One thing Im learning is buy at end of cycle, not beginning. With displays you are jumping into all kinds of unknowns and a higher price.
Panasonic DMP-BDT230 Owner Review
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Got the 230 in, pretty cool looking. Gonna keep it boxed as backup for the 500. Strangely, the 6 month old 103 sold for $508 shipped on eBay.
:confused
:confused
Oh, and I did some more digging. It appears all 2013 model players and just about all the 2013 model LCD's and Plasmas are now using the Mediatek SoC and not the Uniphier. I guess budgeting killed it 
Just got confirmation from a reliable Panasonic employee, chipset changed to Mediatek.
Do the menus in the 2013 look like the 2012s? Thats my one bitch against the 790 when I had it, the XMB sucks IMO.
Do the menus in the 2013 look like the 2012s? Thats my one bitch against the 790 when I had it, the XMB sucks IMO.
Yepp. Ill just be sticking with my old reliable 500 unless something blows up my skirt after reviews come out.
I was told the 330 has a different variant of the SoC than the lower models, Im guessing for 4K. Its probably gonna be the same Mediatek that is in the Sony 790.
Got to play with the 330 a bit. Built much better than the S5100 (more sturdy), but neither will give Oppo any fear . Took it apart and found out why, it has a second metal cover underneath the top where the Sony has the single flimsy plastic see thru cover. Could not get at the mediatek chip to see the model, it has this ugly metal thing glued to the top, was like a heat sink, but not. Internals were well laid out, drive was segregated from the boards, and the mediatek/dual hdmi board was segregated from the smaller board where the power plugs in, and the other small board for the SD card.
The board the MT chip is on with the dual HDMI's is maybe 4"x3", very compact, with little "jumper" cables going out to other boards and the drive. Spears and Munsil Chroma Multiburst results werent the best Ive seen as stated in one test already, but not sure how that translates over to actual blu-ray content. Setup was easy, same Panny menu as 2012, just a little more crisp and it's snappier in menu's than my BDT-500. Missing of course is stuff like "High Clarity Sound", which would not be needed since there is no analog video. Also missing is the Chroma Processing which was tied to the now extinct Uniphier SoC. All and all, I like the build and look better than the other cheap players Ive messed with, menu structure is better than the Sony XMB imo and menu settings are easily determined by name, some are not so easy on the Sony.
Here are the speed results:
Movie--BDP93--BDT500--BDP103--S5100--BDT330
(in seconds)
Transformers--64--66--56--59--56
Iron Man--53--55--45--47--51
Star Trek--N/A--81--58--62--62
From tray pulling in until you can select "play" in the menu.
As you can see, its on par with the 103 and S5100.
. Took it apart and found out why, it has a second metal cover underneath the top where the Sony has the single flimsy plastic see thru cover. Could not get at the mediatek chip to see the model, it has this ugly metal thing glued to the top, was like a heat sink, but not. Internals were well laid out, drive was segregated from the boards, and the mediatek/dual hdmi board was segregated from the smaller board where the power plugs in, and the other small board for the SD card. The board the MT chip is on with the dual HDMI's is maybe 4"x3", very compact, with little "jumper" cables going out to other boards and the drive. Spears and Munsil Chroma Multiburst results werent the best Ive seen as stated in one test already, but not sure how that translates over to actual blu-ray content. Setup was easy, same Panny menu as 2012, just a little more crisp and it's snappier in menu's than my BDT-500. Missing of course is stuff like "High Clarity Sound", which would not be needed since there is no analog video. Also missing is the Chroma Processing which was tied to the now extinct Uniphier SoC. All and all, I like the build and look better than the other cheap players Ive messed with, menu structure is better than the Sony XMB imo and menu settings are easily determined by name, some are not so easy on the Sony.
Here are the speed results:
Movie--BDP93--BDT500--BDP103--S5100--BDT330
(in seconds)
Transformers--64--66--56--59--56
Iron Man--53--55--45--47--51
Star Trek--N/A--81--58--62--62
From tray pulling in until you can select "play" in the menu.
As you can see, its on par with the 103 and S5100.
LOL, me too.
I wonder if 2014 will bring a replacement for the 500 (which I love). I know it wont have a Uniphier but I like the heft and look of the 500. WOuld be nice to have a $200-$250 player, then a $100-$150 player.
I wonder if 2014 will bring a replacement for the 500 (which I love). I know it wont have a Uniphier but I like the heft and look of the 500. WOuld be nice to have a $200-$250 player, then a $100-$150 player.
