AVS › AVS Forum › Blu-ray & HD DVD › Blu-ray Players › Panasonic DMP BDT500
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Panasonic DMP BDT500 - Page 34

post #991 of 1215
12/2/12 at 2:20pm
So far, I am enjoying this BDT500, sound via HDMI through my Pio Elite SC05 (7.1), and video to my trusty Panasonic TH58pz700u plasma. But have to admit, the new OPPO BDP103 is intriguing me. I wonder about this:

Does the unipher chip also upscale, or help make the PQ in Netflix and VuDu (and the other streaming apps) better? The info on the oppo 103 states their QDEO chip enhances all video, even outside sources like my UVerse DVR, which it has HDMI inputs for.

Is there anyone here who has used both the 500 and the 103? Which one did you prefer, in regards to the best upscaling PQ for DVD movies?

Also, is there any shortcut, or command to program my Harmony One with, to bring up the Playback Information Window screen without having to do 5+ button presses? I miss that info screen being readily at hand, like what my Pio 23fd or PS3 does.
Reply
Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #992 of 1215
12/2/12 at 3:19pm
Guess I should add: is there that big of a difference in PQ between the OPPO BDP103 and the Panasonic BDT500 to be worth the extra $200 price difference?
Reply
Reply
post #993 of 1215
12/8/12 at 12:24pm
Not sure if this has been mentioned before or not? I had always been on the pro Bitstream audio side vs LPCM. Figured a $1000+ AVR should decode DTS HD MA better than a lower cost BD player, especially considering all its processing power should be devoted to giving the best PQ possible. But a couple of nights ago, while messing around with the 500, I found out something nice!

The movie I was watching was DTS HD MA 5.1 audio out. My Pioneer SC05 AVR using THX mode was converting it into 7.1 sound. That extra information display window showed the movie as 5.1, and the output via bitstream as 5.1 out. On a whim, I changed the 500 to output LPCM. When looking at the info display this time, it showed the movie still at 5.1 audio, but now the HDMI audio out was LPCM and converted it into 7.1 signal out! I now no longer need the THX mode on my AVR to convert to 7.1! The 500 now converts any audio to 7.1 when using the LPCM setting. Pretty cool if you have a 7.1 speaker setup.

Now if ONLY, Panasonic would have a one button command to bring up that extra info display window, I would be in heaven!
Reply
Reply
post #994 of 1215
12/8/12 at 5:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WRX_Rocky View Post

Guess I should add: is there that big of a difference in PQ between the OPPO BDP103 and the Panasonic BDT500 to be worth the extra $200 price difference?

The PQ for blu-ray in both are excellent. I give the slight subjective edge to the Oppo in DVD playback (no adjectives available:D). The extra $200.00 gets you SACD, DVD-A, better build quality, support for more user created media and customer service that is 2nd to none.

If you don't require the additional items that the Oppo afford you for that $200.00, then I would suggest the Sony BDP-S790 if you don't 7.1 analog support.
Reply
Reply
post #995 of 1215
12/8/12 at 11:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bakerwi View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by WRX_Rocky View Post

Guess I should add: is there that big of a difference in PQ between the OPPO BDP103 and the Panasonic BDT500 to be worth the extra $200 price difference?

The PQ for blu-ray in both are excellent. I give the slight subjective edge to the Oppo in DVD playback (no adjectives available:D). The extra $200.00 gets you SACD, DVD-A, better build quality, support for more user created media and customer service that is 2nd to none.

If you don't require the additional items that the Oppo afford you for that $200.00, then I would suggest the Sony BDP-S790 if you don't 7.1 analog support.

Putting the Oppo 103 aside, are you saying then, that the Sony 790 is better than this Panasonic 500?
Reply
Reply
post #996 of 1215
12/9/12 at 12:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WRX_Rocky View Post

Putting the Oppo 103 aside, are you saying then, that the Sony 790 is better than this Panasonic 500?

