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New Panasonic DMP-BD 35 and 55 - Page 35  

post #1021 of 1103
10/14/08 at 2:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigmoviefan View Post

So would you get the Panasonic DMP55 over the Pioneer 05? It sounds like the Pioneer has a few issues. No DTS-MA internally. Plus a few skipping problems. Do you think the Panasonic is better?
I am using a Anthem D2 for a Processor. Would the Pioneer sound better with it's Wolfson Dacs or is it so close it doesn't matter? My system is pretty revealing.
Opinions.

The player's DACs have no bearing on the sound quality if you are using HDMI. As you probably know, the D2 accepts multichannel PCM over HDMI. Therefore, since they decode both lossless audio codecs, the Panasonic players are the better choice for you from an audio perspective.

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #1022 of 1103
10/14/08 at 2:08pm
I've been on the Amazon wait list with a due date of 11/10-11/17, but I FINALLY found a coupon that would work with CC to help balance the sales tax! I tried about 4 different coupons/offers but they all had some "catch-22" so they weren't valid. I finally got the AAA 8% offer to work but with the help of a very friendly CSR. I ordered around noon today and at 3, I had a tracking #. I spent the "big bucks" for the $2.99 3-day shipping so I should see mine on Friday! My BD-55 will soon be joining my XA-2, so I'll be format neutral at last.
The XA2 is supposed to be one of the best with standard DVD's, so I wonder how the 55 will compare. I'll try to report in on the new "owner's thread".
post #1023 of 1103
10/14/08 at 2:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayridescarbon View Post

Am I assuming correctly that while everthing coming out of the HDMI connection from my 55 will be 1080p, there will be differences in how they fill the panel with some filling the entire panel and others being "widescreen" leaving bars at the top and bottom? Is the only way to take "widescreen" material and make it fill the entire panel with those nasty zoom modes on the tv that distort/cut off parts of the picture?

Thanks,

Jay

Why is it so important to you to "fill your panel at all times"? The fact is that movies come in different aspect ratios, so you may as well live with the reality that you CANNOT fill your screen at all times without chopping/zooming/stretching widescreen or 4:3 films. Period. Enjoy them as they are.
post #1024 of 1103
10/14/08 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertR View Post

Why is it so important to you to "fill your panel at all times"? The fact is that movies come in different aspect ratios, so you may as well live with the reality that you CANNOT fill your screen at all times without chopping/zooming/stretching widescreen or 4:3 films. Period. Enjoy them as they are.

Thanks for the reply, Robert. It's actually not so important as you can tell from my first statement which was that all the zoom/stretch modes were unacceptable for me. Just a question.

Is my first assumption correct, that upconversion of standard DVDs is essentially differerent than these stretch/zoom modes?

Thanks

Jay
post #1025 of 1103
10/14/08 at 2:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayridescarbon View Post

Thanks for the reply, Robert. It's actually not so important as you can tell from my first statement which was that all the zoom/stretch modes were unacceptable for me. Just a question.

Is my first assumption correct, that upconversion of standard DVDs is essentially differerent than these stretch/zoom modes?

Thanks

Jay

Upconversion has nothing to do with aspect ratio.
post #1026 of 1103
10/14/08 at 2:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayridescarbon View Post

Is my first assumption correct, that upconversion of standard DVDs is essentially differerent than these stretch/zoom modes?

Thanks

Jay

DVD upconversion doesn't change the aspect ratio. You get what's there. No stretching/zooming.
post #1027 of 1103
10/14/08 at 2:49pm
Thanks for putting up with my newby questions. I know this is really not the place,but if you'll permit one final question. I understand the difference between resolution and aspect ratio and that the "stretch/zoom" modes available on my tv produce unacceptable pictures. How does a network like HDNet take an old movie which I assume was not shot with the aspect ratio of my flatscreen and make it that aspect ratio without looking at all stretched or distorted (actually some of them look pretty impressive)?

If this is a really stupid question please feel free to let me know or ignore.

Thanks,

Jay
post #1028 of 1103
10/14/08 at 2:53pm
The Panny 55 has landed. I'm here at the office and about to jet out the door! I have Golden Compass and Iron Man blu-rays to test on.
post #1029 of 1103
10/14/08 at 2:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayridescarbon View Post

Thanks for putting up with my newby questions. I know this is really not the place,but if you'll permit one final question. I understand the difference between resolution and aspect ratio and that the "stretch/zoom" modes available on my tv produce unacceptable pictures. How does a network like HDNet take an old movie which I assume was not shot with the aspect ratio of my flatscreen and make it that aspect ratio without looking at all stretched or distorted (actually some of them look pretty impressive)?

