Exclusivity for an amazingly affordable price!
Written: Mar 21 '05 (Updated Mar 21 '05)
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Pros: Faroudja chip exclusivity! Excellent picture performance and sound quality!
Cons: MP3 playback may cause the machine to hang. Layer change is average.
The Bottom Line: If you want the exclusive Faroudja chip but don't want to pay the higher price of an advertised Faroudja Progressive Scan DVD Player, than you'll love this DVD-Audio Panasonic RP82!
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| shizzle's Full Review: Panasonic DVD-RP82 DVD Player |
Well, I have been using this DVD-A player for years now. Originally, I had considered purchasing the higher priced Denon 1600 Progressive Scan Player but for the price, I just couldn't justify spending hundreds more for a similar player using the very exclusive Faroudja chip.
Here's some history behind this amazing player: A few years ago (2002?) Panasonic had inserted the Progressive Scan featuring DCDi by Faroudja decoding engine into some of the DVD Player product lines. Typical Progressive Scan DVD Players using the Faroudja chip had commanded a higher price tag because they advertised that they had the Faroudja chip. Panasonic did a sneaky move by not advertising that some of their players had the Faroudja chip thus allowing them to keep the MSRP at a price much lower than their competition. So for those that really do their research on the products they buy, such consumers will be richly rewarded by stumbling upon this little known fact.
Appearance/Aesthetics/Hardware design:
Excellent slim-lined player! The front facia has a mirrored/polished finish which shows fingerprints easily but this is a minor nuance. The unit is very attractive as it is not your typical run-of-the-mill black looking box sitting on your A/V rack.
Start-up:
Start-up time is a little longer than average. The Denon 1600 starts up at around 2 seconds quicker. This is a minor quibble but I have noticed that the player sometimes runs into trouble reading MP3s on CD-R discs; sometimes the player will hang and will make weird noises. If this happens, just turn off the player and restart. Usually works every time!
Layer Change:
Layer change refers to when the movie shifts from one layer to the next. Think of it as switching from Side A to Side B as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, not all DVD Players are created equal and some manufacturers put a large amount of effort in engineering a player to execute an almost transparent layer change while others do not. The Panasonic RP-82 seems to have an average layer change time. The layer change is noticeable and the picture does hang for up to 1 second as it shifts from the first layer to the second layer. The Denon 1600 has almost no noticeable layer change but then again, it costs hundreds more!
Picture performance:
Outstanding outstanding outstanding! The use of the Faroudja DCDi chip creates one heck of a picture. I believe one of the professional review sites noted that a lot of DVD Players that claim they are progressive scan truly are NOT progressive scan players. The Panasonic RP-82 has been labeled as a TRUE Progressive Scan player and the primary reason why this player received this distinguished designation is due to the Faroudja chip's performance. I could go into some engineering specifics and technicalities but you will just need to trust me on this one: after doing countless hours of research the Faroudja chip is currently the best decoding engine on the market today!
Sound performance:
DVD-Audio sounds outstanding on this player. I have the Panasonic RP-82 connected via a coaxial digital cable to a Rotel A/V Receiver pumping power out to some very outstanding B&W 6 Series 3 speakers! Soundstage is very deep and expansive. The RP82 also has the option to turn off the picture circuit of the player to add to the performance portion of the player when you are listening to DVD-A or CD's. Other options include sound enhancement options which enhance the decoding KHz from the standard 44KHz to 88KHz. The actual results are really noticeable.
There are lots of setup options you can choose to tweak this player and the end result is extremely favorable. Yes, the Denon 1600 has the Burr-Brown 24-bit, 192-kHz Audio DACs but a lot of these specs are pointless if your receiver cannot handle deciphering the input. And with that information in mind, I purchased the much less expensive Panasonic RP-82 and enjoy virtually identical playback quality. I also have noticed that the Panasonic RP-82 still commands a premium price-tag 2-3 years after the original production run. What does this mean? It means you're purchasing a highly sought after unit that has not depreciated over time as is usually the case with any type of tech product. Get your hands on one of these if you can! It can go head-to-head with a Progressive Scan Player costing 2-3 times as much!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 235
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Epinions.com ID:
shizzle
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Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 1 member
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