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Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Integrated Wi-Fi 3D Blu-ray DVD Player
Purchase options and add-ons
Brand | Panasonic |
Media Type | DVD, Blu-Ray Disc |
Special Feature | Lightweight |
Resolution | 1080i |
Connector Type | HDMI |
Connectivity Technology | Wi-Fi |
Color | Black |
Item Weight | 3.5 Pounds |
Product Dimensions | 8.7"L x 7.5"W x 1.4"H |
Total HDMI Ports | 1 |
About this item
- Smartphone Remote Control
- Power Supply AC 120 Volt, 60 Hertz, 1 Year Warranty
- 2D to 3D Conversion for VIERA Connect (and Built In WiFi)
- Output Terminals HDMI, Video, Optical, Analog Output 2ch and LAN, 1x Composite Video, 1x 2 Channel Audio (RCA)
- BD Video Discs Region Code A, DVD Video discs region number 1
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This Item Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Integrated Wi-Fi 3D Blu-ray DVD Player | Recommendations | dummy | dummy | dummy | dummy | |
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Price | $109.99$109.99 | $77.99$77.99 | $258.00$258.00 | -15% $167.99$167.99 List: $197.99 | -9% $89.50$89.50 List: $97.98 | $44.88$44.88 |
Delivery | Get it Mar 26 - 28 | Get it as soon as Monday, Mar 25 | Get it as soon as Monday, Mar 25 | Get it as soon as Monday, Mar 25 | Get it as soon as Monday, Mar 25 | Get it as soon as Monday, Mar 25 |
Customer Ratings | ||||||
Picture quality | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 |
Remote Control | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.0 | — | 2.4 | 4.2 |
Smart Features | 3.3 | 3.2 | 4.0 | — | 4.0 | — |
Value for money | — | 3.6 | — | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.1 |
User interface | 3.5 | — | 3.9 | — | 4.1 | — |
Sold By | MrTransistor | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | ESENDA | Amazon.com |
media type | DVD, Blu-Ray Disc | Blu-Ray Disc, DVD | Blu-Ray Disc | Blu-Ray Disc, DVD | Blu-Ray Disc, DVD, VCD, CD, SVCD | DVD |
connector type | HDMI | HDMI, USB 2.0 | HDMI, RCA | HDMI, USB 2.0 | HDMI, RCA, Coaxial | Micro USB |
number of channels | 2 | — | 2 | 3 | 6 | — |
connectivity tech | Wi-Fi | USB, HDMI | Wi-Fi, Ethernet | — | HDMI, RCA, Coaxial | HDMI |
analog video format | — | NTSC | NTSC | NTSC | NTSC, PAL | — |
weight | 3.5 pounds | 1.7 pounds | 3.1 pounds | 2.64 pounds | — | 2.43 pounds |
Looking for specific info?
Product information
Product Dimensions | 16.9 x 7.1 x 1.5 inches |
---|---|
Item Weight | 3.5 pounds |
ASIN | B00752R4PK |
Item model number | DMP-BDT220 |
Batteries | 2 AA batteries required. (included) |
Customer Reviews |
4.1 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #356,839 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics) #249 in Blu-Ray Disc Players |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Date First Available | February 20, 2012 |
Department | Electronics |
Manufacturer | Panasonic |
Warranty & Support
Feedback
Product Description
Panasonic’s 2012 Blu-ray Disc players focus on smart home networking, high-quality picture and sound, ease-of-use, eco-efficiency, and sleek design. The BDT-220 is a Full HD 3D Blu-ray Disc player that features expanded VIERA Connect functionality, FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) compatibility, and superior sound image and quality.
VIERA Connect IPTV -- More Fun Comes Via a Cloud Service
Panasonic’s IPTV platform VIERA Connect, now under the Smart VIERA umbrella, has been expanded for 2012 Blu-ray products and now utilizes cloud technology to present an unlimited number of entertainment, social networking, gaming, health & fitness, sports & news sites. Learn more about the world of Smart VIERA and VIERA Connect here.
