 |
I own a Toshiba HD DVD player, the PS3 Blu Ray player and now the Panasonic Blu Ray player. Although the Panasonic Blu Ray player is a bit more expensive than some of the other models available, I wanted the Panasonic DMP-BD30K due to the SD-HC card slot. Our Panasonic HDC-SD5 HD Camcorder records onto the SDHC cards. (The Panasonic HDC-SD5 camcorder also comes with a HD-DVD burner that burns Full HD content from the camcorder onto standard dvd discs...so, you don't have to have the Panasonic Blu Ray player to player...you can also hook the HD camcorder up directly to your HDTV or HD projector for viewing content)It is really nice to simply place the small SD card into the Panasonic Blu Ray player and watch your home movies. The DOWN SIDE of the Panasonic DMP-BD30k Blu Ray player is the fact that it is a bit sensitive as to what you connect it to and the cables used for connecting it. I understand that it has problems synchronizing the HDMI connection with several models of LCD/Plasma displays and had a problem with my Sanyo HD Projector. This was very disappointing since the projector works great with other Blu Ray players and the Toshiba HD-DVD player. To add to the disappointment was the attitude of their customer service staff who placed the blame on the projector. It amazes me that Toshiba's HD-DVD player works with it and the Sony Blu Ray players work beautifully with it, but the Panasonic struggled. The factory reps had no solution to my problem. Since I own the Panasonic HD Camcorder, I was determined to resolve the issue. It would display a picture with the component cables, but not the HDMI cables. I performed an ungrade by downloading from the Panasonic website and this did not fix the problem. Eventually, I had to upgrade my Monster HDMI cable to a newer version and it now works. I am still using my old cable with my old Toshiba HD player. Other down sides include the HD upconversion doesn't lock in with the component cables and doesn't hold a candle to upconverting performed by the Toshiba HD DVD player. Toshiba provided software updates on discs that arrived monthly. The folks at Panasonic stated they had no plans to do this. In fact, one of the reps who stated he was one of only eight reps dedicated to this product told me no updates were available. I found the update on their website doing my own research. The remote is a bit goofy too. Not overwhelming...just odd placement of buttons, etc. 1080P, 1080i, 720P IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE? We did an experiment with friends on picture quality. Using our Full HD Projector on a 10 foot diagonal screen and a Sony Full HD Bravia HDTV we asked a group of 15 people to distinguish between 1080P, 1080i and 720P. Guess what??? No one could tell the difference! A few more got it right on the 10 foot screen, but no one could tell any difference on a 52 inch Bravia. We used HD DVD's and Blu Ray discs. We rented standard definition titles of the same movies and showed the same chapter from each disc. What was more impressive is that when using Toshiba's upconverting, no one could tell the difference between an HD, Blu Ray or standard DVD. So, if you want to save some money and don't have the need to be on the leading edge like me, buy a Toshiba HD DVD player and let it upconvert your standard DVD's. I would like to add that I really do like the Panasonic HD Camcorder with the SD-HC card and I am sure with time that I will appreciate the convenience of their Blu Ray.Read full review
Bought the player reconditioned and at a good price. Arrived in "new" condition with all pieces included. Not having a prior Blu-Ray, it provides my system with the best picture and sound to date. However it is very small improvement over Satellite HD signal connected by HDMI cable. The sound is the biggest difference. One small complaint is that it has no separate earphone jack, but I got around this by using the audio jacks in the back to route to wireless earphone system. Normally this should not be a problem if you have a working earphone jack on your entertainment control unit. I used the HDMI cable to go from Blu-Ray to control unit and from there to TV. They provide one cable, but I had to supply the cable from control unit to TV. All and all, I am happy with the Blu-Ray upgrade and enjoy watching the enhanced video and really enjoy the great sound.Read full review
This unit is quieter than the Toshiba HD-A3 I also own, and many new titles are coming out in Blue Ray...most worthwhile on a 37" or larger LCD panel, as the picture quality is better than with HDTV over cable/satellite. Easy to set up, remote has large buttons. Upconversion of standard DVDs good, but probably not as good as with the Toshiba HD-DVD units. Can only upconvert to one TV at a time; if hooked up to two units, one gets a picture in 480i. But not a big deal as you could use an HDMI switch in this situation. All in all, a good value and a nice looking unit. And now Blue Ray the only way to get true 1080p HDTV.
Ive wanted a blu-ray player since they came out. When my JVC DVD player went bad, this was the time. Being a long time video salesman for Circuit City, I know that Panasonic is a very good brand as far as picture quality, reliability and ease of use. Blu-ray movies are crystal clear. I have been very happy with the quality of the picture with the blu-ray discs and with the up converting on standard dvds. Standard dvds look almost as clear as the blu-rays. This unit is a perfect match with my 65" Mitsubishi HDTV. The Mitsubishi has a very dark contrast, and through the DVD player set up menu, I can adjust it to be a little brighter. This is great especially on movies where a lot of the scenes are dark. It has plenty of inputs and outputs if your not going to go through your surround sound receiver. The set up was very easy. You can adjust the picture and audio setting through the menu just as easy as you would on a television set. The remote buttons are positioned for easy use and the lettering is easy to see even in a dimly lit room. I really have nothing negative to say about this unit other than the fact that it takes an abnormally long time for the drawer to open. (Or I am just way too impatient) I would definitely recommend this unit to anyone.Read full review
Panasonic is way ahead of Sony on this one. Start ups are a complaint on all the Blu-ray systems but Sony has no excuse for their lag time on anything. I would have thought the creator of the standard would be the leader but that is not the case with Blu-ray, Sony has been bested. The BD30K is a slim unit only about half the height of the Sony and fits perfectly where your old DVD player sat in your cabinet. Hook up is easy and set-up doesn't take too long. The instruction manual is well worded and very detailed. Firmware upgrades are easy with complete instructions on the web site. The downside is that you must have computer and a CD burner or know someone who does unless you care to wait weeks for one to be mailed your way. The quality of the Blu-ray format is what you purchase a Blu-ray player for and the BD30K won't disappoint you. The under spoken strength is in the upverting of you old DVDs to higher resolutions and the BD30K does this with near Blu-ray quality. Now that the excellent HD-DVD format has succumbed to lack of support from disk manufacturers and retail sales locations, we can expect more Blu-ray brands and more features in the near future as companies vie for the consumer dollar. Today the most bang-for-our-buck is the BD30K already loaded with features and set to last many years on our systems.Read full review
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in DVD & Blu-ray Players
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on DVD & Blu-ray Players
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
