Tagged Products - hdmi+1080i

Sony BRAVIA KDL-32L4000 32 LCD TV - 32 - ATSC, NTSC - 178 Horizontal / 178 Vertical - 16:9 - 1366 x 768 - HDTV

...

there are limited places to purchase the 37 inch TV; the closet to me is Target. My Primary TV is a Panasonic 50 inch, with Yamaha Surround Sound.

The set up out of the box was fairly simple by attaching 3 phillips head screws to the pedestal provided. However, the TV was pretty low on my current TV stand, so I purchased six 8x12 black shelves and raised the TV up to a better viewing level. The TV is not top heavy and remains stable on the raised shelves. I expect in a home with a child, a more secure option would be warranted.

The local cable was simple to hook up and numerous High Definition channels are available, from the bigger networks, PBS, etc. There are numerous inputs for DVD, computer, gaming, etc. There is even the older one line video input as well as the S video input, which will complement the older AV equipment.

This TV is 720P and will accept the 1080I and 1080P, but only displays 720P. The screen refresh rate is said to be 60hz (From a review I saw), but I have not seen this confirmed by Sony. The pixel response time rating varies by site and I have seen it rated at 8 ms and/or 10 ms.

Depending on the film stock the image clarity is excellent to fair. High definition channels and DVDs like Finding Nemo are fantastic. Standard TV is great too. Older DVD TV shows need more tweaking for a better viewing experience.

I tweaked all of the settings for Vivid, Standard and Custom for cable and component one. Each input requires calibration to adjust settings. Another nice feature is that the backlight has a level adjustment to raise or lower the brightness, to suit your room light level (Day glare, night level, etc). Also, there is a video noise reduction control, which is a must for the poor DVD transfers that need the grain reduced, but it also darkens the screen - NOTE: Before tweaking your settings, make sure the noise reduction is set to off....

I opted to tweak all of the image controls comparing Hi Definition, regular TV and DVDs. I used an older 480i DVD player with component cables. I have THX DVDs that have a calibration option - The best use was to set the blackness level and sharpness from the DVD disc. Otherwise, I set the other options by eye for my best viewing experience.

The sound quality was pretty good right from the TV, but my viewing on this set is mainly nightly news or older TV shows on DVD. The TV audio does not need to be maxed for a favorable listening level. I did tweak the audio a bit for my desired sound. A negative is that the audio out (Stereo L & R) is fixed - I have the stereo audio run through an older Sherwood amp era 1980s, which I do not use very often. With the TV having fixed audio out, the volume on the amp is not raised by increasing the volume on the TV (Something my old Toshiba TV was capable of doing).

When inputting with component cable sources (DVD player, etc) for video, only a stereo (L & R) input is available. I do not use HDMI cables and can not confirm or deny their usefulness. I have heard that inexpensive HDMI cables are available on Amazon and the in store $60 to $100 plus varieties are overpriced.

The Digital Audio out port is an Optical Audio out (Thin line for Digital Sound). There is no Component Audio out, (One Cable for Digital Sound). I am not a fan of the Optical audio lines.

Above, I noted that there is an audio optical out port. However, I can not confirm or deny that the audio optical output will actually transfer a 5.1 sound from the TV input sources, such as coax cable, HDMI inputs, etc. to an amplifier.

Logic tells me it is doubtful if the TV can process or transfer sound to an amplifier in 5.1 sound.

The closed caption feature works well. I was playing an older DVD TV show (BBC), with no caption features, but the TV picked up the closed captions, which was great. The size of the caption font is easily read.

The TV also has a display button for the information banner - TV channel and displays (when available for the channel) - the show title, time remaining, resolution, etc. The downside is the display banner font is too small for my viewing distance, and can not be changed (as far as I can tell).

Another great feature is the widescreen mode, which fills the screen rather well with the pan and scan pictures of the older DVD TV shows. The Full mode feature expands the picture, which looks too stretched to me.

Overall, I am happy with the quality of this TV. With the price drop of nearly $200 since I purchased it, it is now the deal of the day at $498. I have not seen a sale ever on the Sony 37 inch TV. If I did, I would have returned the 32 inch TV, within the ninety day return period and purchased the Sony big brother.

NOTE: If you go to the Crutchfield web site, the owner's manual can be downloaded, plus there are many TVs to compare with.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_15832L4000/Sony-KDL-32L4000.html?search=kdl+32l400&tp=161

What's in the box?
32" LCD TV
Pedestal stand
Wireless remote control (RM-YD025)
2 "AA" batteries
6' AC cord
3 Machine screws (each with a flat washer and lock washer)
Cable strap
Operating Instructions
Quick Setup Guide
Instructions for attaching the table top stand
Diagram for attaching the table top stand
Instructions for wall-mounting television
Warranty sheet
On-line product registration card
"Notices and Licenses for Software Used in this Television" sheet

NOTE: I added a few pictures on the main product page of the TV with a widescreen and Pan & Scan picture for comparison.

Hope this helps, j.

Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player with 1080p Upconversion

...

there are limited places to purchase the 37 inch TV; the closet to me is Target. My Primary TV is a Panasonic 50 inch, with Yamaha Surround Sound.



