Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DVD-S97S Progressive Scan DVD Player Silver

There are so many progressive-scan DVD players out there nowadays -- with some costing less than $35 -- one must wonder what's the point of spending more than $100 on a DVD player. The answer, not surprisingly, is you get what you pay for.

In the case of the Panasonic DVD-S97 DVD player, you are getting every penny's worth, if your goal is to get the best possible picture quality out of DVD movies. Of course, if you are still using a standard analog TV, you won't see the kind of high quality we HDTV owners do. To get the max out of the player, you need an HDMI-capable HDTV monitor and need an HDMI cable. The all-digital connection does two things: 1) transmit the video (and audio) signal in digital, and 2) allows the Panasonic's upconverter to work.

The upconverter basically converts the NTSC resolution on today's DVDs to HDTV resolution. It's pretty much like digital zoom on your digital camera. Does it work? Surprisingly, it does in many cases. At least it will not degrade your picture quality (unless you have the expensive but poor-quality Samsung HD841 which amazingly manages to *degrade* video quality). The Panasonic is a consistent performer that helps you take advantage of your HDTV monitor... until the day HD DVD arrives.

The Panasonic is solidly built and easy to operate. Its superb video output is what makes it a five-star DVD player that's also very affordable.

I agree with the previous reviewer. This unit was well worth the wait! If you have a Bravo D1, this stellar unit will make your V, Inc. toy look like the piece of garbage it is! The Panasonic's loader is fast and reliable (unlike the Bravo DVD players), the remote control is responsive and accurate (unlike the Bravo DVD players), and the picture is wonderful. Lots and lots of features, including "remember where I am" for up to FIVE DVDs! (One note about this, though - if you just press stop and turn off your unit, the DVD player doesn't remember where you left off. You have to manually store your place in one of the five allotted memory spots.) The HDMI is great, which I use with a DVI adapter since my Sony TV doesn't have HDMI. I recommend reading the manual (as difficult as Panasonic makes it!) to find all the excellent features this unit has to offer. Highly recommended! Throw your V, Inc. Bravo DVD player in the trash and get this Panasonic S97 Silver DVD player!

To anyone interested in this product, I received my Panasonic S97S DVD player a little over a week ago in anticipation of my new HDTV purchase. I was lined up to buy the Sony KDP-57WS655 RP CRT HDTV and wanted a DVD player with HDMI upconversion. From all the research I did, many reviews pointed positively to this item so I took a chance and purchased online from Vann's. For $270 with shipping inc, how could I lose? The player arrived a day early and well packaged. Kudos to Vanns. My TV arrived 3 days later and the hookup was complete in less than 5 minutes with the HDMI connection. I was impressed with the appearance of the player. Felt solid and looked very sharp out of the box. The player is lightening fast to any prompts from either the included remote or the front panel controls. I also had a Sharp DVD recorder hooked up to the TV via component cables with progressive scan output. The Sharp player could not touch this Panasonic. The quick setup feature was a great way to get up and running in a hurry. The 480p output was not bad. Better than the Sharp. It took some fooling around to find the upconversion controls, but once reset to 1080i output, WOW. The pic quality on some DVD's rivaled that of some of my HD broadcasts. Particularly, the animated features. Just watched Robots with my kids yesterday. The color rendering and seamless transition of the picture even had my wife saying WOW. She is not easily impressed by electronic toys. This player also has a multitude of adjustments for customizing picture settings. This can be of help for anybody who does't want to mess with their TV's settings. The 720p output, in my opinion, does not look as good to me as the 1080i. My set's native resolution is 1080i, which may account for this. I also liked the fact that you could select HDMI audio and video separately. For example, I was most excited to view the picture quality of this device at first and ran both video AND audio via the included HDMI to my set. Of course, following a quick eval of the picture quality, I proceeded to connect my optical out of my player to my Yamaha AV receiver. The audio output via both stereo from CD's and Dolby Digital/DTS from DVD's is very impressive. To me, the sound created by this player seems much more immersive. Ambient sounds and bass reproduction, in particular. I have been playing around with the settings for the past 4 days and still continue to be wowed as I make my way through my DVD collection. As all the readers here know, there have been some minor gripes. The blue light on the front of the display makes it look high tech. Some people like this sort of thing. For those who don't, it is very easy to disable in the user menu. It's not fair to dog this unit for such an annoyance. I chose to set mine to off. After all, it is supposed to be about the picture quality, right? As for the thin, transparent disk tray, yes it seems fragile, but a little TLC in it's handling should ensure longevity. I will agree with all the reviewers who criticized the player's manual. It can be difficult to navigate for a novice home theater enthusiast. Panasonic could certainly done better. Definitely a good combination for me with this Panasonic with my Sony HDTV. For the price paid, I have no regrets with this purchase. With so much technology abound, every consumer wants to get the best bang for his buck. Get one while you can because they are in short supply online. I could go on about this player, but I know you all have other reviews to get to so I will end my review on that note. Cheers to you all and good luck in your home theater endeavours.

WOW! This has it all, even the desirable Faroudja DCDi processing (as written on the sides of the box). This takes DVD viewing up to the next level. I did not think they could improve on the picture quality of 480p progressive DVD players until HD-DVDs and players arrive in 2005 or 2006. I was wrong. This Panasonic is among the best available at any price. I purchased on-line because local stores do not carry this flagship model. No buyers remorse in my house over this purchase.

