Panasonic DMP-BD35K 1080p Blu-ray Player
Panasonic’s two new slim, BD-Live compatible, feature-filled Blu-ray players, the DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55, offer cutting edge technologies focused on producing the ultimate movie-viewing experience.The BD35 and BD55 both feature an HD Audio Decoder (Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTSTM-HD Master Audio Essential), delivering 7.1-channel surround sound through a 7.1-channel receiver equipped with an HDMI terminal. The DMP-BD55 features high-end audio components and can also output analog signals for 7.1-channel sound, so even receivers that are not compatible with HDMI can produce the newest 7.1-channel surround sound. Both models are equipped with an SD Memory Card slot that makes it easy to transfer images from an HD camcorder or digital still camera that uses SD Memory Cards and are compatible with Panasonic’s VIERA Link function so they can be operated by the VIERA HDTV remote control. The combination of a Panasonic Blu-ray player, Home Theater audio system and a (more…)
I take my home theater hobby pretty seriously, that’s why when it came time to invest in a Blu-Ray player (finally the wait is over!!!), I did a ridiculously great amount of research. I was willing to spend much more money on a blu-ray player, but the prices have come down so much, you don’t have to! I narrowed down my extensive search for the right player to the Panasonic DMP-BD35K and the Sony BDP-S350. **I BOUGHT THEM BOTH AND DID A “SIDE-BY-SIDE” TEST!**
I have some nice equipment, so I feel that the test was an excellent representation of the capabilities of these two players. My equipment includes a 100-inch Stewart screen with a 1080p Sony Pearl front projector, an Integra 9.8 DTC processor (with all the latest surround sound goodies), a 7-channel NAD amp, 7 Paradigm Signature speakers, and a dual M&K subwoofer (for full 7.1 surround sound).
I do understand electronics, but the Sony manual was really hard to follow. After only one call to Sony, I eventually got the player set up properly. After I set up the Panasonic, everything became much clearer. The Panasonic manual is so much better. But, who really cares about manuals? How do these two players perform side by side?
Audio for BOTH Blu-ray discs and standard DVDs: The Panasonic unquestionably has better audio. Compared to the Sony, the highs were much clearer. The 7.1 surround sound put me right in the middle of the “explosion” (my first test blu-ray disc was National Treasure I) when the Charlotte blew up. The biggest Audio difference was the bass. The bass in the Panasonic was so much better than the Sony. In fact, my old Sony standard-DVD player had better audio than the Sony BDP-S350. I’d give the Sony 3 stars with the audio. The Panasonic had outstanding treble, bass, and surround: 5-star audio!
Video for BOTH Blu-ray discs and standard DVDs: The Sony’s video was good, but the Panasonic’s video was fantastic! The skin tones were more realistic and the colors were more vibrant with the Panasonic. The Sony seemed to have a thin gray film over everything — like looking through a filmy-dirty window. The Sony had 4-star video (it looked good, but not nearly as good when directly compared to the Panasonic). The Panasonic and its upscaling gets an easy 5 stars!
Both my wife and I did the “side-by-side” test by going back and forth between Blu-Ray discs and standard DVDs. We didn’t discuss any of our thoughts until we each independently formed our own conclusions. After seeing and hearing both players, we were both in complete agreement that in every way the Panasonic DMP-BD35K was superior to the Sony BDP-S350.
By the way, the card slot on the Sony for BD-Live is very hard to get to. I do like Sony as a brand for some things, but not Blu-Ray players.
For those of you who are doing your research, hopefully I can save you some time to answer if you should buy the Panasonic DMP-BD35K or DMP-BD55K. I called Panasonic and asked the differences; besides the price, there are only two differences. The 55K plays DivX’s. If you don’t have any DivX’s like me and most of the people on planet Earth, this doesn’t make any difference to you. The only other difference is that the 35K can only output Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio to a receiver/processor that has an HDMI input. If your receiver doesn’t have an HDMI input, you won’t be able to get them out of the 35K. If your receiver does have an HDMI input and you’ll be using an HDMI cable, then you have absolutely no need to buy the 55K. With the 55K, if you have an older receiver that does not have an HDMI input, you can use the 55K’s analog audio outputs so that you can have Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio. That’s a nice feature of the 55K if you have an older receiver but want the latest surround sound formats.
