, relative to other players in the same or slightly higher price range. Mine was built in June 2003.

For what it's worth, decide whether you need built-in decoders or not, if you want to save money. I personally wasn't willing to live without them or bookmarks, and amazon's price for them (and all of the above) was still amazing.

This thing hooked right up & worked flawlessly straight out of the box.

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My family has been buying Panasonic products for years, but this is the first time I've ever bought one of their DVD players. I've previously had a Sony and a cheapo KLH Home Theater in-a-box. When I was looking for a new player I knew that I wanted something that looked nice, had progessive scan (for the future), could play DVD audio, photo CDs, and MP3s. Oh yeah, and should be affordable for a college student.

Enter the Panasonic DVD-S55S.

1. DVDs boot up quickly and it plays them perfectly. I've tested a few movies out and I don't even notice layer changes (a BIG problem with the KLH). There does seem to be a fair amount of flicker with contrasting colors on some menus.

2. Photo/MP3 CDs play well and are easy to navigate. However, vertical photos don't seem to play and MP3 filenames can be cut off if they're too long. The flicker shows it's ugly mug again on photos, but is easier to ignore.

3. Features galore! Progressive Scan, DVD-A (don't assume that all players can play these!), Dynamic Range Compression (kind of evens out the louds/softs of the movie), Optical audio output, Component video, and several ways to tweak audio/video for better quality.

Overall, I'd give this player 4.5 stars but had to round up. The flicker problem could just be my TV or the way I'm hooking it up, I don't know. My only other real criticism is the remote. It's just kind of there. A little ugly but very usable. So, if you're looking to get into DVD or looking for a cheap player that will be able to keep up with you for several years, look no further than this one!

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To ktk3438 who gave this player 1 star, in part because it doesn't have a feature to save the disk position this player can do that, you need to hit a button on the remote to save the position. This player has a great picture even when only connected to an analog TV with an s-video cable. I haven't got around to getting component cables yet. The optical out provides great sound with both dvds and cds. I haven't tested the jpeg viewing capability yet. For the feature set, picture and sound quality at this price it's hard to beat..

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This dvd player is a very good progressive player for the price range. It plays everything smoothly from regular dvd, dvd-audio, mp3 to vcd and svcd. I've owned other more expensive dvd players but none come close to this one. If you just like to listen to cd music you will be amaze on how the "re-master" feature on this player help to push the sound to another level. The menus is very easy to navigates and the picture is beautiful.

Fortunately, this will be my last Panasonic product. I was happy with this DVD player (I don't ask for much) until it stopped reading *any* discs after 6 months. It produced an error on the screen. When I called to find out what the error meant, they said it was "still under warranty" and to send it in, which I did.

After 4 weeks, they contact me to say that only the parts are covered for a year labor is only 3 months. So the part is covered, but not the labor to put it in! They wanted sixty-five bucks to "fix" my DVD player, which was apparently under warranty.

So, after spending 100 bucks on this unit, it's in the trash after 6 months. BUYER BEWARE and pray your unit breaks within 90 days.