Official Panasonic DMP-BD60/80 Owners Thread - Page 10

Just use user mode and make the adjustments. With the preset pq settings, I feel that they make pq worse.

Kage-

Without perusing back through your posts, would you mind commenting on your move from the Pio51fd (which I currently have) to the BD60 (which I'm considering for our bedroom system)? How did/do you have the players and what differences would you comment on between the two units?

Thanks,

Jason

60 and 80--I want to see the BD70V (though it seems like I'm the only person on the planet so interested!)

Has anyone compared the upscaling capabilities of Panasonic DMP-BD80 with some of the better upscaling DVD players (with or without the Reon HQV chipsets). Samsung 2500/2550 has got Reon HQV chipset and it offers very good upscaling of SD-DVD. Pioneers 51FD also offers excellent upscaling capabilities (though it does not have Reon HQV).

Recently I bought a Samsung 2500. Though I liked the upscaling capabilities, it is having some issues (some discs won't play etc.). I am wondering whether Panny DB80 offer better upscaling capabilities than Samsung or Pioneer.

I believe Blu-Ray playback will be the same as every other decent player, so I am not that much concerned about that.

-iKNOWN

I haven't seen my lingering questions answered here or elsewhere on the internet, so here goes:

1) What are the real (practical) differences between the BD-60 and BD-80? Other than the 60 being slimmer (good for my set up) and the 80 having 7.1 analog capabilities (don't need), I can't discern any. I know with the BD-35/55, Pansonic claimed that the 55 had better internal components and was "audiophile-grade". I don't know if that justified the $100 price difference or not, but at least there was a claim of performance differential. How about between the 60 and 80? On paper, it looks like the 60 is a better value.

2) This will be my first Blu Ray. My Oppo 980-H will move to the basement to replace a 1997 Panny DVD player. How does the BD-60/80 compare to the Oppo in terms of upconversion with DVD? Will I sacrifice DVD playback in my attempt to upgrade to Blu Ray with this choice of models?

3) Has anyone compared these Pannys to the new Samsung BD-P3600? If so, what are your thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

The 80 plays divx.. the 60 doesn't.

Not sure where you got that information on the difference between BD-35 and 55, but it's not entirely true. You're kinda half-right. Panasonic never claimed the 55 had 'better' internal components per se... and never referred to it as 'audiophile-grade'. Please, you cause confusion when you state facts in that manner.

Some might consider 7.1 analog inputs and the extra board to handle those inputs as 'more' internal components. And if you're the type that considers analog inputs as being superior to HDMI input, THEN you might say the internal components are better. But if you never use analog inputs, then that difference is moot and the remainder of the internal components are same. A minor but critical distinction.

And they referred to the larger plastic feet as 'audiophile-grade' -- not the unit itself. Other than those two items, the audio capabilities are same. I would imagine same goes for the 60 and 80.

I just pulled the trigger on the DMP-BD80 for a good price. Now I just have to wait until Monday for it to arrive.

I don't want to give up my current non-hdmi receiver yet so eventually I'll get around to playing with the analog outs.

OH...MY...GAWD....you've got to be kidding...like the previous poster said, I can't BELIEVE they haven't overcome the layer change pause yet!! This is the one reason I have not gotten rid of my Denon 5900 - I've never experienced a layer change pause on it!

I also have the Toshiba xa2, which supposedly has the best sd dvd processing - and in fact we did see a small difference in an a/b comparison with the 5900 - but it had a layer change pause also!! That takes me out of the movie enough that the slight improvement in video just wasn't worth it to me.

I was really looking forward to 24p on sd dvd (don't have a bd60 or bd80 yet, but probably soon), and I'll certainly still check it out, but that pause gives me pause... guess I'll still be hanging on to the 5900! It'll have to be a big difference in PQ to make a permanent switch.

Disgusting. I guess they're concentrating on bd, and that's fine, but if they're pushing backward compatibility, you'd think they could at least spend the trivial amount it would take to buffer the video stream...

While I'm ranting, let me add that I wish someone would make a player that would forego all this bd-java crap, so we could get load times comparable to dvd! Some of us just want to watch the movie and couldn't care less about all these stupid "extras" they're trying to foist on us!! Minimally - couldn't they wait to load the java junk until you actually try to access a "feature" that needs it??

Okay, whatever. Sorry for the rant...

I cannot speak to the sd upscaling abilities of the 60/80, but can the 35/55 (which I understand to be identical). I compared my 55K to both my samsung 2500, my pioneer 51, and the new oppo. Yes, I understand my addiction. Oppo was the clear winner by some bit. The Pioneer and Samsung are both very good - Pioneer offered smoother motion, the reon better detail in my humble opinion. My Panasonic 55 was good 80 to 90% of the time, but would introduce jaggies quite frequently.

Not to sound like the koolaid drinking club on the oppo, but it is damn good and damn quick. The Panasonic is a terrific player and frequently recommend it to friends.

Any one perform a side by side to determine if dvd upscaling and BD PQ are identical as suggested?

