Panasonic DVD-S53K

Summary: I love how it upconverts standard pre-recorded DVD's. Most 480P DVD displays don't look so good on my TV. However, my dual and (older) single layer DVD's look great upconverted to 1080P on my 57" 1080P Mitsubishi. I used the HDMI output. It truly did output to 1080P according to my TV.

It's no substitute for 1080P HD-DVD, Blu-Ray or even 720P/1080i broadcasts. However, it does a wonderful job of upconverting older 480P discs.

CAVEAT: The box says the player plays DVD+R's. Panasonic's web site says the player plays DVD+R's. However, on page 4 of the manual (inside the box after you buy the thing), you see that it doesn't play all types of DVD+R's even finalized ones. Grrr! Anyone that has recorded shows usually has DVD-R's or DVD+R's (more likely with older recorders) that they would like to play.

It's not even deceptive advertising. It's just a bold-faced lie.

This is all on Panasonic. They need to fix that. It ruins an otherwise solid player.