Official Panasonic DMP-BD35/55 Owners Thread

[Eben]

Originally Posted by milacqua

This is what I wrote before I am certain it is correct because I just tried it. If you are connected via HDMI, the zoom choices are blank. You will show only the natural aspect ratio of the blu-ray disk, whatever that may be.

That follows what the manual says, regarding blu-ray discs, that zoom won't work. Have you tried zoom on a standard definition DVD? According to the manual, zoom should work for SD DVDs, regardless of connection used.

[jrm81]

I have, and zoom doesn't work with any DVD while connected via HDMI.

[dsskid]

Originally Posted by jsmiddleton4

"What would your assessment be?"

That its not an "either or" situation making it just Panasonic's problem to fix. Do you have any other disk the Panasonic player is not playing?

It also very well could be the firmware for the Panasonic player needs to be updated. That reality does not make it a Panasonic issue either. If the movie studios are pushing out some new kind of video compression, new codec, etc., that requires our players be updated, that is the movie studio's responsibility, or the third party whose new coding they are using, to push the addition to the new firmware to the companies that make the players.

Many parts of the firmware do not get written by any of the companies who make the players. Much of the encoding decoding stuff is proprietary. One of the main reasons why we don't see details for the "what" was fixed in firmware updates by the way. In order for Panasonic, or any of the companies, to release details of firmware fixes for the various codecs, they have to obtain legal permission from the companies who provide the "pieces" of those codecs. Ain't going to happen so we get, "Playability improved..." in the fix lists.

A "new" disk not playing and the player needing a firmware update certainly may be absolutely true. However the next step, its Panasonic..." is a conclusion that takes a whole bunch of variables and leaves them uncertain but instead relies on assumption.

If there is a new codec that requires a firmware update and Disney, or the third party who Disney used, pushed out the disk without getting the updated codecs out to companies to update their firmware prior to the disk hitting the market, something did not work as it is suppose to. Absolutely.

Could be totally Disney, or some third party, who is at fault and Panasonic, or anyone for that matter like Samsung, has very little to do with it.

There is a big part of this hd video and hd audio stuff for which makers of players are consumers just like you and I.

The good news is Panasonic does not abandon these blu-ray players and if there is an update required, we get some disk out there that don't play, you contact Panasonic and they can duplicate it, we'll see a fix. They will contact the appropriate "engineers" and get the code Panasonic needs to update the firmware.

I agree. Why do they keep changing the codecs in the first place? The constant firmware is a headache for the average consumer who couldn't even figure out how to get the blinking 12:00 on his VCR to stop blinking, and an annoyance for everyone else.

IMO this is slowing the adoption of Blu-ray. The consumer wants to insert a disc in the play and watch a movie, and not constantly update the player.

[Eben]

Originally Posted by jrm81

I have, and zoom doesn't work with any DVD while connected via HDMI.

Interesting. So what do you gurus think, is this just another instance of Panasonic's poor writing in the manual? Does/has this function worked for anyone over HDMI?

[m. zillch]

Originally Posted by LarryChanin

It seems that you have chosen to take one of my sentences out of context, in order to frame a preachy response.

Preachy? You are reading into things. Sorry if my text only communication seemed preachy, I didn't mean it to be, but let's start fresh. Please re-read my question and respond to it literally. Take it out of context from your post which I probably shouldn't have quoted in the first place:

Do you know of any scientifically controlled, level matched, double blind test using available movie or music material that supports this?

I have looked for some and have found none. Am I not allowed or is it improper for me to ask you if you have? What gives?

Yes, I've read the Home Entertainment Magazine article , an anecdotal story with some pretty sketchy details, but I'd hardly consider it scientific evidence.

Here's my break down of it:

The DTS listening session wasn't blind so we can immediately dismiss it:

"We then conducted A/B comparisons between the high resolution Blue Man Group PCM original soundtrack and the core DTS codec which has a Blu-ray and DVD bitrate of either 768 kbps or 1.5 Mb/s, in a somewhat similar but not totally blind fashion that we went through the week before."

later:

"The core DTS call is a little harder, as there wasn’t the same blind system in place to A/B as precisely as at Dolby.

Additionally, they were indoctrinated before the test, obviously to induce a bias, from an obviously not disinterested party (the promoter of the product who just also happened to be the test conductor):

"After an informative presentation which explained the benefits of their latest codec technologies, we dove right into the A/B comparisons between the original PCM versions and the various DTS codec’d versions."

