Time to Review The Panasonic Q

[GameMaster]

IGN's Review of Panasonic Q is here.

From the Guys @ IGN...

Panasonic Q Review
We put the fully region modded DVD-GameCube hybrid to the test.
April 09, 2002 - Meet the Panasonic Q -- a hybrid machine that combines a Nintendo GameCube and Panasonic DVD player into one. It's a package that competes with the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in form, but its retail price holds it back from being the most valuable player. The Panasonic Q is currently only sold for retail in Japan, however it can be purchased through import retailers. To help garner the attention of import consumers, establishments such as Upstate Games have gone the extra mile to make it totally region friendly, enabling you to play all region DVDs in addition to Japanese and US GameCube software. In following we will discuss the value of the core functionality of the Q as well as its import value with region modification.

Features

* Plays GameCube software and DVDs
* Plays retail CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs
* Stainless steel chassis and sturdy handles for lifting
* Backlit LCD display for monitoring modes and settings
* Consolidated mechanical disc tray holds GameCube optical discs, DVDs, and CDs
* Dialogue Enhancer attenuates voices and center sounds
* Cinema display modes for brighter or darker movie visuals
* Two surround modes to widen normal stereo signals
* Bass Plus feature deepens low frequency response for subwoofer owners
* Separate subwoofer jack to utilize Bass Plus
* Optical out supports Dolby Digital and DTS encoded signal for movies
* Two RCA stereo jacks allow for multiple room music playback
* Four front-mounted controller ports trimmed with a blue light
* Mirrored faceplate protected by polished glass surface
* Can be region modified to play almost any DVD and Japanese/US GCN software
With the purchase of the Q you get the system, a gray Panasonic-branded controller, a set of RCA AV cables, power adapter, remote control with batteries, and instruction manuals. Of the course the labeling on the remote and text in the instruction manuals is in Japanese. It comes with everything you need to get started, save for a DVD or GameCube game. Hook-up, even if you can't read Japanese, is simple and intuitive.

Using Q for games, DVD, or CDs is also self-explanatory, but there are a few quirks to the system. For starters if you eject the disc tray and place your choice of media in there the Q doesn't seem to automatically recognize the format and switch modes. It defaults to the last mode you were using. So, if it's on the "GameCube" mode you will have to power down and press the play button on the top of the system to get it to power-up in movie mode -- same for CDs and vice versa for the games. It's hardly a glaring fault, but it can be aggravating. To further add to annoyances it takes Panasonic Q longer than average to power down. This can cause delays when trying to switch between GameCube and DVD playback it. It's not instantaneous.

Playback Enhancement
Playing to the beat of a slightly different drummer, the Panasonic Q offers up a few enhancement modes for game, DVD, and audio playback. This is in stark contrast to the Xbox and PS2 which are more prominently game consoles with DVD players embedded into them. In the case of Q it definitely feels very much like a DVD player and has some added features to back it up.

Surround: For analog audio you can activate two forms of surround for movies and one for gameplay. These modes will stretch the stereo signal a bit more for a fuller, richer surround experience. It's a similar feature that is also often found in televisions, but in the case of Q it has a few options.

Bass Plus: The Q comes with a dedicated subwoofer output. If you use it in conjunction with the Bass Plus mode you can crank out some seriously loud -- perhaps too loud -- bass. You can use this for game, music, and movie playback.

Dialogue Enhancer: This feature only works with movie playback and attenuates speech fairly distinctly. See our movie playback section for more details.

Cinema: You can toggle between a normal and cinema display mode. There is a slight difference in contrast and brightness that you will want to take advantage of.

GameCube Playback
The Q works just as you would expect it to for playing GameCube software. The case design might be new to you, but it's still the same trusty GameCube hardware built into the system. In this regard nothing is different barring the disc tray that is a bit slower (but much cooler) to use.

Where the Q does offer a few new options for gameplay is in the audio department. Using the Surround mode -- there is only one compared to two for movie playback -- you can widen out the surround space a bit more. You're not going to suddenly hear all the Dolby Pro Logic II effects in Star Wars Rogue Squadron II, but its something that will definitely appeal to those with merely a stereo television.

Additionally, the Bass Plus mode can be used to get a separate subwoofer kicking in for gameplay. Because the effect is generally the same in games as it is in movie playback, you can learn more about its effectiveness in the following section. You can find more info on the "Cinema" mode there as well. Dialogue enhancement does not work with games, though it would have been interesting to see how it worked with in-game cut-scenes. Another disappointing feature, or lack thereof, is that the optical out does not output game audio. So, you'll have to have your normal RCA audio for games as well as the optical hooked up for DVD.