Anyone using Amazon VOD with Panasonic's Viera Cast? - Page 3

I just filled out the "contact us" link at panasonic.com about the Az VOD (lack of) HD issue. Will post when I get a reply.

Re: The (sudden lack of) HD issue streaming from Az VOD....

Still no reply from Panasonic.

Last night I replaced my family room BD605 with a Sony BX37. Ran 2 HD TV episodes from Az VOD last night and a third HD episode this morning. The Sony takes quite a bit longer to load a program than the Panasonic. But all three episodes were HD and flawless.

Went to the bedroom, fired up the other BD605 there, and started up the same HD episode that just finished playing flawlessly on the Sony. Played in SD on the 605.

Could be the Sony's longer load time is a benefit... bigger buffer, maybe?

Anyway, the family room 605 is only three months old and it's getting returned today. The 605 in the bedroom is quite a bit older than that, so I'll probably just give it to my girlfriend (who doesn't care about streaming).

I'm thinking the issue is the latest firmware update breaking something with Az VOD, and an upcoming upgrade will hopefully fix it. But Panasonic's lack of reply to my question is not a good sign.

Haven't tried the Netflix on the Sony yet.

Bob,

The results from your experiment are interesting.
It looks like consistency with HD streaming is still not "there", yet... at least with not Panansonic products.
Most HD streaming is only 720p. I can't wait until 1080p streaming takes hold.

I should also mention the Sony has a vastly different interface for Az VOD. I much prefer the Panasonic's interface.

And the Sony shares the Panasonic's annoying output of 2.0 channel sound even on programs that Amazon says are 5.1.

But I played another Az VOD HD TV episode on the Sony tonight and it was flawless. No buffering, no pausing, no dropping to SD. Started in HD and stayed HD all the way through with no problems at all. If it does this on a regular basis, I can live with the crappy Az interface on the Sony.

Oh, and I tried a few things on the Sony's implementation of NetFlix tonight. From the player, all you can do is play programs in your instant queue. To add shows to your queue in the first place, you have to do it from your PC. And even though NetFlix and Az VOD are both 720p, Az looks quite a bit sharper than NF.

BTW, I got a reply from Panasonic to my e-mail today. It asked me to call them. Maybe tomorrow.

I know the SD card is supposedly for BDlive but did you have one installed in the 605?
Just curious to see if perhaps the SD memory may be used for buffering.

Yeah, the 605 in the family room (the one I returned) had a 16gb SD card in the slot. It was no help in the buffering department.

I watched a movie last night on my BD65 on a 7MB DSL ISP and had 3-4 bars indicating HD in the lower right hand corner of the screen.
No buffering issues but the PQ is no where near blu-ray but close to OTA broadcast HD.
Audio was only 2.0 but my AVR compensated with Dolby Pro Logic II.
$5 is kind of steep for "average" HD PQ & 2.0 audio.

*BD65 also has the latest FW.

Guys, i wonder what WLAN dongle are you using to connect to your home WiFi? Does it require a propriety dongle?

Will the internet be required to be connected all the time?

I have a Panasonic TC-P50G10 HDTV. When I got it last summer, I hooked it up to my home computer (ethernet cable), and had no trouble accessing things via Viera Cast like Amazon, etc. (though I only did it a couple of times, and haven't all year). I've just tried again this week and keep getting the error message, "Invalid DNS Name: Check DNS Setting." I got both the primary and secondary settings from my internet provider (and verified the numbers twice), and put those in manually -- same error message. I did get the DNS server number (a different one from the others) from my computer, but I don't know what that means, or what to do with it. Any ideas?

(Absolutely nothing has changed during the year -- that I know of. Same computer, internet provider, TV, cable company, etc.)

I likewise have been having problems with Amazon VOD and Vieracast.

I can stream SD fine but when I purchase HD it always drops to SD quality. I called Amazon and they said everything was fine on their end and there was plenty of bandwidth on my internet connection to stream HD. They also said they have had various problem of exactly this type with my model of player (Panasonic DMP-BD605) and were working with Panasonic engineers to resolve the problem.

