Official Panasonic DMP-BDT 220/320/500 Owners Thread - Page 97

I just got a DMP-BDT220 and my VT50 is to arrive today and I won't be setting everything up on network until later on. My question is can the BDT220 update firmware from a usb or sd card? Or do I have to waste a cd disk for updating firmware as by following the instructions. I have the uncompressed firmware but thought I'd ask before burning it to cd disk.

Thanks.

I just updated mine via the internet, with a wireless connection....I think you can do other methods, but the direct internet sure was easy.

The bdt220 has been assigned to guest room for the same reasons you list. Slow interface, poor dlna, etc.

You might be interested in the LG BP-620. Quick with Blu-Ray discs, good netflix interface, good dlna support. Streams my flac files with foobar [with the dlna plugin], and just about every file i throw at it, including 24p mkv and avi play fine through my wired network, using the supplied Nero DLNA software. I'm not a big Nero fan, but in this case, it works quite well.

I had a unit that was excessively noisy so I exchanged it. The 2nd one was significantly quieter but is still noisy at the beginning and end of discs.

These players are fast which will increase disc noise I believe.

Using the BDT-220. Am I correct that when using Netflix there is no screen saver enabled when Netflix is left sitting in browse mode?

My Roku boxes will go into screen saver mode. I am considering a Pany Plasma display but it is not unusual for me to fall asleep watching a stream, and that might cause Image Retention issues.

Considering that Panasonic is one of the few plasma makers I find this a serious oversight, yet don't see any discussions here about that.

I bought my 220 about a month ago. I watched Netflix fairly regularly the past month, but yesterday it would not connect to Netflix; it just endlessly went through the 5 bar thermometer without getting any further. I think this may have happened when I left the 220 on the Netflix browse screen for quite some time while I used a different input on my Onkyo 818 AVR.

I tried rebooting all my routers, switches and the entire AV system all at once. No joy. I did the BDT-220 system reset and now it is streaming again. When I first set up the BDT-220 it did an immediate firmware update so I should be current. Is this a common issue? I did a search here but did not see a lot of complaints about this specific problem.

I bought this because it was about the same price as a wired Roku box and I needed another Netflix streaming device. Considering the above, and the occasional funky/sluggish browse screen response, I am reconsidering using a BD player, at least this one, for that job. I don't think I am alone on this.
Edited by NeilR99 - 1/3/13 at 11:28am

Bought the 320 a few weeks ago at BestBuy.
They had a recent customer return for just over $99.00,
so decided to grab it vs 220, which was selling for $95.00,
new.

The bb guy opened up the box and unpacked the unit and we checked it
out....all complete. He even let me use the touchpad remote on their dispky unit so I
could, see how it worked.....yes it is different and does get some
getting used to, but has not been a problem for me.

No streaming or internet use for me....simply use for watching my
DVD collection and newly acquired bluray movies.

I guess I am lucky....the unit is so quite, I can't hear it run ..picture quality
is excellent on my Sony 40hx800....am very happy so far.

Yes, it would be nice to be able to eject the discs via the remote as opposed to
having to press the bottom on the player, but otherwise, am very pleased .

question....

Is The BDT 500 Worth It Over The Less $$ BDT 320???

They Are @ $100 APart Give Or Take.

~ Marcus

No, the picture is the same, sound is similar and the remote on the 220 doesn't suck like the remote one the 500.

Only if you need dual HDMI, useful for sending 3D video directly to your television over one cable while sending sound over a second HDMI cable to a non-HDMI-1.4a-compatible AVR. It also has high-spec analog sound parts, if you're into that.

Many universal remotes can give you back the open/close command. The $15 RCA RCRP05B is one option using THESE codes. Harmony is another option.

I love my 500. I've got an older Pioneer Elite receiver and didn't want to upgrade so I'm using the analog audio outputs the 500 has to the receiver and HDMI going to the TV. I use mine for BD and DVD and, once in a while, Netflix. I use a wire to my router with no problems...haven't tried wireless because I don't need it with my set up.

