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Panasonic BD70V -- VHS and Blu-ray!

23K views 90 replies 40 participants last post by  Ron-on-Mrng-Vsta 
#1 ·
So I'm having a devil of a time finding out information on this new player and somehow, there doesn't seem to be a thread on it yet. I can't be the only one excited about this, can I?


Panasonic website has it listed as "Coming in May" but it's May now and I can't find it for sale (or pre-order) anywhere but on the Panasonic site. Any intel?


For reference, here's the Panasonic site:
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-e...00000000005702


And the specs:
http://www.panasonic.com/apps/match-.../DMP-BD70V.pdf


Will post the manual here too once I can find it.
 
#2 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by obiwanfong /forum/post/16413156


So I'm having a devil of a time finding out information on this new player and somehow, there doesn't seem to be a thread on it yet. I can't be the only one excited about this, can I?


Panasonic website has it listed as "Coming in May" but it's May now and I can't find it for sale (or pre-order) anywhere but on the Panasonic site. Any intel?


For reference, here's the Panasonic site:
http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-e...00000000005702


And the specs:
http://www.panasonic.com/apps/match-.../DMP-BD70V.pdf


Will post the manual here too once I can find it.
http://www.jr.com/panasonic/pe/PAN_DMPBD70V/
 
#9 ·
I've seen them and, wow, are they big (as I assumed they would be). Looks nice, however. Thinking about getting one although I really have no need for one other than a few semi-rare VHS tapes I've picked up at local used shops. Mostly horror crap that will likely never see a DVD release let alone BD. Eh, I guess I'll stick with my 550 for now.
 
#10 ·
I'm a little confused. NO TV tuner or has TV tuner and its not digital?
 
#14 ·
"people who still use VHS."


Or who have a ton of family home video on VHS and don't want to spend a huge amount of money converting to DVD.
 
#19 ·
I guess there isn't an official owner's thread for the BD70 so I'll post here.


I just got this unit yesterday and set it up for the mom. (She refuses to dump her 150+ VHS cassettes). I tested it with a VHS cassette, DVD, and Blu-ray disc all using HDMI to the TV and Optical out to the receiver. Seems to work really nice.


If your VHS cassette is old and/or crappy quality, the "crap" is amplified by the unit's attempted upscale to 1080. You can get into the settings and force it to keep downscaled to 480i and minimize the noise, but then you have to switch it back to HD settings when you want to watch DVD or Blu-ray. (Blahhh) So I'll just leave it for now and see if she can tolerate it. It looks pretty decent with VHS tapes that haven't (yet) deteriorated.


There is something that's bugging me, however. The clock on this thing can't be set without internet connectivity, and it's only got a LAN jack. This is in the family room, too far away for me to run a cable from our wireless router.


I was considering buying one of those Wireless Ethernet adaptors (i.e. Linksys WGA600N, etc.) but they all seem to be marketed for gaming consoles. Wondering if these things will work with an internet-enabled Blu-ray player as well.


I know I can just go and buy a little atomic clock if I wanted, but I would like her to have the BD-live and the internet video streaming on there. (I'm a tech nerd, however still kinda new to the Blu-ray player scene, so I'm curious to see how this stuff works.)


Does anyone know any reliable wireless ethernet adaptors (LAN only, no USB) that works with connected Blu-ray players, or will the Linksys WGA600N work? Budget isn't really an issue (within reason, haha. Let's keep it under $100).


Thanks~
 
#20 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by kinless /forum/post/17663394


I guess there isn't an official owner's thread for the BD70 so I'll post here.


I just got this unit yesterday and set it up for the mom. (She refuses to dump her 150+ VHS cassettes). I tested it with a VHS cassette, DVD, and Blu-ray disc all using HDMI to the TV and Optical out to the receiver. Seems to work really nice.


If your VHS cassette is old and/or crappy quality, the "crap" is amplified by the unit's attempted upscale to 1080. You can get into the settings and force it to keep downscaled to 480i and minimize the noise, but then you have to switch it back to HD settings when you want to watch DVD or Blu-ray. (Blahhh) So I'll just leave it for now and see if she can tolerate it. It looks pretty decent with VHS tapes that haven't (yet) deteriorated.