So this leaves us with the Dolby session:

"Golden Ears" Morrison was able to hear the difference, but I, and most others in the room with us, did not. Each of us had our turn in the prime listening chair, and couldn’t know the origin of the clips or their order of presentation."

I assume he means " Morrison alone showed a statistical significance with a confidence level of 95%", but even if that were true I'd need to see test results carried out by a disinterested party, not the promoter of the product, where it can be independently verified that careful controls are in place, level matching, and a fair, non re-EQ'd soundtrack is used. This is exactly the trick DTS used a decade or two ago to prove their system was "superior". My recollection is that only after David Ranada (I think) did independent spectral analysis of the surround channels was it revealed that the two soundtracks had different masters, hence not a fair comparison of DTS vs. Dolby Digital at all.

So where do you and I fundamentally disagree? Is it your belief that absolutely no one can hear any differences, even in well designed comparisons?

In brief, you not using the word "supposedly" or "claim they can" in statements like:

"whether certain listeners can detect lossless, they can. " bolsters their claim as fact. They say they can but that doesn't mean it's true. We need independent, third party testing before I , at least, believe a new wiz bang product is wiz bang. Just my opinion. Sorry if it seems "preachy"; it's how I write.
---

Considering there are, I would assume, at least a few of these super duper ITU-R BS.1284-1 testing facilities in the world designed specifically to test codecs, then why are there no published AES papers on these new DTS and Dolby systems? Hmm......

[Gary J]

Originally Posted by dsskid

I agree. Why do they keep changing the codecs in the first place?

What codecs have been changed?

[m. zillch]

Originally Posted by fmalczewski

Actually, according to FOXNews, only 34% of Americans believe in UFOs. Same number that believe in ghosts.

The number fluctuates by year, exact wording of the poll, and how recently the History Channel or Fox has aired one of their idiotic "Roswell/area 51/UFO/ ET abduction/dissection" specials. No, I'm not joking.

CNN/Time poll 1997: "Sixty-four percent of the respondents said that aliens have contacted humans, half said they've abducted humans, and 37 percent said they have contacted the U.S. government. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points."

[goonstopher]

HOLY CRAP this is annoying!

Last 2 movies I watched, I paused them and then after a few minutes a Universal screen saver came up and the player was showing a time counter like a mvoie was playing BUT the player froze to ALL commands eccept stop. I had to stop both movies and let them re-load then go to the chapter menu and find where I was.

How do I fix this?

[Bill Mitchell]

Originally Posted by goonstopher

HOLY CRAP this is annoying!

Last 2 movies I watched, I paused them and then after a few minutes a Universal screen saver came up and the player was showing a time counter like a mvoie was playing BUT the player froze to ALL commands eccept stop. I had to stop both movies and let them re-load then go to the chapter menu and find where I was.

How do I fix this?

A forum search of "Universal screen saver" reveals at least two suggestions to this problem:

Rachael Bellomy suggests this is addressed with the latest firmware.

snsguy and MaestroJ suggest a particular sequence on the Panasonic remote will cause the Universal BD to see and action the Resume.

I've not yet encountered the problem, myself. Good luck,
Bill

[L David Matheny]

Originally Posted by goonstopher

HOLY CRAP this is annoying!

Last 2 movies I watched, I paused them and then after a few minutes a Universal screen saver came up and the player was showing a time counter like a mvoie was playing BUT the player froze to ALL commands eccept stop. I had to stop both movies and let them re-load then go to the chapter menu and find where I was.

How do I fix this?

Try pressing the OK button.

[Rachael Bellomy]

Originally Posted by L David Matheny

Try pressing the OK button.

Yeah, that or Pop-Up Menu usually works. This is nonsensical navigation though....and my BD30 that has 2.7 behaves the same as my 35. I think I have one Universal title, might be Casino (?), that just locks up the 35 when the screen-saver starts. When Uni brought U-Control and screen-savers to HD-DVD, we went through this same thing.

Between that Bolt title that Ralph mentioned and Uni's funky navigation, you have to bet we're gonna have yet another firmware version soon....Java on brothers and sisters....

[Ralph Potts]

Originally Posted by L David Matheny

Try pressing the OK button.

Greetings,

That is how you exit the Universal screensaver...