I dunno guys, I have watched several DVD's on my BD60 and have not noticed any weird pauses or anything like that so far, at least not like my POS LG DVD player had problems with.

I can confirm that the BD60 does not play DivX. Another disappointer is that it will not play video CD's, which my old LG player will play.

I haven't heard anyone make that claim. The post above yours seemed to indicate the the 35/55 upscaling capabilities are identical to the 60/80, not that the PQ is identical to BRD's.

Indeed, I don't think that would be possible at all, since the upscaling player is creating information that wasn't previously there - like when you enlarge a photo image by some amount, the program has to interpolate and insert pixels that were not there before.

From what I have read, a good upscaling player can come close to BRD PQ, but not identical. If it was, there would be no market for BRD whatsoever.

Think you misread my email or my email was unclear.

There is a HUGE difference between BD and SD DVD PQ, even when SD DVD is upscaled to 1080P.

I have heard that the video chip in the 35/55 is the same as the 60/80. Any one done a side by side of both and confirmed the video performance is identical?

Spent some time playing with the BD60 this morning. 1080i mode over component for BD looks as good on my Elite RPTV as any other HD source I have. Also, the player is smart enough to automatically switch the component outputs to 480p mode when a copyrighted DVD is played. This is nice except that the player's 4:3 pillar-box treatment in 16:9 display mode doesn't work. I need this since my Elite RPTV is old enough that is one of the ones that locks into full 16:9 mode for anything other than 480i.

I tried multiple 4:3 encoded discs and even checked them with IFOedit to ensure they were flagged properly as 4:3 and they were, but no "centered 4:3" as the manual states. Tried display modes "16:9" and "16:9 Full" and no difference. Also pulled up the aspect control thru the submenu and again "normal" and "sidecut" produced an identical result (stetched 4:3) while zoom did zoom the picture. Hopefully this is just a firmware bug that can be addressed in a future release. Hopefully this isn't something that only applies to BDs which would make it fairly useless IMO.

I think Oppo is the king of upscaling.

I just got the 60, and the BD play is superb. Equal to the new Oppo.

If you aren't a BD player addict, but want better upscaling, I think you could probably buy a BD60 plus the 980 or 981 for less than you'd spend on the BDP83.

Were they SD, HD, or both?

I was referring to DVD movies, which are of course only SD.

Is anyone replacing their PS3 in their system with the BD60 or 80? Just wondering if anyone has compared them and has an opinion. Trying to decide myself. I bought the BD-60, but haven't taken it out of the box yet because I can't decide whether to put it in my main system to replace the PS3, or put it in the second system in the family room.

slowmo44, i did just that - got my bd60 yesterday, hooked it up, and love it.

i've had the ps3 for about a month, loved the picture and quick disc startup, but did NOT like the fan noise (which you could definitely hear during quiet movie scenes), poor integration with my universal remote (could not turn off/on remotely, even with the NYKO ps3 usb ir to radio remote). since i don't really game anymore (my old ps2 has been gathering dust for years now), these little annoyances became well, really annoying.

now the bd60 - i didn't have them hooked up at the same time, but i think the bd60 has a noticeably better picture and even better sound (maybe the audio part is in my head but i'd like to think i can tell - i've got some revealing b&w speakers and audio kit). also love the user customizable picture settings - they're simple, just contrast, brightness, etc, but i find they really make a difference (my panny 58" tv in thx mode is calibrated, but i sometimes find it too dark - a couple of ticks on the bd60 menu's contrast really brings out the darker shade details without any black crush). someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i never saw anything on the ps3 that let me change picture settings like that. if only my cable box let me do the same...

anyway, the only con with the bd60 is the slow startup for playing discs, but i usually start one up, flip back to watching tv and then flip back to find the bd menu up and ready. really it's not unbearably long. the other prob is slow response to remote commands, for instance pressing fast forward on the remote will take a couple of secs to actually execute. annoying, but certainly not as annoying as fan noise. to me anyway :-)

hope this helps. sold my ps3!

hank

You cost me money I could not pass that up, the bad is the shipping cost, they wanted $112 for two day shipping & $149 for 1 day shipping.... so picked the $19 3-5 day shipping.
I hope this last longer then my Samsuck bd1200.

I am in the market for a new Blu-ray player and have narrowed my choices down to the Panasonic BD-80 or the Sony PS3.

The BD-80 sounds like the superior 'movie experience', but the PS3 can play video games in HD.

Is there anything else the PS3 can do besides movies and games? Can i surf the internet on it? Can i shop Amazon on it? Visit any website? What else can it do?

Thanks for any helpful posts!

Oh yes! The PS3 does have an Internet browser (nothing great, but you can surf w/it); you can optionally attach a USB keyboard. It can stream movies & other media files in your home network. The PS3MediaServer tool lets you stream just about any video file. You can also use the PlayOn software on your computer to stream Hulu & Netflix to the PS3.