The set up out of the box was fairly simple by attaching 3 phillips head screws to the pedestal provided. However, the TV was pretty low on my current TV stand, so I purchased six 8x12 black shelves and raised the TV up to a better viewing level. The TV is not top heavy and remains stable on the raised shelves. I expect in a home with a child, a more secure option would be warranted.



The local cable was simple to hook up and numerous High Definition channels are available, from the bigger networks, PBS, etc. There are numerous inputs for DVD, computer, gaming, etc. There is even the older one line video input as well as the S video input, which will complement the older AV equipment.



This TV is 720P and will accept the 1080I and 1080P, but only displays 720P. The screen refresh rate is said to be 60hz (From a review I saw), but I have not seen this confirmed by Sony. The pixel response time rating varies by site and I have seen it rated at 8 ms and/or 10 ms.



Depending on the film stock the image clarity is excellent to fair. High definition channels and DVDs like Finding Nemo are fantastic. Standard TV is great too. Older DVD TV shows need more tweaking for a better viewing experience.



I tweaked all of the settings for Vivid, Standard and Custom for cable and component one. Each input requires calibration to adjust settings. Another nice feature is that the backlight has a level adjustment to raise or lower the brightness, to suit your room light level (Day glare, night level, etc). Also, there is a video noise reduction control, which is a must for the poor DVD transfers that need the grain reduced, but it also darkens the screen - NOTE: Before tweaking your settings, make sure the noise reduction is set to off....



I opted to tweak all of the image controls comparing Hi Definition, regular TV and DVDs. I used an older 480i DVD player with component cables. I have THX DVDs that have a calibration option - The best use was to set the blackness level and sharpness from the DVD disc. Otherwise, I set the other options by eye for my best viewing experience.



The sound quality was pretty good right from the TV, but my viewing on this set is mainly nightly news or older TV shows on DVD. The TV audio does not need to be maxed for a favorable listening level. I did tweak the audio a bit for my desired sound. A negative is that the audio out (Stereo L & R) is fixed - I have the stereo audio run through an older Sherwood amp era 1980s, which I do not use very often. With the TV having fixed audio out, the volume on the amp is not raised by increasing the volume on the TV (Something my old Toshiba TV was capable of doing).



When inputting with component cable sources (DVD player, etc) for video, only a stereo (L & R) input is available. I do not use HDMI cables and can not confirm or deny their usefulness. I have heard that inexpensive HDMI cables are available on Amazon and the in store $60 to $100 plus varieties are overpriced.



The Digital Audio out port is an Optical Audio out (Thin line for Digital Sound). There is no Component Audio out, (One Cable for Digital Sound). I am not a fan of the Optical audio lines.



Above, I noted that there is an audio optical out port. However, I can not confirm or deny that the audio optical output will actually transfer a 5.1 sound from the TV input sources, such as coax cable, HDMI inputs, etc. to an amplifier.



Logic tells me it is doubtful if the TV can process or transfer sound to an amplifier in 5.1 sound.



The closed caption feature works well. I was playing an older DVD TV show (BBC), with no caption features, but the TV picked up the closed captions, which was great. The size of the caption font is easily read.



The TV also has a display button for the information banner - TV channel and displays (when available for the channel) - the show title, time remaining, resolution, etc. The downside is the display banner font is too small for my viewing distance, and can not be changed (as far as I can tell).



Another great feature is the widescreen mode, which fills the screen rather well with the pan and scan pictures of the older DVD TV shows. The Full mode feature expands the picture, which looks too stretched to me.



Overall, I am happy with the quality of this TV. With the price drop of nearly $200 since I purchased it, it is now the deal of the day at $498. I have not seen a sale ever on the Sony 37 inch TV. If I did, I would have returned the 32 inch TV, within the ninety day return period and purchased the Sony big brother.



NOTE: If you go to the Crutchfield web site, the owner's manual can be downloaded, plus there are many TVs to compare with.



http://www.crutchfield.com/p_15832L4000/Sony-KDL-32L4000.html?search=kdl+32l400&tp=161



What's in the box?

32" LCD TV

Pedestal stand

Wireless remote control (RM-YD025)

2 "AA" batteries

6' AC cord

3 Machine screws (each with a flat washer and lock washer)

Cable strap

Operating Instructions

Quick Setup Guide

Instructions for attaching the table top stand

Diagram for attaching the table top stand

Instructions for wall-mounting television

Warranty sheet

On-line product registration card

"Notices and Licenses for Software Used in this Television" sheet



NOTE: I added a few pictures on the main product page of the TV with a widescreen and Pan & Scan picture for comparison.



Hope this helps, j.

Toshiba Multiformat DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW Recorder/4-Head Hi-Fi VCR Combo

...

still have not resolved the issue after numerous calls. But that's enough about RCA, let's talked about how wonderful this unit is.

