Own the Panasonic DMP-BD30K Blu Ray Player?

[BadAssJazz]

The upgrade craze continues.

The Samsung BD is ok, but it's not without unwanted bugs. I couldn't get Resident Evil Extinction to play...which isn't end of the world, since we're not exactly talking about Oscar-caliber material here...and found out that I may need to download a firmware upgrade. No thanks. Fortunately it was a gift, so I don't feel terrible about putting the Samsung back in it's box. Off to the closet you go.

I hear good things about the Panny BD30 and I'll probably pick up one tonight on the way home from work. Any detractors?

[f0rge]

is it 2.0 spec?

you should wait for 2.0 spec before picking up another player. think late summer/fall...

[BadAssJazz]

you should wait for 2.0 spec before picking up another player. think late summer/fall...

Can't wait that many months. Must upgrade now. :biggrin5:

Besides, if I'm truly being honest with myself, I know that I'll end up upgrading something at the end of the year anyway. If there is something knew in the pipeline -- and I'm sure there is -- it just gives me something to look forward to down the road.

But [twitching uncontrollably] Daddy gotta get his ugrade fix now!!! The Panny is calling me! :out:

[f0rge]

haha fair enough...

and you know if that sammy is just going to be sitting in a closet i'll gladly pay the shipping to help you clear up some of that clutter...

[L.J.]

One advantage of players with ethernet jack is a very easy upgrade. PS3 is just a few clicks and your done. I assume you wanna get something new before your 30 days is up on your 805 to make sure it's compatible?

[Mr Peabody]

The dmp30 will not decode the HD audio but will pass it via bitstream and it has below average DVD playback if that's a concern. The Samsung ethernet works pretty well but it seemed slow but I'm sure it depends on your internet access. Samsung will also send you the discs if you want to wait a week or so.

There is no BR player on the market I would buy right now. I think it sucks they all have poor SD playback, one advantage with the BD-P1200 is stellar SD playback. Even the Elite and Sony ES have poor SD. The ones with promise are the very expensive Denon 3800 and upcoming Marantz, both will set you back around 2G's.

If your heart is set on an upgrade, I will gladly help by buying your BD-P1200, either PM or email what you think a fair price would be. The thing does have glitches but it's probably the best BR player to hit the street, except for maybe the PS3.

[BadAssJazz]

One advantage of players with ethernet jack is a very easy upgrade. PS3 is just a few clicks and your done.

I checked the Panasonic website, and you can download and burn to CD-R all of their firmware updates, if needed. Or request a disc. Not as fast as ethernet, but an acceptable option.

As for PS3, after reading through AVS forums and a few other review sites, the consensus seems to be that PS3 + Onkyo 805 = Bad Voodoo. I'm going to avoid that combination. Granted, there is no such thing as the perfect component...at least not in my price range...but the Panny seems to match well for the most part.


I assume you wanna get something new before your 30 days is up on your 805 to make sure it's compatible?

Well, yes, that's part of it.

My budget is ~$2,100, and I initially had an eye to just getting either an HDMI 1.3 pre/pro+amp or an AVR with ALL of that. If the 805 doesn't work out, I'll default to Plan A.

But the 805 was the unexpected surprise. Didn't imagine finding anything that cheap. If it works, I could possibly add an AVR, a better Blu Ray machine, and still have about $800 left for popcorn and a date.

So I guess what I'm really shooting for is the popcorn and the date. :smilewinkgrin:

[BadAssJazz]

The dmp30 will not decode the HD audio but will pass it via bitstream

Yes, that's fine. The Onkyo 805 will handle the audio chores.


...and it has below average DVD playback if that's a concern.

Did I mention my closet? :D

No worries, if the performance on standard DVD's is completely unviewable, I still have the Samsung BD, a Sony SACD/DVD player, an LG single DVD upconvert player in the office, and another Pioneer Elite upconverting player in the bedroom. (Ok, so I've missed a few HT Shopaholics meetings.)

[L.J.]

I checked the Panasonic website, and you can download and burn to CD-R all of their firmware updates, if needed. Or request a disc. Not as fast as ethernet, but an acceptable option.

As for PS3, after reading through AVS forums and a few other review sites, the consensus seems to be that PS3 + Onkyo 805 = Bad Voodoo. I'm going to avoid that combination. Granted, there is no such thing as the perfect component...at least not in my price range...but the Panny seems to match well for the most part.



Well, yes, that's part of it.

My budget is ~$2,100, and I initially had an eye to just getting either an HDMI 1.3 pre/pro+amp or an AVR with ALL of that. If the 805 doesn't work out, I'll default to Plan A.

But the 805 was the unexpected surprise. Didn't imagine finding anything that cheap. If it works, I could possibly add an AVR, a better Blu Ray machine, and still have about $800 left for popcorn and a date.

So I guess what I'm really shooting for is the popcorn and the date. :smilewinkgrin:

Sounds like a plan. Let us know what you end up with. I'm looking foward to nice review :thumbsup: