0dBFS+ Level Handling

For an explanation of what 0dBFS+ levels are, please read our article on the topic. As to be expected, the player clips on 0dBFS+ levels, but there is an Attenuator function which reduces output level by around -5.4dB. With this function engaged, the player successfully reproduces 0dBFS+ levels:

I must say it was very thoughtful of Panasonic to include an Attenuator function to cater for 0dBFS+ levels, as many other players simply clip. However, the player will revert to clipping when Multi Remaster is engaged, so I would not recommend engaging the upsampling function on this player.

Viewing Evaluation

Since I did not have an HDMI-capable display, I only tested the player in 480p/576p via component video output.

As you would expect from a flagship Panasonic player, the video quality is excellent. Images look sharp and detailed (even without noise reduction) but with minimal artifacts such as Gibbs effect ringing (also known as "mosquito noise") or edge enhancement "halos".

The progressive scan implementation, based on a Genesis/Faroudja FLI-2310, would have been considered state of the art a few years ago, but with superior solutions from HQV and even nVidia's PureVideo, the DVD-S97 is no longer the "King of the Hill" that the DVD-RP82 was.

I put the player through the WHQL DVD Test Annex 3.0 torture tests. In NTSC, the player failed all Field dominance sequences, as well as 2-3-3-2 sequences, but passed on judder, motion adaptive and film recognition sequences. Recovery time for bad edits seemed reasonable (within a few frames) but clearly not as good as the best implementations (0-1 frame). Unfortunately, Panasonic has gone backwards in terms of the chroma upsampling error, with flickering evident in the Chroma Fish - Flag Alt sequence.

In PAL, numerous combing artifacts were noticeable in both Film and DV camera sequences. In addition, the player failed the Field 2 Dominant - Flag False sequence but passed Field 1 Dominant (flags true and false) sequences. No chroma upsampling error was evident in PAL mode.

On the plus side, the DVD-S97 had a better (more detailed, less artifacts, smoother pans) MPEG2 decoder than the DVD-RP82, despite the presence of the chroma upsampling error. Comparing the two players side by side, the DVD-S97 consistently delivered a better picture, so those of you that have been reluctant to upgrade can put your fears aside. In particular, detail levels were comparable to my reference player (a custom built PC running Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with an nVidia 6600 display and PureVideo decoding), with the DVD-RP82 looking slightly softer and less detailed in comparison. Slow pans were extremely smooth, on par with ESS Vibratto-based players and the DVD-RP82 looked juddery by comparison.

Listening Evaluation

Given the reputation of the DVD-RP82 and also the attraction of an HDMI output, I suspect most prospective purchasers of the DVD-S97 would be primarily interested in the video output. These purchasers would most likely be using the digital audio outputs (HDMI, coaxial or optical), and perhaps may never experience the analogue audio capabilities.

That would be a pity, because this player actually sounds quite decent. I mainly compared the DVD-S97 on a selection of DVD-Audio discs (at various sampling rates: 48, 88.2, 96 and 192 kHz) and CDs against my reference digital playback implementation: a custom built PC with an E-MU 1820M. The CDs and DVD-Audio discs were ripped to the hard disk for playback comparisons, thus yielding an unfair advantage to the E-MU 1820M due to lower jitter (but hey, who said life is fair?) Occasionally, I also compared selected titles with the LP equivalents.

The overall sound quality was clean and dynamic, and perhaps slightly bright sounding. It improved on the DVD-RP82 by delivering a slightly cleaner, yet more detailed sound, whilst retaining the dynamic 舠 punch 舡 of the RP82. For its price, I would say the audio quality was superb.

To evaluate DVD-Audio performance, I used John William's original soundtrack to A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) (Warner Sunset 9362-48096-9). This is a good evaluation disc as the audio tracks are recorded in 88.2 kHz rather than the usual 96 kHz resolution. In my experience, lesser DVD-Audio players did not seem to handle 88.2 kHz sampling rates very well and, as a result, this disc can sound rather muddy, congested and full of digital "shine". To its credit, the player handled the disc reasonably well, though probably not as well as the E-MU 1820M. The overall sound was just a tad harsh and dark compared to the E-MU.

