Panasonic DMP-BD30K

Pros: Color, sharpness,price what you get

Cons: High end Audio (however not enough understanding to make a fair judgment)

Summary: Hi,

This is my 3rd Blue Ray Player on a sony kdl-xbr40. I had the Sony S500, and now presently own the samsung p1400 and the best one yet the panasonic DMP-BD30

For the Price the Panasonic is the best one. It's less expensive than the Sony S500 which has the the old standard. The pic quality however is about the same Which is Amazing. However the Panasonic has more features such as the sd card and it's a faster machine.

Compaired to the Samsung p1400. The Panasonic (and sony) color was a lot better. Tonight I also tested regular DVD's Of course A regular DVD will never be as clear and sharp as a blue ray, But the Panaisonic did a better job. I found when playing a regular DVD through the samsung the picture was not as clear as the panasonic and the colors were a little washed out. With the Panasonic the colors were great and the faces and pictures were more focused.(however not perfect)However some movies played better than others. I judged this on the Rudy Guliani movie. However trading places looked a lot better. To sum this part up across the board on both movies the panasonic won my vote on color and clarity. With Sound to the TV. I first felt the samsung won. Then I equaled out the hdmi settings and found the panasonic had better seperation in audio (to TV) On blue ray The Samsung was great but the Panasonic was better.

I see reviews about the panasonic not having internal decoding for true hd and master. I am a person that likes the best but I am also in a small bedroom. I also have a mother who has a basic philips 5.1 suround sound which I guess is Dobly digital and that sounds great. The sales man told me the higher resolution stuff is a little clearer But we have been using dobly digital for years now. The higher end stuff after it's all said and done is over $1000.00. Which right now I don't want to spend. My speakers on the XBR40 are great and I'm happy. Much better than my 480i cathoray tv.

My question is- If my blue ray Player did internal decoding would the auido stuff be less expensive? If yes By how much. Does the reciver that does it's own decoding of bitstream any better quality than one that recieves that data already decoded?

I also have the feeling that if we are already spending this kind of money for the blue ray player and the TV We might just as well go all the way. I mean It would be stupid play true hd and master on a pair of walkman headphones? HEE HEE.

To rap this up I'm going to stick the panasonic I'll take the gamble on the audio. I like the sound to the tv which I understand is Doby digital (not sure dts) but anyway I like it and if I have a need for better sound later on I'll gradualy build up.

Have a great Holiday!!!