Regards,

[psp_AVS]

I am getting a read error with a Blockbuster bluray disc yesterday. Just got a message saying" Cannot read disc" The disc looked brand new with not a scratch. Last week had a copyright violation error when reading a disc (which played well later!).
I have the latest firmware. Is my player defective?

[oink]

Originally Posted by psp_AVS

I am getting a read error with a Blockbuster bluray disc yesterday. Just got a message saying" Cannot read disc" The disc looked brand new with not a scratch. Last week had a copyright violation error when reading a disc (which played well later!).
I have the latest firmware. Is my player defective?

Clean the disk and retry.

[Ralph Potts]

Originally Posted by jsmiddleton4

"What would your assessment be?"

That its not an "either or" situation making it just Panasonic's problem to fix. Do you have any other disk the Panasonic player is not playing?

It also very well could be the firmware for the Panasonic player needs to be updated. That reality does not make it a Panasonic issue either. If the movie studios are pushing out some new kind of video compression, new codec, etc., that requires our players be updated, that is the movie studio's responsibility, or the third party whose new coding they are using, to push the addition to the new firmware to the companies that make the players.

Many parts of the firmware do not get written by any of the companies who make the players. Much of the encoding decoding stuff is proprietary. One of the main reasons why we don't see details for the "what" was fixed in firmware updates by the way. In order for Panasonic, or any of the companies, to release details of firmware fixes for the various codecs, they have to obtain legal permission from the companies who provide the "pieces" of those codecs. Ain't going to happen so we get, "Playability improved..." in the fix lists.

A "new" disk not playing and the player needing a firmware update certainly may be absolutely true. However the next step, its Panasonic..." is a conclusion that takes a whole bunch of variables and leaves them uncertain but instead relies on assumption.

If there is a new codec that requires a firmware update and Disney, or the third party who Disney used, pushed out the disk without getting the updated codecs out to companies to update their firmware prior to the disk hitting the market, something did not work as it is suppose to. Absolutely.

Could be totally Disney, or some third party, who is at fault and Panasonic, or anyone for that matter like Samsung, has very little to do with it.

There is a big part of this hd video and hd audio stuff for which makers of players are consumers just like you and I.

The good news is Panasonic does not abandon these blu-ray players and if there is an update required, we get some disk out there that don't play, you contact Panasonic and they can duplicate it, we'll see a fix. They will contact the appropriate "engineers" and get the code Panasonic needs to update the firmware.

Greetings,

I have passed this information on to Disney so hopefully the powers that be will get together and resolve this.


Regards,

[dsskid]

Originally Posted by Gary J

What codecs have been changed?

Whichever ones that are causing all the firmware updates.

[Gary J]

Originally Posted by dsskid

Whichever ones that are causing all the firmware updates.

Right. No codecs have been changed. In fact they can not be because they are burned into chips.

[Lordoftherings]

Originally Posted by jrm81

Can anyone answer this question definitively? I do not seem to be able to zoom any dvd's, and my connection is via HDMI.

If you have a Widescreen TV, NO you cannot through HDMI, definitively.

[riverwolf]

Originally Posted by psp_AVS

I am getting a read error with a Blockbuster bluray disc yesterday. Just got a message saying" Cannot read disc" The disc looked brand new with not a scratch. Last week had a copyright violation error when reading a disc (which played well later!).
I have the latest firmware. Is my player defective?

I wouldn't call your player defective unless this starts happening with the majority of discs. Seems there's no rhyme or reason for incompatibility.

I just went through the same scenario with "Underworld: Evolution" last weekend. It was a Netflix rental, but the disc looked as pristine as any of my personal discs...I could have shaved with the reflection. Most attempts resulted in "copyright violation", "incompatible disc", or the BD35 simply gave up without any message. Being a nearly 3 year old release, firmware compatibility shouldn't have been a problem; I don't think UE is a Java enabled title, either. I ended up cleaning the disc twice and finally upgrading the BD35 from 1.5 to 1.7. Even then it balked with a "copyright violation" a couple of times. Eventually, it got to the start menu just like it had before doing the first cleaning and was able to start playing...it froze once a couple of minutes in...then played flawlessly for the rest of the movie then back around to the menu and special features.

-Brent

[Lordoftherings]

Originally Posted by m. zillch

LOTR,
I think I figured it out.
It's disk related! My Iron Man BD (disc 1) is also locking up after 5 frame advances using the right step arrow on the remote's up/down/left/right disc.
What is it they call these types? BD JV? java enabled? I think it means they do the internet junk I have yet to ever even attempt and hear is sort of a let down so I'm not concerned.