I am not saying the Sony is better. If you don't require analog 7.1 support or FLAC, then you could save some additional funds (approximately $50) by purchasing the Sony BDP-S790. As you go up the feature scale from the Sony to the Panasonic to the Oppo there is an increase for these features. Personally I think the Sony does a better job than the Panasonic on DVD playaback, but others may have different experiences.smile.gif
Reply
Reply
post #997 of 1215
12/9/12 at 8:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WRX_Rocky View Post

Not sure if this has been mentioned before or not? I had always been on the pro Bitstream audio side vs LPCM. Figured a $1000+ AVR should decode DTS HD MA better than a lower cost BD player, especially considering all its processing power should be devoted to giving the best PQ possible. But a couple of nights ago, while messing around with the 500, I found out something nice!
The movie I was watching was DTS HD MA 5.1 audio out. My Pioneer SC05 AVR using THX mode was converting it into 7.1 sound. That extra information display window showed the movie as 5.1, and the output via bitstream as 5.1 out. On a whim, I changed the 500 to output LPCM. When looking at the info display this time, it showed the movie still at 5.1 audio, but now the HDMI audio out was LPCM and converted it into 7.1 signal out! I now no longer need the THX mode on my AVR to convert to 7.1! The 500 now converts any audio to 7.1 when using the LPCM setting. Pretty cool if you have a 7.1 speaker setup.
Now if ONLY, Panasonic would have a one button command to bring up that extra info display window, I would be in heaven!
Theoretically there should be no difference whether the BD player decodes DTS-HD and sends PCM via HDMI to the AVR or the player bitstreams HD-DTS to the AVR via HDMI. Why? Because both the player and AVR use the same hardware licensed by DTS that's required to decode DTS-HD to PCM. You can't get any better than that. Having said that, decoding in the player has one possible drawback, maybe. PCM transmission via HDMI can be prone to jitter. Many HT enthusiasts therefore assign the AVR to do the decoding if for no other reason. I assume the discussion here is not about using the player's 7.1 analog outputs. That's another story.

I own a Panasonic 500. I let the player decode DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD and send it to my AVR via Sub HDMI output with V. Off. However, whether the player or my AVR does the decoding, I find no difference in the sound at all. If there are jitters being introduced, I can't hear the effects of those jitters. However, if my AVR does the decoding, it bypasses all DSP functions except bass management. Therefore I can conver 5.1 surround to 7.1 when it does the decoding. However, if my AVR gets 5.1/6.1 PCM, it converts it to 7.1 Strangely you say that the 500 automatically converts 5.1 to 7.1 when it does the decoding. How's that possible? My AVR shows the inputs as 5.1 when the movie is 5.1. My AVR converts the 5.1 to 7.1.
Reply
Reply
post #998 of 1215
12/9/12 at 8:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bakerwi View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by WRX_Rocky View Post

Putting the Oppo 103 aside, are you saying then, that the Sony 790 is better than this Panasonic 500?

I am not saying the Sony is better. If you don't require analog 7.1 support or FLAC, then you could save some additional funds (approximately $50) by purchasing the Sony BDP-S790. As you go up the feature scale from the Sony to the Panasonic to the Oppo there is an increase for these features. Personally I think the Sony does a better job than the Panasonic on DVD playaback, but others may have different experiences.smile.gif

Ok, you might not say that the Sony S790 is better,..... But I am, now. Went back to Best Buy today and swapped the Panny for that Sony, and won't be looking back. Wow, just wow! And plenty of settings to tweak the PQ! Even the streaming video too. Yes, I am sure the Oppo 103 is even better, but for $100 less than the BDT500 cost (and thus around $300 LESS than the Oppo), the S790 does everything I need and more. Thank you for suggesting it!
Reply
Reply
post #999 of 1215
12/9/12 at 8:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Star Hawk View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by WRX_Rocky View Post

