Panasonic Dvd-s25 DVD Player

I can recommend the Panasonic S25 to anyone. Well, almost anyone.

Connectivity Surprises

I was surprised to see that the, traditional for Panasonic DVD players, optical digital audio out was replaced by the coaxial digital out. A non-issue for many folks who have receivers with both types of inputs, but some people may actually like it (cables are a little cheaper and easier to route, or if you have a receiver that has no more optical inputs available).

Another surprise was the lack of an S-Video out. Is it bad? The player has a progressive/interlaced component video out in addition to the composite out. If your TV has a component video out (many newer TVs do), you are OK. If your TV can process progressive-scan signal, that would be the only way to get it to work on many players anyway (short of DVI input). But if you wanted to route S-Video signal through your receiver, you are out of luck.

The player also has analog audio stereo out. In comparison with my Panasonic S35, this model replaces the optical digital audio out with a coaxial digital audio out and lacks S-Video. The coaxial digital out supports PCM, Dolby Digital and DTS formats.

No Useless Shuttle Knobs

The front of the player is devoid of the useless shuttle knob, unlike my S35, where I have never used it for the simple reason: it doesn't do what it is supposed to. In previous generations of Panasonic players it used to control the scan speed (and still was of the questionable value – nobody sits so close to the DVD player). In the S35, it controls the Zoom.

This model doesn't have it and I don't' miss it at all. The front panel is clean and has buttons to control playback only. It also features large legible display in its left portion.

The disc tray seems to be even a little more solid than the S35's. I must mention that the player is available in either black (S25K) or silver (S25S). The player has slim profile and looks nice. It is compact and lightweight, as is the majority of modern DVD players. The rear panel of the unit I got says that it is made in China in September 2003.

Progressive Scan

You can progressive scan only if your TV is a High-Definition (HDTV) or EDTV, if you connect the player to your TV using the component video out. The progressive scan mode must first be enabled in the setup menu and then engaged using the S25's onscreen menu/icons (change 480i to 480p).

Progressive scan produces more stable picture with less flicker. In any case, this player also provides excellent picture quality in standard (interlaced) mode - the mode majority of buyers will use it in for the lack of appropriate TV.

In this mode, the picture is crisp and noise-free with vivid colors and well-defined object edges. The detail level is high, even in dark areas (using component video connection).

Zoom

The S25 features complete control over the zoom and aspect ratio. Example: I have a 16:9 widescreen TV. I chose 16:9 (widescreen) in the Setup, selected Auto aspect mode from the onscreen menu/icons while playing the first DVD (the player seems to remember it). Now, all widescreen programs fill the screen and the non-widescreen movies appear properly, leaving black bars on left and right, enabling me to zoom in with steps of 0.01x.

The Zoom button on the remote allows me to select several preset zoom levels to get rid of bars above and below the image (widescreen movie) or on the sides (non-widescreen) or even magnify the image further. The UP and DOWN buttons on the remote also allow me to fine-tune the zoom to fill the screen exactly the way I want in 0.01x increments.

Ease of Use

The player is easier to use than the previous Panasonic DVD players, because it shows the description of the onscreen menu icons, similar to Windows' "tool tips". Previously, even after using Panasonic DVD players for several years, I had difficulty remembering which icon does what. Now, the description of its function appears underneath.

Playback Speeds

You can use several slow and fast scan speeds, which work in virtually all formats player supports.

Formats

Along with its ability to play DVD-Video and Audio CD, the player can also play MP3 and WMA compressed audio files as well as display JPEG images (somewhat slow) on your TV, play burned CD-R, CD-RW and DVD-R. There is no DVD-RAM playback, a sign of extreme cost-cutting (Panasonic added DVD-RAM playback to its other players to entice people to buy their DVD recorders, which use DVD-RAM in addition to DVD-R).

MP3

The MP3 playback is one of the player's best features. The MP3 playback interface is easy to use and shows file names and directory tree structure. WMA can also be played. The sound quality is excellent (or as good as the bit rate allows).

Remote

The supplied remote control is the same as the one used with the S35 and is better that the remotes supplied with the previous generation of Panasonic DVD players. The Eject button is no longer close to the FF button. I have hit Eject numerous times on the previous generation's remote.

The button layout is good with larger Play, Pause, Stop, Skip, FF and Rew buttons. The buttons have better tactile response than those of the previous remotes. The playback control buttons are also bigger, which is a plus – the previous generation had very narrow buttons for some, unknown to me, reason.

Features

The player features playback at multiple high and low speeds, variable zoom, angle select, soundtrack select and subtitle select, parental control, 5 bookmarks, multi-disc resume and more.

Bottom Line

The S25 is a very good and inexpensive DVD player with progressive scan and lots of useful features. If you don't need an S-Video out or an optical digital out (you can use the coaxial digital out), this is a great value and excellent performer.

Other Panasonic DVD Players

Below you can find the current lineup of Panasonic DVD players:

Panasonic DVD-F85
Panasonic DVD-F65
Panasonic DVD-S55
Panasonic DVD-S35
Panasonic DVD-S25