If this is a really stupid question please feel free to let me know or ignore.

Thanks,

Jay

HDNET doesn't change the aspect ratio of movies. For those networks that do, they'll either chop off the sides (in the case of a film filmed with anamorphic lenses), or open up the area that was meant to be hidden (in the case of a Super35 film).
post #1030 of 1103
10/14/08 at 4:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mreloc View Post

Hmmm. Not that I've seen either to compare, I thought the 35 improved up conversion of DVD's compared to sucky performance of the 30.

Even if it did, I still have my Oppo 981 for DVDs, and probably the Oppo would still be superior. Even so, I wouldn't upgrade a blu-ray player for DVD performance -- but only for blu-ray performance.
post #1031 of 1103
10/14/08 at 4:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayridescarbon View Post

Thanks for the quick review. Can't wait until Thursday!

I have a question for you experts as I have only had HD tv broadcasts over the past 5 years, but no upconverting DVD player or blu-ray. First, is upconversion on the player different than the crappy stretch modes that have been available on both my Sony and now Panny 800 plasmas? I expect and hope so as all of those modes were distorted and unacceptable for my viewing. Second, I am under the assumption that HD/1080 is a different animal than aspect ratio. Am I assuming correctly that while everthing coming out of the HDMI connection from my 55 will be 1080p, there will be differences in how they fill the panel with some filling the entire panel and others being "widescreen" leaving bars at the top and bottom? Is the only way to take "widescreen" material and make it fill the entire panel with those nasty zoom modes on the tv that distort/cut off parts of the picture?
Thanks,
Jay

The BD35 has an interesting setup menu option that you may be interested in. During initial setup you can select (among other options) 16x9 or 16x9 Full, which is described as an option for those who do not want black bars on the top and bottom. I haven't tried it out, but it may be what you are looking for.
post #1032 of 1103
10/14/08 at 4:35pm
[quote=slogun;14864868]IBootup time is about 70 seconds from powerup to disc menu.

Wow, I thought by now they would have improved upon that. That is about the same as my Tosh XA-1. Sound and Vision quoted much less boot times.
I am scheduled to get my BD55 unit tomorrow. I was hoping for much faster boot times. If the PS3 can boot so fast (reports I have read) then why can't they improve on this?
post #1033 of 1103
10/14/08 at 5:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by caesar1 View Post

Even if it did, I still have my Oppo 981 for DVDs, and probably the Oppo would still be superior. Even so, I wouldn't upgrade a blu-ray player for DVD performance -- but only for blu-ray performance.

I look forward to your comparison of the Panny and your OPPO.

Based on the reviews, I believe it's only the 983H that is superior to the 55. When compared to the 980H and 981H, the 55 was equal or superior and was able to handle most of the HQV tests, of which only the 983H has a perfect score.


I will be comparing the 55 to an older OPPO 971H, which has been good enough for the DVDs I own. I may still end up buying a 983H if I find one at a good price, but for now, if the 55 is equal or better than the 971H I will be happy.
post #1034 of 1103
10/14/08 at 5:59pm
Got the 55 connected and working. PQ is outstanding to say the least and sound is great. Only thing I find strange is in the Test Tones of the 55 I get a signal passing to each speaker but when I adjust the speaker volumes I don't hear any difference. I had to use a setup DVD and adjust my input levels from my Marantz in order to balance out the speaker levels. How in the heck do I know if Golden Compass is actually playing DTS-MA?
post #1035 of 1103
10/14/08 at 6:02pm
Where are the BD35's and BD55's built in?
post #1036 of 1103
10/14/08 at 6:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrentSP View Post

Only thing I find strange is in the Test Tones of the 55 I get a signal passing to each speaker but when I adjust the speaker volumes I don't hear any difference.

You have to save and exit. Then the difference is there. It's strange.

S!
post #1037 of 1103
10/14/08 at 6:17pm
I received the DMP-BD-55K from C.C. and I thought I would go over the video side of it for those that might be interested.. I can’t do the audio, my gear is another home down in Florida.

My Panny has a manufacture date of September 2008 and was made in China. The player itself looks Ok and is not all that impressive looking.. Smaller and lighter than I thought it would be, but a little larger than the up-converting DVD players that are being sold today. I’m not sure I like the inch long blue light in the middle of the player that illuminates when playing a disc, but the player is low enough in my cabinet that it does not bother me when watching a movie.

