The A160 from Panasonic has now been replaced by the RV20. Because of this, the 160 can be bought for under £200 if you look hard enough.
Picture quality is excellent. Blacks are solid and colours are realistic. Sound quality too is excellent from this player.
Feature wise, this player is only just above average. It has an optical digital output but no coaxial (which may be a problem if your and has no optical input). Theres no onboard Dolby Digital or DTS decoding, though I personnally do not see this as a problem as I prefer to employ a dedicated and therefore better quality and more flecible external decoder/amp. A further hindrence is the lack of CDR playback.
By far the largest drawback for me is the lack of an RGB output. S-Video is available though, but RGB is reckoned to be marginally better quality-wise.
If you buy your gear with looks being high on your priority list, then the A160 will dissapoint as it has all the styling of a black breeze-block! If however, you place sound and picture quality above looks, then this player willnot dissapoint.
Would I buy it today? probably not as there are more capable players available with more features for less money. Do i regret buying it? Absolutaly not !!
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Aug 31st, 2000
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