Panasonic DVD-CV51 5-Disc DVD Player
Let this Panasonic DVD/CD changer multiply your entertainment options. The carousel design lets you keep a selection of DVDs and CDs (up to five discs) ready for action. This is one of the most affordable DVD changers around with the flexibility to play CD-Rs and MP3-encoded CDs. Excellent picture and sound quality are accompanied by useful features. Virtual Surround Sound makes the sound of 2-speaker systems more full and spacious. Dialogue Enhancer raises the center channel volume. And you'll feel comfortable right away with Panasonic's intuitive on-screen menus.
In the DVD-CV51, five-disc convenience and Panasonic ingenuity convene at a strikingly low price, making this not only an excellent DVD player but a great bargain. The DVD-CV51's five-disc carousel changer performs play exchange (letting you switch four discs while one is playing), and does so quickly and quietly. What's more, in our tests the unit emitted only a slight whirring sound while playing--a far cry from older changers that sounded like nearby helicopters (which was fine during certain scenes from Blue Thunder but a little jarring during The Blue Lagoon). The changer has three types of video output jacks: composite, S-video, and component video. We attached a component-video cable (not supplied) to a 36-inch TV. The quality was fantastic due to this premium-quality connection and the DVD player's 10-bit, 27 MHz video digital-to-analog converters. If you're serious about video, we strongly recommended buying a television with component-video inputs. The DVD-CV51 offers extensive features tailored for video buffs, including black level control (two levels) plus the ability to adjust contrast, brightness, and color. You also can choose a specific frame on which to adjust picture parameters (called I/P/B). We like to tweak as much as the next person, but the factory settings needed no adjustments. Still, it's nice to know they're there. The unit lacks a topnotch progressive-scan video output, but at this price one can hardly be expected. The unit passes (but doesn't decode) Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround sound signals using an optical digital-audio cable, which is not supplied. To experience surround sound, you must connect it to an audio-video receiver with built-in Dolby Digital and DTS decoders. The player also has a subwoofer output to plug into an active floor shaker--and this will let you enjoy the benefits of a subwoofer with your stereo speakers even if you do not have a surround receiver or separate center and rear surround speakers. We listened to the depth charges and flying bolts in Das Boot and got ready to don our life vests, the sound was that good (even without a subwoofer). Along with Dolby and DTS, the player has two levels of Virtual Surround Sound for an ersatz multichannel audio experience. This feature is merely okay, nothing more or less. After listening to a few other soundtracks, we popped in some compact discs and found the audio quality rich and full, not thin or tinny as with other affordable DVD players. The player handles CD-R/RW audio discs and MP3-encoded discs. We burned an old Etta Jones disc on a PC and put it in the new DVD/CD changer. It read and played it back without a hitch. The key to any good electronics component--besides its performance--is its human interface: in this case the remote control, onscreen menus, and owner's manual. It was here the Panasonic did not live up to the high standards set by its video and audio performance. The layout of the keys of the remote is not as intuitive as it could be. It's also a DVD-only remote (no TV controls) and lacks lighted keys. The basic onscreen menu is legible, however, and a breeze to use for frequently used topics (audio, video, subtitles). Even still, drilling down a level or three to change picture quality brings up small icons whose purpose is difficult to discern, though the owner's manual helps. On the plus side, you can move the icon bars to the center of the screen to read them more easily. The bottom line? Highly recommended. An excellent five-disc DVD/CD changer that takes just a little time to learn how to use. --David Elrich Pros:
- Excellent picture and sound performance
- Component-video output connections
- Subwoofer output for systems without surround sound
- Handles CD-R/RW and MP3 files
- Disc indicator tells you if a loaded disc is a CD (green light) or DVD (orange)
Cons:
- DVD-only remote, no lighted keys
- Onscreen icons and remote not as intuitive as they should be
- Lacks built-in Dolby Digital or DTS decoders
Panasonic DVD-CV51 5-Disc DVD Player Accessories
Panasonic DVD-CV51 5-Disc DVD Player Reviews
The CV51 lets you program 32 CD tracks, with an interface that is very easy to use.There are times when I find the machine to be a bit too noisy, but not often enough to strike me as major issue. DVDs played on the CV51 look great on my aforementioned 20-inch TV, but without a video component input, I'm not asking for very much from a player.While I'm satisfied enough with this machine to overlook what I consider to be its minor annoyances, I'm sure there are better purchases, at least at the $150 price point, than the Panasonic CV51 DVD Player. When this happens, turning the player off and then on again clears up the problem, at least in my experience.My needs in a DVD player are partially defined by the fact that I don't really have a home theater set-up. I rarely play CD-Rs, but I've had no problems with the few I have.
All I really want right now is a machine that can reliably play my DVDs and CDs, and that's what I have in the CV51.I use the player for CDs as often as I do for DVDs (which is the main reason I wanted a multi-disc changer), and they sound just fine. In fact, I'm pretty sure that both my TV and the CV51 will eventually be relegated to my bedroom, once I get a 36' or larger TV for the living room. With a Panasonic 20-inch TV with no component video input, and two JBL speakers hooked up to an inexpensive Denon DRA-275R receiver, I'm not in a position to have the absolute best that any DVD player can offer. I've generally been quite satisfied with the CV51 I purchased in 2001, though it occasionally fails to read a given disc, as others have noted here.
If you can get one used for $75 or so, and you're looking for a second DVD player for the bedroom or someplace else, I'd recommend it.
I'm supprised mine lasted this long, (about 2 years), before the dreaded error H02 appeared when trying to play ANY media. NEVER buy a panasonic product, if you care at all about quality / longivity of your product. A common error happens with this DVD player that requires you to pay parts+labor after your warranty expires.
Then, several times during its lifetime it wouldn't "see" a DVD or CD that was clearly there in the tray, which could be remedied by moving that disc to a different slot in the tray. Finally, after 1 yr and 4 mos, it has died with a fatal H02 error that is not fixed by any of the suggestions in the manual. My dissatisfaction with this DVD player began with the manual, which had no useful info on hooking up the player to a receiver rather than a TV (even though it also plays audio CDs).
This Panasonic DVD player isn't apparently designed to do any of that. I was watching a dvd, got a phone call and put the dvd on "pause",and got up and walked away. I forgot about the DVD that I had left on pause and came back in a few hours and to my surprise the "paused" scene was still being displayed on the tv. I hit "play". (which according to the panasonic manual means that a panasonic "technician" needs to look at it). I tried the Panasonic online customer support, all they told me was to go to the nearest Panasonic technician. I hit "play".nothing.
Now the toshiba DVD player that I used to have, would switch into a screensaver if you left a movie on pause for too long, and would eventually shut itself off. I've had this dvd player for almost 2 years.worked fine (except on MP3 CDs) until about a month ago. I tried unplugging it, plugging it back in, tried to play a different dvd.nothing.same error. I hit "stop".it stopped. "reading", "reading", "error no play", "error H02". Forget it.Why should I pay a ton of money for them to fix it, when I can buy an new (non-Panasonic) dvd player for the same price.
I make lot of home video in VCD format on CD-R & CD-RW discs, this unit has terrible compatiblity when reading these discs, it play the slow rated 8X or slower CD-R/RW OK, but virtually all the blank CD-R/RW disc are high speed rated like 32X to 40X, the player just won't read those disk at all half the time, those it reads but skipps a lot. So if you want just play commercial type DVD movie, it's a great player, but for home made CD-R/RW recordings, forget it. Get an APEX DVD player, it reads them all.
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