Enhance your Blu-ray Experience with Popular Apps
Enjoy sites such as Skype, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, You Tube, huluplus, CinemaNow, Vudu, Pandora, Facebook, Twitter, My space, and Flixster. With 2012 models, you have access to a wide variety of Internet content from the comfort of your living room.
Clicker - Video on Demand Cross Searching
Find your favorite movies and video content easily with one-step searching, which allows you to cross search from multiple VOD services. For ease-of-use, use the quick keyword input on VIERA Connect to help retrieve your desired content faster. Customize your screen by grouping commonly used apps and displaying them on the screen for easier use.
Communicate with Family and Friends
The social networking TV app allows you to access social network sites and communicate with your loved ones while simultaneously watching TV. Watch live sports games while upping the excitement by chatting with your friends as the game unfolds. Record an original message and set it as your answering voice message. Callers can record messages onto an SD Card (min. 512MB required), while you are away. *Skype camera not included with TV purchase
Full HD 3D Blu-ray Disc Playback
The advanced 2D technologies of the Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory have also been applied to 3D image playback, providing high quality images. 2D-3D conversion enables conversion of 2D images on DVDs and Blu-ray Discs into 3D images with natural depth perception. Screen type (flat or round) and frame color are easily selectable. Watch your favorite DVD movie collection in 3D for even greater viewing enjoyment.24p Output for VOD
The BDT-220 not only plays Blu-ray Discs and DVDs, but also video-on-demand movies content in the same 24p format as used at movie theaters. Connection to a 24p capable TV via an HDMI capable lets you enjoy a wide array of content with full cinematic picture quality. This feature requires a TV that supports 24p playback.*
UniPhier Chip Processor
This Full HD 3D Blu-ray Disc player features UniPhier single chip signal processing that eliminates unnecessary wiring, resulting in reducing noise on the picture and sound signal to the absolute minimum. The DVD Super Resolution Processor helps produce natural pictures with no false contours, higher resolution for details, and a reduction in noise.
Connectivity
The entire 2012 line features DLNA for easy connection to other DLNA equipped products. Share and enjoy digital photos (JPEG), music (MP3, WMA) and videos (AVCHD, WMV) by simply connecting to a home network (LAN). VIERA Link provides connectivity to other VIERA Link compatible products and NAS compatibility. The BDT-220 has a Wi-Fi system built right into the main unit so you can enjoy VIERA Connect and BD-Live content without having to connect with a LAN cable or wireless LAN adaptor. Players are also compatible with the NTFS format HDD.
Adaptive Chroma Processing
Adaptive Chroma Processing is a high quality image-processing technology developed to precisely process each pixel of Blu-ray Disc video signals in the vertical and horizontal directions to produce extremely high color resolution and beautiful edges.
Personalization
To personalize the home theater experience, the new multi-user mode on the BDT-220 allows you to register four users and each can record individual favorite settings. You can select a personal icon from 16 pre-installed images, or photos from an external source. You also have the option to customize the home screen with any image you choose. Features like the home screen customization as well as enhancement of VIERA Connect allow you to easily personalize your entertainment experience to fit your lifestyle. Download the exclusive Panasonic app and you’ll also be able to use your iPhone or Android smartphone as a remote control for your BDT-220.
Energy Star Qualified
Panasonic is always working to improve its technology, design, and commitment to the environment. Attractive compact designs and energy-saving functions help Panasonic Blu-ray Disc products protect the environment by effectively conserving limited natural resources. All 2012 models are Energy Star Qualified.