Not sure if this has been mentioned before or not? I had always been on the pro Bitstream audio side vs LPCM. Figured a $1000+ AVR should decode DTS HD MA better than a lower cost BD player, especially considering all its processing power should be devoted to giving the best PQ possible. But a couple of nights ago, while messing around with the 500, I found out something nice!
The movie I was watching was DTS HD MA 5.1 audio out. My Pioneer SC05 AVR using THX mode was converting it into 7.1 sound. That extra information display window showed the movie as 5.1, and the output via bitstream as 5.1 out. On a whim, I changed the 500 to output LPCM. When looking at the info display this time, it showed the movie still at 5.1 audio, but now the HDMI audio out was LPCM and converted it into 7.1 signal out! I now no longer need the THX mode on my AVR to convert to 7.1! The 500 now converts any audio to 7.1 when using the LPCM setting. Pretty cool if you have a 7.1 speaker setup.
Now if ONLY, Panasonic would have a one button command to bring up that extra info display window, I would be in heaven!
Theoretically there should be no difference whether the BD player decodes DTS-HD and sends PCM via HDMI to the AVR or the player bitstreams HD-DTS to the AVR via HDMI. Why? Because both the player and AVR use the same hardware licensed by DTS that's required to decode DTS-HD to PCM. You can't get any better than that. Having said that, decoding in the player has one possible drawback, maybe. PCM transmission via HDMI can be prone to jitter. Many HT enthusiasts therefore assign the AVR to do the decoding if for no other reason. I assume the discussion here is not about using the player's 7.1 analog outputs. That's another story.

I own a Panasonic 500. I let the player decode DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD and send it to my AVR via Sub HDMI output with V. Off. However, whether the player or my AVR does the decoding, I find no difference in the sound at all. If there are jitters being introduced, I can't hear the effects of those jitters. However, if my AVR does the decoding, it bypasses all DSP functions except bass management. Therefore I can conver 5.1 surround to 7.1 when it does the decoding. However, if my AVR gets 5.1/6.1 PCM, it converts it to 7.1 Strangely you say that the 500 automatically converts 5.1 to 7.1 when it does the decoding. How's that possible? My AVR shows the inputs as 5.1 when the movie is 5.1. My AVR converts the 5.1 to 7.1.

It even states in the manual - any HD audio 6.1/5.1 or less, will be converted to a 7.1 signal out to the AVR. Just when using the display information window, it only would show a conversion from 6.1/5.1 to 7.1 on the HDMI 2 output when using LPCM mode. With Bitstream, it stayed at the original mode, 6.1/5.1.
Reply
Reply
post #1000 of 1215
12/9/12 at 9:22pm
I don't have audio reformating set to Auto. It's Off. With it off, my AVR's channel input indicator correctly displays 5.1 when the input is LPCM 5.1. When Auto is on, my AVR will show 7.1 input.
Reply
Reply
post #1001 of 1215
12/10/12 at 4:26am
Yesterday I tried to find a remote code for BDT500 in a Yamaha RX-A2010 remote, and none provided by Yamaha worked. Does anybody have a code that is working with this player?
Reply
Reply
post #1002 of 1215
12/11/12 at 1:58pm
Has anyone figured out the exact high pass crossover frequency set by selecting the small speaker setting using the analog outs?
Reply
Reply
post #1003 of 1215
12/12/12 at 9:48am
Anyone perform an A / B sound comparison of the BDT-500 7.1 analog outputs compared to HDMI sound quality? My second question is how does the HDMI audio of the BDT-500 compare to BDT-320/220?
Reply
Reply
post #1004 of 1215
12/12/12 at 10:48am
As I said in the other thread, you will lose any room correction going with analog. HDMI audio will be the same no matter which player you use. In theory, there is no difference between bitstreaming and PCM.

S~
Reply
Reply
post #1005 of 1215
12/12/12 at 1:24pm

Stupid question about Panasonic BDT500 - Disc Auto Play?

This might be a stupid question however I am finding it extremely irritating.