All I can say is it does exactly what I want, and it does it with one touch. You just put in your VHS tape and your blank DVD-R and press DUBBING. That's it! It is that simple. In most cases I just leave it and when I come back all I have to do is finalize the disk. The only problem I had was with one VHS tape that had empty spots between video recordings. This unit monitors the video feed and when the feed stops, it stop recording to the DVD. This worried me at first because other units (RCA) that I owned would leave me with a coaster if I tried to continue recording to the same disk. Not this unit. I just ran the tape to the point where the video started up again and pressed DUBBING. When the tape was fully recorded and I finalized the disk, it worked perfectly as if it had recorded normally.

Bottom line, it's a Toshiba and they don't make junk like some other companies I know (RCA). The last Toshiba I owned was a VCR unit and I had it for over 10 years before I gave it to a friend who is still using it (13 years now). Buy Toshiba, you won't regret it.

Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player with 1080p Upconversion

...

subwoofer definitely was given a good work out. The explosions just completely enveloped me. So far I am extremely pleased with this player and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a reasonably priced Blu Ray player.

Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player with 1080p Upconversion

...

with discrete Dolby 7.1 outputs, but that was a hundred bucks. Since I have a Panasonic receiver/amp that handles 7.1 encoding, all I needed to do is connect to it with an HDMI cable to get superb sound.

Now, all I have to do is decide which items in my DVD collection will be replaced with new blu-ray discs.

Toshiba Multiformat DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW Recorder/4-Head Hi-Fi VCR Combo

...

with discrete Dolby 7.1 outputs, but that was a hundred bucks. Since I have a Panasonic receiver/amp that handles 7.1 encoding, all I needed to do is connect to it with an HDMI cable to get superb sound.



Now, all I have to do is decide which items in my DVD collection will be replaced with new blu-ray discs.

Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player with 1080p Upconversion

...

with discrete Dolby 7.1 outputs, but that was a hundred bucks. Since I have a Panasonic receiver/amp that handles 7.1 encoding, all I needed to do is connect to it with an HDMI cable to get superb sound.





Now, all I have to do is decide which items in my DVD collection will be replaced with new blu-ray discs.

Sony BRAVIA KDL-32L4000 32 LCD TV - 32 - ATSC, NTSC - 178 Horizontal / 178 Vertical - 16:9 - 1366 x 768 - HDTV

...

picture quality are excellent for the price. You can choose Custom, Vivid or Standard settings (I chose Vivid). 720p resolution is great for a TV of this size. 1080p does not play a part in resolution until you get up to 46".

SOUND QUALITY:
With the external speakers, I thought that the sound would have been above average. However, I think this is where the price point reveals itself. Sacrifice sound for everything, else. This is definitely not a deal breaker, you can always opt for an external speaker system or run the TV with a receiver or speaker - if this is your primary TV.

PRACTICAL ISSUES:
2 HDMI inputs allow for a cable box and Blu-ray player. Component input for HDTV is another option.

VERDICT:
Overall, this is a nice value for a television that will be primarily for the guests - or when I want to get away from the crowd in the house. Just keep in mind, the sound is just average in quality.

Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player with 1080p Upconversion

...

on Blu-ray and it was shaking the room. The menu is great and has tons of settings for those of us who like to tweak things. It is a beautiful looking player which you can easily find yourself staring at it. One thing that was very surprising is that the Vierra link works with My Samsung LN46A650 AnyNet function so the Blu-ray player and my tv will interact with one another. I turn the player on and the tv will turn on and change to the Blu-ray source. I turn the TV off and the player will turn off. It's pretty nifty. All in all it's a great player and probably the best that's out there right now. If you have the money go for it, it's worth it. If you don't need the analog out go for it's little brother the BD35.

TiVo HD Digital Video Recorder

...

But their review was written over a year ago. Since then, Tivo must have activated those services.

We ordered our Tivo a few days after we got Verizon Fios TV service. Sure, the Fios is great; Fast internet, great tv quality, low price. But it also has a half baked dvr. I say that with all respect, compared to Tivo, it is only half complete. After using the Tivos of DirecTV, and even DirecTV's own HD DVR, the Motorola from Fios was awful. Changing channels was a chore. Soemtimes you pressed the buttons and it responded, sometime s it didn't. Thinking I had a bad dvr, I tried my neighbor's unit. Same thing. I guess Verizon spent all their R&D money on developing how to get the signal to my house....but not how to manipulate it once I got it here to my home.

I was seriously considering dropping the Fios TV and going back to DirecTV. Doing some research, I found that Tivo had released a lower cost HD Tivo, this one. The first HD Tivo was over $600. Sorry, at that cost, I'd have to sleep with one eye open for quite a while until my wife settled down. At the cost of this HD Tivo, only about $240 when I bought it, I don't have to worry about the wrath of my wife.

I got the Tivo and called Verizon to install the CableCards necessary to make it work. Here in North Jersey, Verizon has S-card CableCards, which means I had to order two CableCards to use both tuners. The Tivo will also accept M-Cards, but my guess is that Verizon likes to charge their customers for two separate cards, rather than one. I am paying $7.98 for the two cards, $3.99 each.

If you are going to add CableCards to your Tivo, use google to read up on getting prepared for the installer. You will need to perform a guided setup BEFORE the installer arrives. From our experience, the Verizon installers don't see a lot of these Tivos yet, so they are not very familiar with them. Make sure you have all the instructions out for them. Tivo's customer service will also work with the installer to get your Tivo activated.....when was the last time anyone said some thing good about an American comapny's customer service?