I couldn't be happier with this player but it's my first BD player so I have nothing to compare it to. One thing for sure is I haven't had any problems with streaming or anything else for that matter although I don't use it for playing files, at least, not yet.

I just bought the BDT220 and I'm really having a hard time with this thing. I was wondering if anyone else has had an LG BD390 player? When I watched a few quick scenes on bluray the BDT220 just didn't "do it" for me like the BD390 did. The thing that is strange is that I can't tell why.
I've compared the color, contrast, motion, etc. And I want to say that they are identical. Maybe it is a placebo type effect, but when I watch certain scenes they lack the "immersion" I had with the BD390. Let me list some scenes.

Casino Royale. The final chapter when the Jaguar pulls into the driveway and the driver gets out. This is the best scene that I've ever seen, period. Every time I watch it I swear my TV is a window looking outside at the car parked near the water. It is that good. It blows my mind. On the panasonic, it looks identical as far as I can "compare". Yet, when I watch it normally it just doesn't seem as 3D or "real". Still impressive, but not "amazing". I'm open to the possibility that this is a placebo effect, but then I tried a few digital animations.

Wall-E. The scene in chapter 5 right after Wall-E is about to go into his "house" and stops short when he sees the red light dot on the ground. When he turns around there are two scenes almost back to back where it shows his eyes staring at the light. The lenses look "real". Just incredible on the BD390. Again, on the BDT220 I can compare left and right, look at pixels and colors and everything, and it looks pretty much identical... I think. However, when I watch it "normally", it just doesn't strike me as being as "real".

Ratatouille. I skip to a few chapters, one of the first with the two rats roasting a mushroom (that sounds funny) on the roof of the house. Something about this seems smoother, but also more detailed on the BD390. But again, not positive. Then the first scene in the restaurant where the chef picks up the plate with whatever food it is - the orangish column thing sitting on the strands with little olive type things next to it. (haha I know my food huh?!) That orangish thing and the plate just strike me as "juicy" and "polished" on the BD390, but the BDT220 just seems not the same. Again later in the movie when the main character is chopping stuff and all the colorful veggies are laid out on the table. Everything is vivid and juicy on the BD390, something seems ever so slightly lacking on the BDT220.

So, here's the thing. I don't want to return this player if I am imaging the differences. Even if it IS less quality, it is one of the best I've ever seen. However, if I'm watching movies and don't get that true "wow" sensation that I did with the BD390, then I'd rather not keep it. Right now it "feels" like that will happen. But if I could somehow compare them easier I might feel better. If I had to pinpoint a difference I'd say the BDT220 is a hint grainier and the BD390 has a hint better color and contrast. But it is so hard to compare them when blurays take forever to load on both (for comparison anyhow). It just removes the ease of a closer, almost side-by-side comparison.

I even found that there was a dynamic contrast setting on the BD390 by default that isn't shown as "on", but only gets disabled if you set the options to "user" and all neutral or zero. Lowering this it seemed to bring the players closer to each other, but they still appear ever so slightly different in the ways I've described. If the BD390 is altering the image past reference quality that would help me live with the BDT220, however the dynamic contrast didn't seem to affect the "wow" sensation I get with blurays. It only made a very slight contrast difference and may have given more "pop", but even without it the image is almost identical and wows with quality.

I'd love some opinions and also can someone give a complete settings list for the BDT220 for "reference" quality.

Lastly, I have two HDMI inputs on my TV and could compare a lot better if I had two blurays that were the same. I've been considering re0buying a movie to do so, but I'd rather not spend $10-20 and end up returning the player anyway and being out that much more. :-P haha. Any testing ideas?

Sorry for the double post....thanks for the code list

Panasonic site says try setting primary DNS to 8.8.8.8, secondary to 8.8.4.4.

