Official Panasonic DMP-BD60/80 Owners Thread - Page 11

I plan on getting the BD80 as my receiver does not have HDMI.

Anyone have a neat solution to connecting all those audio cables from the player to the receiver ? It's going to be a mess connecting 8 cables.

I just filed a support inquiry with Panasonic on the DVD layer change pause and improper 4:3 display handling to see what they come back with. I'm really hoping these are fixable with a firmware update (although I'm not holding my breath.)

I was planning this same thing until I learned how difficult it can be to properly set up analog connections even with bass mgmt and delay settings in the player. Bass mgmt here is less than optimal (IMO) with a 100Hz rolloff. There are also LFE level issues using the analog connections that need to be accounted for in the receiver so setting the proper LFE level can be a challenge. I decided I could live with the full rate core DD/DTS (640k/1.5M respectively) until I upgrade my receiver to one with HDMI capability in a few more years. I can tell you from experience these core tracks are far superior to the bitrate limited ones offered on DVDs today (448k/768k respectively.) Direct impression from my screening of MIB alone (640k DD) was that the sound was vastly superior to anything on DVD. Also, there have been comments by many that the HD "lossless" soundtracks aren't all that much better in many cases, its really dependent on the mastering which can vary widely from title to title just as with video quality.

Has anyone tested any Blu-ray backups (BD-R) in this machine?

1:1 backups (AnyDVD HD + IMGBurn) play flawlessly for me.

The movies I converted from HD-DVD to Blu-ray with Clown BD, however, don't play in the BD-60 (they just spend 2 minutes trying to load, and you have to hold the power button on the unit until power goes out, then restart it and eject the disc immediately).

Which may seem like an unreasonable complaint. However, those same movies load quickly and play flawlessly (fast-forwarding, rewinding, and chapter changes can be choppy, however) in my BD-30. Firmware is the latest 1.5. I wasn't expecting a downgrade.

Otherwise, nice playback, good DVD upconversion, and much sleeker design than the clunky BD-30.

what about the "improved audio capability" of the 80 that I've heard about, like in the bigpicturebigsound review, that talks about being able to turn off the analog sound processing which "improves the audio"? Does anyone know if there's really anything to that?

I'm also trying to decide between a 60 and an 80...(also considering the samsung 3600 because of the better load times...)

Careful with this!! I used to do that too, load the disc and get back to it later...but then I got screwed by I Am Legend...I loaded it, came back later, it was on the menu, so started playing the movie. Then, at the end of the movie when I played around the menu a little, I found out we had just watched the theatrical version - instead of the unrated version!!! They had a selection choice at load time, apparently, and it apparently defaulted to theatrical version! I was quite perturbed by that...so now I'm forced to watch these d*mn things load (on my sony bdps1, SLOW!) so that never happens again!

why the h*ll would they have a timeout on a selection like that, anyway??!? grumble...

Five years ago the only people who needed analog inputs were those with SACD or DVD-Audio players - a pretty tiny group. Movies were limited to DVD, which doesn't support high res audio. HDMI and lossless movie audio on BD and HD-DVD have developed together in the last few years.


Yeah, that's a problem. I have a $25 switch to share my analog inputs.


Yes, that's better. But, to me, it's not $1,500 better. I'll deal with the extra cables until I have other reasons to upgrade my receiver.


Why?

It's great you have an approach that works for you and your budget. But, you don't seem to understand that it's not necessarily the best current approach for everyone else.

hi Everyone,

just wondering what the difference is between the DMP-BD60K and the DMP-BD80K? From what I can tell the only difference is Divx and 7.1 Analog but is there and PQ or performance differences?

I ask becuase I have a PS3 for my divx's and have a HD format compatable reciever so I want to bitstream TruHd and DTSHD but dont want to loose out on Quality.

Any confirmations would be great.
Thanks Terry
P.S. Anyone from toronto found these players yet and what is the cdn retail on these units.

No. I don't. Please explain.

Just ordered a new Panny DMP-BD80k today from Amazon.
Looking forward to running the new Panny through it's paces.
Making the switch from Sony to Panasonic.

I'm sorry about that.