Two solutions for you:

A) press the "status" button to induce the basic OSD and you have unlimited frame advance, simply remove it when you get to the frame you want (but Iron man at least had a red bargraph at the bottom I couldn't remove but I think that's the disk, not the Panny.)

B) Don't use the frame advance button and instead, from an already paused position press the slo-mo forward button and then the pause button right away (after you see the frame advance about a half second later) and effectively you have unlimited frame advance! You could build this two button approach as a macro in a learning remote if you have one that can do macros. Works with the Panny's display on "auto" or "off".

Dear m. zillch,

You're the man! It is amazing the job you just did! Eureka! There is a big
cheque waiting in the mail for you!
Do you realise what you just did! You finally found the answer to this huge
enigma! How can I Thank you justly.
I will always remember you as a True Guru at solving the most complicated
issues regarding Panasonic Blu-Ray players.

Again, my unlimited Thanks to you,

______ Bob

[Lordoftherings]

Originally Posted by Ralph Potts

Greetings,

This is all well and good but in the end the issue is that it plays just fine in the Panasonic BD30 and PS3 and NOT in the Panasonic BD55. I would think that if a new codec was required for playback of this disc then it wouldn't play in the BD30 either.

Don't misunderstand my intentions here. I have owned three Panasonic players in the BD10, BD30, and the BD55 (I still own the last two). I am not complaining but was hoping to offer more of a head's up about this before folk's begin to have problems.

Do what you will with this information...

Regards,

Hi Ralph,

What will be very useful at this moment is to see if other owners of the
Panasonic DMP-BD55, like me, have the same issue with the "Bolt" blu-ray
movie disc by Disney.
I don't own personally this title, but I'm sure other owners of the BD-55 do, and can help us by their experience with this particular disc.

So, please, any other owners of the BD35/55 having problem playing the
newest release of "Bolt" by Disney on Blu-Ray?

Thanks to all,

______ Bob

[Lordoftherings]

Hi everyone,

I will like to give my personal opinion, if I may, regarding DD, DTS, Lossy and Lossless
audio codecs.
I have read all the opinions of the other members on this subject, and here is my very simple opinion.

I started back in 1997, to experience Dolby Digital, then DTS.
Now from 2006, I started experiencing with the new Lossy and Lossless Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio.

The only simple fact that I want to say is this: To my ears and mind (heart included),
the newer Lossless Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio, sounds way better by a
wide margin than any other audio codecs.
The Bass is much better definite and tighter, with incredible force and power.
The Midrange is exceptionally detailed, clear, smooth and well balanced, very natural.
The Treble is more open, airy, spacious and also well detailed.

There is no argument about that. You don't need to be an expert or a chief engineer
to come to that conclusion.
Now I do realise that it is extremely difficult to do a well balance comparative tests
between the Lossy vs the Lossless audio codecs.
But there is no doubt in my mind and to my ears, of the exceptional virtuosity and superior performance of the Lossless Audio codecs.

For what it's worth, that's my 0.02 cents value of personal opinion.

Cheers to all,

_______ Bob

[Dave Vaughn]

To all concerned,

I was able to get BOLT to work in the BD55, but you have to unplug the network cable in order to get the disc to load. As with Ralph, it loads in a BD30 and PS3 without any issues. I also have the new Oppo player in for an evaluation, and it loads in that as well while connected to a network.

The problem lies solely with the BD55 at this point. If I remember correctly, there have been other discs in the past that have exhibited similar behavior, but I can't recall which.

Best regards,

[m. zillch]

Originally Posted by Lordoftherings

Again, my unlimited Thanks to you,

______ Bob

No problem.

I built and loaded the macro I mentioned ["slo-mo forward", a .2 second delay, and then "pause"] into my Universal Remote Control MX-950 and tried it out. It works! It is a little sluggish but at least now for these BD-java discs I have a functioning, unlimited, on screen display optional, single key stroke frame advance button.

[boylan13]

Originally Posted by Ralph Potts

Greetings,

I have passed this information on to Disney so hopefully the powers that be will get together and resolve this.


Regards,

Ralph,

You're right about Bolt on Blu-ray. It definitely does not play on the DMP-BD35 or BD55 with the 1.7 firmware applied but it does play with the earlier 1.5 firmware. It also plays fine on a Samsung BD-P2500 and PS3.