For those considering the Sony BDP-S550, the Panny remote is not backlit but does provide single frame advance (Pause, then slow search frame by frame).

The remote commands respond quickly.. Navigation through the setup menu functions are also quick and responsive. The remote buttons are not tiny and I would say they are of the perfect size. The disc tray can be opened or closed via the remote.

I thought the Operating Instructions manual was pretty well laid out and covered everything including audio, SD Card, DivX, MP3, JPEG, etc… A little note concerning the SD card.. You need an SDHC card if it’s 4GB to 32GB in size. The player can reformat the SD/SDHC card if you wish.

Having an Ethernet port to check for firmware upgrades is really nice and a time saver as well. My Panny checked and I did not require an update.

The BD-55K is connected to my Pioneer Kuro 5020FD via HDMI.

I watched five Blu-ray movies at the following setting.. 1080p, 24p, 36 bit. The movies along with their load times were;
Mummy – 35 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
The Mummy Returns – 34 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
Die Hard – 43 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
Die Hard with a Vengeance – 40 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
Night at the Museum – 18 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)

The playback of the Blu-Ray movies by the Panny was simply awesome… The detail and colors were fantastic. I noticed no smearing or bleeding.. The detail, the smallest of details is played back in such a way you feel you are right there in the movie.. The colors were spot on. As you probably have already assumed. I was very, very impressed.. The player provides adjustment for contrast, brightness, sharpness, color, gamma, 3D Noise Reduction and Integrated Noise Reduction.. I did not need to play with any of them or with any of the Pioneer settings. One very nice thing.. I experienced no playback issues whatsoever.. The Panny had no problems with any of the disc’s I played. There were no lock-up’s, lip sync issues or problems with skipping chapters or pause/play issues at all.

The Standard definition movies I watched were;
The Bourne Ultimatum – 19 seconds
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels – 18 seconds
Disney Pixar Cars – 20 seconds

The PQ / playback of the standard DVD’s is very important to me as I’m sure to many others as well. Let me start with that my cable provider here in Maine is Time Warner Cable… The Panny playback of SD disc’s exceeds the PQ of my non-high definition cable stations. The standard DVD PQ also exceeds my kids PS3 and a Pioneer DV-410V-K Upscaling DVD Player. Where I’m torn is if I think the standard disc PQ is better than my Pioneer BDP-05FD. At worse it may be a tie, but my wife and I are leaning towards the Panny right now.

I can’t tell you how happy I am that I have finally found a player that plays both Blu-ray and standard DVD’s to my high expectations and liking with no hassles. I was seriously considering buying a Denon or Oppo as my second player for our standard DVD’s… Not any more. Oh, the audio that is being pumped from the Panny to the Pioneer 5020 sounds pretty darn good too.
post #1038 of 1103
10/14/08 at 6:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wyliec2 View Post

BD 35 showed in stock this morning at CC - just ordered for 10/16 delivery.

Got my tracking number this afternoon for Thursday delivery! Cancelled my Amazon order (10/29 delivery).

Amazon is usually my 'go to' place for price and efficiency...not sure how they wound up ahead on order but so far behind on delivery here...!!!
post #1039 of 1103
10/14/08 at 6:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by teachsac View Post

You have to save and exit. Then the difference is there. It's strange.

S!

So its not real time? Just take a guess then save then go back into it to see if the levels match?
post #1040 of 1103
10/14/08 at 7:06pm
OK mine is on order and due to arrive Oct 16. Question about CC price policy. If the cost of the 35 goes down over the next 60 days, which it likely could with a holiday sale or something, shouldn't I get be able to get the credit? I paid $299, the current going price.
post #1041 of 1103
10/14/08 at 7:19pm
Quote:


I’m not sure I like the inch long blue light in the middle of the player that illuminates when playing a disc, but the player is low enough in my cabinet that it does not bother me when watching a movie.

It can't be turned off? It can on my BD10.
post #1042 of 1103
10/14/08 at 7:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sourbeef View Post

OK mine is on order and due to arrive Oct 16. Question about CC price policy. If the cost of the 35 goes down over the next 60 days, which it likely could with a holiday sale or something, shouldn't I get be able to get the credit? I paid $299, the current going price.

http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/cat/...d/lookLearn.do
post #1043 of 1103
10/14/08 at 7:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tacos and pizza View Post

I received the DMP-BD-55K from C.C. and I thought I would go over the video side of it for those that might be interested.. I can't do the audio, my gear is another home down in Florida.

