Panasonic BD-35 blu-ray player

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Vaughan

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Hi guys,

Like some, I was a little hesitant to buy a blu-ray player and for good reason. I've been using a crappy Pioneer dvd player for all my dvd requirements and it served me well..relatively speaking.

My concerns for the blu-ray format were not unjustified. Teething problems presented themselves in the form of incapability issues with titles, slow loading times, mediocre standard-definition upscaling and a small selection of titles to begin with. I had a few reasons to wait. I think I waited long enough. After some research, I decided to get the Panasonic BD-35 player.

Sorry for the crappy pictures, I'm using a Sony camera ( ;D ) :

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After reading all the positive reviews, both in publications and from members at AVS and HTS, it made my decision that little bit easier. Of course, I didn't buy the unit locally because Panasonic S.A don't stock this unit. In fact, they still have a 1.5-2 year old player still listed on their website. Disappointing to say the least.

I ordered the unit (Region B) from Amazon (UK). But what is a blu-ray player if you have no blu-ray titles to test it with ? I ordered some titles, Transporter (DTS-Master HD), the Matrix 1 and 2 (Dolby True-HD) and, an old favorite of mine, Dark City (7.1 DTS-Master HD).

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I received the unit a week later, which was not too bad, all things considered. The unit itself is very slim and seems well-built but not to the same standards as the Denon 2500. Then again, it's a fraction of the price.

Just some subjective thoughts. Comparing this unit to a Sony S550, to my eyes, this unit gives a crisper, more detailed image and definitely more natural color reproduction. I tested the unit at work, on a Panasonic PT-AE2000 projector as well as an entry-level Optoma HD65 on a 2.8m 16:9 screen. The differences, I felt, were more than a little noticeable but I guess the advantages would be less striking on a smaller screen. If you want very crisp, detailed images on a large screen, this unit is a dream. It will make the most of the HD format.

I tried Dark City, which came out in 1998, and some have bashed the transfer stating that there is too much EE (Edge Enhancement) on many of the scenes. But I couldn't believe how detailed the film looked. It's filmed almost entirely at night, so you need a darkened room to fully appreciate the depth. For such an old film, it looked spectacular. As much as I was impressed with the picture (and I've seen lots of HD material), what really blew me away was the DTS Master HD soundtrack. Just stunning.

Folks, DTS M-HD is the real deal. The differences between the core DTS soundtrack and the lossless M-HD is night and day. Sounds are far crisper, surround envelopment is more realistic, bass sounds crisper, more precise, tiny details that would ordinarily get lost are brought to the fore. If you were trying to pick out sounds before, now you won't have to, it is revealed to you. I won't get into the other titles, but I'll just say that I've got some new reference material now.

The biggest disappointment when talking about blu-ray players is not their SD upscaling abilities per se, but rather their playback speed. This is one area where the Panasonic trumps the Sony. From loading to watching, it is considerably quicker. The BD35 is not the fastest unit available in the world but it up there as one of the quickest. The Samsung 1600 is quicker. The Oppo 83 (yet to be released) has been tested against the PS3 and, in most tests, has dethroned it as the fastest blu-ray player at the moment.

I'll get that later.  :) I tried a few dvd's just to test out the upscaling abilities of the unit, and again, I was impressed. I had a Denon 2930 dvd player on hand, not the very latest and greatest, but more than good enough as a challenge since it costs 2.5x the price. I tested both units, again, on a 2.8 meter screen and the differences between both were very small. Folks, keep in mind that this unit costs about R3000. That it seemingly matches a R9000+ player is a major compliment.

The BD-35 decodes all HD audio formats internally as well as bitstreams to a capable receiver. I didn't test the on-board decoding and, to be honest, I don't know if there would be any difference, there might be, but it probably wouldn't be noticeable. I sure did like my Onkyo 876 to show the DTS-Master HD logo appear on the LED display. That was cool.

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Please excuse the mess. I will clean this up ASAP.

Regards,
 
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