I then called Panasonic and there response was that unless my internet connection measures a minimum of 6.0 Mbps the player won't even try to stream HD. This requirement seems excessive to me as Amazon's HD stream (720p) comes in at only 2.5 Mbps, and Amazon web site requires only 3.5 Mbps in order to stream HD (although the guy on the phone said 4.5 Mbps). Also I can stream VUDU HDX (1080p) to my LG HDTV over the same connection with no problems. (My connection measured 4.7 Mbps on speedtest.net at the time I was investigating these problems.)

It is also disappointing that Panasonic does not publish this requirement anywhere.

I'm thinking I might scrap this player and try a Sony. Also I don't recommend Vieracast to anyone wanting to stream Amazon VOD high def unless your internet connection is way in excess of 6 Mbps.

I had the exact same experience with MY Panasonic 605. Moving it to the bedroom and replacing it with a Sony BX37 (Costco version of the 370) was one of the best moves I ever made.

I came across this thread looking for an answer to why my play/pause buttons didn't work on AZ VOD. Last night I watched my first HD movie on my Panasonic TC-P65V10 and it worked flawlessly. My connection speed is always around 5.5 mbps. Looks as if some of the issues with respect to needing 6 mbps commented in previous posts have been addressed. Audio was only 2.0. At first I thought I was getting 5.1 but I have a new A/V receiver and it "tricked" me into thinking it was multichannel, although it sounded excellent.

I get pause with Az VOD on my Panasonic BD-60 by hitting the OK button. Hitting the OK button again resumes play.

Still have never gotten 5.1 sound from Az, though, on my Panasonic BD-60 or my Sony 370 (both connected to my receive with S/PDIF). Maybe it's an HDMI-only thing.

I havent tryed amazon VOD on vierra cast yet....however I just tryed vudu last night and was floored with the HDX stream on the Panny DMP-BDT300. I am on 6mbit att dsl and it was not having any issues at all. I just watched 2 minute previews though.

Am anxious to see if Boxee works out HD on the PC in the coming months. Would love to see this.

I too love viera cast,

Have vizio apps in the spare bedroom over wifi, Soon to be run over cat6 though, as well as the video over cat6 to hdmi so i dont have to pay for another dvr with directv monthly.

I signed up for THE WALKING DEAD in HD through AZ, since DirecTV doesn't carry AMC in HD.

I've mentioned before how movies and shows that are supposed to have 5.1 sound only come through as 2.0 stereo (which my receiver processes in Pro Logic surround). S/PDIF optical connection to the receiver, BTW.

THE WALKING DEAD is billed by AZ as "Stereo" but it's only coming through in mono (in other words, center channel only). Anyone else noticing this?

Has anyone been able to stream Amazon VOD in HD reliably lately? I have a BD-60 and haven't been able to get any HD lately. I know I used to be able to, though. I wonder if it has anything to do with finally upgrading to the latest firmware.

What's the point of paying for HD movie rentals if they're always in SD? (It'd be nice if I could stream HD movie rentals through my HTPC, but alas that is not permitted.)

I believe Panasonic players are having an issue with Az VOD. My BD-605 hasn't streamed any program in HD from Az for months. Nothing but SD, even on programs specifically labeled HD. Meanwhile, those same programs stream in HD just fine on my Sony BX-37 in another room.

I've given up on using my Panasonic bd65 and amazon hd.
I never get hd PQ and the audio is always 2.0
The PQ actually looks below DVD PQ.

Panasonic needs to fix this crap if they want people to use their product for streaming.

Old news to some but something I didn't manage to figure out for myself last night... thanks

I too have had issues streaming HD quality movies from amazon. It always starts in SD. I have a wired connection to both my TCP-46G10 and DMP-BD60. Both behave the same. I did stream HD before the last vieracast update to my tv last fall. My internet routinely tests 6.5 Mbps.