If that doesn't work, find out your ipconfig info - iv4 address, subnet mask, default gateway - from your pc (start > run > cmd > ipconfig)
then enter an unused IP address, enter the subnet mask, and gateway address.

That should work.

Just setup the 320 - replacing my Panny 110. Must say that so far I am impressed - the 320 is performing flawlessly. Used the Panny 110 remote to program my Harmony One with all the necessary actions and have acess to the menu, eject and all other functions. Wireless hookup was easy & fast. My router is only a few feet away and reports 4 bar signal strength. Set up my Amazon, Netflix & Vudu accounts without any problem and watched "Looper" last night on Vudu 1080p HDX without any hiccups, interruptions, etc. Can't say I fully understood the movie - but I can't blame that on the 320! Also spent some time navigating Netflix - all my previously selected films appeared in mu queue and I didn't notice any of the lag that others have commented on - watched a few minutes of Netflix programming without any of the black flashes that occasionally appeared on the 110.

Here's a tip if you want to turn off the "Beep": sound that annoyed me when navigating the Network Services home page, i.e. surfing from the bluray screen to Netflix to Amazon, etc. On this screen select the "More" option just below the BluRay screen and use the Up arrow to navigate up 2 screens until you see a "Settings" screen. Select the "Settings" screen and then select "Beeps" and the "Off" option and you now have silent navigation through all screens and options.

Hi, I am new here. Just bought panasonic dmp bdt 500 and I have one question to other owners. Do you have issues with BD-R/BD-R DL discs playback? I tried to run a few burned movies, but some of them didnt start. Do you have the same problem?

This is in the doesn't-hurt-to-ask category. Has anyone tried to get any of these players to work as a wireless bridge? My two ethernet wall jacks are used for the HDMI Balun but I have more doo-dads! I'd like to plug my iTach IP2IR into the ethernet jack on the back of the BDT-220 and bridge to the network by piggybacking on the player's WiFi.

The alternative is simple enough: buy a dedicated bridge, but I don't relish a proliferation of wall warts.

Thanks.

Trouble connecting Panasonic blu-ray player to internet

Bought a Panasonic DMP-BDT220 on the recommendation of CNET and the fact that it supports Amazon VOD. I go through the settings to connect to my wireless network typing in SSID and TKIP WPA2-PSK password. My network has MAC filtering enabled, and I've added the wireless mac address on the blu-ray player to the filter. The blu-ray player appears to connect successfully. However, I cannot connect to the Internet. Pressing the Internet button on the remote tells me that it cannot connect and to try again later. When I try to test the connection from the settings (IP Address/DNS both set to auto configure), it eventually times out with a message that it can connect to the home network but not the internet. My brand new Sharp TV connects just fine, as do all the Kindles we got for Christmas, and all the other online devices we have (laptop, tablet, xbox, etc.). I've increased the number of allowable devices at a time. My network is only broadcasting 802.11G. Any ideas?

I picked up the BDP220 earlier this week ffrom BestBuy for under $100. I didn't realize it had been out for so long, I guess a new model might be around the corner. If so, hopefully it will arrive within the 60 day return period at BestBuy.

I hadn't purchased a BD player in several years. This panasonic player is extremely thin and is also very fast. Much better than using a PS3 or my older BD players made between 2006 to 2009. I got it mainly for the 3D playback which is working great with my Mitsubishi DLP. I have been very pleased with it but if a new, better model comes out I would like to pick that up instead. Has anything been announced yet for 2013?

My last BD player was an LG BD390. A few posts up a user mentions it. I personally don't see a difference, but if there is any video processing in the player, the first thing I do is turn it off. And I think the LG had some video processing. I remember my LG combo HD DVD/BD players have some kind of video processing which oversaturates the image. So maybe the BD390 has the same thing.