Connection: Analog: 1x Composite Video 1x 2-Channel Audio (RCA), Digital: 1x HDMI 1x Digital Optical Audio, Other: 1x Ethernet 2x USB
What's In the Box: Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Blu-ray Disc Player, Remote Control, 1-Year Warranty
2012 Panasonic VIERA Blu-ray Disc Player Comparison Chart
Series DMP-BBT01 DMP-BDT500 DMP-BDT320 DMP-BDT220 DMP-BD87 DMP-BD77Wi-Fi Capability
Built-in Wi-Fi
Built-in Wi-Fi
Built-in Wi-Fi
Built-in Wi-Fi
Built-in Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi Ready
Dolby True HD
DTS Master Audio Essential
DLNA Capability (via LAN)
FLAC Compatibility
External HDD Playback
Multi-User Mode
Fast Booting & Loading
Ultra
Ultra
Energy Star Qualified
Full HD Playback
3D HD
3D HD
3D HD
3D HD
2D-3D Conversion
Adapative Chroma Processing
24p Output for VOD
Smartphone Function Capability
VIERA Connect
VIERA Link
Skype Communication*
SD Memory Card Slot
Touch Pad Remote Control
Slot-in Drive
Lay-out Free Design
Smart Eco Sensor
Analog Audio 7.1 Channel Output
Twin HDMI
Online Movies/IP VOD
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the performance, ease of use, and value of the video disc player. For example, they mention that Netflix works great, the menus are easy to navigate, and the onscreen entry is fairly easy. That said, some differ on quality, loading, connectivity, and remote control.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers like the performance of the video disc player. They mention that it works well once they get used to it, Netflix works great, and the apps work great on the device. The Anynet feature works properly, and that the DVD player works fine. Some say that the results are spectacular, with stunning video and perfect audio.
"...Viera Cast: The Viera Cast suite is terrific. My tv is equipped with viera cast as well and you would think they would be the same...." Read more
"...TV's to be turned on/off, volume adjusted or Input changed - the controls work fine with the Panasonic TC-L42ET5...." Read more
"...Optical disc playback is good, no problems even though I use a lot of DVD-/+ R and RW discs, as well as BD-R and RE, both single and double layer...." Read more
"...I applaud Panasonic for trying something new and it does work rather well once you get used to it, I just wish the streaming services..." Read more
Customers like the ease of use of the video disc player. They say the menus are easy to navigate, and the remote is about average. They also say the onscreen entry is fairly easy, and that the setup is a cakewalk. Customers also mention that the player is very responsive and has had no issues in two weeks.
"...I can say that the player is very responsive and I have had no issues in two weeks that I have owned it...." Read more
"...The onscreen entry is actually fairly easy because you see the keyboard layout onscreen and you can change the Input Style via the standardized..." Read more
"...The price is certainly right and it's easy to set up and use. What more you would want, I don't know...." Read more
"Pros:+ Pretty user friendly UI+ Easy to set up+ Sleek "black box" design (I don't care for Sony's look)..." Read more
Customers like the value of the video disc player. They say it's pretty good for the price, has great performance, and features. Some customers also mention that the product is worth the minimal extra cost for the included features.
"...The price is certainly right and it's easy to set up and use. What more you would want, I don't know...." Read more
"...players, I concluded that this Panasonic player was the best pick in its price range...." Read more
"...disc handling speed (picture quality equal to Sony) this unit is worth the money...." Read more
"...Menu system:it works, it's easy, but it's terrible. The entire navigation tree could have been designed for one screen...." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the image quality of the video disc player. They mention that the picture is beautiful for normal Blu-ray, and the smoothing appears to work well. They also say that the image is much better than their own DVD player, and looks better than downloads. The regular DVDs are also nicely upscaled, and have a perfect display. Customers also say the Blu-Ray discs look absolutely amazing. The digital audio outputs in both the player and the TV are good, and it's very appealing on its own.