Also, to save you some research time, I’ve already checked out all of the professional reviews including the ones on CNet.com: The Sony is considered ok, and CNet liked the Panasonic so much that it is the first Blu-Ray player EVER to receive CNet’s “Editor’s Choice Award.”
I have to go to the store now and return the Sony player that I bought. I’m keeping the Panasonic!!
Hopefully you found this review helpful!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Discountined — What Am I’m Missing Here
This unit was raved about by professional product reviewers in late 2008 (CNET.com and Home Theater Magazine).
I was very interested to see this unit perform as I had previously owned the BD30 for about a week and it was a piece of junk and I returned it. I bought this unit a week and a half ago and so far no problems at all.
Setup was a breeze as I just connected it to my Onkyo receiver via HDMI. The bootup time seems a little faster than the previous model, and the video performance with Blu-ray discs seems cleaner too. One thing I like is the fact that it will resume playback on SD-DVD and Blu-ray discs (without BD-Live). The sound quality is fantastic and it seems they fixed the issue with an attunated LFE output on the previous model. Upconversion of standard DVD seems very good. I also own a Toshiba HD-A35 and love its upconversion quality and the BD35 is every bit as good if not better. I also like the zoom feature that allows me to see DVDs that are not anamorphic being scaled and still fill the screen. With this zoom feature applied, my Star Wars original version DVD still looks very good. The ethernet port on the back will allow me to do future firmware updates without having to burn a CD. The owner’s manual says if I have an internet connection connected all the time, the player will alert me when updates become available – cool!
The manual that comes with it covers the BD35 and BD55 and it looks like the only difference is the availability of analog 7.1 outputs and DviX playback on the BD55. One thing I will say is that these players do not play DVD-Audio or SACD discs. It will play DVD-Audio discs with Dolby Digital and DTS, but not the Advanced Resolution audio stream.
I haven’t used the BD-live function yet, but there is a slot on the front of the player for a SD card which make using the BD-live feature possible.
So it looks like Panasonic finally got it right!
4.0 out of 5 stars
a good buy…
Very nice picture, easy set up…it is just like watching high definition TV with my movies now…
I had been looking for a blu ray player for some time, however the prices were just too high. Then I saw the Panasonic BD35K in one of my audio/video magazines. They gave it a great review and the price was $299. I went to Amazon and they had it for less than $250 so I ordered it on a Monday morning and received it on Thursday with no shipping charges. My receiver does not have an HDMI input or output so I connected the player directly to my 55 inch 1080P SONY SXRD TV using the HDMI port and I connected the digital optical audio out on the player to my receiver. The on screen setup menus were very easy to follow and the user manual explained everything. I thought I would try an action movie as the first one to see how the picture looked. I went to Blockbuster and got “The Incredible Hulk” and boy was I pleasantly surprised. The movie loaded in about 30 seconds the picture was just gorgeous and the sound coming from every speaker in my 5.1 surround sound set up was fantastic. My subwoofer definitely was given a good work out. The explosions just completely enveloped me. So far I am extremely pleased with this player and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a reasonably priced Blu Ray player.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing short of excellent!
Six months have now passed since we received our BD35K and we haven’t had anything to complain about with this equipment.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just one wish
Early impressions are solid! Definition superb, features good. I kinda wish I had sprung for the BD55 because of the Dolby surround sound but that’s for another day.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very satisfied
I’m not too savvy when it comes to electronic stuff, but as I did my research and found that this Blu-ray device was one of the better recommended models, I bought it and have…
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bad features, and then it broke
I went for this on the basis of the price, and wish I had gone for a Sony. I still have Sony stuff I bought 20 years back that works (a VCR, no less).
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice Blu Ray
I am happy with this player, it makes the movie watching experience very enjoyable. When I bought this in November 2008, Amazon listed the price near $[...].
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very satisfied
with my player!
After much research, I decided to buy the Panny BD35K Blu-ray player. I’m glad I did. As some reviews point out, it takes a bit longer than a regular DVD player to load a…
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Bargan!
Works well right out of the box, and talks to my other Panasonic VIERA equipment via HDMI cable. And, I saved at least a hundred dollars!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Panasonic BD35 gets an A+
I had been looking for a BD player for sometime. I wanted to find one with the right features and at the right price.