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Panasonic DMP-BD30K 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

The DMP-BD30 is the next generation High Definition 1080p Blu-ray Disc player. It is the first Blu-ray player to be introduced with Final Standard Profile, which adds a variety of new and enhanced features to the Blu-ray arena and one that separates the Panasonic Blu-ray player from the rest of the field. Also unique to the DMP-BD30 is the inclusion of an SD Memory Card slot for playback of High Definition content recorded in the AVCHD format.The SD slot also allows for viewing of digital still images recorded to an SD Memory Card.Final Standard Profile is an advanced function added to the Blu-ray standard, which opens the door to new functions such as Picture-in-Picture (which displays a second image in a sub window) and Audio Mixing (allows the consumer to switch the sound between the main and sub windows).

Images So Real, You Feel Like You’re in the Picture

Combining a PHL Reference Chroma Processor with advanced P4HD (Pixel Precision Progressive Processing) imaging technology, UniPhier — the Precise Digital Video processor — reproduces crisp, natural colors that are extremely faithful to the original movie. It does this by up-sampling the color information in decoded video signals, while the super high-speed P4HD up-converts content recorded in 480i/p, 720p or 1080i format to 1080p by correctly generating each pixel according to information drawn from up to 60 surrounding pixels. The image motion of each pixel is then categorized into one of 16 levels, from stationary to super fast. Image quality is further enhanced by Diagonal Processing, which creates smooth, sharp diagonal lines, and 3:2 Pull-Down, which optimizes the processing accordingly for film or video making the images look natural and lifelike. In addition, the DMP-BD30’s HDMI output is Deep Color compatible, with 4,096 steps of gradation for even smoother, finer-quality images that meet Hollywood’s stringent demands, so you can experience movies just the way they were meant to be experienced.

Incredible Sound Completes the Hi-Def Experience

With Precise Digital Audio, Blu-ray’s beautiful images are complemented by exceptionally pure, accurate sound thanks to Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. UniPhier’s advanced processing capability decodes these audio signals with high precision and outputs them in bitstream form with no degradation. It also brings re-mastering to Blu-ray for the first time, which compensates for data lost during the compression process creating a fuller, richer sound.

HD Networking with SD Card

The convenient SD card slot on the DMP-BD30 allows easy viewing of hi-def videos and photos on your HDTV. Videos shot with a Panasonic HD camcorder are output in their original 1920×1080 resolution, while still images taken with a Panasonic Lumix digital camera are up-converted and output in 1920×1080 resolution1.

One-Touch Control from Your TV’s Remote

With EZ Sync HDAVI Control, you can control your Blu-ray Disc player — and all your home theater components — with your TV’s remote2. Simply press the EZ Sync button and select “BD Player” on the menu screen; the BD player’s menu will be displayed and you can begin playback.

Product Description

The DMP-BD30 is the next generation High Definition 1080p Blu-ray Disc player. It is the first Blu-ray player to be introduced with Final Standard Profile, which adds a variety of new and enhanced features to the Blu-ray arena and one that separates the Panasonic Blu-ray player from the rest of the field. Also unique to the DMP-BD30 is the inclusion of an SD Memory Card slot for playback of High Definition content recorded in the AVCHD format. The SD slot also allows for viewing of digital still images recorded to an SD Memory Card.Final Standard Profile is an advanced function added to the Blu-ray standard, which opens the door to new functions such as Picture-in-Picture (which displays a second image in a sub window) and Audio Mixing (allows the consumer to switch the sound between the main and sub windows).The inclusion of a multi-function SD Card slot is another new addition to the Panasonic Blu-ray player. Coupled with the AVCHD codec, the DMP-BD30 allows for images recorded on a high capacity HD SD card to be outputted directly from the player’s HDMI terminal in their original 1080p form. To further benefit the user, the DMP-BD30 provides an AVCHD Direct Navigator function that makes it easy to search for particular scenes. The player can also play back JPEG still images on an SD card, such as those recorded with a Panasonic Lumix digital camera. The DMP-BD30 converts the images to 1920×1080 resolution, ideal for viewing on a1080p HD Plasma and output them through the HDMI terminal.Like its predecessor, the DMP-DB30 features the EZ-Sync HDAVI Control that allows the consumer to operate their Panasonic home theater system with one remote. With one touch of the EZ-Sync button, all the components turn on, the correct TV input is chosen, the TV’s built-in speakers are muted and the home theater starts playback.

Review

Great value for the money!

The Panasonic DMP-BD30K is the newest Blu-ray player out there and has most of the latest features including being 1.1 Blu-ray compliant.

Being a previous Sony BDP-S300 owner, I found some important advantages with the Panasonic. It may not be that important overall, but the Panasonic loads in about half of the time that the Sony player does. It has a sleek look with a drop down panel that exposes the disc slot. The Panasonic plays all the current audio formats such as Dolby Digital TotalHD which many of the older player do not. Of course, you need a current receiver to play these newer formats.

On the negative side, the worst is the remote. It has the strangest layout. Logic was not employed very well in the design. There are no lighted buttons as well. If you want to quit certain functions, you must first hit the “Return” button on the remote. Most other players have a return button on the specific function built right into the software. But with the Pansonic, you have to hit the remote to get out of it.

Best Blu-ray player for the money

I had a Sony BDP-S1 which was generally reliable but will not pass TrueHD or DTS-MA which is a must if you want the full effect of having HD. The BD30 has excellent picture quality for blu-ray and almost as good upconverting of SD DVD as my Toshiba HD-XA2. There are numerous picture controls for adjusting to your particular taste. No issues playing any discs as has been a problem with people who own Samsung players. If you have a new receiver with HDMI 1.3 and DTS, TrueHD capability, this player will bitstream all the audio codecs (the player does not decode them internally). After listening to discs with DTS-MA I don’t know if Dolby 5.1 will cut it for me anymore. The sound difference is amazing. A must have unit. Although it doesn’t have ethernet capabilities it can still be updated by computer download and writing to cd. It is a simple procedure (there have already been 2 firmware updates, the latest today). People with Mac computers can do the same.

Panasonic DMP-BD30K Price Comparison