I talked to Amazon today. They told me that the issue is with the last update from Panasonic. He stated that Panasonic has set a level of 7Mbps during the last update for HD content. He made it out that this was not intentional and would probably be fixed by a firmware update. I am not going to hold my breath though.

He stated tha that all devices really need different throughput to prevent buffering. He did state that Sony requires a lower level. He said like 6.

When I called Panasonic Customer Support they were no help and simply wanted to tell me it was not their problem and I should call my ISP. THey couldn't seem to comprehend that my internet could stream HD fine from my computer (TV episodes from Amazon).

Not sure how I am going to go forward. Does anyone have cable internet with an initial speed boost? It seems that this would fool the speed test that Viera Cast runs. NOt sure if it still wouldn't buffer though. Don't know if I want to switch from my DSL.

Maybe I will sell my panny blu ray and buy a Sony blu ray .

That's what I did a few months back, and I've been a happy camper ever since.

Okay, I didn't really sell the Panasonic, I gave it to my girlfriend who doesn't do the streaming thing at all. She's happy about having an upconverting DVD player (she rents DVD's from RedBox on nights I'm not around), and I'm happy to have a Sony Player that streams Amazon in HD with no issues.

I'm having similar problems running Amazon VOD through Viera Cast on my Panny P54G20 TV.

I initially had a 6 Mbps connection and was only getting the 4 green SD bars.

I then upgraded to a 12 Mbps connection as my ISP was running a promotion. Running a speed test on the same Cat5 cable that my TV is on yields consistent 11.5 Mbps throughput.

...now I only get two green SD bars for the connection when watching Amazon VOD!

Amazon VOD streams in HD without any problem to the PCs on my network.


Also, have you guys heard anything about them adding VUDU to Viera Cast (for TVs) ? I would love to try that service out.

Use Vudu instead of Amazon. I've given up on Amazon until Panasonic and Amaon get their requirements figured out.
With the same ISP, VuDu looks great and never drops down to SD.

*I've only used VuDu HD(720p) with 5.1 DD+ audio but it looks great for an HD stream even to my 117" screen.

The Panasonic BD-60 does not support VUDU. What is your internet speed that you are watching HD VUDU movies on? The amazon CSR told me that panasonic set a requirement to 7Mbps for HD. I assumed that the same restrictions were placed concering speed by Panasonic on both VUDU and Amazon services. Any Idea?

I get an average speed of 6.2mb.
That's not good enough for Amazon HD.
From the speculation I've seen, the requirement for Amazon HD was 6mb and the last FW update changed it to 7mb.

Btw, you can get a free $5.99 credit from VuDu through your VuDu capable device for new subscribers. Basically, try it for free.

My Amazon VOD connection has turned to crap as of late. Anytime other than early morning results in a two-bar macroblock festival. The same video piped through my pc comes out in 720p HD at 2500 kbps.

I have a 20mbps connection. In real terms, that means a 15-16mbps connection. That's still six times as much as I should need for Amazon, and easily double that of the suspected 7mbps floor imposed by the application. My G25 is connected through ethernet, I've set QOS specifications for the TV and netmasking for the Amazon address range. It particularly doesn't make sense that I can watch a video in HD before 10am, but not at anytime after, up until maybe three am, the earliest I've been up to check.

I have a Panasonic TC-P54G25 and get no audio at all via the optical cable on Panasonic VOD. I get two channel audio on Panadora, Netflix and YouTube, but zip on Amazon.

As far as video quality, I have download speeds of 6to 8 Mbps and only get three green bars and lots of artifacts on "HD" from Amazon.

its insane how can we get netflix and vudu in 5.1 and not amazon. i bought the player on amazon and no mention. they refused to refund me when i complained about no 5.2

5.1 is really only common on Vudu. Netflix has some titles, but only with a couple of specific devices. Panasonic doesn't get 5.1 from Netflix either.