Customer Reviews

Panasonic DVD-S77S DVD Player

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Ok. I never write reviews on products even if I like them after trying them ... but this DVD player is the best dvd player I've ever had.... Why? you ask....

The DVD player is the first that I've EVER had that actually played (upconverted to glorious 1080i, mind you) trailers, menus, anamorphic content, 4:3 content, letterboxed content all in perfect aspect ration without having to adjust a thing. I've NEVER, I repeat, NEVER had a DVD player that actually analyzed the video information as much as this player does. This part alone inspired me to write this glowing review... now there's more ... much more.

Next, the picture. The picture this thing puts out both via component and HDMI video is nothing short of astonishing. I've had mid-level Sony, Toshiba, Samsung (to name a few) DVD players that were progressive and/or upconverting models and NONE of them ever produced the almost HD quality image that this player puts out.

Next, the speed. The procesing speed is excellent. It reads the disc quickly and starts playing immediately... when you hit menu button or up/down/left/right it responds immediately and plays without even seemingly reading the disc for a/v information... it's very impressive.

Lastly, the hardware unit itself is impressive. It looks sleek and sweet and has a large thin horizontal blue bar that glows nicely when in use. Also the disc tray slides out with command and shows that the tray is clear plastic. Discs fly smoothly back into the unit. The remote control is not half bad either with perhaps too many buttons.

The configurability of this player is phenominal. there are many more options to customize which is great for us pro's but may confuse others.

The manual has a lot to be desired but is certainly not the worst I've seen by far.

Overall, this player ROCKS!!!!

I have had my Panasonic DVD-S77S unit for about 3 weeks now. I researched upconverting DVD players for a month before deciding to purchase this unit. Originally, I had my heart set on buying a Toshiba unit, but after reading all of the horrible experiences so many people had with the Toshiba SD-59xx units (from several sources), I settled on the Panasonic. As previous reviewers have stated, the manual is TERRIBLE. The default settings for the player is 480p (progressive) and trying to find where to change it to 720p or 1080i (interlaced) was quite a challenge. (Read the May 19, 2005 review listed here for details.)

I have a 32" Sony HDTV and the jury is still out on whether I get a better picture with 720p or 1080i. Regardless, both are excellent. I also agree with a previous reviewer in that the blue light bar on the front of the unit is VERY bright and annoying.

This unit comes with a 6.5 foot HDMI cable and a 3-connector RCA-type cable (Left, Right, Video). I did not know this unit came with an HDMI cable, so I had purchased one from another source. My suggestion is NOT to buy another HDMI cable until you try out the one that comes with the player. I doubt that you will notice any difference in quality between the original and an overpriced Monster cable ($50-$80).

I gave the Panasonic DVD-S77S only 4 stars because longevity is an important factor for me and I won't know that for another 2-3 years (hopefully).

After looking and reading a lot about up converting dvd players, I decided to go with this unit. Since the price was right and I heard nothing but good things about it. I'm using it thru its HDMI output directly into my HDTV and the colors and picture quality are incredible.

I had try other progressive players, but none of them gave me this quality. There was no artifacts or video distortion visible. Just be sure you use HDMI to HDMI instead of the component output. This will give you the best picture, since you can't up convert using the component output.

The menu system is a little hard to follow, so read the manual.
If you're looking in how to change the up converting resolution from 480p to 720p or 1080i, is under the display menu and not under setup where I was expecting it. Also there you will find how to turn off the "very bright" blue light that shines from the top of the disk tray. I think that most people will decide to turn it off. But I leave that to you.

I recommend this player, to anyone that want the best picture available to this date. Of course you can wait till the real
HD-DVD players come out, but that might take a while.

I bought this unit on Sunday to enhance the dvd viewing pleasure on my new 32" Samsung LN-R3228 LCD television. I had been using a highend Panasonic RP91. The research I did on this unit suggested about half of the people who buy this will see intense "macroblocking." Macroblocking is noise in the background while you are watching a dvd. A good example is in Blue Velvet. When Kyle first enters Isabella's apartment pretending to spray for bugs, the walls around her apartment seem alive. Swirls of motion in the texture of the walls. This is macroblocking. I tried lowering the sharpness and brightness and even switching to 480p via the component cables. This did mute it a little but you knew it was still there to a degree. I switched back to my RP91. Presto! 90% of the macroblocking disappeared. It is always there, but players that don't have the faroudja chip bug will see a vastly reduced amount of this defect. I'm returning the player. I don't feel that the benefit of a slightly better deinterlacing job via the S77 outweighs the massive macroblocking that I am seeing.

I bought this to go with a new 500U Panasonic Plasma 50". Hooked up with HDMI. No problems thanks to other reviewers revealing the quick way to the up-conversion toggle in the menus. My wife and I both thought the up-conversion actually did the picture a disservice by blurring. Background elements and distant people (i.e. small items on screen) got blurred to a very 'mushy' appearance in our opinion. However, closeups looked incredible and sharp!!

Until HD-DVD, this is probably the best you can do if you want sharper close-ups. Standard DVDs just don't have the resolution data to look great all over when enlarged to 50" or more.