Using Tivo is a breeze. It just works. Recording shows, adjusting times so it doesn't miss the end of recordings. it even tells me if I am recording something live, like a football game and asks if I want to extend the timer....how is that for intuitive? I can watch the shows recorded from my Tivos upstairs, and the upstairs SD tivos can watch all the non-HD recordings from the HD Tivo.

And here's a really great feature. I recently traveled overseas on business. I used the Tivo Desktop software to record hours and hours of shows to a portable hard drive. I then instaleld the Tivo Desktop software on my laptop and watched all the shows on my computer while I was away. Here's a quick bit on how it works....tivo has file protection on it's Tivo recordings. You cannot share them over the Internet with others (Legally, that is). When you install the Tivo Desktop software on your computer, it adds some type of decyption key to allow you to play the files. Oh, one more thing, you must have DVD playing software on your computer like WinDVD or PowerDVD. I cannot remember exactly what, but I seem to recall that Tivo Desktop uses some codecs from the DVD players.

Overall, our Tivo works, works well, and is an important part of our home entertainment system. It never sleeps, and it has yet to miss a scheduled recording.

Ron

Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player with 1080p Upconversion

...

But their review was written over a year ago. Since then, Tivo must have activated those services.



We ordered our Tivo a few days after we got Verizon Fios TV service. Sure, the Fios is great; Fast internet, great tv quality, low price. But it also has a half baked dvr. I say that with all respect, compared to Tivo, it is only half complete. After using the Tivos of DirecTV, and even DirecTV's own HD DVR, the Motorola from Fios was awful. Changing channels was a chore. Soemtimes you pressed the buttons and it responded, sometime s it didn't. Thinking I had a bad dvr, I tried my neighbor's unit. Same thing. I guess Verizon spent all their R&D money on developing how to get the signal to my house....but not how to manipulate it once I got it here to my home.



I was seriously considering dropping the Fios TV and going back to DirecTV. Doing some research, I found that Tivo had released a lower cost HD Tivo, this one. The first HD Tivo was over $600. Sorry, at that cost, I'd have to sleep with one eye open for quite a while until my wife settled down. At the cost of this HD Tivo, only about $240 when I bought it, I don't have to worry about the wrath of my wife.



I got the Tivo and called Verizon to install the CableCards necessary to make it work. Here in North Jersey, Verizon has S-card CableCards, which means I had to order two CableCards to use both tuners. The Tivo will also accept M-Cards, but my guess is that Verizon likes to charge their customers for two separate cards, rather than one. I am paying $7.98 for the two cards, $3.99 each.



If you are going to add CableCards to your Tivo, use google to read up on getting prepared for the installer. You will need to perform a guided setup BEFORE the installer arrives. From our experience, the Verizon installers don't see a lot of these Tivos yet, so they are not very familiar with them. Make sure you have all the instructions out for them. Tivo's customer service will also work with the installer to get your Tivo activated.....when was the last time anyone said some thing good about an American comapny's customer service?



Using Tivo is a breeze. It just works. Recording shows, adjusting times so it doesn't miss the end of recordings. it even tells me if I am recording something live, like a football game and asks if I want to extend the timer....how is that for intuitive? I can watch the shows recorded from my Tivos upstairs, and the upstairs SD tivos can watch all the non-HD recordings from the HD Tivo.



And here's a really great feature. I recently traveled overseas on business. I used the Tivo Desktop software to record hours and hours of shows to a portable hard drive. I then instaleld the Tivo Desktop software on my laptop and watched all the shows on my computer while I was away. Here's a quick bit on how it works....tivo has file protection on it's Tivo recordings. You cannot share them over the Internet with others (Legally, that is). When you install the Tivo Desktop software on your computer, it adds some type of decyption key to allow you to play the files. Oh, one more thing, you must have DVD playing software on your computer like WinDVD or PowerDVD. I cannot remember exactly what, but I seem to recall that Tivo Desktop uses some codecs from the DVD players.



Overall, our Tivo works, works well, and is an important part of our home entertainment system. It never sleeps, and it has yet to miss a scheduled recording.



Ron

Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player with 1080p Upconversion

...

of some players. Wish that was mentioned in the user manual. Fortunately, my AV receiver (Denon 2803) boosted the LFE volume on optical input when the "external LFE boost" setting was enabled. Bottom line: At $300, my price, capability, and quality point was met.

Pros
Broad audio decoding to PCM
Great DVD video output
Acceptable load times
Good price

Cons
No technical issues yet
User Manual non-HDMI use is minimal

Toshiba Multiformat DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW Recorder/4-Head Hi-Fi VCR Combo

...

of some players. Wish that was mentioned in the user manual. Fortunately, my AV receiver (Denon 2803) boosted the LFE volume on optical input when the "external LFE boost" setting was enabled. Bottom line: At $300, my price, capability, and quality point was met.



