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Buy Discount Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)
Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)
The Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray Disc Player combines high-quality images with advanced networking features. Continuing its commitment to produce products that stress the ease of use, the 2009 line of Blu-ray Disc continue to incorporate VIERA Link, which allows the consumer to make their audio / video components via HDMI, a single remote control. And, in line with Panasonic, aos commitment to reduce the planet, the carbon footprint AOS, the new Blu-ray discs are designed to reduce energy consumption.
Movies Like Never Before
The DMP-BD60 uses the PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus Developed in collaboration with Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory, this processing technology reproduces images at high light, vivid colors that are faithful to the original film. Recognizing that the audio is important to the entertainment experience, this Blu-ray Disc high definition with an audio decoder (Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio Essential) to exploit the extraordinary quality of sound now integrated 7.1 channel surround Blu-ray Disc.The DMP-BD60 includes a slot for SD memory cards and USB port, making it easier for consumers to view and share digital pictures and HD video is recorded with an HD camera in AVCHD format.In order to produce the ultimate picture quality, Panasonic, aos DMP-BD60 Blu-ray technology uses high-precision 4:4:4 signal, that operates in tandem with PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus processes each pixel of the Blu -ray Disc video signal in a horizontal direction, to complete the transformation in the vertical direction. P4HD (Pixel Precision Progressive Processing for HD) is another technology that contributes to the superior picture quality of Blu-ray. P4HD processes over 15 billion pixels per second and applies the optimal treatment for each pixel.Panasonic Blu-ray aos further use 16-level motion detection to categorize the movement of each pixel of the image in one of 16 levels, transform into diagonal diagonals to detect and correct the pixels accordingly; 1080p up-conversion up-convert content recorded in the 480i / po 720p at 1080p. The Blu-ray also provide 1080/24p output, to reproduce the images of cinema from a Blu-ray Disc and DVD 24p in their original form without any conversion. This allows the user to enjoy images of cinema in the same format used in cinemas with a 1080/24p compatible TV.Congratulations to the HD audio codecs that Blu-ray features 96kHz Surround Re-master, a feature which enhances the sound quality of CDs and other sources, and also improves data quality multi-channel audio on Blu-ray and DVD.
ENERGY STAR Rated
In order to obtain a reduction of energy consumption of the Panasonic DMP-BD60 uses Auto Power stand-by, a function that automatically turns off when the player returns to the TV using the menu operation VIERA Link. In addition, the stand-by Power Save automatically shut off the player, aos Quick Start. VIERA when switched on, Quick Start also runs on. Furthermore, the development of single-chip LSI UniPhier can wrap an entire circuit of video signal processing in a single chip. This helps to lower energy consumption, reduces the number of parts required and allows a more compact design. In fact, the DMP-BD60 consumes 16% less in standby mode compared to last year, the AOS model, the DMP-BD35.
Read More Detail Or Buy Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) @ Amazon.com
Customer Reviews For Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)
By Chris Boylan “MrBoylan” (Astoria, NY USA)
With the BD60, Panasonic VIERA Cast adds online content access to their previous entry-level model, the DMP-BD35. You would think this makes an excellent Blu-ray Player excellenter even (yes, I know that’s not a word), and it does. The BD60 excels in its Blu-ray Disc playback and DVD upconversion is very good at as well, passing difficult tests like the HQV Benchmark discs with flying colors (as well as looking good on real movies). The BD60 can decode all of the latest surround sound codecs (including DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD) to PCM over HDMI or it can stream these to a compatible receiver in their native formats. Also, if past Panasonic players are any indication, the BD60 tests should to be among the best at disc compatibility, something Plagued Which has many players from other brands. But there are still a few drawbacks with the BD60 that keep it from getting 5 stars: * Speed: The BD60 is not quite as fast to load discs as the Samsung BD-P3600 or the LG BD300, though it is faster than last year’s Samsung models. (12/03/09 update – this is about 20% faster with the 2.0 firmware and above) * Limited online content: YouTube on Blu-ray player is cool, but it does not appear to Netflix online streaming in terms of quality and selection of content (Netflix is available on LG and Samsung players). Amazon’s On-Demand Streaming Service for VIERA Cast has been announced but is not yet available (update: it is available now). The good news is that VIERA Cast can be enhanced with more content over time without Requiring