Panasonic DMP-BD30K user reviews

Pros It did work on one movie

Cons not compatable with Samsung

Summary I bought this player and hooked up to Sammy LN-T 5271F with HDMI and as soon as I turned it on the lightning storm began on it. I did get to watch Live Free.. once and worked great. After that Sammy and Panny quit playing together. Returned it and got a UP5000 and with a firmware update all of us are happy. Too bad all different brands can"t get along. So much for compatability, B... S... I say.

Pros Very fast, outstanding picture

Cons Ugly remote, however it works well

Summary I had been wanting a Blu Ray player for a year now. I came close to buying the last Sony model that came out last June, but after researching it more I decided that it would be best to wait for the profile 1.1 players to come out. I'm glad that I did! Compared to every other Blu Ray player on the market (I know because I have played with them all at every electronic store you can name) this is by far the fastest on the market. I loads like a regular dvd player. I updated the firmware right away, which was a breeze once I got some good blank discs. The picture is phenomenal, and the design of the exterior of the player is very attractive. I think that it is the thinnest Blu Ray player yet. It looks awesome sitting on top of my HD DVD player is just below my HD cable box!

Pros Blu Ray 1.1 support, improved physical design, no out of box FW update required

Cons No ethernet port, slow disk loading, no free movies

Summary I wanted a stand alone blu ray player instead of a PlayStation 3 so I could keep the kid's gaming off the new HD TV and in the basement where it belongs. After agonizing over the reviews on Cnet and Amazon I picked the Panasonic DMP-BD30K. The deciding factor was it's support of the Blu Ray 1.1 profile and improved disk drawer and remote control design compared to the previous model (DMP-BD10A). I was not concerned about the lack of internal decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio since my Onkyo receiver will handle this. I was tempted by the free Blu Ray movies that come with the BD10A but for the same price I would rather have the improved 2nd generation player. Blu Ray disk play back is awesome as expected, and the standard DVD upconversion also looks great. I know DVD upconversion is an area where this player didn't do as well according to cnet but it's nothing the average viewer will ever notice. So far it has played every blu ray and standard DVD with no firmware upgrades required (another thing I wanted to avoid for as long as possible). As others have noted, it does take a little while for the disk drawer to open and for the movies to load but it's no biggie. The manual is a little cryptic but it makes sense after a while and is really no worse than those from other electronics manufacturers.

Pros Much better picture & improved loading time.

Cons Still unable to compete w/ HD-DVD pricing.

Summary I hesitated to replace my PS3 game console for a few months to wait for this stand alone dvd player...the wait was well worth it. This player has a better picture quality than my PS3 and bitstream Dolby True HD and DTS-HD MA to my Onkyo 605. The front display of the 605 now shows these 2 audio soundtracks...the sound is amazing better than the LPCM 5.1. I have not dwell yet into the BR profile 1.1 yet but will update this opinion.
I just did not like the LED display of this player...sort of old looking. The price of this player is still unable to compete with HD-DVD agressive pricing. The player maybe one of the best blu-ray player out there as of this time in my opinion with regards to features and pricing. You will not regret buying this blu-ray player.