Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu-Ray Player

This past weekend I had the chance to play around with and watch a few movies on the new Panasonic DMP-BD35k Blu-ray player. While there are still many improvements that I would like to see in both the players and in the video, this player is one of the best I have seen so far and certainly a vast improvement over many other models out there - and with the price dropping, perhaps this is becoming an even better deal than buying the PS3.

This player is one of the few that I have seen that has forgone the attempted departure from DVD player design. Too many players I have seen have opted for flip down faces and bright LCDs with awkward button placement, but the BD35k is different - The LCD is more usable and less annoying in a darkened room because of its ability to dim (almost to zero), the tray slides out like it did in the good old days, and the only flip down panel on this player hides a few somewhat useful buttons as well as the SD card slot.

As far as features go, this player is fairly well off in the audio, video, and extras departments. The extras on Blu-ray discs are in the form of online content accessed through the disc and player. This is what is known as Blu-ray profile 2.0, with which this player is fully compliant. To access this content, the player must be connected to your home internet connection via Ethernet (as there is no wireless connectivity) and an SD card must be inserted into the slot to serve as memory storage. As mentioned above, the slot on this player is conveniently located in the front of the player (behind the flip down panel). This is contrary to, and a vast improvement upon, some of the other players that I have seen which place the slot awkwardly in the back of the player. Also, some other players have recessed ports which can be fairly hard to access. While not something you will need to deal with every time you use the player, it's nice to know that you can upgrade without having to pull the whole thing out of the cabinet and then finding some kid-sized fingers to do the swap.

The video on this player is really fantastic. As with every Blu-ray player/disc I have ever seen, the definition of the video was so superior to DVD that I almost cried a little when I had to go back to my home system. That being said, I am still not sure that I actually prefer Blu-ray to DVD. There is something about the video being too real that detracts from the movies for me. While I think this is a problem right now, as the film makers harness more of the capability of Blu-ray, I have no doubt that the viewing experience will become vastly superior to that of today's players. I encourage anyone who has not already done so to go to their local electronics superstore and stare for a while. Again, though you may not prefer Blu-ray to DVD movies, the quality of the video will amaze you like nothing else you have ever seen.

The audio on this player is as is to be expected from this new crop of players. There are all sorts of fancy outputs, the specifics of which can be ascertained from the box and need not be repeated here. Sufficed to say that HDMI is the most superior output and will combine HD video with HD audio in a single cable. There are also multiple options, depending on your receiver and preference, to output decoded or raw audio to your device and from there to your speakers as you wish. Since HDMI gives both fantastic audio and video and is only a single cable to plug in, I would recommend it for ease of setup as well as quality of experience.

One hindrance in my undoubtedly ultimate switch to this new form of high definition is the time it takes to get a disc moving. With other players that I have seen, especially with some movies apparently involving voluminous amounts of content (i.e. Pirates of the Caribbean 3), startup time can be in excess of two minutes. This is ridiculous when compared with the setup time of a DVD which can only be measured in terms of seconds. This player is marginally better in the startup times and as the only real benchmark that I have: Pirates 3 took about 1 minute and 40 seconds. While I have yet to use it as a Blu-ray player, I am told that this is one of the areas where the PS3 really blows all competition out of water: the PS3 is vastly superior in power and can do anything that another player can do and it can do it much faster than any other player can do it. While this is nice in terms of convenience, the PS3 is still significantly more expensive than this player. Also, as I have mentioned before in other reviews, the startup can seem interminable, unless you do something constructive like get that popcorn popping and poke your straw into those 64 carbonated ounces of refreshment. This may be a change in your order of movie night commencement, but one which I am sure can be accommodated by any user.

The final part of this product I would like to mention is the remote. The device is fairly standard and all the important buttons are right in the center of the remote's comfort zone. There is a multidirectional pad immediately beneath those important play/pause/chapter/slow motion (my favorite) buttons. The above will allow you to control the player and Panasonic also saw fit to include a few buttons to let you control your TV and receiver as well.

Overall, this is one of the better players I have seen on the market. While no player will disappoint in the video category, the BD35k will trump most others in all the rest. This device is well designed, has all the right audio and video outputs, is Blu-ray profile 2.0 compliant, and has a good remote. While the PS3 can do everything this player can do and do it all faster, that probably won't be worth the extra clams to most users - unless you are as into games as you are Blu-ray, and in that case, one can never go wrong with combination devices (I think...).