Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Upconverting Dvd Players - streaming video, panasonic
I have been waiting for this Blu-ray player since it was announced in January, bought this to use with my Panasonic VIERA TV set. VIERA link is the main reason I bought this -- it's for our exercise room, and my wife hates all the remotes. Great as a basic DVD/blu-ray player. Pop in a DVD, TV turns on, and sets the correct input. Also, one button selection of Netflix works great, and the new Netflix interface includes search. On screen interface is also very nice and easy to use. As will all new players, only has HDMI and composite video connectors, but single HDMI for video and audio is nice and is required for VIERA link.
Only reason for the 4 stars is DLNA (which in not just an issue with this device). Writing this in the hopes of saving at least one person the hours I spent setting this up. First, with my Windows 7 PC, the device was able to see and play the Windows Media Center .wtv files (I have a TV tuner card in my PC), so you can record shows on your PC and watch them on this player in another room. Compatibility with .wtv files was not mentioned in the manual, nor by Panasonic online support. Panasonic support also said that .mkv files would only play via a disk or the usb, but some of my .mkv files on my PC did play using DLNA (for some reason, only the files with an aspect ratio of 1024X576 or higher will play). Decided I needed a media server.
After trying Tversity, Playon, and Serviio, none of which would work with the DMP-BD75, I installed Mezzmo on my PC. Worked like a champ! The player sees all the files on my PC and they play flawlessly over my home network.
Remote will only control TV volume, power, and input, so if you switch to TV, you have to switch remotes. Don't know why in TV mode the number keys couldn't function to enter a channel number. Still, the remote will control all disc functions, Netflix, and all my video files via DLNA. One thing with the remote and VIERA link, the large power button turns on the player and will also turn on the TV at the same time. However, when you power down, using the large power button only turns off the player (which does make sense, you may want to leave the TV on). There is a second power button for the TV. If you turn off that button, both with shut down.
Overall, for just under $100 you can't go wrong. And if you aren't interested in DLNA or 3D, then this would be a 5 star player. Panasonic DMP-BD75 Ultra-Fast Booting Blu-ray Disc Player
I've had this Bd75 for about a month now. When I first received it , I had problems. I mainly got this unit so I could stream Netflix movies, and wanted to have a Blu-ray player to connect to my Panasonic TC-L42U22 1080p LCD TV.
When the player chose to work, I was overwhelmed by the fantastic picture quality of this TV/Blu-ray combo. But, the Bd75 had bugs, and if you're like me, if something doesn't work as it should right out of the box, chances are things are only going to get worse.
I decided that the Bd75 was so good at streaming Netflix movies that I would keep it, bugs and all.
Now for the really good news. I turned the unit on a few days ago, and had a on-screen message that there was a firmware update available. Version 1.19 I let it download. It restarts itself after the download, and since then, NO bugs, freeze-ups, or any other problems.
If this firmware update does its job, then this Bd75 player will be a steal at the $99.00 it sells for.
Panasonic says this player won't support Amazon Video on Demand as it does not have VIERA Cast capability. There is currently no firmware update and they told me they don't expect to add this feature in the future either. It does support Netflix streaming.
I have since returned the DMP-BD75 and purchased a Panasonic DMP-BD65 with VIERA Cast. The DMP-BD65 works great and streams Amazon Video on Demand.
I just needed a solid Blue Ray DVD player - to play DVDs. I bought this off the shelf at Target for $99, plugged it in and it worked great. I liked the very quick start up from the time you put the disc in until it is playing on the screen. Excellent picture. Super slim and attractive body. Very simple to use. Requires no intelligence to set up or operate. (Don't forget to buy whatever cables you need - none included except the power plug) If you want an easy to use player to watch DVDs this one is a great value for the cost and really does give a beautiful, clear picture.
The picture quality for Blu-ray and DVD is very good, and the boot time is excellent. However, in just a few uses the machine has shown a tendency to lock up and the only way to resolve the issue is to pull the power cord. This has happened while viewing movies, and looking at photos that are stored on my PC.
The Netflix quality is poor. I also have a Roku box that I use for Netflix, and the quality for the Roku far exceeds that of the Panasonic Blu-ray player. Since the quality on the Roku is so much better I don't consider the Blu-ray player as even being an option if I want to watch anything through Netflix.
All things considered it is not a bad Blu-ray player, but the tendency to freeze up makes this a machine that I probably would not recommend.
I'm not sure that a device that did not work out of the box deserves 4 stars but since it is 2011 and manufacturers can fairly rely on consumers having access to a hard-wired internet connection (ethernet cable, not wireless), I guess having to download the most current software is not reason enough to fail this device. When I first hooked up this Panasonic BlueRay with an HDMI cable, there was a crazy loud clicking noise instead of the expected audio. A quick read of the manual had me hooking this up to my Cisco Router and getting the most current download. Then it was smooth sailing and everything worked seamlessly. So, if you have some competence with your network then you should be fine - otherwise you might want to skip this item. - Blu-ray - Panasonic - Streaming Video - Netflix'
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