Panasonic is usually pretty good about fixing these issues. They fixed a problem with Dark Knight within 24 hours of its street date. I just sent a message to the Panasonic guys in Japan about it, so between them and your Disney contacts, I'm sure they'll figure it out, hopefully before the Blu-ray's street date on 3/22.

Dave - I didn't try the network cable unplug workaround but it figures that it would be something with BD-Live...

OK, I just tried the network cable workaround and it definitely worked around the problem, but then no BD-Live even after plugging the cable back in. I think Disney discs check the network connection when you load the menu, so they know whether or not to load the BD-Live features and this is where it fails.

-CB

[Dave Vaughn]

Originally Posted by boylan13

I think Disney discs check the network connection when you load the menu, so they know whether or not to load the BD-Live features and this is where it fails.

-CB

Yep..they do....hopefully it's an easy fix.

[Ralph Potts]

Originally Posted by boylan13

Ralph,

You're right about Bolt on Blu-ray. It definitely does not play on the DMP-BD35 or BD55 with the 1.7 firmware applied but it does play with the earlier 1.5 firmware. It also plays fine on a Samsung BD-P2500 and PS3.

Panasonic is usually pretty good about fixing these issues. They fixed a problem with Dark Knight within 24 hours of its street date. I just sent a message to the Panasonic guys in Japan about it, so between them and your Disney contacts, I'm sure they'll figure it out, hopefully before the Blu-ray's street date on 3/22.

Dave - I didn't try the network cable unplug workaround but it figures that it would be something with BD-Live...

OK, I just tried the network cable workaround and it definitely worked around the problem, but then no BD-Live even after plugging the cable back in. I think Disney discs check the network connection when you load the menu, so they know whether or not to load the BD-Live features and this is where it fails.

-CB

Greetings,

Chris and Dave, thanks for confirmation. While the removal of the network cable is a work around I agree with it needs to be addressed asap.

I will pass this on as well.

Cheers,

[iolmaster]

Originally Posted by Lordoftherings

Hi everyone,

I will like to give my personal opinion, if I may, regarding DD, DTS, Lossy and Lossless
audio codecs.
I have read all the opinions of the other members on this subject, and here is my very simple opinion.

I started back in 1997, to experience Dolby Digital, then DTS.
Now from 2006, I started experiencing with the new Lossy and Lossless Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio.

The only simple fact that I want to say is this: To my ears and mind (heart included),
the newer Lossless Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio, sounds way better by a
wide margin than any other audio codecs.
The Bass is much better definite and tighter, with incredible force and power.
The Midrange is exceptionally detailed, clear, smooth and well balanced, very natural.
The Treble is more open, airy, spacious and also well detailed.

There is no argument about that. You don't need to be an expert or a chief engineer
to come to that conclusion.
Now I do realise that it is extremely difficult to do a well balance comparative tests
between the Lossy vs the Lossless audio codecs.
But there is no doubt in my mind and to my ears, of the exceptional virtuosity and superior performance of the Lossless Audio codecs.

For what it's worth, that's my 0.02 cents value of personal opinion.

Cheers to all,

_______ Bob

When I first read this I thought it was a tongue in cheek post making fun of people that claim to be "blown away" by the new audio. BUT WAIT!! It's not. For a minute I thought I had lost my way on the internet and found my way to a wine forum. All those adjectives. I'm certainly glad I can't hear all that. I'd be up all night. Keep um coming. I need a good laugh early in the morning.

[fmalczewski]

Originally Posted by iolmaster

When I first read this I thought it was a tongue in cheek post making fun of people that claim to be "blown away" by the new audio. BUT WAIT!! It's not. For a minute I thought I had lost my way on the internet and found my way to a wine forum. All those adjectives. I'm certainly glad I can't hear all that. I'd be up all night. Keep um coming. I need a good laugh early in the morning.

You can go back to listening to your iPod now. Glad you were entertained.

[boylan13]

Originally Posted by Dave Vaughn

Yep..they do....hopefully it's an easy fix.

I hope so too, but the engineers in Japan were unable to reproduce this today with their copy, which is a pre-release proof from Disney. I suggested they get the final production version quickly since the street date is coming up soon. But I wonder if the BD-Live check behaves differently based on IP address/country? I hope not.

-CB