Pros

Broad audio decoding to PCM

Great DVD video output

Acceptable load times

Good price



Cons

No technical issues yet

User Manual non-HDMI use is minimal

Sony KDL-37M4000 Bravia 37" M4000 LCD Television

...

of some players. Wish that was mentioned in the user manual. Fortunately, my AV receiver (Denon 2803) boosted the LFE volume on optical input when the "external LFE boost" setting was enabled. Bottom line: At $300, my price, capability, and quality point was met.





Pros


Broad audio decoding to PCM


Great DVD video output


Acceptable load times


Good price





Cons


No technical issues yet


User Manual non-HDMI use is minimal

Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player with 1080p Upconversion

...

impressive BD35) are actually less expensive than the PS3, and they've come a long way in disc loading and boot-up times such that these new BD players actually load some discs a little bit *faster* than the PS3 (details below). The PS3 still wins in overall boot-up time and in loading and interaction with BD-Java discs, but the new Panasonics are among the first to give the PS3 a run for its money in this department.

Where the BD55 wins over virtually all of the competition (including the PS3) is in its treatment of Blu-ray Discs, both from a picture performance standpoint and in the audio department. On the "big picture" front, the unit includes Panasonic's newly improved UniPhier chip which intelligently upconverts the native 4:2:0 encoding on a Blu-ray discs to 4:4:4 output. What this means from a layman's perspective is that the player restores missing color detail to each pixel in the 1920x1080 image. And while this doesn't make a big difference on smaller sized screens, it does noticeably improve color detail on the larger flat panel and projection screens which you're likely to find in a home theater system. Also, the BD55 has enhanced SD upconversion over its predecessors that makes watching DVDs a lot more enjoyable. It's not quite the equal the the best upconverting DVD players on the market, but it's not that far off either.

On the sound front, the BD55 includes 5.1 and 7.1-channel analog outputs with full decoding of multi-channel PCM, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. This makes it an excellent choice to add to a high-end multi-channel preamp/processor or receiver which lacks HDMI inputs. The multi-channel analog output allows you to take full advantage of the latest and greatest audio formats available on Blu-ray Disc. If you haven't heard these new formats yet, you're in for a treat as they exactly match the original studio recordings in quality and it can give your home theater system quite a work out! The BD55 is one of very few players on the market today that offers this feature (multi-channel analog out). The PS3 does not offer this. And while the Samsung BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 do offer multi-channel analog outputs, they do not currently offer native decoding of DTS-HD Master Audio (though there is some conflicting information as to whether this may be delivered in the future via a firmware upgrade).

For those with more modern surround sound equipment, the BD55 can output multi-channel Blu-ray Discs and DVDs in the native "bitstream" or it can decode the bitstream to full resolution uncompressed PCM. The choice is yours based on the capabilities of your specific home theater system.

One of the first things we measured when we got the BD55 in for review was the boot-up and disc-loading time. First and second generation BD players were painfully slow to boot up and to load discs. While the BD55 does take 24 seconds to boot up (vs. the PS3's 9 seconds), the BD55 was actually quicker to load a standard (non-Java) Blu-ray Disc than the PS3 - about 9 seconds faster, to be precise - and it was about 6 seconds faster to load a standard DVD. For a BD Java-heavy disc like "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," the BD55 loaded up the disc in about 45 seconds, which is only about 5 seconds slower than the PS3. The PS3, with its super-fast Cell processor, is still better (and quicker) in its interactivity with BD-Java-based menus and BD-Live, but the BD55 is certainly in the same ballpark. What's important here is that the delays in playback are short enough that they won't bother most people, and the huge improvement in picture and sound quality over standard DVD make Blu-ray playback on the BD55 worth the wait.

The DMP-BD55 is by no means a "perfect" player - all CE components have their quirks. SD conversion on specialized upconverting DVD players such as the higher end Oppo players or the Silicon Optix HQV-based players is definitely better than the SD upconversion on the BD55, but not so much as to bother me (and I'm pretty picky). Overall, the BD55 provides one of the stongest feature sets and performance packages available today, and it does it at a price in line with most home theater fans' budgets. So it gets my enthusiastic recommendation.

More information is available in our full review on Big Picture Big Sound.

TiVo HD Digital Video Recorder

...

impressive BD35) are actually less expensive than the PS3, and they've come a long way in disc loading and boot-up times such that these new BD players actually load some discs a little bit *faster* than the PS3 (details below). The PS3 still wins in overall boot-up time and in loading and interaction with BD-Java discs, but the new Panasonics are among the first to give the PS3 a run for its money in this department.



Where the BD55 wins over virtually all of the competition (including the PS3) is in its treatment of Blu-ray Discs, both from a picture performance standpoint and in the audio department. On the "big picture" front, the unit includes Panasonic's newly improved UniPhier chip which intelligently upconverts the native 4:2:0 encoding on a Blu-ray discs to 4:4:4 output. What this means from a layman's perspective is that the player restores missing color detail to each pixel in the 1920x1080 image. And while this doesn't make a big difference on smaller sized screens, it does noticeably improve color detail on the larger flat panel and projection screens which you're likely to find in a home theater system. Also, the BD55 has enhanced SD upconversion over its predecessors that makes watching DVDs a lot more enjoyable. It's not quite the equal the the best upconverting DVD players on the market, but it's not that far off either.