the purchase of a new player. * Less than integrated operation: moving between Blu-ray and VIERA Cast online content is not as seamless as it could be. You have to completely stop playback and exit back to the Panasonic player’s splash screen in order to get to the VIERA Cast “home screen to access online content. And what’s with that annoying BEEP when you go through the VIERA Cast menus? * SD card requirement: Like its predecessors, the BD60 lacks on-board storage so you’ll need to add an SD or SDHC card to enjoy BD-Live content. Panasonic could have at least thrown in a 1GB or 2GB SD card in the box. Also, while the BD60 adds a USB port to the front panel, it does not support DivX or Xvid video playback so this limits the USB port’s usefulness. A USB storage device connected to the BD60′s USB port can only be used for playback of MP3 music files and viewing of JPEG digital images. If your primary goal is to get a reliable, high performance Blu-ray/DVD player then None of the above should really matter to you (except possibly the operation speed, Which is really about as average as the current players to go) and you should strongly consider the BD60. But if you’re more interested in viewing content online as well as on those shiny silver discs, then you might want to wait to see what else VIERA Cast has to offer over the coming months. Or get the best of all possible worlds by buying the BD60 for Blu-ray and DVD and picking up a Roku box just for online streaming. In terms of differences between the BD60 and the DMP-BD80 step-up model, the main enhancements in the BD80 are multi-channel analog output (for compatibility with older non-HDMI receivers), DivX playback, vibration isolating feet and “High Clarity Audio “Which Allows you to disable the analog video processing if you’re using HDMI for the video signal, thereby (theoretically at least) improving overall sound quality. If these features are not essential, then save yourself some money and get the BD60 instead. 12/03/09 Update: Some owners of the BD60, BD80 and BD70V have reported a random freeze or pause in playback while watching Blu-ray Discs. While we never saw it during our review of the BD60 and BD80, we did see it on the DMP-BD70V (review available on Big Picture Big Sound web site). Panasonic released firmware version 2.2 this week to address this issue and so far (though it’s early), the consensus on the great and vast interwebs is that it may have actually worked. 1/19/10 Update: Netflix is coming to VIERA Cast (yay!) But it will only be available on 2010 players and displays (boooo!). If you’ve been holding out for Netflix on the BD60, BD80 or BD70V, you’re out of luck. At CES earlier this month, Panasonic told us Netflix will be available in the 2010 Players (DMP-BD65, DMP-BD85, DMP-BDT350) as well as in 2010 HDTV models with VIERACast but they will not be Able to retrofit it to the 2009 players.
With the BD60, Panasonic VIERA Cast adds on-line access to content before they enter basic model, the DMP-BD35. One might think that this is an excellent Blu-ray also excellenter (yes, I know that is not a word), and it does. The BD60 excels in its Blu-ray Disc playback and DVD upconversion is very good at, and passed the difficult tests, such as the HQV Benchmark discs with flying colors (as well as good looking on the actual film). The BD60 can decode all the latest surround sound codecs (including DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD) to PCM over HDMI or can stream them to a compatible receiver in their native format. Moreover, if past players Panasonic are any indication, the BD60 should prove to be among the best disc compatibility, something that has plagued many players from other manufacturers.
But there are still some problems with the BD60 that keep it from getting 5 stars:
* Speed: The BD60 is fast enough to load the disks as the Samsung BD-P3600 or the LG BD300, the models even if it is faster than last year’s Samsung. (Update 12/03/09 – This is about 20% faster with firmware 2.0 and higher)
* Online content Limited: YouTube on a Blu-ray is cool, but do not compare with Netflix streaming online in terms of quality and content selection (Netflix is available on LG and Samsung players). Amazon’s On-Demand streaming service has been announced for VIERA Cast, but is not yet available (update: now available). The good news is that VIERA Cast can be improved with more content over time without requiring the purchase of a new player.
* Less than integrated operation: moving between Blu-ray and VIERA Cast content online is not as perfect as could be. You should definitely stop playing and exit back to the splash screen of the Panasonic player, in order to reach the VIERA Cast “home screen to access content online. And what with that annoying beep when you go through the VIERA Cast menu?
* Obligation to SD card: Like its predecessor, the BD60 lacks on-board storage so you’ll need to add an SD or SDHC card to enjoy the BD-Live. Panasonic could have at least thrown in a 1GB or 2GB SD card in the box.
Moreover, while the BD60 adds a USB port on the front panel does not support playback of DivX or Xvid video so this limits the usefulness of the USB port. A USB storage device connected to the USB port of the BD60 can only be used for playback of MP3 music files and display JPEG digital images.