I do not want the disc to start every time I put one in, or whenever I start the player..

atm every time I switch to the BLU RAY channel on my AV receiver it starts playing the disc instantly, or if I even turn on the player, it also launches the disc right away, which makes having a HOME page on the player where u can CHOOSE what you want to do POINTLESS!

Is there a way to turn off DISC AUTO START? I have looked EVERYWHERE in the menus...


Many thanks..
Reply
Reply
post #1006 of 1215
12/12/12 at 1:36pm
I use the 7.1 Analog Audio Outputs on my 500 and I couldn't ask for better audio. Seeing how my AV receiver is old (Pioneer Elite VSX-21) I can't A/B with HDMI but even if I could my old ears wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway. Also, ever since I got the BDT-500 it's the only player I use for CD's. I let a friend have my dedicated Pioneer CD player that I can't recall the model of and the Panasonic LX-101 Laser Disc player that plays CD's and sounds great is sitting idle. I love the sound of this 500! Sorry I can't help you with an A/B between the two hook-ups. Maybe some day, if I ever break down and buy a new receiver, I'll find out if I can tell the difference but even if there were a difference I doubt if I could hear it.
Reply
Reply
post #1007 of 1215
12/12/12 at 1:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HugeLongBigness View Post

This might be a stupid question however I am finding it extremely irritating.

I do not want the disc to start every time I put one in, or whenever I start the player..

atm every time I switch to the BLU RAY channel on my AV receiver it starts playing the disc instantly, or if I even turn on the player, it also launches the disc right away, which makes having a HOME page on the player where u can CHOOSE what you want to do POINTLESS!

Is there a way to turn off DISC AUTO START? I have looked EVERYWHERE in the menus...


Many thanks..

You might try turning off CEC (HDMI Consumer Electronics Control) in your receiver, although it's often needed for TV Audio Return Channel.
Reply
Reply
post #1008 of 1215
12/12/12 at 11:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Selden Ball View Post

You might try turning off CEC (HDMI Consumer Electronics Control) in your receiver, although it's often needed for TV Audio Return Channel.

Many thanks - my previous Sony BDP-S790 simply had a setting, in settings, for auto play, on or off..

What the hell is with this Panasonic, I simply want to be able to turn on the player, via the Panasonic remote, and not have it automatically launch whatever disc is in the drive (usually a blu ray) so I have to wait, then hit the home button, to actually do what I want.

This is crazy, I do not know what CEC is, or where I would find it (I will have a look) however, I cannot see how that is playing a disc if I turn on the player on it's own.

Really is nobody else being driven mad by having it automatically launch whatever disc is in the drive when you turn it on??

frown.gif
Reply
Reply
post #1009 of 1215
12/13/12 at 4:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HugeLongBigness View Post

Many thanks - my previous Sony BDP-S790 simply had a setting, in settings, for auto play, on or off..
What the hell is with this Panasonic, I simply want to be able to turn on the player, via the Panasonic remote, and not have it automatically launch whatever disc is in the drive (usually a blu ray) so I have to wait, then hit the home button, to actually do what I want.
This is crazy, I do not know what CEC is, or where I would find it (I will have a look) however, I cannot see how that is playing a disc if I turn on the player on it's own.
Really is nobody else being driven mad by having it automatically launch whatever disc is in the drive when you turn it on??
frown.gif[/quote

Is there a reason you leave a disc in the player? Is this something folks commonly do?
This is my first multi-function player and I've only left a disc in it once or twice in order to finish watching a movie I didn't get to finish. In that case I would want the movie to start.]
Reply
Reply
post #1010 of 1215
12/13/12 at 4:06am
Sorry for the above post. I must have done something wrong while trying to use the "Quote" button.
Reply
Reply
post #1011 of 1215
12/17/12 at 9:43am

BDT500 Trouble with HD audio from USB source.