Terry
I spoke to Kromer on Bathurst St they expect the BD 80 about Mid April with a hefty price increase at 549. They will discount the man. suggested price somewhat. They blame the poor Canadian dollar for the increase in price. At that price they do not seem competative with the current sony BD550.

On checking Amazon.com the pannasonic BD 60 was 499 but I have read reviews they seem to be available at 299 in Best Buy USA

I have a DENON AVR 5700 and love the performance. I also have the SONY VPL VW100 (Ruby) for my projector. Money is tight and I need practical advice on a BLUE upgrade.

If my only concern is blue ray video and HD MA sound, I think the BD 80 will do the job. I have TIVO for all the streaming I need and I only have a few DVD Audio discs. I can watch standard DVD's with my Toshiba XA2 so I get the REON chip benefit.

I can buy the BD 80 at Amazon for less than $300 because I still have the $50 credit they gave purchasers of the Toshiba HD format. The OPPO is going to go for $500 or $600. Seems like a lot more all things considered.

Any thoughts would be welcomed---will I have buyers remorse in 30 days??

I would go for it- I assume you have 5.1 analog inputs on the Denon?

I have been using a Panasonic BD60 and have been impressed with it. The blu-ray PQ is top notch and the sd-dvd upcoversion is very good. From what my eye's have seen so far I would rate the upconversion up their with my LG BH200 that uses the Qdeo chip.

However, since you already have a good upconversion dvd player, you can really save more money if you don't care about TrueHD/DTS-HD MA. The new LG 370 and Samsung 1600 can take TrueHD and recode it to high bitrate DTS. These players will let you listen to all the advanced audio at 1.5mbps DTS- which sounds really good.

If you are set on the advanced audio I would definately go with the Panasonic BD80.

So, I have my BD60 connected to my Panasoinc 46PZ850U plasma via an HDMI 1.3 cable. So far, I'm quite impressed with the performance of the BD60 and the quality of Blu-rays.

My one question, as silly as it may sound, is I do not remember SD-DVDs looking this horrible when I had an upconverting Denon DVD player connected via component to a Sony widescreen CRT. Am I doing something wrong, or were SD-DVDs simply that bad? I especially notice it when comparing the SD-DVD and Blu-ray version of the same movie.

Generally yes when viewing on an HDTV,rent The Dark Knight because the difference is night and day.

If you have a non HDMI AVR then get the BD80 but if you have a HDMI AVR then save your money and get a BD60.
As for the OPPO 83 I think it's overpriced(when it ever gets released) unless you listen to SACD/DVD-Audio.You can get an OPPO 980 for $169USD that also plays DVD-Audio.

Upconverted dvd is obviously not as good as BD, but I don't find it horrible, e.g., from my Sammy 1200 to a RS20 projector onto a 126"diag screen.

Upconversion of dvd is the only issue that makes me hesitate about getting a BD60 (or 70--I really would like to have the VHS capability!). So I am truly interested in hearing more reports about how the BD60 performs in this role. Various reports say that it is noticeably inferior to the Oppo's best upconverting units; is this universally agreed upon?

Both Panasonics are highly recommended and I agree about the about the Oppo being overpriced with a dead (dvd-audio) or about to be dead (sacd) music audio formats.

I've watched 4-5 DVDs, both live action and CGI animated, in their entirety on my BD60 using an RS1x at 104" (16:9) and I don't find it to be bad. I was using a Toshiba XD-E500 for the last 8 months until it died, and while not as sharp as the XDE, I thought the live action stuff still looked great (for DVD) and the CGI stuff even better. (Using both players at 1080/24p.) DVD has it limitations from a pure resolution standpoint, so there's just no getting around that. The XDE, as effective as it was with the display sharpness properly calibrated, still couldn't increase perceived resolution, just perceived sharpness and this would become painfully obvious from time to time. I think the Panasonics of late have been more reputed to have very good SD upconversion compared with most other BD players and that's why I bought one. There are sharper DVD upconverters like the Pioneer BD51, but I wanted the 24p option for DVD as well as BD and that unit only offers 60p playback for DVD so I was willing to give up some SD PQ. I find 24p much more important to my overall movie viewing experience, especially at my large screen size and viewing distance (I'm only 12' from the screen so at the THX rec'd 36 degree viewing angle.) There's nothing like a nice smoooooooooth pan at 24p on a big screen to really suck you in to the experience!

