Entered CNET Catalog: 04/16/2003
SKU: DVDS35S
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Manufacturer description
Panasonic's vision of the digital future is driven by the needs and aspirations of its business customers and millions of consumers around the world who use its products every day. The company shares their dream to live a fuller life by providing ways of working smarter and enjoying the rewards of technological advances.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 04/08/2003
An informative blue display can be set to dim after 5 seconds of play, but you can't turn it off completely. The setup menus are straightforward, and a Quick Setup option is included for those who want to avoid the more advanced process.
The remote is the same generic-looking, many-buttoned affair included with last year's DVD-RP62. It gets the job done, and you can differentiate the main keys by feel, but there's no illumination, and we would have liked better placement of the zoom control and a couple of other useful keys. Aside from progressive-scan playback, which requires a digital television to work, the DVD-S35S's main claim to fame is its ability to play CDs filled with JPEG files, as well as MP3 and WMA files.
You can navigate a disc of both digital stills and music using a familiar Windows-like file tree. MP3 functionality is impressive. A big menu displays filenames up to 32 characters long, and the deck can randomly play an entire disc of MP3 tracks. The search function will comb a disc for whatever filename you enter. The unit's ability to play JPEG stills is among the best we've seen. It defaults to a slide show that you can adjust to display each picture for 1 to 30 seconds. Shots take only 2 to 3 seconds each to load, and MP3 and JPEG discs themselves take 10 to 30 seconds to load.
The DVD-S35S doesn't have aspect-ratio control; players that do (such as the JVC XV-S502SL) will better serve wide-screen sets that can't resize progressive-scan material, especially nonanamorphic and full-screen 4:3 video. The DVD-S35S's zoom function includes three levels of magnification for 16:9 TVs and five for 4:3 sets. It's designed to help viewers eliminate letterbox bars, but the trade-off is that zooming cuts the left and right edges off the picture and reduces image quality.
A couple of other bonuses are on hand, such as very useful subtitle brightness and position adjustments. Three picture presets are provided, along with a 6-second Quick Replay and a feature that remembers your custom resume points for up to five discs.
On the back panel you'll find the now standard selection of jacks, including composite, S-Video, and component-video outputs; a stereo analog-audio output; and an optical digital jack. To switch the component-video output between interlaced and progressive-scan mode, you must stop the disc and delve into the menu system. In our tests, the DVD-S35S proved compatible with a wider range of test discs than any other player we've seen to date. We were pretty surprised when it played one of the more problematic DVD-RWs we have. It also plowed through every other disc in our library, including DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, DVD+RWs, DVD-RAMs, and various discs filled with JPEG and MP3 files.
We moved on to the trusty Video Essentials test disc to evaluate the unit's progressive-scan playback, and we came away generally impressed. Resolution measured out to the full extent of the DVD format, and 3:2 pull-down worked well to eliminate interlaced artifacts. The one problem came when we looked at the waving American flag to test video de-interlacing ability. The DVD-S35S didn't perform this feat quite as well as the older DVD-RP62, and we saw slight stair-stepping patterns along the flag's edges.
The DVD of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial provided more evidence of the DVD-S35S's video capability. The scene in which Eliot and the kids confront E.T. in the closet looked good, and there was lots of three-dimensional detail on the alien's skin as it stretches toward the light. The stuffed animals' fur had plenty of realistic depth. A view out over the town was rendered cleanly, with no movement in the rooftops.
Like most players we've seen, the DVD-S35S didn't do the best job converting anamorphic or Enhanced For Widescreen DVDs for display on normal televisions. A pan over some haystacks revealed subtle movement artifacts and a crawling effect. But this won't be a problem if you're watching on a wide-screen TV or a 4:3 TV with vertical compression (a.k.a. 16:9 mode on some sets and 16:9 Enhanced mode on Sony sets), and the trouble is much less visible on smaller TVs.
User opinions
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User Rating: 
2/10
HO2 Error, what a disappointment
Pros: was great for about 2 years
Cons: wow, design flaw or what? everyone gets this error.
Before dying from the (now) infamous H02 error--it was a great little DVD player. Too bad it had such an abysmal ending.
And since this product isn't even available anymore, I guess this review is just to warn future buyers about Panasonic reliability with their DVD players.
I certainly won't be paying good money to them for my replacement DVD player, that's for sure.
User Rating: 
1/10
It broke after a year and a half
Pros: Above average MP3 interface
Cons: Suddenly worthless
User Rating: 1/10
This thing sucks.
Pros: Excellent sound and video
Cons: goes immediately to stand-by whenever I play anything
User Rating: 2/10
Died within 7 months
Pros: Features
Cons: I purchased this DVD player in June of 2004. On January 1, 2005 it died. I put in a DVD, it tries to read it, and simply...turns off. No HO7 error or "no disk"...just turns off. I'll never buy a Panasonic DVD player again.
User Rating: 1/10
Less expensive, but won't last long.
Pros: Basic, easy to use with a quality picture.