Hi,

I have a 2TB Hitachi Touro USB 3.0/2.0 Desktop HDD plugged into my Panasonic BDT500 (formatted to exFAT as NTFS said incompatible, despite supposed to support it)

ON it I have 1080p DTS MKV files and 1080p MKV DTS-HD MA files.


The plain 1080p DTS MKV play superb, very pleased - however, the MKV with DTS HD MA play the video however the audio seems to fail, on my AV receiver it shows DTS HD MA however it is flickering like crazy, like the AMP does not know what to do.


I should point out BluRays play great with HD audio, no problems, and also if I plug the Hitachi HDD into my PC all the files also play perfectly fine.

Really am at a loss desperate for some help.

Thanks.
Reply
Reply
post #1012 of 1215
12/17/12 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HugeLongBigness View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Selden Ball View Post

You might try turning off CEC (HDMI Consumer Electronics Control) in your receiver, although it's often needed for TV Audio Return Channel.

Many thanks - my previous Sony BDP-S790 simply had a setting, in settings, for auto play, on or off..

What the hell is with this Panasonic, I simply want to be able to turn on the player, via the Panasonic remote, and not have it automatically launch whatever disc is in the drive (usually a blu ray) so I have to wait, then hit the home button, to actually do what I want.

This is crazy, I do not know what CEC is, or where I would find it (I will have a look) however, I cannot see how that is playing a disc if I turn on the player on it's own.

Really is nobody else being driven mad by having it automatically launch whatever disc is in the drive when you turn it on??

frown.gif

Have you tried hitting the Eject button instead of the On button?

Some players will turn on when you hit the Eject button. Some of those will eject the tray immediately, before they start the lengthy boot script. (That's how my Sony player works I dunno about Panasonic.) Of course, that feature only helps if you know there's a disc still in the player.

Many (but not all) Blu-ray and DVD discs will resume where they left off if you power on the player with the disc still in the tray. I've taken advantage of that when I discover I've started to doze off -- I just power everything off and go to bed, then resume watching it another time. Of course, I often discover that I still need to skip back a chapter to catch up on things I'd missed while dozing smile.gif
Reply
Reply
post #1013 of 1215
12/18/12 at 9:49am
Thanks and yes I had thought of it however when I press to put tray back in, it ofc plays disc automatically again.. and it is a bit pointless if I am to remove the disc after ejecting it lol I could have just done that in the first place, I want an option to stop the damn thing playing the disc when it wants, and when I want instead.

I want to turn on my player and decide if or when I want to launch the disc which is in.

I also wish to put a disc in and have it launch when I want - not when the player decides.

There is no escape.

Lazy as hell on behalf of Panasonic, they just did not bother for the very reason being displayed on this forum, near nobody cares.

Sony bothered, which shows they are making an effort, and thinking.

Very very poor show by Panasonic, auto play on or off is a very BASIC option..

Anybody know why I cannot bitstream DTS HD from my USB HDD only PCM?

Please read above posts, please...

Can anybody ELSE even do it??


cheers.
Reply
Reply
post #1014 of 1215
12/18/12 at 11:06am
Sony used to be good quality brand 20-30 yrs ago. Now their products are pieces of crap designed to work great long enought to make it through warranty. Examples include $900 DV camcorder purchased in '95 which broke in 92th day from purchase (2 days after labor warranty expired), sony 12mpx $350 camera purchased in '07 broke 5 days after warranty expired and finally Bravia LCD broken 2 months after warranty expired. It is like Sony junk has this expiration date clock embedded which counts down inevetably the moment of its sure death.