"...Photo playback in .jpg are no problem, photos are easy to search for, load quickly and look great!..." Read more
"...The Picasa channel shows your My Photos pic section nicely. First of course you need to login with your Google account...." Read more
"...keep it or at least try it that way, because I really enjoy the quality of the picture, the options for things to view, and the ease of the interface..." Read more
"...Looks fantastic, perfect display and the Real3D display of this player is just amazing. The movie takes this beyond a 5/5 deal." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the quality of the video disc player. Some mention that the Amazon Prime video output is extremely good, and the HD streams are very smooth. They also say that the player itself is superb, while others say that it's too unreliable and frustrating to be settling down. They mention that there are constant audio and video dropouts, and crashes. The U-Stream app is pretty weak, and buffering appears to be nearly nonexistent.
"...The YouTube app is also outstanding, giving you access to your subscriptions, videos is essentially a more complete than most apps you'll find on..." Read more
"...There is also a nice screensaver that kicks in an revolves the Viera channel display - when something new happens, for instance a new song starts..." Read more
"...Optical disc playback is good, no problems even though I use a lot of DVD-/+ R and RW discs, as well as BD-R and RE, both single and double layer...." Read more
"...But it was just too unreliable and too frustrating to be settling down to bed, trying to watch a movie, and then have to get up, turn the light on..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the loading of the video disc player. Some mention that it's much faster to load, with newer hardware that loads Blu-rays faster. However, others say that the load times are a little slow on some 3D BDs and the connection to their movie choice is fast. However some customers also mention that there seems to be no fast forward or skip to location.
"...The Playback is smooth. Movies and shows, including HD content, load quickly and require little if any time for buffering...." Read more
"...albeit a less positive one - although the BD-Live content took the disc longer to load since I received a warning my player option had been set to..." Read more
"...While it has newer hardware and therefore loads blu-rays faster and is less than half the price of a PS3, the UI is considerably more slow...." Read more
"...And there is no lag time between the apps selection under the Internet portion of the player, but that might be because I'm using this on a fairly..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the connectivity of the video disc player. Some mention that it has impressive network capabilities, such as connections for Amazon Instant Video and YouTube. However, others say that it drops the internet connection all the time and is a nightmare to connect to their router.
"...In short, they're two very useful wireless Blu Ray players priced as low as $60...." Read more
"...refused to start within Viera Connect - it came up with a connection error message: Loading then Connecting . . . Please wait...." Read more
"...The network capabilities were so impressive that I briefly lost track of why I thought I'd bought it...." Read more
"...of this player, if one at all, would be that it lacks a second HDMI or Component HD connection on the back of the player, but for me, that wasn't a..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the remote control. Some mention it's really nice, okay, and simple. They also say it has a Netflix button and is easy to use. However, other customers say that it'd be better if it was programmable and could be used to control other devices. They mention that the remote to unit interaction is poor and the buttons are too close together.
"...The Remote: The remote is well thought out, with a dedicated netflix button (NICE!). The buttons could be a bit bigger though and less crowded...." Read more
"...While a disc is playing the INTERNET button does not respond - you need to either stop the disc or press the HOME button to continue with Viera..." Read more
"...The Android/iPhone app is neat and occasionally very useful...." Read more
"...It's not slow, but it's a terrible design...." Read more
Reviews with images
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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I took a chance based on the reviews here and Cnet's review and got this player and I am sooooo glad that I did.
I have to say GREAT JOB to Panasonic on this one and thanks to Amazon for a great price and lightning fast delivery with Amazon Prime....
Update: I have noticed one problem with viewing photographs from my network drive. The player would loose connection with the drive after viewing a few photo's. You have to go back and reconnect with the drive. The same process replicated itself over and over. Could be something in my system, but my other players with this capability do not have this problem. Another small issue as others have noted: the player does not recognize any of the video files on my network drive. I get a message that it is an unsupported file. I mainly use the player for Blu Ray and the these flaws would not hinder my purchase and I am still very happy with this player, but you should take note if they are important to you. I do not know if these issues will be addressed by Panasonic in a firmware update, but I guess that is a possibility.
Ordered the DMP-BDT220 March 26th, 2012.
You can get an online copy of the manual now from Panasonic at service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/DMPBDT220-MUL.PDF.
