Panasonic unveils DMP-BD30 "next-gen" Blu-ray player
By Paul Miller 
posted October 30th 2007 9:38PM
posted October 30th 2007 9:38PM
posted October 30th 2007 9:38PM
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Sweet piece of hardware, that one is. You may pay more for blu-ray, but you get what you pay for. For a premium price, you get the best quality and features. No 1080i/60 output. No 2-channel TrueHD limitation. No lip sync problems when outputting at 1080p/24. No compatibility problems with combo discs. The list goes on and on... suffice it to say, blu-ray will win on its technological merits. Too bad HD DUD can't say the same!
"blu ray will win on it's technological merits"...........Yup,just like betamax did.
Still inferior to HD DVD's $199 players in terms of interactivity and web access, since it doesn't have an ethernet port.
No ethernet port, so it's not upgradeable to 2.0.
I love Panasonic, I have many of their products.
I feel very sorry for them though, how are they ever going to make a $ on any of their blu ray products when the only blu ray player selling is the PS3 for $100 less?
Sony is screwing their own team!
And with the Toshiba A2 selling for well under $200, the only future for this quality piece of gear will be looking lovely keeping your door open.
I can't believe a format that's not even final get a chance to win this minucule format war. Seriously, we're in Q4 2007, people, and this is the second annnounced player who's profile 1.1 compliant. And 1.1 isn't even the full profile... Are you kidding ?
Something is terribly wrong in the market... and it can't be good for us consumers.
It's insane that the PS3 is the cheapest Blu-ray player. I guess that's why Sony is losing so much money in their gaming division. I don't want a PS3 as my primary Blu-ray player. The Bluetooth remote is annoying. Give me a nice standalone box like this Panasonic for a reasonable price (under $300) and I'll buy one.
i was impressed with the specs until I read it didn't have an Ethernet port. Bad, very bad!
I assume I could just download an ISO file, burn it to CD and upgrade correct?
After all, that would still be faster than the amount of time my XA1 takes to download and install a firmware update...
@Alex
I'm sure J6 will enjoy doing that as well.....not!
What's an ISO file? How do you burn a CD?
I just want what i paid for!!!!
The XA1 may be slow, but it will do what it is supposed to do.
I have seen many positives with this player. I have 2 pdf's from Panasonic on this particular player and it does have an Ethernet port. Such a GREAT ADDITION! An Ethernet port is also required as part of the criteria of Profile 1.1
But the DAC is different than the current player, and it only does the higher audio codecs via HDMI. Plus no DVD Audio
i hate to say it... no Ethernet, here are some screens:
http://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/panasonic-dmp-bd30-1275.shtml
That's a real bummer to see it doesn't have an Ethernet like the PDF shows. Now I'm not sure if I want to get this player or wait on another one later on down the line.
Even the Panasonic.jp site oesn't list an ethernet port and the lack of 7. out is a bummer.
Ethernet shouldn't be a requirement for upgrade. Is there reason to believe that the firmware cannot be uploaded via disk?
It can be updated by disc, but it can't be upgraded to be compatible with profile 2.0, since 2.0 requires Ethernet access for web enabled content.
This is a feature EVERY HD DVD player has STANDARD.
So much for 1.1 requirements.
This is why blu has more to lose: They keep throwing everything where there's no money to be made. The most successful digital media format in history made its mark by targeting the consumer population at large, a concept Sony seems to want to challenge.
Unfortunately for Blu and its supporters (and Good riddance for Sony), they're wrong.
haha your a real ideot did u know that best buy makes 14% minun profit off the price they sell you and u knwo what best buy wills till make 70 bucks off one of there player and paniisonic will make 50 buck selling it to best buy i feel sorry for hd dvd when toshiba is selling its 198 player at a LOSS and even the cheap chiness venture player will sell for 250 wont be able to compet wit a brand name like toshiba lol u do relize that beta max was cheaper then vhs(cough hd dvd) and beta max only had sony as a main manufacture(coufg toshiba) plus hd dvd only has 54% stand alone market share when they are 200$ cheaper the the cheapest blu-ray player and also have been out for 3 months more then blu-ray!!! but ya i made i wanted a enthernet port so i can buy more stuff off my player rite cuz i wanan find out i need to buy stuff off my disc nlol and have u ever tried to use a pip feture on a 198 toshiba player by the time the dam thing loads u would of watched half the movie alredy and never mine all the jidders u guys are better buying a chines [player then taht toshiba
I..
Where is internal DTS-HD Master Audio decoding? If this player doesn't have it, pass on it.
If I want to be on the internet I go to my computer. I just want a player that decodes all the advanced audio formats...come on already!
Surely profile 1.1 & profile 2.0 require movie discs to work?
Just cos they claim the player is profile 1 compliant doesn't mean too much if there is little or no actual content out there, does it?
It's got no ethernet connection?
So those 'advanced feratures' are really just like an interactive CD then, huh?
Excuse me if I'm deeply underwhelmed.
....and $500?
LMAO
Get real.
1.1 is sufficient. Web content in general is hugely over-rated, and a spec that will be utilized very little. IMHO, ethernet ports are pointless on video players considering TVs these days are already network capable for playing your a/v media. I'm glad Panasonic omitted it on this model. This player looks to be an absolute winner. Good job Panny!
Right. An ethernet port is pointless--until there are finally Blu-Ray 2.0 players available...and then it'll be the best thing ever.
People mention J6P. How many J6P is going to go through the trouble of hooking up their BD players to the internet through ethernet cable. If it had easy to configure 802.11g/n like the AppleTV, then may be. But, forget wiring for J6P.
Wow dude. Just, wow.
First of all, I'm pretty sure your Remedial English class didn't assign posting retarded comments in the blogosphere as homework, so finish coloring Clifford the Big Red Dog before trying to play with the rest of the literate universe.
Secondly, if your post made any sense I would try to bring up a counter-argument, but it just sounds like you were surprised your entire last welfare check was barely enough to afford a PS3 and now you can't afford an HD-DVD player (no matter how cheap they get).
Bluray is just like anything else Sony has ever done: technically awe inspiring, practically useless. The public wants content delivery options (ahem, ethernet) even if they never use them, and they don't want to be charged an arm and a leg only to be treated like criminals and get content they worked hard to be able to afford crippled by oppressive DRM. I'm sorry Sony dragged another segment of consumers into this, but Blu is destined for professional applications and HDDVD is headed into the living rooms of average families, where entertainment battles have always and will always be fought and won.
Sorry, above aimed squarely at Julian. If you have trouble finding it, just look for atrocious grammar and even worse spelling.
Sony is the Apple of the audio/visual scene and has dragged Panasonic down to its level. I will keep my Toshie XA2. . .
Chris Russell , I'm sure you have no choice but to keep your over priced jumbo jet, I mean XA2.
You must be kidding right?
$400 more than a Toshiba A2, and it has less features!
Blu ray is dead in the water, only the blu trolls will buy this.