On the sound front, the BD55 includes 5.1 and 7.1-channel analog outputs with full decoding of multi-channel PCM, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. This makes it an excellent choice to add to a high-end multi-channel preamp/processor or receiver which lacks HDMI inputs. The multi-channel analog output allows you to take full advantage of the latest and greatest audio formats available on Blu-ray Disc. If you haven't heard these new formats yet, you're in for a treat as they exactly match the original studio recordings in quality and it can give your home theater system quite a work out! The BD55 is one of very few players on the market today that offers this feature (multi-channel analog out). The PS3 does not offer this. And while the Samsung BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 do offer multi-channel analog outputs, they do not currently offer native decoding of DTS-HD Master Audio (though there is some conflicting information as to whether this may be delivered in the future via a firmware upgrade).



For those with more modern surround sound equipment, the BD55 can output multi-channel Blu-ray Discs and DVDs in the native "bitstream" or it can decode the bitstream to full resolution uncompressed PCM. The choice is yours based on the capabilities of your specific home theater system.



One of the first things we measured when we got the BD55 in for review was the boot-up and disc-loading time. First and second generation BD players were painfully slow to boot up and to load discs. While the BD55 does take 24 seconds to boot up (vs. the PS3's 9 seconds), the BD55 was actually quicker to load a standard (non-Java) Blu-ray Disc than the PS3 - about 9 seconds faster, to be precise - and it was about 6 seconds faster to load a standard DVD. For a BD Java-heavy disc like "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," the BD55 loaded up the disc in about 45 seconds, which is only about 5 seconds slower than the PS3. The PS3, with its super-fast Cell processor, is still better (and quicker) in its interactivity with BD-Java-based menus and BD-Live, but the BD55 is certainly in the same ballpark. What's important here is that the delays in playback are short enough that they won't bother most people, and the huge improvement in picture and sound quality over standard DVD make Blu-ray playback on the BD55 worth the wait.



The DMP-BD55 is by no means a "perfect" player - all CE components have their quirks. SD conversion on specialized upconverting DVD players such as the higher end Oppo players or the Silicon Optix HQV-based players is definitely better than the SD upconversion on the BD55, but not so much as to bother me (and I'm pretty picky). Overall, the BD55 provides one of the stongest feature sets and performance packages available today, and it does it at a price in line with most home theater fans' budgets. So it gets my enthusiastic recommendation.



More information is available in our full review on Big Picture Big Sound.

Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player with 1080p Upconversion

...

audio formats.

Profile 1.1 machines have been released in the last year and can play the vast majority of new discs but cannot take advantage of the new online functionalities and special features many new discs are shipping with. Also, updating the firmware can be cumbersome requiring a PC download, then that download being burned to a CD, and then that CD being inserted into your player, and then installed onto player.

Profile 2.0 machines are known as "Final Profile" or "Full Spec". These players come with a network interface, aka an Ethernet card. The Ethernet card allows you to connect your player directly to your home network. The significance of this is that with an Ethernet connection you will be able to directly download firmware updates to your player eliminating the several steps in the firmware updating process. Also, internet-based special features are available.

This is my first standalone Blu-Ray player. Since 2006, I have been using my Playstation 3 (60GB launch model) in anticipation of a full-featured standalone Blu-Ray player that didn't cost an arm and a leg. The moment I read the press release and technical specs about the BMP-BD55 I knew this was the machine to buy. The features that stood out to me are:

1. This machine has Onboard decoding of Dolby TrueHD/Digital Plus and dts-HD Master Audio audio formats, among others. This means, if you have an older receiver this machine can send the audio via bitstream or PCM, and you'll be able to enjoy the discrete audio mastered on the disc.

2. I have an older 7.1 Yamaha receiver HTR-5960 and it does not decodes the HD audio formats. **Correction** That is where your audio options begin with the BMP-BD55, as it can send decoded 7.1 and 5.1 audio to my receiver via the analog output. In other words you're not tethered, per se, to HDMI to enjoy 7.1 or 5.1 master audio and can put off buying that new receiver. The Optical Out interface supports DTS-ES, Dolby Digital EX, among more but 7.1 is down mixed.

3. Profile 2.0. Simple firmware updates, which are done automatically. Access to the internet-based special features, such as trivia games, extra behind the scenes, downloadables like ringtones etc..

4. This machine has an SD card reader. It can read SD cards up to 32GB (if the card has SDHC on it, then the Panasonic will play it). This means you will be able to view your Photos (from your digital camera: still or video), play MP3 songs, view Divx (aka those movies you downloaded from the internet), etc. I definitely recommend you getting an SD card because you may need it for future special internet- features (which are only going to get larger), as the onboard memory is rather limited. A class 6 8GB card can be bought here on Amazon for $12 and less.

5. Video quality (most important in my opinion). This machine has an excellent 1080p upconverting chipset. This means your regular DVD will look excellent. This machine also has 24p (also known as Original Source Output for those who are interested in knowing). Most movies are actually shot at 24 frames per second and this machine supports 24p for both DVD (via conversion) and Blu-Ray.

6. Price. This machine is has an excellent deal for its price. Competing machines with the same or less features still cost well above $700MSRP (Denon and Pioneer ring a bell).