The latest firmware update, version 1.52 for Viera Connect still does NOT have a browser available yet. According to a press release from January's 2012 CES one is/was supposedly forthcoming - The release specifically mentions -
"Highlighting VIERA Connect's new features in 2012 will be:
*Web Browser - In 2012 VIERA Connect will offer users an optimized-for-TV web browser that will add a new dimension to the IPTV experience.
Full VIERA Connect access will be available on a wide range of VIERA® HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc(tm) Players and Home Theater Systems including:
*VIERA Plasma HDTV -- VT50, GT50, ST50, and UT50 Series models
*VIERA LED HDTV -- WT50, DT50, ET5, E50, and E5 Series models
*Blu-ray Disc Players -- DMP-BBT01, DMP-BDT500, DMP-BDT320, DMP-BDT220"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 2013 update - purchased the Panasonic TC-L42ET5 3D HDTV in January which has turned out great so far - working on a review to put about it soon.
I received the blue-ray player from Amazon promptly via free super saver shipping within five business days of my recent order. The Panasonic box itself with two soft foam end pieces inside holding the player came within Amazon's box packaging which had some heavy brown paper on top of the player's box keeping it from moving.
Incidentally regarding reviews of any audio video issues, a highly recommended website that any LAYMAN (or lay-woman for that matter) can check for detailed comments and reviews of products and even services (like HDTV broadcasting) can be found at AVSForum dot com search on the following thread - Official Panasonic DMP-BDT 220/320/500 Owners Thread. (As of May 2012, I still have not found out why Amazon does not allow web links in reviews but that you can put them into comments (although the comments references are not hyper-linked at least they can be copied/pasted).)
Any who have used previous versions of Panny's players may be familiar with the remote which has been reported as similar. It has a set of TV controls next to the power button at the top which allows certain Panny TV's to be turned on/off, volume adjusted or Input changed - the controls work fine with the Panasonic TC-L42ET5. The disc player which is a tray system has an Open/Close button on the top right of the remote. If you are using a newer Panasonic HDTV with the player the input will auto-switch to the player if you put in a disc. There also are dedicated buttons on the player remote for NETFLIX, Skype, 3D, PIP, & AUDIO.
There is a dedicated button labeled `INTERNET' which brings up the Viera Connect channels. It is located in the center of the lower half of the remote above the directional keypad. Unfortunately, that four-way keypad (with an OK button in center) is somewhat close to the INTERNET, POP-UP MENU and HOME black trapezoid-shaped buttons which are above and to the left and right of the directional keypad. Due to that proximity, since you use the directional keypad for most navigation within the Tnternet channels for Viera Connect I keep accidentally pressing either the INTERNET, POP-UP MENU or HOME buttons which then takes you back out of whatever channel such as Netflix that may be playing.
While a disc is playing the INTERNET button does not respond - you need to either stop the disc or press the HOME button to continue with Viera Connect. Incidentally, stopping a DVD and resuming it works fine - UNLESS you press stop a second time and it goes to what is called a Full-Stop.
You can download the latest firmware update to a CD and perform the updates on the player manually via CD. I have the player hard-wire connected via an Ethernet cable - it avoids potential wi-fi interference and it runs faster than my wi-fi equipment allows. I am currently using the Panasonic FIRMWARE version 1.52.
Viera Connect, the smart tv app portal, is accessed via a green trapezoid-shaped button labeled INTERNET on remote. Default Channels available immediately (depending on your location?) include (shown in this order from left to right with three rows):
`PAGE 1'
Vudu HD Movies, The Wall Street Journal WSJ Live, Skype
NETFLIX, Blu-ray Disc (always in the center), YouTube
Amazon instant video, Market (always in the middle of the bottom row), Hulu PLUS
`PAGE 2'
CinemaNow, MLS (Major League Soccer), MLB.TV (Major League Baseball)
NHL (National Hockey League), Blu-ray Disc, NBA (National Basketball Assoc.) Game Time 2011-2012,
USTREAM, Market, & FOX SPORTS
`PAGE 3'
PANDORA, AccuWeather.com, Picasa
AP (Associated Press, Blu-ray Disc, PlayJam
Settings and Market
On each `PAGE' of Viera Connect - besides the middle center Blu-ray Disc and bottom center Market channels are the page navigation controls sandwiched between those two channels. There is also a nice screensaver that kicks in an revolves the Viera channel display - when something new happens, for instance a new song starts to play within the Pandora channel, the screensaver stops and the display reappears fully.
