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Panasonic BD70V -- VHS and Blu-ray!

post #1 of 91
5/6/09 at 6:42pm
Thread Starter 
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.
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post #2 of 91
5/6/09 at 6:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by obiwanfong View Post

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/
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post #3 of 91
5/6/09 at 7:03pm
Dam no atsc tuners, no BD-R/RW drive
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post #4 of 91
5/7/09 at 11:04am
Surely that is absolute blasphemy!
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post #5 of 91
5/13/09 at 7:45am
That's an odd combo. Can't see it being that popular and for the price you could probably buy a standalone Blu-ray player and a VCR and have the option of keeping them in separate rooms (possibly at some point in the future).
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post #6 of 91
5/25/09 at 6:23am
Not so if you was wanting to play your many VHS tapes at better picture quality.
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post #7 of 91
5/27/09 at 10:05am
Thread Starter 
Looks like it's leaking out... (http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-.../dp/B001VZ1W5U)

Anyone get their hands on one yet?
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post #8 of 91
5/27/09 at 4:40pm
When are the SACD/8-Track players coming?
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post #9 of 91
5/30/09 at 8:53pm
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.
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post #10 of 91
5/31/09 at 12:08pm
I'm a little confused. NO TV tuner or has TV tuner and its not digital?
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post #11 of 91
5/31/09 at 12:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmiddleton4 View Post

I'm a little confused. NO TV tuner or has TV tuner and its not digital?

No tuner because it's only a player.
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post #12 of 91
6/3/09 at 6:04am
I was in Sears yesterday and noticed they had a Panasonic DMP-BD70 on display. Has anyone tried this unit out yet? I am curious how the VHS upscaling looks.
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post #13 of 91
6/3/09 at 6:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Majestyk View Post

When are the SACD/8-Track players coming?

Not soon enough!

You would be surprised at the number of people who still use VHS. I have not had one since the late 90s but it seems most people I know still have at least occasional use for one.
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post #14 of 91
6/3/09 at 8:37am
"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.
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post #15 of 91
6/3/09 at 8:49am
good review:
"the VHS video looked crappy compared to a 1080p disc"
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post #16 of 91
6/3/09 at 11:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SugarBowl View Post

good review:
"the VHS video looked crappy compared to a 1080p disc"

I"m not surprised it looks like crap compared to 1080p HD but how does it look compared to SD TV broadcast on a large screen TV?
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post #17 of 91
9/10/09 at 12:59pm
sooooooooo should I buy this?
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post #18 of 91
9/16/09 at 6:01pm
Does the Panasonic DMP-BD70 BD/VHS combo have a firmware update yet?

thanks...
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post #19 of 91
12/5/09 at 1:04pm
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~
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post #20 of 91
12/5/09 at 1:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kinless View Post

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.
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post #21 of 91
12/9/09 at 11:50am
Kinless,
Thanks for the info. Need to get one for my mum and dad too. Seems a good route to go.
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post #22 of 91
12/30/09 at 5:11am
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
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post #23 of 91
12/30/09 at 7:01am
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?
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post #24 of 91
12/30/09 at 8:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BFI6603 View Post

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.
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post #25 of 91
12/30/09 at 5:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BFI6603 View Post

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.
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post #26 of 91
1/7/10 at 6:23am
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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post #27 of 91
1/7/10 at 6:45am
Gar, thanks for the great reply. If I could just bother you with a few more questions.

1. You say no analog out on this unit? Do you mean no red and white RCA ports? If this is so, how were you getting audio without using the HDMI cable?

2. How was the image via the component connection(bluray/dvd)? I ask because my projector doesn't have a HDMI or DVI port and I have to utililize the component/VGA connection for HD content.

3. Lastly, and people seem to hate when i ask this question, does it play (S)VCDS? I always like a unit that gives me a lot of options and i still have a lot of movies (about 60) on original VCD.

Thanks for your help.

Jeff
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post #28 of 91
1/7/10 at 8:37am
Quote:


1. You say no analog out on this unit? Do you mean no red and white RCA ports? If this is so, how were you getting audio without using the HDMI cable?

No, it has analog stereo audio out as well as digital optical and HDMI, just not analog 5.1/7.1 out. My Panasonic receiver does not feature HDMI so I rely on analog 5.1 for lossless audio from my HD-XA1. The only way to get lossless audio from the DMP-BD70V is via HDMI. If you don't care about lossless audio, don't worry about a thing

Quote:


2. How was the image via the component connection(bluray/dvd)? I ask because my projector doesn't have a HDMI or DVI port and I have to utililize the component/VGA connection for HD content.

After calibrating via Digital Video Essentials, Blu-rays looked great via 720p. Outside of DVE, I didn't view any DVD via component due to being forced to at 480p. After the HDMI cable arrived, I was quite surprised at just how great DVDs did look as compared to the job my HD-XA1 does. I assume for you and your needs, Blu-rays will look great (720p or 1080i/p, whichever your projector does) and DVDs at 480p will look pretty darn good, too.

Quote:


3. Lastly, and people seem to hate when i ask this question, does it play (S)VCDS? I always like a unit that gives me a lot of options and i still have a lot of movies (about 60) on original VCD.

I do have five or six VCDs; however, the one I tried to play in the player did not work. Every disc-based device I buy I try to view one of my VCDs on. Now, if truth were told, the only device outside of a laptop that plays any of these VCDs I own is a Panasonic Q (Nintendo GameCube/DVD player from Japan) so I don't even know if these VCDs I own are up to spec or not. But Page 6 of the Operating Instructions does not state any VCD support of any kind for the DMP-BD70V.
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post #29 of 91
1/7/10 at 10:18am
Thanks Gar, a superinformative response. Like yourself, I too try my vcds on any and all video units I buy. I find a high success rate with many even when they claim not to support VCD.

Now for what I promise to be my last question. I have never been a big audoiphile. I have a RCA 420 watt 5.1. HT system I use for my audio(I don't even use the DVD player) with my HD cable box and my DVD player hooked up to it. I have a subwoofer, front and rear speakers and enjoy the sound but I wouldn't call it high quality.

My question is about what you term "lossless audio". (I apologize for my ignorance as I've never heard the term before.)

1. Will I be able to hear audio from all my speakers if I send the audio out form the Panny via the analog ports? Does this have any thing to do with lossless audio.

Thanks again.
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post #30 of 91
1/7/10 at 12:29pm
do u know if it plays S-VHS?
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