My Panny has a manufacture date of September 2008 and was made in China. The player itself looks Ok and is not all that impressive looking.. Smaller and lighter than I thought it would be, but a little larger than the up-converting DVD players that are being sold today. I'm not sure I like the inch long blue light in the middle of the player that illuminates when playing a disc, but the player is low enough in my cabinet that it does not bother me when watching a movie.

For those considering the Sony BDP-S550, the Panny remote is not backlit but does provide single frame advance (Pause, then slow search frame by frame).

The remote commands respond quickly.. Navigation through the setup menu functions are also quick and responsive. The remote buttons are not tiny and I would say they are of the perfect size. The disc tray can be opened or closed via the remote.

I thought the Operating Instructions manual was pretty well laid out and covered everything including audio, SD Card, DivX, MP3, JPEG, etc A little note concerning the SD card.. You need an SDHC card if it's 4GB to 32GB in size. The player can reformat the SD/SDHC card if you wish.

Having an Ethernet port to check for firmware upgrades is really nice and a time saver as well. My Panny checked and I did not require an update.

The BD-55K is connected to my Pioneer Kuro 5020FD via HDMI.

I watched five Blu-ray movies at the following setting.. 1080p, 24p, 36 bit. The movies along with their load times were;
Mummy - 35 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
The Mummy Returns - 34 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
Die Hard - 43 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
Die Hard with a Vengeance - 40 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
Night at the Museum - 18 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)

The playback of the Blu-Ray movies by the Panny was simply awesome The detail and colors were fantastic. I noticed no smearing or bleeding.. The detail, the smallest of details is played back in such a way you feel you are right there in the movie.. The colors were spot on. As you probably have already assumed. I was very, very impressed.. The player provides adjustment for contrast, brightness, sharpness, color, gamma, 3D Noise Reduction and Integrated Noise Reduction.. I did not need to play with any of them or with any of the Pioneer settings. One very nice thing.. I experienced no playback issues whatsoever.. The Panny had no problems with any of the disc's I played. There were no lock-up's, lip sync issues or problems with skipping chapters or pause/play issues at all.

The Standard definition movies I watched were;
The Bourne Ultimatum - 19 seconds
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - 18 seconds
Disney Pixar Cars - 20 seconds

The PQ / playback of the standard DVD's is very important to me as I'm sure to many others as well. Let me start with that my cable provider here in Maine is Time Warner Cable The Panny playback of SD disc's exceeds the PQ of my non-high definition cable stations. The standard DVD PQ also exceeds my kids PS3 and a Pioneer DV-410V-K Upscaling DVD Player. Where I'm torn is if I think the standard disc PQ is better than my Pioneer BDP-05FD. At worse it may be a tie, but my wife and I are leaning towards the Panny right now.

I can't tell you how happy I am that I have finally found a player that plays both Blu-ray and standard DVD's to my high expectations and liking with no hassles. I was seriously considering buying a Denon or Oppo as my second player for our standard DVD's Not any more. Oh, the audio that is being pumped from the Panny to the Pioneer 5020 sounds pretty darn good too.

Excellent work/review! Were you enabling the Deep color option with your Pio 05? Did it appear different than sending normal 4:2:2 re banding reduction? If so, did the Panny yield a similar effect?
post #1044 of 1103
10/14/08 at 7:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Majestyk View Post

It can't be turned off? It can on my BD10.


It can on the 50 as well.
post #1045 of 1103
10/14/08 at 7:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Majestyk View Post

It can't be turned off? It can on my BD10.

You can turn off the light and dim the display
post #1046 of 1103
10/14/08 at 7:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tacos and pizza View Post

I received the DMP-BD-55K from C.C. and I thought I would go over the video side of it for those that might be interested.. I can't do the audio, my gear is another home down in Florida.

My Panny has a manufacture date of September 2008 and was made in China. The player itself looks Ok and is not all that impressive looking.. Smaller and lighter than I thought it would be, but a little larger than the up-converting DVD players that are being sold today. I'm not sure I like the inch long blue light in the middle of the player that illuminates when playing a disc, but the player is low enough in my cabinet that it does not bother me when watching a movie.

For those considering the Sony BDP-S550, the Panny remote is not backlit but does provide single frame advance (Pause, then slow search frame by frame).

The remote commands respond quickly.. Navigation through the setup menu functions are also quick and responsive. The remote buttons are not tiny and I would say they are of the perfect size. The disc tray can be opened or closed via the remote.

I thought the Operating Instructions manual was pretty well laid out and covered everything including audio, SD Card, DivX, MP3, JPEG, etc A little note concerning the SD card.. You need an SDHC card if it's 4GB to 32GB in size. The player can reformat the SD/SDHC card if you wish.