I too get annoyed by the PS3 not using an IR remote, and yes the Nyko doesn't give you full functionality. Fan noise isn't bad at all, in my case anyway. Disc load/play is quick. I hardly play games, but even w/the new crop of players, the PS3 seems like the best choice to me. Especially since the new players are pushing streaming & add-on media file features, which the PS3 has already been supporting and does so better. Plus, there is built-in storage for BD-Live, game downloads & movie files.

God,

We get that you’re powerful and all that stuff, so you don’t have to shout for us to understand you.



While I got you on the line; what the h*ll happened to that Red Ryder I asked for when I was 8 years old? Not cool, dude...not cool at all.

The 80 has a feature called "High Clarity Audio", which allegedly improves the audio by turning off the non-HDMI video outputs. This is mentioned in the most excellent review by Mr. Boylan. The manual says this featured on the on the 80, not the 60. I vaguely recall some discussion of the 55 having different DACs than the 35 for all channels, not just the surround ones. I'm not sure if this is true, but it may have contributed to the impression you got that the 55 has better audio.

I purchased my DMP-60 on Mon night and I'm very pleased with it. I had tried to get a DMP-35 when I purchased my Panasonic 58PZ-800U plasma set in February but they were out of stock everywhere. I am really happy with the BD playback. I've watched MI-3, Mummy 3 & Hulk in 1080p @24p with it and the colors are fantastic, blacks seem a bit inkier than my previous player. BD PiP worked great as well with no glitches on Mummy 3.

The SD-DVD playback in 24p works flawlessly on movie discs. I watched Moulin Rouge with the 24P setting turned on & it never skipped or came out of sync once. Fantastic imagery and with the amount of hyper movement in that film I thought for sure there would be frame stutters but it never occurred. I was VERY impressed with the playback on that title. Television DVD's seem to give it more of a problem. I am currently watching season 5 of X-Files so I popped it in and set it to 24p playback. For the most part it is fairly smooth but there was occasional jerkiness every now and then so I turned it off but movie discs are silky smooth. Dunno if there's a difference in TV discs vs movie discs.

Load times aren't too bad, your mileage will vary depending on title but it's fast enough for me. Like someone else said as long as it looks great! I figure I'll be keeping this player for some time. I know it's taking a hit in some reviews for not having Netflix, no wi-fi & it's slower than other players but damn if it doesn't make the most out of picture quality. I've owned several players but I feel like I have finally found the one that covers all the bases for me. Those being exceptional picture quality with reliability, and great DVD upconverting with 24p playback.

TV is 30fps and film is 24fps.

MrTaxMan:

Thank you for the response. If I read it correctly, any benefit would be limited to the 7.1 analog output only.

You seem to take some exception to the way I worded that particular question, so please allow me to explain myself. I'll try not to get too defensive.

I was simply trying to summarize the many articles that I've seen comparing the BD-55 to the BD-35 in an attempt to determine if that concept could be extrapolated to a comparison of the BD-60 and BD-80. As such, I paraphrased some general qualitative concepts. I apologize if I was not 100% techically accurate.

I did a quick internet search and derived my question from the following comparisson of the BD-55 to the BD-35:

"The Panasonic BD55 goes a step further with a high-end audio design and components. Thanks to a 192kHz 24bit audio digital-analog converter and high quality insulators, electrolytic capacitors, copper-foil film capacitors and ultra-low-impedance electrolytic capacitors, the DMP-BD55 delivers the same kind of exciting surround effect and lifelike ambience as today's finest cinemas. The DMP-BD55 can also output analog signals for 7.1-channel sound, so even receivers that are not compatible with HDMI can produce the newest 7.1-channel surround sound by simply connecting to the DMP-BD55.

The source of that quote is the product description on Amazon.com, which I believed to have been taken directly from Panasonic's press release. I've seen the exact same language used on a number of other websites.

The link to the above quote is:

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-.../dp/B001GAOYCI

OK, I'm guilty of paraphrasing "high-end audio" as "audiophile-grade", but I did put it is quotation marks. For simplicity's sake, I also condensed " . . . a 192kHz 24bit audio digital-analog converter and high quality insulators, electrolytic capacitors, copper-foil film capacitors and ultra-low-impedance electrolytic capacitors, . . .". I'm sorry if I over simplified in referrring to them as "internal componsnts.

Please believe me, I'm here on the forum to learn and get some answers. You are right that bad information can cause confusion. I think most manufacturers do a pretty good job at that. It is never my intent to cause confusion to others when seeking clarity for myself.

Again, I thank appreciate your response as well as the several other members who have chimed in as well. I continue to look forward to other input and opinions.

Thanks

I think all this is a moot point when you use HDMI. If you have an HDMI AVR, 35 or 60 is all you needed. A better DAC, or turning off analog video output, won't improve HDMI sound quality. Not to mention 35/60 only have two channel L/R analog out. On the other hand, if you have to use 7.1 analog, 55/80 is your choice. 35/60 won't be useful in this situation.

Regardless how good these DAC are, any AVR can easily beat the player's DAC and poor speaker management. If you're going to use analog 5.1/7.1, you will be stuck with player's DAC, speaker settings, time delay and bass management.