Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DVD-RV32EBS Multi-region DVD Player

Not a sexy as other machines around at the moment but this player makes up for its lack of looks with a great personality. A must for any Panasonic TV owner who like to cut down on remote controls by using the Q link feature. The dialogue enhancer improves the audio a little but is no substitute to having a home cinema kit. All in all the price is right and the quality is up to the panasonic standard we have come to expect. For the fist time DVD player buyer you will not go wrong with this. Just remember looks aren't everything.

This machine is excellent value for money if you want a top brand DVD player, for not too much more cash than one of the lesser brands. Build quality is good, the front panel having bevelled top and bottom edges, giving the player a slimline, yet robust appearance. The front panel duplicates a number of features already on the remote, which for most users will be the preferred means of operation, raising the argument that so many front panel controls are an unnecessary feature. Were they not present, a more fashionably minimalist appearance and perhaps an additional cost saving could have been achieved?

Powering up the machine produces a welcome message on the display (you get "Bye" when you switch it off). Setting up and using the machine is simplicity itself, courtesy of clear yet concise instructions. My only real criticism is that despite the fact that I have it hooked up to other Panasonic gear, using a scart cable, the sound volume from the DVD is lower than the TV or Video, necessitating fumbling with the volume control when switching between sources. Whilst my Panasonic VCR has a volume compensation adjustment to match it to the TV, the DVD player lacks this feature. On the other hand, an impressive feature is the 5 different speeds of slow motion and fast forward respectively, all of which share the normal play mode's superb picture stability and clarity.

As this is my first foray into DVD, I cannot compare this machine to any others, but overall, I'm delighted with its looks, performance and sheer value for money.

This is the second DVD Player I have owned, having bought it to replace my 18 month old Toshiba which lacked Multi-Region and DVD-R support. I am pleased to that this player has no problems with the DVD-Rs I have tried so far, unlike the Pioneer DV-350 which I originally bought.

The build quality is excellent, and the player is well designed. The remote control is not as attractive as other designs, but is well laid out and allows for quick navigation of the discs.

The sound is excellent, I have it connected to my surround speakers through the optical output and the qualit of the sound, including on MP3 files, is excellent.

I would love to give this player 5 stars, since compared to other players on Amazon that have over 4 it deserves it. However there are few reasons why I can not:
Although the disc tray comes out far, the disc still sits right at the back making it awkward to put the discs in in the dark. The disc tray itself shoots out quite awkwardly, although it does slow down gently.
There is no zoom - the zoom button is there for 4:3 TVs, I think to cut the edges off of the picture.
Some of the lesser used features - such as A-B Repeat etc... are clumpedtogether with the number buttons making them difficult to find in the dark.

However, despite these minor quibbles the player is excellently constructed and for the money you would be hard pressed to find a better player.

This device was bought from the panasonic dealership and operated well for about 6 months then had a heart attack and displayed an error message while refusing to do anything ever again.
A piece of unreliable rubbish-avoid it.