Having an Ethernet port to check for firmware upgrades is really nice and a time saver as well. My Panny checked and I did not require an update.

The BD-55K is connected to my Pioneer Kuro 5020FD via HDMI.

I watched five Blu-ray movies at the following setting.. 1080p, 24p, 36 bit. The movies along with their load times were;
Mummy - 35 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
The Mummy Returns - 34 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
Die Hard - 43 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
Die Hard with a Vengeance - 40 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)
Night at the Museum - 18 seconds (from close tray via remote to the start of the movie menu)

The playback of the Blu-Ray movies by the Panny was simply awesome The detail and colors were fantastic. I noticed no smearing or bleeding.. The detail, the smallest of details is played back in such a way you feel you are right there in the movie.. The colors were spot on. As you probably have already assumed. I was very, very impressed.. The player provides adjustment for contrast, brightness, sharpness, color, gamma, 3D Noise Reduction and Integrated Noise Reduction.. I did not need to play with any of them or with any of the Pioneer settings. One very nice thing.. I experienced no playback issues whatsoever.. The Panny had no problems with any of the disc's I played. There were no lock-up's, lip sync issues or problems with skipping chapters or pause/play issues at all.

The Standard definition movies I watched were;
The Bourne Ultimatum - 19 seconds
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - 18 seconds
Disney Pixar Cars - 20 seconds

The PQ / playback of the standard DVD's is very important to me as I'm sure to many others as well. Let me start with that my cable provider here in Maine is Time Warner Cable The Panny playback of SD disc's exceeds the PQ of my non-high definition cable stations. The standard DVD PQ also exceeds my kids PS3 and a Pioneer DV-410V-K Upscaling DVD Player. Where I'm torn is if I think the standard disc PQ is better than my Pioneer BDP-05FD. At worse it may be a tie, but my wife and I are leaning towards the Panny right now.

I can't tell you how happy I am that I have finally found a player that plays both Blu-ray and standard DVD's to my high expectations and liking with no hassles. I was seriously considering buying a Denon or Oppo as my second player for our standard DVD's Not any more. Oh, the audio that is being pumped from the Panny to the Pioneer 5020 sounds pretty darn good too.

Nice review T&P. I have the BD50 which I love, and I'm fighting the temptation to pull the trigger on the 55, thinking that I won't see much difference, but reading the reviews on this player is making the battle harder and harder.
post #1047 of 1103
10/14/08 at 9:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by oink View Post

Gonna wait or jump?

I noticed my Amazon order has a DELIVERY date of Nov. 5.
Too long.
Ordered from CC, will be here Thursday.
post #1048 of 1103
10/15/08 at 5:30am
T&P Thanks for the review. Since you have the manual can you please describe the output resolution options over component for both SD DVD and BR? My hope is the player upscales (uprotected) SD DVD to at least 1080i over component. Any other comments on the AD performance?

Thanks,
post #1049 of 1103
10/15/08 at 5:41am
Figured out the speaker level setup finally.......thats pretty strange but it worked. I had forgot that one of the reviews I read of the 55 mentioned the strange way that you have to set levels.

Anyway this is my first blu-ray player so I'm not one to really listen to for a review since I don't have anything to compare it to other than a Marantz DV6600 DVD player connected via component video

I have a LG Scarlet 47LG60 and I can't get over how good the PQ on blu-ray and SD DVD looks. My SD DVDs have never looked better......truly amazing! Colors are so rich and deep with remarkable detail and texture.....I'm on cloud 9!

I'm more of a Audio guy and have been for years and this is my first experience with the new surround formats. Very nice indeed. I'm using a Marantz AV8500 connected via analog inputs, so basically my receiver is acting as a 125 watt per channel amp and volume control. TruHD and MA formats basically sound like the normal DDex and DTSes formats but bigger, clearer and with more surround information. Theres more of a difference in picture that sound IMO. Dynamics are through the roof. It makes it very difficult to watch for late night viewing if you don't use the dynamic compression settings.

It was either the Sony S550 or the Panasonic 55 and I'd probably been happy with either but the up and down roller coaster and inconsistent reports of the S550 gave me the clear winner to go with.

Brent
post #1050 of 1103
10/15/08 at 6:36am
Just wondering if anyone has tried the 55 at 1080p/60 rather than 24 and if it is acceptable/good/bad as some players don't do well with 60..... I have an XBR3 that will only do 60..... Thanks!

G
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