For me the choice is normal viewing (in my case DVD playing through an XBox) which is somewhat grainy vs. smoothed over pixels that appear blurry (through an up-conversion processor). Grainy won out in my home over blurry so I returned the player and will hold out for HD-DVD when available to get the sharpest picture all over and not just in the close-ups.

One odd item about audio - To get full 5.1 surround from this unit you must use 6 RCA cables (or HDMI) into a receiver with split channel input. I did, and it sounded great. But the manual says if you use the optical or coax digital out, which I would have preferred to use, you only get 2 channel audio not surround.

I bought this for use with a 42 inch Panasonic plasma tv. I agree with many reviewers that the remote is not intuitive and the manual is not that helpful.

After a moderate amount of effort, however, I was very impressed with the 1080i upconvert. The picture is excllent and everyone who saw it was very impressed.

This DVD player is well worth the price if you have a high definition tv with an HDMI input.

I didnt what all the fuss was about the up convert HD DVD Player, until i played a DVD in my current JVC Progressive scan player on my new Toshiba DLP 62". My picture was really really bad especially with movies I burned. So there I was shopping for an Upconvert DVD Player. Finally for a nice price i bought the Sony HD-Conversion DVD Player (DVPNS70H) for $129.99 from Circuit City, after 2 days for playing around, i couldnt tell any difference with that player and my old JVC player. Then i was certain it was a big waste of money, UNTIL i read some reviews about this Panasonic dvd player.. let me tell you OUT Of the box, the first movie, i was like "WOW".. it made a HUUUUGEEE difference. My movies were so sharp and so clear, just like my 1080i sources on my HDTV service.. AMAZING. The only bad thing is the MENU is bit hard to Maneuver to change it to 720 or 1080 resolution, and no eject button on the remote. But the unit itself is really slick, stylish and very very very good player. IT DOES THE JOB. for $199.99 its well worth the money.

The S77 has great potential, but it falls short in image quality. The player creates and enhances macroblocking in DVD material. It is worst over HDMI and less so over component (480i/p obviously.) Now, every DVD has some macroblocking, the problem with the S77 is that it not only enhances the macroblocking that is present in the content, but it also creates macroblocking. Its most easily seen in areas of solid color/detail, such as walls, shirts, backgrounds, etc. Depending on your display, it may make the player unuseable.

My first unit from Amazon was defective; the loader tray wouldn't stay shut. The replacement unit outputs static via the digital coax.

The player has a top notch deinterlacer and is packed with options. The poor build quality and macroblocking get two big thumbs down. I'd suggest buying the player from a store that has a liberal return policy.

Im still using a regular picture tube 32' Toshiba with component hookup I've always been a big fan of panasonic dvd players they are for sure the best players you can buy for many reasons (sound,picture,all the bells and whistles etc.) so this would have to be the best one made yet!I have had every model for about the past six years.I own five other brands none are as good as this one,easy to use ,good remote,great on screen guide and if you havnt bought a HDTV im sure you will soon(I will)and you will have one of the powerfullest players available this a 2005 model with a 216z/11Bit video processor you can tell a great diffrence even if you dont have HD yet but you can use component hookups its worth it. Sound wise it use a 192/24 processor which means you also wont find another player with better sound either. A MUST HAVE Buy It or leave your ownself short changed!

UPDATE:I have finally gotten a hold of a true HD tv the Sharp 32 inch LCD Aquas and run this player via Monster Ultra 100 HDMI able using the tv's native 720 lines of resolution (thats 720p on the dvd player menu)and I am sure as heck not let down in the least everything checks out great and the picture is better than I expected.One note people saying the upconversion causes macroblocking(little wavey things sometimes lookslike interfearence)are correct to some degree.First of all its not that bad and I am very picky when it comes to this stuff it truly doesnt botther me sometimes will go a few movies before i see any macroblocking.Second every player that has uponversion but doesnt use this upconversion chip that suppozsedly cause the m.blocking from what i read all report bad picture and especially bad color representation thats why panasonic stuck with this upconvertion chip.So after utilizing the dvd player to its fullest via HD I just wanted to update this review, still go buy it!

I have had the Panasonic DVD S77 for about a month now-

It really amazes me every time I watch a DVD movie on it as to just how great this machine improves the picture as compared to my old JVC progressive DVD player - on my new Hitachi 57S715 RPHDTV - using the HDMI out from the S77 to the HDMI in on the Hitachi - using a HDMI 10 foot cable gotten for $25 from Cablewholesale and setting the player to 720p (better picture than 1080i)-

I am into backing up my movies to DVD media on my PC and the compressed copies are every bit as good as the originals using this player - which I find is totally amazing-

The manual sorta sucks - but sticking with the setup pays off in spades - just keep scrolling down the menus until you have looked at everything - the "Details" setting seems to be where all the good stuff is btw-

At the Amazon price of $210 shipped - I believe that this is a player that is affordable, reliable, somewhat easy to operate and I have and will continue to recommend it to all my friends and associates-