Official Panasonic DMP-BDT110/210/310 Owners Thread - Page 207

Originally Posted by RedHot5

Hi all, I just bought and setup my new Panasonic DMP-BDT210. I bought this player because I read reviews that stated how this was the fasted loading Blu-ray player on the market and since that was something that always turned me off with Blu-ray I figured I would pick one up and see if it lives up the review hype.

I noticed something strange when we were watching our first disk and hit the internet to see if I could find a solution. I found this thread on the AVS forums and started reading about everyone else's experience with these players to see if I could find an answer. Unfortunately I don't have the time to read all 206 pages of this thread and when I searched for threads talking about the issue I didn't get any results.

Here's what happened. We sat down to watch the B.T.T.F. 25th Anniversary disks and started with some of the special features. We paused the disk to take care of something and when we came back the Play button didn't start the playback right away so I stopped the disk and started it up again.

We navigated back into the same special feature we had been watching and then fast forwarded to the spot we left off at. When I pressed Play to stop the fast forward and start playback again the video started playing but there was no audio.

I stopped the disk again and restarted it. Again the intro played with full sound and we navigated to the special feature. We started the special feature and it had full sound again. I fast forwarded one level and pressed Play. While it was fast forwarding the sound was playing over the sped up video and when I pressed Play it went back to normal. I then fast forwarded two levels and pressed Play. While it was fast forwarding there was no sound playing over the sped up video and when I pressed Play the sound did not come back.

So to sum it up, it seems like fast forwarding higher than one level of fast forward speed kills the audio.

This has never happened with any of the other AV equipment (Xbox360, RCA DVD player, etc) we have hooked up so I don't think it's my AV receiver or setup that is causing this to happen.

Any thoughts?

Additionally, I am used to DVD players that restart the video where you left off if you stop the video, turn off the player, come back later and start playing the video again. This doesn't seem to be how the Panasonic player behaves by default. Am I just not up to date on how current players behave (admittedly it has been quite a few years since I bought any new players) or is there something different about this player?

I appreciate any and all feedback that anyone can offer.

Thanks In Advance
RH5

Originally Posted by mark62

forgive my simple question, but question is confusing for me.

what color setting should i use for blu rays, ycbcr or rgb? i have a sharp 60" 632 if that matters.

Originally Posted by Brandenborg

msn, I had a problem like that with my 110: Everything worked (BD, NetFlix, Amazon, Vudu) except audio in Pandora, YouTube and Viera Cast navigation sounds (which I disable anyway).

I wrote about it in previous posts, starting with #1707 " www. avsforum. com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=20469970#post20469970"

After spending much time with Panasonic Support, they wanted the player in for service. I replaced it through Amazon, but the new unit has the same problem. I've found solutions, though, and some odd workarounds:

1) No audio settings will affect this, don't waste your time. I also tried a new expensive HDMI cable (specifically supporting HDMI 1.4a, ARC etc) and multiple resets of both TV and player, all with no effect. It is a flaw in the Panasonic negotiating HDMI with my Mitsubishi TV (HDMI 1.3).

2) Disabling Deep Color solves the problem (Under TV/Device Connection - HDMI Connection) -- but is not acceptable to me as my TV specifically supports Deep Color. I also have a Vizio 3D Blu-Ray player which plays 36-bit Deep Color perfectly on the same TV (including Pandora and YouTube).

3) Changing HDMI Color Mode (also under TV/Device Connection - HDMI Connection) from the default YCbCr 4:4:4 to YCbCr 4:2:2 ALSO solved the audio problem. This is more acceptable to me as most H264 material only contains YCbCr 4:2:0 data anyway. But it's still not ideal, as I am loosing out on the Panny's advanced Chroma Processor which might produce smoother gradations than my TV's older processor. At 4:2:2 these details cannot be delivered with full accuracy to my TV.

4) Here is an odd trick: Even without changing these settings, if I enter YouTube on the Panny and play a video (which will have no audio) then AFTER leaving YouTube again -- audio suddenly works in Pandora (as well as those navigation sounds). YouTube video still won't have audio, though -- it is disabled just before videos start playing.

Clearly the Panny firmware and/or Viera Cast apps perform a test of HDMI capabilities at various points (entering Viera Cast, before starting a YouTube video, and a few other places) and incorrectly concludes that the TV does not accept the bandwidth required for both YCbCr 4:4:4, Deep Color and audio -- and then disables audio.

As both BD, NetFlix, Amazon and Vudu play perfectly with those "full bandwidth" settings -- AND so does Pandora and everything else when the player is "tricked" -- I conclude this is a flaw in Panasonic's HDMI drivers.

I tried convincing Panasonic Support of this when I spoke to them -- I can point their developers to half a dozen events where this flawed test is invoked and audio incorrectly disabled/enabled. But they didn't seem to be interested when they heard I was using a Mitsubishi TV.

It's still a great player, and I can live with these peculiarities now that I know how to work around them.

I'd love to hear if your problem is the same and if you can "trick" your player with YouTube the same as mine.

