BD30 owners, opinions wanted

[SatinKzo]

Hey guys, I am possibly going to buy a BD30 for $300 (used obviously)., but I was curious what the BD30 owners here had to say about the player.

I tried to parse the BD30 threads over at AVS, but it's way to much work to find the worthwhile posts sometimes over there.

So, is anyone disappointed with anything on the player? Anything annoying? Let me know. Any discs it has issues with?

 

[gadgtfreek]

Hey guys, I am possibly going to buy a BD30 for $300 (used obviously)., but I was curious what the BD30 owners here had to say about the player.

I tried to parse the BD30 threads over at AVS, but it's way to much work to find the worthwhile posts sometimes over there.

So, is anyone disappointed with anything on the player? Anything annoying? Let me know. Any discs it has issues with?

I've owned mine since Jan and love it. There have been a few issues with disc playback, but those were fixed via FW before I got to the particular movie(Sunshine was one).

There was a low LFE issue over PCM, but thats been fixed via FW. The lingering issue is that there are some split second audio drops on a few TrueHD tracks, but from what Ive heard, its not a big deal(teachsac can elaborate better than me because I just bought a capable rcvr and havent had any TrueHD soundtracks yet).

After owning a Sony upconvert, a PS3 and a A2, I feel the upconversion is just fine.

Looking back at my Netflix history, Ive put close to 50 movies thru it (75%BR) and have not had ONE issue with playback.

As far as speed, its not as fast as a PS3, but its better than an A2. 1080p and 720p PQ on BD's are top notch. I also feel the 720p BD playback is better than the softer PS3(never had a a chance to see the PS3 do 1080p).


$300, to me, is a good price if you dont want to take your chances with the new Samsung.

 

[teachsac]

SatinKzo,

I've had my 30 since November. I have been very satisfied with it. I take it you have a receiver that is capable of decoding TrueHD and DTS Master?

For BD playback, the 30 offers probably one of the best pictures available. SDDVD playback is good, but not the greatest. It's pretty much on par with the A35. The Unipher chip has a lot of room to grow, and Panasonic is working on improving SD DVD playback even more.

As Elway stated, there is a small glitch in some titles when bitstreaming a TrueHD track to a receiver for decoding. It popped up in 1.6 when they were messing with handshake issues because of certain Samsung TV's. The fix has been identified and should be out any time.

The Panasonics have been extremely reliable and Panasonic is a company that stands behind its products and works with its customer base. They do extensive testing in their Hollywood labratories with studios to ensure discs play correctly. My BD10 has not needed a firmware update since last October. I have had less issues with my Panasonic players and movies than I have with my HD DVD players.

If you have specific questions, one of us would be more than happy to answer.

S~

 

[SatinKzo]

Thanks guys for the feedback so far. My 606 is arriving tomorrow so I will have a receiver for the bitstreaming. My PS3 is going to go with my Sony DG810 in the basement HT setup. I am looking for a second BD player for the living room HT to go with my new 606.

What you guys have said is what I have gathered reading other threads, but you have to read like 30 pages to get the info you guys posted in just 2 posts. Track record is showing that panny is standing behind their product and the FW updates seem quick to address big issues.

As for the Samsung, I took a chance once with the 1400, I gave up after 4 days, I couldn't even get an SD disc to play correctly, let alone BD playback issues.

I actually have the new Magnavox (funai) player to play with and try out right now, So far, it's a very solid device and based on what I read, it is using the UniPhier from panasonic, but I don't know if that has actually been confirmed. PQ on the mag is very good BD wise, avergage SD upconversion. It too bitstreams the lossless stuff and have actually borrow a friends 605 while they are on vacation until my 606 arrives. Picked up the magnavox for $278, but I think it's a very solid player even with the stigma it's getting being a walmart item.

I am thinking that the Magnavox will go back if I can get the deal on the BD30 I am working on. Otherwise, I might just hold out till summer as I've already read some issues on the Samsung 1500.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Sounds like the BD30 is the deal for you.

The 605 has worked great so far, Im sure you like the 606.

 

[teamerickson]

Maybe wait for the new Sony's? They seem pretty reasonably priced.

 

[SatinKzo]

hey, does anyone here have Enchanted on BD? I have read quite a few posts about the BD30 having audio drops that were quite annoying when bitstreaming that disc's audio.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Teachsac does, let me see if I can find his comments.

 

[gadgtfreek]

With Enchanted. I still had a slight drop at the wishing well scene, but not as bad. If you weren't looking for it, you might not notice it.

S~

In reference to the new 1.8 FW

 

[SatinKzo]

Ok, not the overwhelming issue that many made it out to be then.
Definately sounds like something Panasonic is addressing too.

 

[gadgtfreek]

From what ive read, it does not always happen at the same spot or as frequently for each person, so I imagine its a hard fix. It is on very few titles, and I think when it does happen it does little to ruin the movie. Panasonic is working the issue (per people on AVS) and they've been good in the past about getting stuff fixed. The low LFE on PCM had many pissed, but they handled it in a timely fashion.

 

[SatinKzo]

yeah, that's exactly why I am liking the BD30 because Panasonic seems to be very attentive to their customer base.

 

[teachsac]

hey, does anyone here have Enchanted on BD? I have read quite a few posts about the BD30 having audio drops that were quite annoying when bitstreaming that disc's audio.

More of a slight annoyance than a major problem. Firmware update will be out very soon. Nothing like Bourne completely blocking and locking up the player.

S~

 

[jwortiz]

Satinko,

I've had this BD player for 6 months and it's awesome. It's even better with the latest 1.6 firmware patch (easy to do). If you really want some more information, you can go here:

The Official Panasonic DMP-BD30 Owner's Thread - AVS Forum

Enjoy! :up

 

[SatinKzo]

Techsac, I hear ya on the bourne stuff, but luckily that never affected me.

Jwortiz, I know that thread well, that's why I said it takes 30 pages of posts to get the info that has been posted in just a couple of them here.

 

[gadgtfreek]

1.8 should be the latest FW.

 

[MW390]

As a former HDDVD only person I can say that I have no complaints with this machine
except 1 idiotic little thing. The display on the drive (the little dot lights that spell words) isn't very sharp. Otherwise well built and works very well.

 

[SatinKzo]

Saw tonight at walmart that they are carrying the BD30 now for $448. Surprised me as I guess I missed that they were going to carry these.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Dang, surprise to me too.

 

[kluken]

I have mine 3 months and love it! I wanted something that woudl stream all the latest codecs to my AVR and the Panny delivers.