The "torture track" on this disc is Track 5, which has Lara Fabian singing "For Always". On lesser players, her voice sounds over-sibilant and ethereal, but on the DVD-S97 there seemed to be a nice solidity to her voice with no trace of "glassiness" or other digital artifacts in the presence region. Compared to the E-MU though, the DVD-S97 lacked a sense of "airiness" or spaciousness, particularly in the upper frequencies.

Next stop was the Classic HDAD reissue of another John Williams soundtrack, this time Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Classic HDAD 2005). The overall sound (from the 192kHz 2ch audio track) is appropriately lush and rich, with an appropriate tinge of menace in the low frequencies. In comparison to the LP (Arista AL 9500, US pressing), it sounded perhaps a touch cleaner from less distortion, but at the same time just slightly less exciting through slightly subdued dynamics. And again, the player perhaps lacks a sense of "air" or spaciousness in the high frequencies.

Turning to yet another disc with a stereo 192kHz audio track, I compared Linda Ronstadt's What's New (Elektra/Aslylum/Rhino 8122-78341-9) on both the DVD-S97 and the E-MU 1820M against the LP (Asylum 60260-1, US pressing). The results were extremely close, with both the DVD-S97 and the E-MU 1820 rendering the stereo track extremely well with no trace of digital harshness or "glaze", though the DVD-S97 perhaps sounded just a touch "boomy" and more subdued. The LP had a very slight touch of extra "realism" to it, although there was some evidence of boominess and harmonic distortion present as well.

In multi-channel (5.1 96kHz), Linda's voice loses a bit of "body" and "realism" and was perhaps just a touch recessed, and the strings sounded just a bit more "glassy". However, in general, the player was a superb multi-channel performer, with strong dynamics and natural pacing and rhythm on Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells 2003 (Warner Strategic Marketing R9 60204). In particular, the rotating pan of the various instruments in Track 1 "Part One: Introduction" were handled quite well.

On HDCD encoded discs, the player did a creditable job on discs with no Peak Extend, at least compared to the HDCD decoding on my Cary Cinema 6 processor on a few titles I tried. However, the lack of Peak Extend support (which encodes an extra 6dB of dynamic range) means discs encoded with this feature will sound noticeably compressed (particularly most of the Joni Mitchell HDCD remastered titles).

Turning towards regular CDs, I tried another of my favorite evaluation discs, James Newton Howard and Friends (Sheffield Lab CD-23), a live direct to two-track digital recording. The slight "darkness" of the DVD-S97 (evident when listening to 88.1 kHz DVD-Audios) were much more evident on the 44.1 kHz sampling rate of CDs - the high notes of the DX-7 synthesizers used extensively on this album sounded scintillating on the E-MU 1820M but somewhat recessed and subdued on the DVD-S97, and the overall delivery sounded somewhat heavy-handed and ponderous. A similar observation can be made on yet another favorite "demo" disc, Mike Oldfield's Amarok (Virgin CDV 2640, Limited Edition Gold Picture Disc), with the DVD-S97 sounding just a bit muddy compared to the E-MU 1820M.

In conclusion, the DVD-S97 delivered superb audio performance given the price, with no obvious signs of digital artifacts typical with low-end and mid-priced players. However, compared to a higher reference, the player can sound a bit heavy and ponderous and uncertain, with high frequencies perhaps a bit recessed and lacking conviction.

Conclusion

The DVD-RP82 could justifiably have claimed the title of "world's best DVD-Video player" at one point in time. I'm not so sure about the DVD-S97, even though the video quality is superior to the DVD-RP82. It's just that progressive scan technology has improved a lot in the meantime, and the FLI-2310 implementation is not as impressive as it once was. I find the progressive scan implementation acceptable, but only just , and I kept noticing combing errors during bad edits, even though they lasted for only a few frames, but my eyes are so used to virtually seamless bad edit correction from newer technologies such as nVidia PureVideo.

The audio quality for the price is fantastic, but again if you only want the best of the best, look further (but be prepared to spend a LOT more!)

In the end, given the array of features and configurability available, I would have to strongly recommend this player. If it's not the "best of the best" in terms of audio/video quality, it is at least very close. Given the price of the player, I would say the value for money is unbeatable.

Panasonic DVD-S97