Panasonic Blu-ray disc player

When considering adding a Blu-ray player into your home theater system make sure to consider a Panasonic Blu-ray disc player.  Panasonic is a leader among consumer electronics manufacturers, so it is no surprise that they are active in the Blu-ray player market as well.

The market is seeing an increasing amount of Blu-ray players hit the retail shelves and to search through the maze of players can be a difficult and confusing task.  When searching for a Panasonic Blu-ray disc player there are three models that you will likely come across.  Let's take a look at all three of them. 

Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu-ray disc player

The Panasonic DMP-BD30K 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Playeris widely regarded as one, if not the best Blu-ray player on the market right now.  Why is it so highly regarded?

• Superb, crystal clear 1080p high definition picture.  Of course the quality of the picture is the first thing that you will look at when viewing a Blu-ray player and the DMP-BD30 does not disappoint.  It's sharp picture with vibrant colors will stand out as a noticeable improvement over standard definition DVD players.
• The second major improvement that Blu-ray players offer is the increased audio quality.  The DMP-BD30 is able to play back Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) the high definition audio formats offering lossless sound for exceptional surround sound as the director intended.  It is important to note that the DMP-BD30 can bitstream the information to a compatible (HDMI 1.3) receiver, but can not decode internally.  If your receiver is not capable of handling the newest audio formats, you can still receive high quality Dolby Digital and DTS sound with this player, but to take full advantage of the sound capabilities you will need to upgrade your receiver.
• Quick load times.
• SD card connection
• Ability to play MP3s
• Another important consideration is that the DMP-BD30 offers solid, stable performance that other manufacturers wish they could match.   

Is the player perfect?  Of course not.  We are still in the infant stages of Blu-ray.

• As mentioned above, the DMP-BD30 does not decode advanced audio internally which is not a problem for those with newer receivers, however for those with older receivers they may not be able to take advantage of the truly exceptional Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA sound.
• The player is profile 1.1 meaning that it can support picture in picture content, but since it doesn't have an ethernet connection it can't support internet content.
• The DMP-BD30 provides mediocre SD upconversion.  It can upconvert standard DVDs competently, but other players are more capable in this area.
• There was a known issue (LFE issue) that affected outputting PCM via HDMI, however this has since been resolved by a firmware update.

Overall the Panasonic DMP-BD30 is an exceptional, if not the best, stand alone Blu-ray player choice for those looking to enter the amazing world of Blu-ray.

Panasonic DMP-BD50 Blu-ray disc player

The Panasonic DMP-BD50K 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player release is widely anticipated.  It is set to be released during the second quarter of 2008.

The DMP-BD50 hopes to build on the high quality picture and sound, as well as the stable performance of the DMP-BD30, but will add internal decoding of all the major audio formats including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA which is a major addition for those with receivers not compatible with the DMP-BD30's bitstream technology.  The other major addition for the DMP-BD50 is that it is a Profile 2.0 player meaning that it will add an ethernet port for internet connectivity.

Panasonic DMP-BD10 Blu-ray disc player

This is a highly regarded Blu-ray player that Panasonic first introduced a couple of years ago.  With a high quality picture and sound the DMP-BD10 is an excellent Blu-ray player, however the player has been discontinued and replaced by the DMP-BD30.  It is a profile 1.0 player meaning that it does not have support for picture in picture or internet connectivity.  If you can find a good deal on a used model or close out model, this would be a great addition to your home theater.