Originally Posted by JSnyder2914


Brandenborg:
I just purchased the BDT210 and connected it to my Mitsu WD-C657 DLP. It's connected directly to the TV using HDMI, with no other devices, receivers, etc.

I have the same issues with Viera Connect, meaning no audio from ANY of the apps (Netflix, YouTube, etc).

I just want to say that I followed your advice with regards to Deep Color and HDMI Color Mode, plus I turned off '24P', and VOILA, I have audio in all of the apps!!!

I went back and set Deep Color back to 'Auto', but left HDMI Color Mode at 4:2:2, and everything still works fine; if I change Color Mode to 4:4:4, no audio.
So, the culprit (at least in my case) was only Color Mode.

I just want to give a big 'thumbs up' for your solution. I never would have figured that out. I was ready to pack it up and return it, until I saw your post. Outstanding!!!

Originally Posted by Rathbone

My 210 does not have these issues at all with my TVs or my AVRs.

Seems like an issue with your Mitsus.

Originally Posted by Otto Pylot

I'm with Rathbone. I haven't had any issues at all with mine other than the Touch Sensor stopped working after a couple of months (but that's not a big deal). Plays beautifully with my Yamaha AVR and LG LCD. Of course I use it just for DVD/BDs and streaming and not any of the other formats that a lot of folks seem to have issues with. Guess I'm just not with the times in that respect and yes, it gets constant use.

Originally Posted by koolG6

I was just wondering to set the audio settings too in the menu to make sure i get the lossless audio...

Originally Posted by koolG6

...also wondering if it's possible too make this player region free???

Originally Posted by Brandenborg

Let me try again: I am not attempting to convince anybody that their players are bad if they work well for them. For those who've never had hdmi problems, never seen the Netflix flashes, never had router connection issues and never experienced file compatibility problems - that's great.

For me these issues have been relatively minor - things I could work around - and outweighed by some great features and a low price. I use the player a lot - even including it's infamous file playback (which some would call nonexistent).

But objectively speaking, I have to say that it is one of the the buggier consumer electronics devices I've owned. That's all.

Update: For completeness I should add that I never had problems playing BD either. That part of the player works very well.

Originally Posted by Otto Pylot


My apologies if I sounded argumentative. That wasn't my intention. I just wanted to point out for those, like me, who just use it for movies and streaming, that it's a very nice unit for the price and relatively trouble-free.

Originally Posted by Brandenborg

I think I've dug myself into a hole here and I'd better stop digging

Originally Posted by Brandenborg

That's good, congrats. Indeed, many people have no problems with their Panny - fortunately.

But it doesn't play nice with Mits HDMI, Panasonic tech support admits as much. No problems with other devices on Mits TVs.

If you've followed this thread for some time, surely you must have noticed how many HDMI issues people are having, most of them audio/AVR related. Some are due to AVR settings. But the HDMI drivers on these players are simply not a solid design.

I still like the player, it's great value and it gets a lot of use in our home. But between the NF issues, the HDMI handshake problems and the ridiculous (misrepresented) file support, I believe most users could legitimately insist on a return or warranty swap if they chose (not that I'm going to). I think Panasonic would be crushed if somebody decided on a class action suit.

Originally Posted by Rathbone


You cannot say for sure which piece of hardware is responsible for the issue. Example with my equipment.

My Oppo BDP-93 has heavy HDMI handshaking issues (up to 30 Sec. black screen and static noise until I see a picture, then have to go back to the beginning of the movie) with my Yamaha AVR RX-V2067 but worked fine with the Denon 2311 AVR I had before. On the other side all other BD players/HTPC/cable box work fine with the Yamaha. Now Yamaha blames Oppo and Oppo blames Yamaha.

Originally Posted by IanS

Hi all:

I have a couple of portable 2.5" USB 2.0 drives. I see on page 7 of my BDT210 manual that FAT12 FAT16 and FAT32 are supported - so I think that that explains why my BDT210 can not read any of my NTFS drives .... BUt I have a 40 GB Samsung FAT32 drive that it won't read either - it just says "USB Device is Incompatible".

Is there a thread somewhere that might help me find my problem?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by teachsac

Is it powered? It must be.

S~

Originally Posted by IanS

It's a 2.5" drive that I've never used an external PS with. It always just works on any PC or laptop. Does the BDT210 demand external power for all USB drives?

Originally Posted by Sugarnutz

I just found one problem with the 210 concerning VUDU. I went to my account on VUDU using my PC and found many 3D movies using their search function. I put a few in my wishlist, but when I logged in on my 210 they weren't there. I called VUDU and they said the 210 does not support 3D steaming, suggesting I contact Panasonic to see if they could fix it. I mean sheesh, it's a 3D Blu-ray player. Maybe they'll fix it in a firmware update.

Originally Posted by IanS

It's a 2.5" drive that I've never used an external PS with. It always just works on any PC or laptop. Does the BDT210 demand external power for all USB drives?

Originally Posted by teachsac

Yes. That's why I asked