What's the deal with my new DVD player

But there are plenty of DVD's open coded. Find a cheap DVD, something not produced by a major studio: kids cartoon, family DVD, RV sales DVD, etc., and see what that does.

This very much sounds like you were sold a DVD player that has been coded for a different DVD region than the one you are in. A DVD player made to sell in Japan or Europe will not play DVDs region coded for the USA. This has nothing to do with where the player was manufactured but where the manufacturer intended this particular player to be sold. It is not uncommon for electronics to be sold as "black market" in the US particularly over the internet.

Is there maybe something in the setup menu that needs to be changed?

I replaced mine with a Panasonic blu- ray 5.1 home theater system and it plays all DVDs great. Maybe just a bad unit.

Oh, I get the 5.1 issue. My bad. I know (at least, I think I know... LOL) some countries have formats that are not compatible with our cd/dvd's. Let us know what you find out.

Good luck.

Let us know what the problem is.

Bought it new on Amazon. Says sold by Amazon.com LLC.

I know the Surround Sound has nothing to do with it not playing discs, that was just my reason for choosing this particular unit.

I bought it in May, but just opened the box today. Fortunately, it has a 1 year warranty. I am going to carry it to an authorized Panasonic Service Center tomorrow. There is one in town.

I am no expert, but it sounds like your players format is for some other country. I don't think the 5.1 surround has anything to do with the "error" message your are getting.

Where did you buy the player?

I am sure others will educate me. What say you?

Robert
Huntington Beach, California