There is something that's bugging me, however. The clock on this thing can't be set without internet connectivity, and it's only got a LAN jack. This is in the family room, too far away for me to run a cable from our wireless router.


I was considering buying one of those Wireless Ethernet adaptors (i.e. Linksys WGA600N, etc.) but they all seem to be marketed for gaming consoles. Wondering if these things will work with an internet-enabled Blu-ray player as well.


I know I can just go and buy a little atomic clock if I wanted, but I would like her to have the BD-live and the internet video streaming on there. (I'm a tech nerd, however still kinda new to the Blu-ray player scene, so I'm curious to see how this stuff works.)


Does anyone know any reliable wireless ethernet adaptors (LAN only, no USB) that works with connected Blu-ray players, or will the Linksys WGA600N work? Budget isn't really an issue (within reason, haha. Let's keep it under $100).


Thanks~


You can use the Linksys Wga600n, all you have to do is configure it on your pc for your wirless network unplug it from the pc and plug it in to your BR player. One thing to mention if you do get it update the firmware from the Linksys website before configuring it. I did these steps and hooked it up to my Direc TV HD-DVR and it works great.
 
#22 ·
It's been a while since I posted. I forgot how invaluable the threads can be here. I'm hoping for some enlightenment from a Panasonic DMP-BD70VK owner or someone who has toyed with this player.


1. I know it can't display 1080p via component but can it dsiplay 720p and or 1080i through component?

2. Piggybacking the first question, can a blu ray disc be watched via component? If so, at what display(480p, 720p, etc.)?

3. Can the VHS be displayed via the component out?


These questions and an experienced impression of this unit would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks
 
#24 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by BFI6603 /forum/post/17813481


Let me add another question, to JGDRAGOV, list:

4. Can this player be hooked up with only one cable (HDMI) to my receiver (Pioneer Elite 94) to produce audio and video for both VHS and Bluray media?

Our DMP-BD70V is connected to the TV using a single HDMI cable and we watch Bluray, DVD, and VHS without any problems. The manual says that DVDs and VHS tapes can only output 480i or 480p for component out, but I have not tried this myself.
 
#25 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by BFI6603 /forum/post/17813481


Let me add another question, to JGDRAGOV, list:

4. Can this player be hooked up with only one cable (HDMI) to my receiver (Pioneer Elite 94) to produce audio and video for both VHS and Bluray media?

YES..........I just connected my unit to the system and DVD & VHS all output thru the HDMI cable.
 
#26 ·
A certain mega on-line store has dropped the price of the DMP-BD70V down to $180-$200 around mid-December (today it's $292, yesterday it was $297). I was able to score mine on 12/17 for $179.99. Up until Monday I ran component video (720p Blu-ray, 480p VHS & DVD) to my 50" Sony RP-LCD HDTV. On Monday my HDMI cable order from Monoprice arrived and I've been running it (1080i everything) to the Sony ever since.



I bought the player not necessarily for this TV, but for a future HDTV purchase downstairs where the kids mostly play. Currently I have an SDTV and a standard definition combo unit down there but sooner or later it's gonna be replaced with an HDTV and this hi def combo unit will go great with it. In the meantime I'll be using it as my primary Blu-ray player with the big Sony TV. The only two things that I don't like about it so far are no 5.1/7.1 analog audio out and S-VHS ET tapes are downconverted to VHS levels. But I knew this going into the unit so I shouldn't complain too much, heh.



The VHS upscaling is pretty good and actually comparable to the two D-VHS machines I have. You'll probably have to have two or possibly even three different settings after calibrating (VHS, DVD and Blu-ray) though, so keep that in mind. From my time spent with VHS and S-VHS stuff on the D-VHS machines I know I need separate TV settings for each of those formats for them to look "their best."



Again, if someone is looking for an upgrade to a standard definition combo unit, the new sub-$200 price point is a steal for this player in my opinion.
 
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