Cons: Laser quit reading discs after 14 months. Cost of repair is more than the cost of a new DVD player.
User Rating: 
4/10
Beware Short Lifespan
Pros: For the short time that it worked it was an impressive unit.
Cons: After only 11 months, during which time I watched perhaps 60 DVDs, it died. Great features, unacceptable durability. I've read similar reports on other Panasonic DVD players.
User Rating: 
10/10
Simply the best at this price level
Pros: Tons of features, plays everything I've thrown into it, easy to setup and use, fantastic image quality, S-Video out AND Optical audio out. Honestly I don't think you will find a DVD player with more/better features and performance anywhere near the price
Cons: The remote IS kind of cheesy and needs a nearly direct line-of-sight, but this is a minor foible as it does work well.
User Rating: 
9/10
The solid ''no brainer'' choice
Pros: Excellent picture quality, especially for the money. Extremely versatile, with superb digital photo rendering. Remote not that bad when you get the hang of it! I also own the legendary Sony s-9000ES player at 15 times the price. Let me tell, you, the Sony
Cons: Nothing worth reporting.
User Rating: 2/10
Picture on ZOOM is poor
Pros: Nice remote and features
Cons: The picture looses focus when zoomed even one level. Face blur and colors turn to mush. What good are features is the picture is poor? Lots of bells and whistles, but the core is not so good.
User Rating: 
8/10
Awsome DVD PLAYER - until it broke - CRAP remote
Pros: AWSOME DVD player, played everything , vcd's svcds, xvcds, dvdr's.. mp3 disk. LOOKS good , low price. doesn't have a coxial digital output though, which i would have prefered.
Cons: THE REMOTE really really stinks, have to aim directly at player or it won't work, I mean DIRECTLY, not an an angle , irritating at times. OHH now this may be just b/c i got a lemon but my broke about 2 weeks after i bought it.. just refused to power up.
User Rating: 
6/10
Worked well out-of-the-box.
Pros: Great picture for such an inexpensive player. It also seems to tolerate my DVD+R disks, most other players wouldn't run them
Cons: The remote and menu system hasn't been updated to match the perfomance of the machine
User Rating: 10/10
Best all-around DVD player w/progressive scan
Pros: All the features you want, nothing you don't.
Cons: None so far!
User Rating: 4/10
Had to change the motor after 6 months!
Pros: Plays all sorts of discs. Good picture quality.
Cons: Has only 90 days labor warranty with 1 year parts warranty. After 6 months, its laser head went dead. Labor cost is $70 even though the part is free. Unit costs $99 for gosh sake! I decided to throw it away and buy a Sony.
User Rating: 9/10
Unbeatable at $89
Pros: Plays everything great, good audio and video quality, can't wait to get a wide screen TV!
Cons: remote is below average but functional
User Rating: 10/10
Excellent all around DVD Player
Pros: This is a great DVD player. It has great excellent sound, and the picture quality is great. They're are plenty of features for those of you that like to dink around with the settings. The zoom control is actually very good and doesn't blur the picture at
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User Rating: 8/10
Great dvd player
Pros: Good picture quality, nice price. Reads all my vcd's, svcd's and dvdr's no problem. Loads Fast. A+
Cons: Remote is so so, the ir range is not as wide or as far as other remotes that I have owned.
User Rating: 10/10
Took back Coby dvd and got Panasnic s35s
Pros: I bought a Coby DVD player and couldn't get it to work. Returned it to the store and got a Panasonic S35S. Wow what a product, just built last April 2003. Easy install, easy instructions is what you get when you buy a brand name like Panasonic. I should h
Cons: Button on upper right came loose. Wish it had more outputs in the back. Wish I could fit to screen easier! There is not much else to say bad. The price was right and the sleek design could be cut by few inches in width.
User Rating: 8/10
GREAT DVD PLAYER- SO-SO REMOTE
Pros: INEXPENSIVE, FEATURES GALOR, PLAYS EVERYTHING I THROW AT IT, DVD-R, VCD'S, SVCD'S, MP3'S. LOOKS GOOD TOO. VERY GOOD FOR THE PRICE
Cons: REMOTE IS EHH!!! YOU HAVE TO PRETTY MUCH DIRECTLY AIM THE REMOTE AT THE PLAYER FOR IT TO READ. OTHER REMOTES ARE MUCH BETTER. ALSO IT COULD HAVE USED A DIGITAL COAXIAL CONNECTION AS WELL. BUT HEY IT'S A HUNDRED BUCKS!! WHATEVER
User Rating: 10/10
Great Player-Lousy Remote
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User Rating: 8/10
So happy I finally got one !
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User Rating: 
7/10
Talk about bang for your buck...
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User Rating: 10/10
Very Nice Unit
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User Rating: 9/10
Great progressive performance for the price!!
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User Rating: 10/10
Best performance & features for under $100
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User Rating: 9/10
What don't I like.... hummm....
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User Rating: 10/10
Great Player at a Great Price!
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User Rating: 9/10
Simply put Awesome!
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