7. Nice Size. This player has a very nice profile and is the size of a typical DVD player. It's not razor thin but it's a substantially slim machine and Panasonic finally got rid of that annoying face plate that you have to manually lower and raise to access the disc tray.

My impressions and personal experience with this machine:

I've been using the Playstation 3 as my Blu-Ray player for almost two years and I believe this machine surpasses the PS3 in terms of Audio (7.1 audio output via analog, and solid bitsream for optical out), Audio/Video settings option (the same picture management flexibilities that exist on my HDTVs setting are available for greater picture control flexibility). PS3 owners will know this but I can finally use my standard/universal remote again.

What I like:

I personally found the BMP-BD55 has great colour, contrast, and noise reduction performance as viewed on my Panasonic 46" Plasma HDTV. I did a direct video comparison of several movies between the BMP-BD55 and the PS3 and the Panasonic performed better.

I viewed only areas of the films where the PS3 struggled, such as in sequences with diagonal objects (to test anti-aliasing performance), intense light dark scenes (to test contrast and brightness performance). Movies I viewed:

Blu-Ray: (The Matrix, Iron Man, Resident Evil Extinction, Babel, Disturbia, Unforgiven, Tekkonkinkreet, and The Corpse Bride). I found the BMP-BD55 had great Contrast and Brightness. Colour control is exquisite, hardly any noticeable colour artifacts.

DVD: The Incredibles, the Matrix, Evolution, The Time Machine, Bourne Ultimatum, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Black Dahlia, Moulin Rouge. I found the 1080p upconversion excellent; DVDs I bought 8 years ago look better than ever and the Aspect Ratio and pull-down performance is very good as well.

Audio Processing: The onboard decoding software and chipset are great. I sent the decoded HD audio channelized audio to my 7.1 receiver and it sounded superb. This feature is important, in my opinion, because my receiver has a hard-time converting new HD audio but the BMP-BD55's on-board chipset sends a crisp decoded signal to my receiver. As a result, it doesn't have to struggle with HD audio and only needs to farm out the audio to the assigned speakers.

Load times: I was thoroughly impressed with the boot-up and load times of the machine. From start to play it took me less than two minutes to load Iron Man

What I don't like:

1. Storage Space: Given online content is going to be downloaded, they could have added at 2GB SD card (probably would have cost them only $3)

2. Would be nice if they included a USB port.

3. This is a high definition movie player. Why the heck is the included cable a composite? They could have included a short HDMI or even an S-Video cable.

I highly recommend this machine for anyone looking to enter into the High Definition Movie Disc market or looking to upgrade their 1.0 or 1.1 player. I've seen this unit for $320 (prices will ultimately go down) but if that is too much for you, I highly recommend getting the BMP-BD35 as a more affordable alternative. The only difference between the BMP-BD55 and the BMP-BD35 are the 7.1 analog out (the 35 doesn't have that feature) and Divx support for burned DVD and CD-R/RW. Other than that, the machines are identical in terms of playback functionality and quality, as they have the same video and audio cards. In my opinion, this is a great deal for a full-featured Blu-Ray player; in terms of functionality, features, and Audio/Video quality you're pretty much set.

In conclusion: I feel this is currently the best stand-alone player (especially for the price) currently on the market and a legitimate and compelling alternative to the PS3; perfect for those who are simply interested in watching High Definition movies and want to enjoy the occasional internet-based extras Blu-Ray movies are starting to offer without worrying about a new "Profile". Technology always moves along but I think, with these new players, the manufactures have finally started releasing "finalized" Blu-Ray machines you won't have to worry about being viable for years to come.

I hope you found this useful and I thank you for taking the time to read my review/opinion.

Philips Multi-region DVD Player with HDMI (Refurb)-Philips Multi Region Free DVD Player w/ HDMI

...

audio formats.



Profile 1.1 machines have been released in the last year and can play the vast majority of new discs but cannot take advantage of the new online functionalities and special features many new discs are shipping with. Also, updating the firmware can be cumbersome requiring a PC download, then that download being burned to a CD, and then that CD being inserted into your player, and then installed onto player.



Profile 2.0 machines are known as "Final Profile" or "Full Spec". These players come with a network interface, aka an Ethernet card. The Ethernet card allows you to connect your player directly to your home network. The significance of this is that with an Ethernet connection you will be able to directly download firmware updates to your player eliminating the several steps in the firmware updating process. Also, internet-based special features are available.



This is my first standalone Blu-Ray player. Since 2006, I have been using my Playstation 3 (60GB launch model) in anticipation of a full-featured standalone Blu-Ray player that didn't cost an arm and a leg. The moment I read the press release and technical specs about the BMP-BD55 I knew this was the machine to buy. The features that stood out to me are:



1. This machine has Onboard decoding of Dolby TrueHD/Digital Plus and dts-HD Master Audio audio formats, among others. This means, if you have an older receiver this machine can send the audio via bitstream or PCM, and you'll be able to enjoy the discrete audio mastered on the disc.



