Panasonic DVD-RP91N Progressive-Scan DVD-RAM Player (Champagne)

Panasonic DVD-RP91N Progressive-Scan DVD-RAM Player (Champagne)
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Product Type: CE

Editorial Review:
Product Description
Panasonic's DVD-Audio/Video players give you the interactive, ultra-high-fidelity experience of DVD-Audio that you'll have to hear to believe, as well as high-quality DVD-Video and CD playback. Progressive scanning is the key to the sharpest picture quality the DVD-Video format has to offer, creating a picture signal with double the scan lines of a conventional interlaced picture. DVD-Audio is nothing less than the new world standard for super-high-fidelity sound. You've never heard anything like it!DVD-RP91 is a progressive-scan DVD-Audio/Video player with DVD-RAM video playback capability. Monitor Select feature allows for connection to a standard TV, CRT projector, LCD projector or a Projection TV.
Amazon.com Review
You'd be hard-pressed to find a more feature-packed, superb DVD player than this one, which is available in this very cool champagne color or basic black. Not only does it do a wonderful job with DVD-Video discs--thanks to its progressive-scan output and advanced, 12-bit/54 MHz video digital-to-analog converter (DAC)--but it also plays the new generation of multichannel DVD-Audio software. The audio DAC offers scintillating 24-bit, 192 kHz resolution, capable of delivering a full two octaves' worth of high-frequency harmonics above standard CDs. And if you happen to own a DVD-RAM-based camcorder like the Panasonic VDR-M10, it plays those discs, too. In a word--Wow.

We're big fans of progressive-scan DVD players. Connect one to a digital television and you'll forget about the dearth of HDTV broadcasts. Why wait for broadcast when so many DVDs are available now? We quickly connected our review player to a 36-inch digital set using the component-video outputs and a 5.1-channel surround-sound system via the player's optical digital-audio output. The RP91 has extensive audio hookup capabilities, so no matter how sophisticated--or basic--your home theater is, you'll be in for the ride of your life. Even if you only use two speakers, it offers two levels of Virtual Surround to help envelop you in sound.

We loaded the obligatory Starship Troopers disc and loved it. The acting was as bad as ever, but the image moved to a still higher dimension of quality. By pressing the "progressive scan" key on the player's front panel, we experienced a seamless 480-progressive image rather than standard 480 interlaced--a picture that is much richer and more filmlike without the bothersome scanning lines. With 480P, you feel as if you could put your hand right into the screen. The audio track, while likewise superb, didn't sound noticeably superior to that of other players--probably because of the limitations of the Dolby Digital compression on that disc.

We were, however, able to get our hands on Swing Live, a new Bucky Pizzarelli DVD-Audio disc from Chesky Records, to properly audition the DVD-RP91 with the new music format. (To appreciate DVD-Audio, you'll need a surround receiver with 5.1-channel analog inputs, since the DVD-A signal is too high-resolution for standard digital inputs to accommodate it.)

We've been a bit skeptical about multichannel music, having heard some poorly engineered early attempts at 5.1-channel surround-sound music. Well, the engineers have learned from their mistakes, and this disc places you at a table in a nightclub, while guitarist Bucky and his friends play jazz standards like "Perdido" and "Sweet Sue." The sense of presence and realism was outstanding. The only thing missing was a nice Sapphire martini, straight up. (Note: this machine does not play SACDs, a competing multichannel audio system being promoted by Sony--but no one machine plays both formats.)

The appearance and playback capabilities of the DVD-RP91--with both audio and video--puts it in a class by itself. Yet it does have problems. The biggest drawback is the onscreen menu--the icons are inscrutable. Without the owner's manual at the ready, it's difficult to navigate through all the available options (and there are many). Not that most people will adjust their video Gamma settings, but we couldn't help wishing Panasonic had made the system more intuitive.

The remote has a very good feel, and a joystick makes adjustments and moves you through the menus. The remote is programmed to handle most TVs, and it handled my non-Panasonic set easily. But the remote really should have backlit keys rather than glow-in-the-dark buttons. This is a high-priced DVD player, so you should get a high-quality remote.

But what else can we say? This is a fantastic, technically advanced DVD player. Any home theater enthusiast should seriously give this one a long, hard look--then buy it. --David Elrich

Pros:

As feature-loaded a DVD player as you can find
Dynamite picture and sound quality
Excellent connectivity options
Intuitive remote with glow keys

Cons:

Onscreen menus difficult to follow
Remote should have backlit keys

Average customer rating: 2.5

Why there's no 0 rating on Amazon?
Not bad for the price.
It does the job but it's flimsy

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Binding:
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Drives & Storage

Drive Enclosures

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Drives & Storage

Drive Enclosures

Product Description

The new generation USB2.0 to SATA HDD Case, is a durable aluminum enclosure for your 3.5¨SATA or SATA II hard drive or IDE drives.

Customer Reviews:

Why there's no 0 rating on Amazon?.......2006-11-03

This garbage, like everything else offered by TigerDirect didn't work for Sata. It died after a week or so.

Not bad for the price........2006-05-03

A little cramped inside. The trick is to remove the front panel out of its slot before attaching the power and data cables to the drive. That gives you a little more working room. Then you can slide the drive in where it needs to be before re-installing the front panel. With a little trial and error, I had a 250gb SATA drive working in about 15 minutes. Nice aluminum interior/exterior and lots of vent holes for cooling. Seems to work fine.

It does the job but it's flimsy.......2006-03-15

I recently went through another Windows XP meltdown (thank you Bill) and decided to get a new HD to use strictly for data storage. I got an internal for cost reasons and needed an enclosure. After a long time looking for the right one, I found one that offers both SATA and IDE connectors.
Once connected the product does it's job - connects to the PC and stores data. But it's built like a grade-school shop project. Cheap aluminum held together by screws, hot glue gun and a lot of luck.
The IDE and SATA connectors are short and stiff so you really have to wiggle to get your drive inside. The power cord barely fits in a socket and the moment you breathe on it it falls out.
But the most annoying thing is the rattling. This thing is put together in a way that every time the HD spins it rattles like crazy.
Go find yourself another product. I'm giving it 2 stars only because I was able to recover my data quite nicely and quick thanks to the USB 2.0.

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