Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51450 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: DVD-S53EB-K
• Released on: 2007-05-07

Customer Reviews

Give your DVD collection a new lease of life!
Ok, so no-one is really sure which way the HD market will turn. Blu-Ray looks to have the edge, but if like me, you're not prepared to stake hundreds of pounds on a hunch, and upscaling DVD player is the interim answer to your HD woes.

This slimline box will upscale your standard DVD's to full 1080p, which if you have a 1080p display, is fantastic. I stick with the 720p option, as it matches the resolution of my 37" Panasonic plasma TV. The results are simply astounding. Just chuck on something like The Fifth Element or any other stunning visual feast, and you'll be blown away. The detail that is resolved from your DVD's is amazing, and should more than satisfy all but the most stubborn purist.

Added treats like DIVX compatibility, pseudo surround sound, picture noise reduction and plug and play simplicity make for an wholly satisfying watching experience. A bargain too!

Nice picture and versatility, not great usability
I bought the Panasonic DVD S53 to go in the bedroom with my new Panasonic 26" LCD tv.I have it hooked up via HDMI and have optimised all the settings, and the picture is great. It effortlessly outshines standard definition DVD players, though it doesn't quite match up to the might of my Sony RDRHXD890 upscaling DVD player/recorder in the living room. The Panasonic does a decent job though. However, it does let itself down in a few areas. 1) The menu system is archaic. It is difficult to work out how to even get into it, let alone fathom all the options available. When you do get it figured though you will find the S53 to be one of the most highly customizable players around. You can tailor all the options to suit your needs, though you might have to do a little trial and error fiddling to make sure you are truly optimizing the set up. 2) Black levels aren't as deep as I'd like, with some banding. Also, edges could be a little sharper. 3) For some reason the player will only play some Divx (.avi) files and not others. It seems arbitrary, but I assume that it is down to the codecs used to encode the files. So if you are planning on using this for Divx files, be warned that it won't play absolutely everything you chueck at it. 80% of files should work fine.

The Panasonic is a nice looking piece of kit - matt black, very sleek and narrow, with a lovely mirrored strip down the front. The display isn't too bright (a plus in my eyes) but can also be a touch tricky to use. The remote is nicely laid out and not too cluttered, though as mentioned some of the menu buttons can be a bit fiddly to find. A nice touch is the Viera linking via HDMI, which means if I turn off the TV the DVD player switches off too. Very cool, and handy for when I fall asleep in front of Family Guy and have turned on the sleep timer!