2. I have an older 7.1 Yamaha receiver HTR-5960 and it does not decodes the HD audio formats. **Correction** That is where your audio options begin with the BMP-BD55, as it can send decoded 7.1 and 5.1 audio to my receiver via the analog output. In other words you're not tethered, per se, to HDMI to enjoy 7.1 or 5.1 master audio and can put off buying that new receiver. The Optical Out interface supports DTS-ES, Dolby Digital EX, among more but 7.1 is down mixed.



3. Profile 2.0. Simple firmware updates, which are done automatically. Access to the internet-based special features, such as trivia games, extra behind the scenes, downloadables like ringtones etc..



4. This machine has an SD card reader. It can read SD cards up to 32GB (if the card has SDHC on it, then the Panasonic will play it). This means you will be able to view your Photos (from your digital camera: still or video), play MP3 songs, view Divx (aka those movies you downloaded from the internet), etc. I definitely recommend you getting an SD card because you may need it for future special internet- features (which are only going to get larger), as the onboard memory is rather limited. A class 6 8GB card can be bought here on Amazon for $12 and less.



5. Video quality (most important in my opinion). This machine has an excellent 1080p upconverting chipset. This means your regular DVD will look excellent. This machine also has 24p (also known as Original Source Output for those who are interested in knowing). Most movies are actually shot at 24 frames per second and this machine supports 24p for both DVD (via conversion) and Blu-Ray.



6. Price. This machine is has an excellent deal for its price. Competing machines with the same or less features still cost well above $700MSRP (Denon and Pioneer ring a bell).



7. Nice Size. This player has a very nice profile and is the size of a typical DVD player. It's not razor thin but it's a substantially slim machine and Panasonic finally got rid of that annoying face plate that you have to manually lower and raise to access the disc tray.



My impressions and personal experience with this machine:



I've been using the Playstation 3 as my Blu-Ray player for almost two years and I believe this machine surpasses the PS3 in terms of Audio (7.1 audio output via analog, and solid bitsream for optical out), Audio/Video settings option (the same picture management flexibilities that exist on my HDTVs setting are available for greater picture control flexibility). PS3 owners will know this but I can finally use my standard/universal remote again.



What I like:



I personally found the BMP-BD55 has great colour, contrast, and noise reduction performance as viewed on my Panasonic 46" Plasma HDTV. I did a direct video comparison of several movies between the BMP-BD55 and the PS3 and the Panasonic performed better.



I viewed only areas of the films where the PS3 struggled, such as in sequences with diagonal objects (to test anti-aliasing performance), intense light dark scenes (to test contrast and brightness performance). Movies I viewed:



Blu-Ray: (The Matrix, Iron Man, Resident Evil Extinction, Babel, Disturbia, Unforgiven, Tekkonkinkreet, and The Corpse Bride). I found the BMP-BD55 had great Contrast and Brightness. Colour control is exquisite, hardly any noticeable colour artifacts.



DVD: The Incredibles, the Matrix, Evolution, The Time Machine, Bourne Ultimatum, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Black Dahlia, Moulin Rouge. I found the 1080p upconversion excellent; DVDs I bought 8 years ago look better than ever and the Aspect Ratio and pull-down performance is very good as well.



Audio Processing: The onboard decoding software and chipset are great. I sent the decoded HD audio channelized audio to my 7.1 receiver and it sounded superb. This feature is important, in my opinion, because my receiver has a hard-time converting new HD audio but the BMP-BD55's on-board chipset sends a crisp decoded signal to my receiver. As a result, it doesn't have to struggle with HD audio and only needs to farm out the audio to the assigned speakers.



Load times: I was thoroughly impressed with the boot-up and load times of the machine. From start to play it took me less than two minutes to load Iron Man



What I don't like:



1. Storage Space: Given online content is going to be downloaded, they could have added at 2GB SD card (probably would have cost them only $3)



2. Would be nice if they included a USB port.



3. This is a high definition movie player. Why the heck is the included cable a composite? They could have included a short HDMI or even an S-Video cable.



I highly recommend this machine for anyone looking to enter into the High Definition Movie Disc market or looking to upgrade their 1.0 or 1.1 player. I've seen this unit for $320 (prices will ultimately go down) but if that is too much for you, I highly recommend getting the BMP-BD35 as a more affordable alternative. The only difference between the BMP-BD55 and the BMP-BD35 are the 7.1 analog out (the 35 doesn't have that feature) and Divx support for burned DVD and CD-R/RW. Other than that, the machines are identical in terms of playback functionality and quality, as they have the same video and audio cards. In my opinion, this is a great deal for a full-featured Blu-Ray player; in terms of functionality, features, and Audio/Video quality you're pretty much set.



In conclusion: I feel this is currently the best stand-alone player (especially for the price) currently on the market and a legitimate and compelling alternative to the PS3; perfect for those who are simply interested in watching High Definition movies and want to enjoy the occasional internet-based extras Blu-Ray movies are starting to offer without worrying about a new "Profile". Technology always moves along but I think, with these new players, the manufactures have finally started releasing "finalized" Blu-Ray machines you won't have to worry about being viable for years to come.



I hope you found this useful and I thank you for taking the time to read my review/opinion.

Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player with 1080p Upconversion