There is a claim made initially by the player when first entering Viera Connect that some network settings would allow adjustments to your display sides should any need adjustments due to being pinched off within a channel. The OPTION button allows some changes while running a Viera Connect channel for Video or Audio but there is no fine tuning of the display truncation issue.
You need to go the last page of Viera Connect Internet channels in order to find the Settings `channel'. From that Settings you can adjust your Display Size with an interactive tool to fix any truncations - however it may result in some letter-boxing.
Settings also includes Customize HomeScreen which allows you to turn off a channel so it does not display AND it will allow you to move the channels around on their pages so that you can customize your own favorites that show up on page one, etc. Settings includes a Locks that allows you to apply a password to various `internet' channel services like Netflix, YouTube, & Settings, etc. Incidentally, data entry, unless you have a smartphone remote control app set-up, is done via the remote's number/letter keypad. The onscreen entry is actually fairly easy because you see the keyboard layout onscreen and you can change the Input Style via the standardized dedicated blue B key at the bottom of the remote.
You can also control ALL of your accounts from the Settings channel.
The Market channel allows you to import/add more channels to your Viera Connect. One that I immediately added was the WEATHER - Local Weather channel which allows you to set your location by Zip Code. I then removed the AccuWeather channel from my channels since it does not allow you to set your location - you have to choose from several based on large cities. AccuWeather has multiple listings for metropolitan Detroit for instance but nothing even close to Alpena, Michigan. Now if only the WEATHER - Local Weather would let you switch out the channel page default from New York, NY to your own location - maybe an upcoming enhancement will allow it.
Its possible that Market may eventually have the forthcoming free browser OR that a firmware update will soon make it a default part of one of the three pages of channels. Apparently, the web browser is available in Europe markets. And the Panasonic TC-L42ET5 HDTV does include the web browser.
It appears all slideshow offerings regardless of the channel only have display time and repeat as options under settings.
Here are some of the Channels I have used with comments:
The Picasa channel shows your My Photos pic section nicely. First of course you need to login with your Google account. You have a choice of browsing all albums and/or picking an individual album. However, any captions or other extras that may have been added thru Picasa originally do not show up in this viewer. Also, if you happened to put in any video clips, like I do sometimes? - forget about it! All you will see is a thumbnail of the first frame in the video. Folder organization is ok but slideshow settings only has display time and repeat. An instrumental music soundtrack plays while the slideshow runs - guess it's the `Google' theme. If you select a web album from Picasa's Featured selections the soundtrack is different - however it is still the same music regardless of what album is played there. There are hundreds of featured albums available with 35 albums appearing on each page.
You can create three shortcuts on your home page for Picasa but the only albums you can shortcut are those that you have searched to find.
The NETFLIX channel has been reported as being sluggish in response to selections. I direct-connected an Ethernet cable to the LAN port on the player. I have 15Mbps cable internet service and it took about 20-30 seconds to resume playing the HD 1080i rendition of Season of the Witch playing the matrix-extropolated 6.1 audio via my Yamaha receiver. I do not recall when I watched the DVD blu-ray originally whether it was already reformatted at 16:9 but the NETFLIX feed was/is stunning completely filling my screen - colors are awesome, vibrant and realistic. Action sequences are crisp. All I can say about sluggish responsiveness concerns is OMG - it is a recent HD movie playing Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio available within less than a minute on-demand!
Timing-wise: it took about 45 seconds from when I pressed the dedicated NetFlix button on the remote until the NetFlix display interface appeared showing my Queue, etc. Selecting the movie Lockout, a HD 5.1 movie, took about 4 seconds to display and starting the movie took all of 12 seconds!
I have had some issues such as the audio not in sync and missing HD/HQ audio which are addressed in a discussion below.
The Vudu channel originally refused to start within Viera Connect - it came up with a connection error message: Loading then Connecting . . . Please wait. Then the following message appears on the bottom of the screen under the Vudu title & bulleted features:
Timeout during connect
Detail: Trouble connecting to network
More info: Hardware id: PANBT22 OCC7EE7 B88BD56 7EA4482
Device id: CD1324
Software version: 3.1.0-84678-PnsMn10300-89273
The message only appears for a few seconds than Vudu tries to restart with the same messages occurring. I immediately tried NETFLIX via the Viera Connect and it continues to load & play HD movies with 5.1 Dolby Digital. My internet connection is a direct Ethernet cable plugged into the LAN port. My internet service is up to 15Mbps and my Speedtest.net logs show that I consistently receive between 12 to 15Mbps service.
I resolved the Vudu Channel loading error within my Motorola Gateway, bypassing the firewall. Once I configured a DHCP lease, defining the MAC & IP Addresses, that bypassed the firewall, Vudu fully loaded and I saw the home page, video choices and I ran some trailers ok. I eventually watched Hugo in stunning full HD blue-ray quality with 5.1 audio on Vudu.
The YouTube channel allows you to log into your YouTube (google) account. After logging in when you select the My Account you have choices for Favorites, Subscriptions, Playlists, & My Videos. Each choice can be selected by using the colored R, G, B, & Y buttons respectively that are found at the bottom of the player's remote. However, My Videos may have responsiveness issue if you have just uploaded a new video.
To briefly comment for now on the Blu-ray disc channel as its called on this player - if you put in a disc it will autoplay if that default setting is not changed AND you are not using Viera/Internet. I used the Green Lantern Extended Cut Blu-Ray as my first test. Another OMG albeit a less positive one - although the BD-Live content took the disc longer to load since I received a warning my player option had been set to prohibit BD-Live content at that time - it took about 2 minutes 40 seconds to get the actual movie menu to appear. Other Blu-Ray titles may load faster - The Avengers non-3D blu-ray disc took 40 seconds to load to the first splash screen with the BD-Live Internet Access set to Allow (Limited). Using the Avengers 3D blu-ray disk took about the same time with about another 45 seconds for the main menu. Finally, pressing Play Movie took a `whopping' 12 seconds to start the movie. DVD movies do seem to play fairly quickly - about 15-20 seconds once loaded. More on the 3D playback quality paired with the Panasonic TC-L42ET5 3D HDTV hopefully later.
PLAYER SETTINGS
After reading about audio issues on the AVSForum website, under Digital Audio Output I have turned off BD-Video Secondary Audio. I still receive 5.1 audio channels And since I am using the player's optical digital audio output into my Yamaha receiver, I have also turned of the HDMI Audio Output.
Under System display you can set TV Aspect to conform with your HDTV or best choice - 4:3 Pan & Scan, 4:3 Letterbox, 16:9 or 16:9 Full.
When connected to a 16:9 widescreen television and playing 4:3 ratio image:
16:9
Video is displayed as a 4:3 ratio image in the center of the screen.
16:9 Full
Video is displayed as a horizontally stretched 16:9 image.
Hopefully some of this information proves useful as I become fully familiar with the player and time permitting I will hopefully put up an edited & more complete review including using the DLNA smart home networking feature and the front-side USB & SD media card slots. Perhaps I will even hack my HP TouchPad and put Android on it so I can try out the remote control app - or maybe someone will just design a WebOs app that will work that I can review.
Top reviews from other countries
Couldn't be happier with the purchase.