EDIT: I also like the fact that you can use 40Mhz bandwidth(instead of the normal 20Mhz) on the wireless on these players. All my APs use 40Mhz so it's always nice to see a device that is able to take advantage of the higher wireless banwdth.
Edited by aaronwt - 1/4/13 at 12:52pm

Have you tried the "Easy Settings" option? You don't have to enter any Network Settings - the player does that automatically and tests all the connections and sets up your device pretty easily.

hello- New to this side of the Forum→
help- I'm seeing a "Not compatible with Windows 8" warning when trying to '"Play to" the DVD player from my PC -
I can access the win8 machine from the DVD player and see pics and play mp3's but no vids will play- unless from what I read they are .mkv files. \?/

|| Wondering 2 things- ||
Is there a way to play the .avi files we ALL have.. ?→ is there a work around or an AVI to 'whatever video file{s}' the DVD player will play, Convertor'?
And- how can I have windows8 see the DVD player as 'compatible'.(new drivers needed) or...is it simply never going to show the Panasonic as compatible..?
thxs
ΦBBΦ

Could someone with a 220 try playing When we left Earth on Netflix and see if it plays in DD5.1? Mine only played stereo. Trying to find out if it's a Netflix problem or something with my setup. I tried From Dusk Til Dawn and it correctly plays in 5.1.

Thanks

Doesn't play with 5.1 sound on either my BDT220 or my Roku 2 XS. I've come across other titles claiming to have 5.1 sound which don't have it, like The Fifth Element (which seems to have very recently left the Netflix streaming catalog).

I tried searching and found some topics related but I'm not sure I understand completely.

I have an Onkyo 705 receiver; it has HDMI 1.3a. The 705 will be going to a Panasonic VIERA TC-P60ST50 TV when I buy it. I am considering getting the Panasonic DMP-BDT 220 BD player.

For 3D from the 220 over HDMI, is it that I will not get any audio to the Onkyo 705? Or just not lossless audio? Obviously I can't live with no audio at all. And not pleased - but will live - with no lossless audio. I really don't want to step up and get the 500 for dual HDMI and don't want to buy a new receiver. So dunno what I want to do.

This is pretty much the only issue, I'm fine with everything else I've read about the player. Thanks for any help.

Bought a Panasonic DMP-BDT220 on the recommendation of CNET and the fact that it supports Amazon VOD. I go through the settings to connect to my wireless network typing in SSID and TKIP WPA2-PSK password. My network has MAC filtering enabled, and I've added the wireless mac address on the blu-ray player to the filter. The blu-ray player appears to connect successfully. However, I cannot connect to the Internet. Pressing the Internet button on the remote tells me that it cannot connect and to try again later. When I try to test the connection from the settings (IP Address/DNS both set to auto configure), it eventually times out with a message that it can connect to the home network but not the internet. My brand new Sharp TV connects just fine, as do all the Kindles we got for Christmas, and all the other online devices we have (laptop, tablet, xbox, etc.). I've increased the number of allowable devices at a time. My network is only broadcasting 802.11G. Any ideas?

I ordered the Panasonic DMP-BBT01, the slimer looking BD player, due to the fact that I'm running out of shelf space. Is this going to make a difference in terms of PQ & AQ, being one of Panasonic's better players? My current BD Player is the PS3 & the TV is a Panasonic 50ST30 from 2011. And also, I'm aware that there's some extra video processing features. Anyone know where I can find a list of them and if they're worth checking out?
Edited by shadylpete - 1/4/13 at 9:46pm

Connect the 220 to the ST50 using HDMI. Connect the 220 to the 705 using an optical (TOSLINK) cable. You will have DTS and DD, but only the standard lossy types.

Alternatively, could an HDMI splitter be used to send 3D video to the ST50 and lossless audio to the 705 both via HDMI at the same time?

You could always go with the Panasonic BDT500 with dual HDMI. HDMI one would run to your TV for video and the second would run to the receiver for lossless audio.

S~