Choosing from among the available Panasonic DVD players gives you a lot of flexibility. The question is whether you want to spend as little as $75 or $85 dollars for basic functionality and minimal use. Sometimes that's just enough to fit the bill. However, if you're a technology buff and demand the best, or simply enjoy sophisticated looks and features, you probably want to move up a few levels.

Some of the features Panasonic offers almost as standard include multiformat playback, progressive scanning, and HighMAT. Progressive scanning creates a picture scan with twice as many scan lines as the standard interlaced image--presto, vastly superior image! HighMAT, a collaborative Panasonic-Microsoft effort, is high-performance media access technology. What this means in lay terms is much improved communication between computer and CD, car players, and DVD players. The HighMAT standard translates to far better mixing, arranging, and playback of the CDs and DVDs you customize.

Surveying the Panasonic DVD Players Shelves

The XV10 is a great example of the higher end model. Not only does it make things look good, but it looks good, very good. With a mirror-finish casing, trim 52 millimeter height (that's barely two inches), neat row of circular control buttons, and futuristic backlit LCD panel, it's a joy to operate.

As far as the specs of this Panasonic XV10 are concerned, you've got even more to be impressed with. There's a 192 KHz/24-bit audio DAC, a 27 MHz/10-bit video DAC, and a choice of VSS (virtual surround sound) modes to choose from. Other features include a dialog enhancer and a twin laser optical pickup to improve both CD and DVD playback.