Everyone seems to agree that the Oppos are excellent upconverters, but there's no way I was investing in another DVD-only player after the XDE. I'm perfectly happy with the BD60 thus far for SD DVD, and I have no plans to upgrade most of DVDs, only a select few and I will probably do that over the course of several years (starting with POTC trilogy as soon as I can find someone local to buy my DVDs to justify the upgrade with my better half.)

Doug, Thanks for the report; very useful. I could, of course, keep my Sammy 1200 and use it only for dvd, and get a BD60 for BD. I could then compare the BD60 with the 1200 for dvd to see if I find the BD60 as good, or good enough.

Of course I don't relish having to have 2 players, and in fact can use the 1200 in another room if the BD60 is satisfactory for dvd.

If you need all the formats that the Oppo support then it is a bargain. If your only criteria is blu-ray and possibly dvd playback then I would go for the Panasonic DMP-BD80. Also, if you don't require the multi-channl analog and then I would even consider the DMP-BD60.

Willie

lol

lol. I take it you are no longer interested in the Oppo. If you have no use for the dead and about to be dead formats then there are other options. If your ONLY requirement is blu-ray and dvd playback then I wouldn’t consider the Oppo. The 2 new Panasonic players are amongst those options and either would serve you well. However, if you require the dead and about to be dead formats as well as the fantastic blu-ray and excellent dvd playback among other things, then the Oppo would be a no brainer. The Oppo is a universal player and the only other option for a universal player would be the Denon DVD-A1UDCI, which is approximately $4K. If a forum member poses a question between the Oppo and the Panasonic players then we should see what their needs are. To arbitrarily say that an item is overpriced doesn't help the forum member. Also, what is your basis and anyone elses basis for saying an item is overpriced, especially since you have no experience with the item. I'm searching for another player and that is why I visit this thread. If history means anything then the Panny’s should be fantastic players. I’m just waiting for a few more people to chime in.

Hi Kage,
I have followed your excellent, educated and informative posts on the BD35/55 forum. I must though take exception to this post.
I had the Panny BD55 for 5 months and I was then selected to the Oppo EAP 50.
I only use it for BR and DVD playback and I will tell you the extra $100 or so is well worth it.
It is much faster, better user interface, much better bass management, crossover at 80 Hz (recommended for my system by SVS) on the fly menu changes, Neat Demo mode to make pic adjustments, far superior Multi analog outs at least for my system, and great support where you are a person not a number.
I loved the Panny, I truly did, but the Oppo really blows it away. The old saying holds true here "You get what you pay for".

Since the Amazon third party retailer was located only 70 miles from me (unkown to me when I ordered) my 3-5 day standard shipping only took 2 days. Instead of waiting until next for it to arrive week I'm now the proud owner of a BD80 this week.

My only other HD optical media experience is from my HD-DVD drive for my Xbox 360. My TV is a 52" 120hz Samsung LCD (LNT5271F). My initial impressions of the Panasonic...

1) I love the 1080p24. No more judder even with standard DVDs.

2) Upconversion seems good enough for me.

3) No hassle set up with my older D-link wireless router which is located very near my TV stand so it was basicly plug and play.

4) Firmware upgrade from 1.1 to 1.5 took about 10 minutes. I haven't tried BD Live yet.

5) Command response from the remote is a tad on the slow side. I can live with it.

I'll eventually get around to playing with the VieraCast and see how that is. I went with the BD80 for the analog outs so someday I'll have to fiddle with setting that up but for now I'm using the digital coax.

I'm going back to play with it some more. I love new toys.

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I didn't see a definitive answer in the few pages I read. What exactly did Panasonic change from the bd-35/55? Is it basically the same player with Viera Cast added?

Just curious because I have a 35 and saw the 60 at BB the other day and it looked about the same.

Basically yes with internet capabilities, check out CNET review of the BD60: