Official Panasonic DMP-BDT 220/320/500 Owners Thread - Page 41

You can see their consumer electronics return policy here. Basically, if you return anything sold directly by them or by one of their marketplace sellers but shipped by them ("Fulfillment by Amazon") within 30 days for a reason that's not their fault or the manufacturer's (i.e., don't like the item, ordered it by mistake), then you eat the return shipping (the return process will give you a postage-paid label to print for the package):

It doesn't matter how much research you do, once you're using something you'll find out things about it that you won't have read about and some of these things might annoy you, possibly enough that you want to return it.

The issue is not file integrity, which is the only security a checksum provides. The issue is a crash during the write process, which can very possibly corrupt data in the NVM. Why do you think the usual warning that accompanies firmware updates (for any device, not just BD players) is to not power down or otherwise interrupt it? It seemed to be a crash during the actual update, because the crash happened pretty far into the process, and the upgrade file alone had no trouble quickly downloading to my computer. The only aspect of the update process that was in my control was the source of the file, disc instead of WiFi. Was the crash caused for whatever reason by the network having been active? Who knows? But it was the only variable open to control for the second player, so that's what I did. Get it now?

There is zero correlation between updating the player firmware with a burnt disk versus download and the Netflix issue ... And that's what I get.

Grrrr....I need a definitive winner between the sony 590 and panasonic 220!!!

You're all telling me that they're BOTH outstanding but with slightly different strengths and weaknesses?!? Noooooo!!!!!!

Panny won it for me. Editor's choice on CNET, better Amazon app for Prime, and faster app and BD load times. The Sony felt a bit more friendly, but still slower loading, and weak Amazon app were not pluses for me. If you ask me, I would say the two players overlap, function wise, probably 93-94%. Just my opinion based on experience with both.

My set definitely isn't reference class (it's a 768p Panasonic 50PX77U) but we like it

Fooled around just a bit during the Caps-Rangers intermissions and found some interesting stuff. Starting with my daughter's "Barney Goes to the Farm" (yeah) DVD, I noticed some majorly bad interlacing artifacts. So one at a time I turned down the various settings to see if they made a difference (chroma, super res, HDMI res output), none of them made any difference that I could see. All of 'em off or at zero and output res on auto looked the same (best I could tell) as chroma on advanced, super res on 1, and output res on 1080p.

So I threw the disc into our Xbox 360 (also outputting 1080p via HDMI) and sure enough, no interlacing artifacts at all. It maybe was a wee bit softer (maybe not) but definitely was dramatically superior wrt the interlacing.

So that was interesting but I figured there's a good chance that's disc specific. So in went Inception, and sure enough didn't see any weird interlacing stuff. Also fooled around with a couple of the settings and still couldn't detect any differences. Haven't put that in the 360 yet for comparo.

Still haven't checked out a bluray

jeff

I would say that just about sums it up. The Panasonics are quite significantly faster loading BDs than the Sonys (if you believe the CNET reviewer, massively faster doing some things). They have identical Netflix players with identical capabilities (1080p, 5.1 sound, closed captions/subtitles), but the Panasonics' player's UI is very slow to respond to navigation commands, particularly when navigating submenus of a television series. The Panasonics do start Netflix streams twice as fast as the Sonys. The Sonys' Netflix player have a cool information overlay display which will tell you exactly what you're watching and listening to in terms of stream PQ, soundtrack and captions.

The Panasonics' Amazon player has a much nicer UI than the Sonys', both more visually attractive and efficiently laid out, and it starts streams very much faster than the Sonys' player. The Sonys' Amazon player, however, can play 5.1 sound from the small subset of titles which have it available, which the Panasonics' player currently cannot. The Sonys' Amazon player is shockingly slow at starting streams, requiring 40-60 seconds. (I forget how long it takes the Panasonics' player, but I'm sure that it's in the 15 seconds or less range; my Roku 2 can start an Amazon stream in 6-8 seconds).

It should also be noted that the Panasonic players can output VOD apps (Netflix, VUDU, Amazon, etc) at 24p which the Sony players cannot.

personally prefer the Sonys' use of Sony's Cross Media Bar (XMB) system UI to the system UI design of the Panasonics, but that's a matter of taste (the CNET editor preferred the Panasonic UI). I also think that Sony's Android/iOS network remote is more powerful.

I still have both players around, with the Sony hooked up. If the Sony gets 5.1 sound in its Amazon player before I get around to selling it (too late to return) I may switch back to using it, though I dearly love the Sonys' Netflix player's info display and snappier UI navigation.

Make a list of the features you care about and pick the player that has the best of those features, not the player the does everything. For example, if you don't care about DLNA, get the Panny, otherwise get the Sony. If you don't need 50 something streaming apps and a web browser, get the Panny, otherwise get the Sony. If you think a plastic enclosure is too cheap or you can't tolerate a few extra seconds loading a disc, get the Panny. You get the picture.

Thank you for these comments. I agree, it's inevitable that I'll buy something I wish I hadn't and will want to return it. I try hard to prevent this and maybe sometimes I talk myself into liking things. I think I've been lucky, too. However, it's true, I tend to do a lot of research and I don't have the attitude, "well, let me try it and I'll see." I try for evidence that I will not be dissatisfied. Sometimes this means I go a year or two before making a purchase. I tell you the truth. Honestly, I'm a noob in the blu-ray arena. Two weeks ago I knew next to nothing. I still don't have my first player (should tomorrow), or my first 1080p projector (also tomorrow). I only got into this now because I thought my 720p projector was dieing. Not sure that's true now, but I think I'll be very glad I moved to 1080p, and probably as much as anything because my new projector has 200000:1 contrast compared to my current's 1300:1 (Epson 8700ub vs Sanyo PLV-Z2, bought when it first came out in Nov. 2003. In that instance I was a very early adopter, unusual for me.).

Get ready for 4K! Just kidding, enjoy!

Me, I'm into streaming--I watch maybe half a dozen BDs a year, with all the rest of my rentals, etc, being downloads and streams. These BD players are some of the best streamers on the market, for commercial services (don't need DLNA inasmuch as this PC is connected to the same panel as all the rest of my equipment). I was hoping that the this year's models would present the perfect all-in-one box for my purposes: full featured Netflix (1080p, 5.1 sound, closed captions), Amazon (5.1 sound) and VUDU (standard HDX and DD+). Theoretically the Sonys hit that mark, but their stream start time is annoyingly long and their Amazon player has a hideous, poorly designed UI. I think that I'll choose one to keep for BDs and VUDU (their VUDU players have identical UIs and performance) and use my Roku 2 for Netflix and Amazon--the recent 4.6 release fixed the issues I had with Netflix and made the thing a general speed demon, smoking both these players in Netflix and Amazon app and stream start-up speed so much that I can't imagine that either could ever become as fast. I do prefer the Netflix GUI on the BD players but Roku's is certainly well designed and attractive.

You said that like it was nothin'! (as good as it gets reference)

You're livin' the dream, man, you're livin' the dream.

I'm leaning towards the panasonic, but the lack of sacd compat. is holding me back. I've read also that the panasonic is finicky with video file and also even with usb flash drive compatibility.

I would like to get both but will likely side with the 220.

Got a 320 from Amazon.
Couldn't get it to connect, so I wired it (in another room) and updated the firmware. After that it worked wireless until I moved it back into the ht room. Problem I run into is a DNS error -.- >.> *hates DNS errors...* I think it may be working finally after reserving it, and bypassing the firewall. Worked several times getting into netflix, vudu, amazon, youtube, etc. What a nightmare it is though.

Otherwise, I'm mostly satisfied with the player. Been using my PS3 since 2007. Love how it looks. I don't hate the remote like a lot of people seem to, but I admit I plan to get a proper Panasonic remote down the line. For now, the functionless remote and my Onkyo A/V remote will work just fine. Played around with the 2D to 3D with Avatar and Lord of The Rings. Not even 100% sure if what I saw was really a 3D effect. Maybe slighly. Nothing like a real 3D movie obviously.

The only issue I have with it is that while quick start is enabled, it turns back on immediately after being turned off O.o; Disabled it entirely and it stays off now.


EDIT:
Played around with the streaming features today. Working just fine via wifi. Now if I could just figure out why it insists on turning itself back on immediately after being turned off when QUICK START is enabled. If I hit the power button again immediately as it's turning back on it will turn off and stay off, but it makes no sense -.-

My Sony N460 started choking a bit. Very infrequently it'll freeze while loading certain bd live flicks like Resident Evil: Afterlife, or it'll just make grinding noises while trying to load some of my dvdr's.

So why am I bringing this up here?

I'm thinking that although the player is only 2 years old, its time for an upgrade. Not just because of the infrequent freezes as of late, those are easy to get by, by just hitting stop and play. But also because well, the N460 does load a lil slow unless I enable that quick start mode option which I don't want to do, and I got the player back before I knew about bd-live so I didn't bother to notice it has to be hardwired for connectivity. And well, I want to access bd-live content at times, as well as check out Hulu and maybe some of the other online things.

But I'm torn between the Sony S390 and the Panny 220. I read that the 220 loads faster which is a plus, I also read that the bd-live content goes on a sd-card rather than a Usb flash drive. Those are both pro's but the one thing I can't seem to find out about is which player is the most stable when it comes to bd-live content. I've read in the past that some players choke a bit on bd-live. I'm also seeing a lot about Netflix capabilities but nothing about which player handles films on dvdr the best. I watch a lot of bootleg concerts on dvdr, so its very important that the player handles dvdr's nicely, and of course has auto resume. The N460 does so I figure the S390 does, but I know nothing about Panasonics players.

And speaking of all this internet stuff, I think I read there's no flash on either player? So I guess that means these players can't access youtube, right?

Dear all,
I am waiting for my 320 to be shipped - can anyone pls advise if the player supports ISO or BDMV folder playback?

Thanks!
EK

ISO, most definitely not. AVCHD directly from DVD, but not BDMV AFAIK.

I knew even less about 4k than I did about 1080p, just looked it up at Wikipedia. Well, the cheapest 4k PJ they show at Wikipedia (4K resolution) is around $12,000, the most expensive (a Panasonic) 1/2 a million dollars. Is there much content out there? How many movies can I find in 4k? I'm wondering if a movie made 5 years ago can even be converted to 4k adequately.

Yes, I'll try to thoroughly enjoy my 1080p, thank you for encouraging me to do so. I'm at the mere horizon of a new day (literally and figuratively).

There is an Amazon player on these units.

I just bought the 220 today and am currently setting it up...fingers crossed.

Yes, most of the 4K material right now is limited and on manufacturer hard drives so they can show these units off at trade shows. Sony has pledged to have some 4K BDs on the market by summer 2013. Many movie studios are starting to shoot their films in 4K for this transition (and the transition that will probably occur first in movie theaters). Pretty sure 4K is on its way and I expect it to make a bigger splash than 3D did (though, to be fair, people are cynical about 4K because its been released, although poorly, a few times before) Only huge screens and sitting really close will really make 4K worthwhile.

Not much use for 4K 2012 no. It´s good the passive 3D fans though except for those with extremely large 300" screens or something . Just hope the PQ don´t suffer with the cameras available though.

the BDT320 is slower with DVDs then blurays. I disabled quickstart due to some noise when shut off but it´s still fast enough for me. I am impressed that it always remember where I stopped watching even for bluray with a lot of live crap on it.

youtube work fine flash or not

I've had many panny and sony players and currently own the 390. I used BD-Live once in my life, and that was enough. So I can't tell you how either player handles it. Most of the choking I've read about related to BD-live being enabled when network connectivity was not, so the player would hang. Other than that, I haven't heard of any widespread BD-live issues on either brand. In general, newer players with the latest firmware updates have a better chance at successfully playing current BD titles and BD-live content.

As far as resume goes, all my sonys have worked the same. Panny will resume DVD if you follow the rules, i.e., don't eject the disc.

As far as flash, I saw a comment that sony's web browser doesn't support flash, which is true. But Panny has no web browser at all. Both play youtube just fine, so there must be flash support in there somewhere.

Neither brand has Hulu (free version). They only have Hulu Plus, the subscription version. In terms of apps, the 390 is about the same as your 460, aside from the improved Netflix app. Panny has far fewer apps, but at least the few they have are the good ones.

Panny is probably a little more robust than Sony in terms of reading recorded discs, though I've rarely had any problems with either.

Oh no.. I have lots of ISO backups lying around.. Any suggestion how i can load/ watch these movies?

Thanks!
EK

Archos or WD Live come to mind. Or just connect your PC (or whatever you watch them on now) to your tv.

Or google "iso video file converter".

My Panny 220 was just delivered, sits unopened in its box.

I have a question, a little off topic, please forgive me. I've never had subscription Netflix, Blockbuster, etc. of any kind, have hundreds of DVDs. I did an internet search for "netflix streaming" and the page offers me a 1 month free subscription, which sounds great, but I'll wait until I get the BD player set up, and my projector (1080p Epson 8700ub, coming today).

What are the options and rates for Netflix streaming?

The options are the unlimited streaming-only plan for $8/month or one of their unlimited disc+streaming plans for $16, $20, $24 or $30/month for 1, 2, 3 or 4 discs-out-at-a-time (plus a dollar or two for access to Blu-ray discs).

Just got my 320 yesterday. Excellent PQ, sound quality is pretty good.
Compared to my Oppo 93 the PQ is equal. But sound is not as rich and deep as the Oppo.

Am using a 210 remote and it works fine, couldn't take the touch pad.
However when watching Netflix the audio is delayed at least 1 second maybe 2...unwatchable. What gives?

Fortunately I have Netflix on my TV and Roku and there is no delay.
Does anyone know why the Panny is having such trouble with Netflix?

I don't think that everyone experiences that. Be aware that unless you have the Roku 2 your Roku isn't using the same set of encodings and your television probably isn't either. The set of encodings used by the newer 5.1 capable players separates sound from video so that you can select one of multiple versions of the soundtrack, like stereo or DD+ 5.1. Some of their "sample" clips show a selection of soundtracks in 5 or 6 different languages (although none of them feature any spoken dialog ).

I see, however I do have the Roku 2 XD and the TV is the 70" Elite both support DD and 5.1 so I would think the Panasonic would preform similarly.

I see others experiencing a similar experience with Netflix. Maybe this is Panasonic problem.
I had the new Sony 790 and had no such problems. I ended sending it back and went with the 320 which I like better. But not the Netflix performance.