I spent too much money for this junk in past decade including fees for service after which devices were failing again. This time I choose Panasonic.
Edited by esdwa - 12/18/12 at 11:17am
Reply
Reply
post #1015 of 1215
12/18/12 at 11:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HugeLongBigness View Post

Thanks and yes I had thought of it however when I press to put tray back in, it ofc plays disc automatically again.. and it is a bit pointless if I am to remove the disc after ejecting it lol I could have just done that in the first place, I want an option to stop the damn thing playing the disc when it wants, and when I want instead.
I want to turn on my player and decide if or when I want to launch the disc which is in.
I also wish to put a disc in and have it launch when I want - not when the player decides.
There is no escape.
Lazy as hell on behalf of Panasonic, they just did not bother for the very reason being displayed on this forum, near nobody cares.
Sony bothered, which shows they are making an effort, and thinking.
Very very poor show by Panasonic, auto play on or off is a very BASIC option..
Anybody know why I cannot bitstream DTS HD from my USB HDD only PCM?
Please read above posts, please...
Can anybody ELSE even do it??
cheers.

Press the home button. You will immediately go to the home menu.
Reply
Reply
post #1016 of 1215
12/20/12 at 3:53am
Plugging BDT500 was easy. Quick walk through settings to make sure 3D is enabled and few minutes later my only 3D movie disk (for now) with Scott's Prometheus played on optoma hd33 equipped with 2100GLS glasses convinced me this was not a waste of money.
I just wish I had a larger projection screen... homebrew 3d motion picture looks great.

One thing about BDT500, the menu navigation is not as smooth as on my PS3 but I am going to live with it.
Reply
Reply
post #1017 of 1215
12/20/12 at 10:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tank_PD View Post

Press the home button. You will immediately go to the home menu.

This does not work at all.

Ideally pressing the home button would turn the player on, and take you to the home menu.

The only option is to turn on the player, and then hammer the home button constantly, then it half launches the disc and clumsily manages to get to get to the home menu, and I am not even sure it aborts the disc launch, I am fairly sure it near launches the disc completely before actually returning to the home menu.

Awful.


Panasonic BDT500 cannot bitstream DTS HD MA from USB connected device.
Reply
Reply
post #1018 of 1215
12/20/12 at 6:45pm
Just curious, as I had a 500, but went with a Sony S790 recently:

Have any of you bought the new Total Recall BD movie yet? Are you having audio dropouts constantly using Bitstream with the DD TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack? Trying to determine if it is the S790 with a problem (and not for the BDT500), or a poor quality disc, or a poor encoding job in the movie.
Reply
Reply
post #1019 of 1215
12/20/12 at 7:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WRX_Rocky View Post

Just curious, as I had a 500, but went with a Sony S790 recently:
Have any of you bought the new Total Recall BD movie yet? Are you having audio dropouts constantly using Bitstream with the DD TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack? Trying to determine if it is the S790 with a problem (and not for the BDT500), or a poor quality disc, or a poor encoding job in the movie.

That issue is being discussed on the "Total Recall (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review" thread. A work around seems to be to set the player to output audio with LPCM.

I watched my copy of Total Recall on my BDT500 using analog audio outputs set to PCM and had no issues at all.
Reply
Reply
post #1020 of 1215
12/20/12 at 8:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Angler55 View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by WRX_Rocky View Post

Just curious, as I had a 500, but went with a Sony S790 recently:
Have any of you bought the new Total Recall BD movie yet? Are you having audio dropouts constantly using Bitstream with the DD TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack? Trying to determine if it is the S790 with a problem (and not for the BDT500), or a poor quality disc, or a poor encoding job in the movie.

That issue is being discussed on the "Total Recall (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review" thread. A work around seems to be to set the player to output audio with LPCM.

I watched my copy of Total Recall on my BDT500 using analog audio outputs set to PCM and had no issues at all.

Thanks! Didn't know there was a thread on the movie, so will check that out one.

Just what is with these studios these days, huh? Thinking they can sell us cheap, outsourced junk, and get away with it? I had to stop using my great Pioneer Elite 23fd BD player because starting around 6 months ago, most new BD discs were not recognized! All my old movies still play, but about 1 in 10 New BD (store bought) discs would not play! Grrrrr!
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Blu-ray Players

Gear mentioned in this thread:

AVS › AVS Forum › Blu-ray & HD DVD › Blu-ray Players › Panasonic DMP BDT500