I had to get another DVD player when my last Panasonic unit (an RP62 model which gave me 3.25 years of faithful service and outstanding DVD quality) pooped out, via the dreaded "H07" error message. Hopefully that problem won't crop up with this player.

So, I turned to Panasonic once more for another DVD machine....and chose this top-of-the-line (circa 2005-2006) little beauty -- the DVD-S97S model.

I couldn't be more pleased with the operation, performance, functionality, and overall user-friendliness of the S97 Progressive Scan DVD-Video/DVD-Audio Player from Panasonic.

I like pretty much everything about this sleek baby (with the exception of not being able to view the "time elapsed" function and the "chapter" information on the front of the display at the same time). You can view either of those things; but you've got to toggle between the choices via the "FL Select" key on the remote control (just below the "DVD Power On/Off" button).

The S97 unit I received (which arrived with lightning-like speed from "One Call" in May 2006) defaulted to the "Number Display" for the front-of-the-unit LED visuals, instead of the "Time Display". But, thankfully, I was finally able to figure out how to get the Elapsed Time to display on the LED monitor (after initially being disappointed by this seeming lack of functionality). Just thought I'd mention that here, in case other buyers of this product have suffered from the same "Why Can't I Get This Thing To Show The Time Indicator?" problem that I encountered before discovering how to fix it. The solution was in the Owner's Manual all along; I just didn't notice it for a little while. :)

This top-notch DVD player can handle just about any disc you pop into her, including DVD-Audio discs (and without having the full "enhanced resolution" audio downgraded to Dolby Digital).

The S97 has many newer features that my older RP62 model did not have -- such as:

>> HDMI output capability;

>> "Advanced" Progressive Scan (which I can only assume is better than "regular" or "ordinary garden-variety" PS ~wink~);

>> "AV Enhancer" (with three different "user" settings available);

>> A built-in DTS decoder (so DVDs with DTS soundtracks can be heard even without the aid of a DTS-capable receiver);

>> Dolby Pro-Logic II capability;

>> Loads of extra menu and set-up options for "tweaking" purposes;

>> Picture-quality controls available right on the remote control (e.g., buttons to directly adjust Contrast, Brightness, Sharpness, and Color);

>> And varying "Play Speeds" during playback. .... Although, to be honest, that Speed feature is little more than a curiosity in my opinion, with few practical applications that I can think of. But if you want to slow down everybody's dialogue to make them sound like they're drunk while talking, or speed up the action to make everyone sound like an auctioneer....then the "Play Speed" feature is for you. :)

--------------------

The S97 player's menus and "Setup" areas are also more detailed than previous Panasonic models, and there seems to be a slight improvement in the response time when any of the remote-control buttons are selected. This unit responds instantaneously to all remote commands. Not a hint of a delay at all. Very nice. And much-appreciated over the long haul.

And I like the quick-eject too (i.e., the disc tray pops open really fast when it's given the command to open up; which is possibly why Panasonic decided to not include an "Open/Close" button on the remote control, as there doesn't seem to be much of a need for such a remote button at all; although it would still be kind of nice to have it on the remote).

And the glowing blue fluorescent-type light that highlights the disc-tray area is another small perk that makes this unit even more attractive. Looks really cool (IMO). When the clear disc tray is open, it appears as if the whole tray is glowing neon-blue. A pleasing little effect, especially nifty in a darkened room setting.

But if the glow of the blue light on the front panel is bothersome to some people, it can easily be switched off via one of the many menu choices this player offers. You can select "Bright", "Dim", or "Auto" to control the display lights -- with "Auto" being my option of choice. That option turns on the blue light when a remote key is pressed, but it automatically dims all of the front-panel lights once a disc starts to play, which includes having the fluorescent blue neon light turned off completely when a disc is in Play mode.

The overall operation of this player is whisper quiet too. It's quite a bit less noisy than other DVD players I've had. The transitions which are made when the player is directed to move from one item to another on a disc are barely noticeable. Very nice.

I currently am not using the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) output, because my HDTV isn't HDMI-compatible. But through the Component Video output (480p), the S97 provides excellent-looking video. This player also supports S-Video output and standard composite (RCA) "video out".

Another feature I like on the S97 is the increased ability to scroll between the audio choices on a DVD via the on-screen audio options, which can all be displayed at the same time (similar to a pull-down menu). The same type of "See All The Options At Once" feature can also be found when the "Subtitles" button is selected. If no subtitles are available on the disc, however, nothing will show on the TV screen at all when the "Subtitles" key is pressed, which is unlike previous Panasonic models I have owned.

Here's something interesting that I discovered via this player's detailed user manual that I don't think was covered in the manual of the RP62 player (I couldn't find it in there anyway) -- If you want to turn on the "Closed Captioning" on any DVD, the Progressive Scan feature must be turned off. Closed Captions are not viewable if Progressive Scan or HDMI are enabled. Seems kind of odd to me...but that's the way it is. And I'm guessing that all other "Progressive"-capable Panasonic models are the same way. No wonder I could never get the captioning to work on my RP62. I had no idea that "PS" had to be disabled to see the captions.

--------------------

I'm looking forward to several years of nice-looking DVD video and audio quality as a result of my recent purchase of this stylish and handsome Panasonic S97S DVD/CD Player.