If your goal is to obtain a reliable, high performance Blu-ray/DVD player then none of the above should really matter to you (except maybe the speed of operation, which is actually in the media for the players Current GO) and you should seriously consider the BD60. But if you’re more interested in viewing content online as well as on those shiny silver discs, then you might want to wait to see what else VIERA Cast has to offer in the coming months. Or to get the best of all worlds by buying the BD60 for Blu-ray and DVD and collecting a Roku box just for streaming on-line.
In terms of differences between the step-up BD60 and DMP-BD80, BD80 are the main improvements in multi-channel analog output (for compatibility with older non-HDMI receivers), DivX playback, vibration isolating feet, “High Clarity Audio “that turns off the analog video processing if you are using HDMI for the video signal, then (theoretically) improve the overall quality of sound. If these features are not essential, then save money and get the BD60 instead.
Update 12/03/09: Some owners of BD60, BD80 and BD70V have reported a block random or pause playback while watching Blu-ray Disc. While we never saw during our review of the BD60 and BD80, we did see on the DMP-BD70V (review available on the website Big Picture Big Sound). Panasonic has released firmware version 2.2 of this week to address this problem and so far (although it is early), the consensus on the interwebs very similar and which may have actually worked.
1/19/10 Update: Netflix is going to VIERA Cast (yay!), But will be available only on 2010 players and displays (boooo!). If you have Netflix on farm BD60, BD80 or BD70V, you’re out of luck. At CES earlier this month, Panasonic has said Netflix will be available in 2010 as a player (DMP-BD65, DMP-BD85, DMP-BDT350) as well as in the 2010 model HDTV with VIERACast but will not be able to Retrofit for 2009 players.
By G. Jewell
Panasonic has recently released firmware version 2.2. This firmware seems to have solved the problem that I explain below. If it is not completely solved, at least reduces the number of occurrences in a very meaningful. I urge anyone who purchases this player to upgrade the firmware to the latest revision to avoid potential problems with freezing. Though I think the problems I had were resolved, I want the review to 2 stars. Now, I think the player (with latest firmware), deserves at least 4 stars, maybe 5. Hopefully, people who are less technically savvy will read this “negative” review and then make sure that they are running with firmware 2.2 or higher, if you decide to purchase this equipment. Please read the player manual to see how.
My original review is below:
I bought one of these from Amazon, but was experiencing random freezing Blu-ray. The disc would simply quit playing for about 10 seconds, and then resume as if there were any problems. I tried to reproduce in areas where I met the freezing, but was never able to duplicate it. After my movie 4 that has frozen, I returned the unit to Amazon and got a replacement. Even the replacement unit had this problem, so I sent that one back too. Until now, Panasonic has not released any kind of declaration or even acknowledged that this is a problem. I would recommend people to look elsewhere for their player. I am very disappointed, because this player has the potential to be a great, yet affordable and unity.
By B. Campbell (Richmond, VA USA)
I bought this player to replace a Samsung BD-P2500, which gave me more compatibility issues with Blu-ray, and so far have not been disappointed. The picture quality on Blu-ray is amazing and I had no compatibility issues so far; upscaling of standard DVDs is great. VieraCast is a novel feature that may one day find the greatness if Panasonic expanded support to include Amazon, Netflix and Hulu. (I see Amazon is support on the road.)
I have not experienced freezing problems that some describe here, but I think it is due to how to use the player more than anything else. (I watch a disc or two at a time, then power the unit between uses – for a technical explanation of why this circumvents the problem it seems, see next paragraph). Anyway, I read online recently that Panasonic has finally understand the cause of the problem of freezing and is working on a firmware upgrade to fix the problem.
(For you techies out there, here’s a little ‘more detailed explanation of the problem of freezing on the basis of what I collect online: Blu Ray make heavy use of Java, and the BD60 is apparently “problems in garbage collection causing the freeze. Powering the unit periodically delete what’s in memory, minimizing the likelihood of another freeze-up. Since I tend to watch a Blu-Ray or two at a time and then turn off the ‘unity between uses, I have not experienced any crashes.)
The only other features I can say is that while the unit supports 24fps playback on DVD, you have to turn it on manually each time. Type of pain, but only a pain if you’re a purist video.
That’s it. Other issues. Sorry for the boring question, but this player not only all that is required without complaints. I think one of the best A / V investments I made in time, and we recommend it to others without hesitation.