Panasonic DVD-S55 DVD Player

I have had over ten DVD players over a two year period, but the Panasonic DVD-s55s has been one of the best. Best in overall quality and performance for the price range of this player.

The build quality of the s55 seems to be decent for the price of the unit. A thin metal chassis and silver plastic face plate give nice style to this player. The tray and tray drive motor seem to be very good quality as the tray comes out strait all the time with minimal gear noise. The front panel buttons and shuttle control are study and responsive, the controls on the remote are surprising responsive and firm also. The power cable is detachable from the system (a plus) as most in this price range are not. In basic build quality it is an overall well built and stylish player that would fit nicely into most home entertainment setups. This unit seems that it could last a good amount of years without any problems.

The s55 promises some very impressive disc compatibility and plays all they list and more.

A list of disc that I was able to play:

DVD video (stamped)
DVD audio (stamped)
DVD video (RAM 4.7)
DVD video (-R and some +R)
DVD video (depending on what brand but able to play very limited amounts of +RW)
SVCD (stamped and CD-R/RW)
VCD (stamped and CD-R/RW)
Audio CD (stamped and CD-R/RW)
Jpeg discs (CD-R/RW)
* note Panasonic does not indicate or support that this player can play DVD + or – RW discs

The load time on most video disc was fast while MP3 and Jpeg filled disc took a little longer. I was able to play some very scratched rental discs without flaw, also it would play discs scratched that other players would not even recognize.

This is one of the only DVD-audio players on the market available for under $300 and rivals the audio performance of reference DVD audio players. The s55 includes analog connections with a built in DTS / Dolby Digital decoder, and this performs quit well. I have this player connected to the analog inputs on my Onkyo 5.1 amplifier and the sound is phenomenal. This player includes a function call Double Remaster which is designed to bring up the sampling rate up on CD/MP3/DVD audio discs, the feature actually does enhance audio output, it is very notable on my Final Fantasy ost audio CDs. MP3 audio function is integrated rather well and plays MP3 audio at a fairly high quality. Since the s55 has a very high signal to noise ratio there is no hiss on my speakers and allows even harsh sounds to be played without distortion. Overall the audio features of this unit have been impressive and rather satisfying.

I have the s55 connect via the component video inputs on my Toshiba hi-def television, after selecting the progressive scan option from the intuitive on-screen menu, progressive scan engaged without a problem. Even though this unit does not contain a high end video deinterlacing processor artifacts are at the very minimum. The video options are high in number and very customizable, along with color, sharpness and gamma controls you have the ability to engage multiple forms of picture noise reduction. In my opinion most of the digital noise reduction futures help to reduce all signs of artifacts from bad DVD transfers. The progressive deinterlaced picture is vibrant, clean, and very clear; this is also true for displaying Jpeg images upon you television from this unit. The zoom feature also is very responsive and works well, if you really need it. If you are an anime fan the deinterlacing does very well on taking out stair stepping on most animation, it also does well on the problematic castle in the sky DVD.

The last information point is the menu and setup. The s55 has a great number of customization options and is has an easy setup wizard to those not comfortable with advanced options. You have the ability to change just about every video and audio option you can think of.

Overall this is an excellent DVD player especially when you factor in the price. More expensive units have the same quality and features this unit has, I recommend it for anyone upgrading or just getting in the DVD market for the first time.