32 out of 32 people found this review helpful.
Wow, Did I say Wow!?
Date of Review: Dec 27, 2008
The Bottom Line: Love, love, love this player!
I recently upgraded my standard satellite receiver to a Dish Network ViP722 HD-DVR that offers up to 55 hours of recorded HD programming. Along with the HD-DVR, I also acquired a Sony BRAVIA XRB 32-in LCD HDTV. Two HD components were in place, but I needed a third, a DVD player capable of playing DVD's at 1080p. I made this know to certain parties and under tree this year for Christmas I received a Panasonic DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray1080p DVD Player.
The DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray is a single-disc, DVD player that when connected with an HDMI cable play's Blu-Ray DVD's in your collection to 1080p when used with a compatible HDTV. As an added bonus the unit can also play your CD's of all types, plus MP3 and JPEG files that have been burned onto CD-R's, CD-RW's, DVD's and other media. Dolby Digital surround sound decoding is built in, along with a DTS output. Other outputs include component video, HDMI, as well as an optical digital audio output. And, as an added bonus the DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray will accept input from and SD-Media card; the slot is behind a panel in the right from of the unit.
The Unit
I was surprised by the small size of the DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray player. The unit is only 9.8 inches deep, compared to almost 12 inches deep for the Sony DVD it replaces. The unit weighs in at a scant 5.7 pounds. Nevertheless the unit contains all of the connections one would expect on a major DVD player. Since I was connecting the player directly to the Sony BRAVIA HDTV via an HDMI cable, I by-passed routing the video through my A/V receiver. And since the audio is also carried though the HDMI cable there was no need to connect the Optical Audio out, but I did so anyway.
Once connected and powered on, I set-up the DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray via the Sony BRAVIA HDTV, via Panasonic's VIERA Sync, a technology that allows the two units to work together. For example, when a DVD is placed in the DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray, the connected television turns on automatically if not already on, and switches that HDMI port. However, this can become an annoyance if one wants to play a CD and turn off the TV. Turning off the TV with VIERA Sync on will also turn off the DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray player. VIERA can be disengaged however.
The DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray features an HD Audio Decoder (Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTSTM-HD Master Audio Essential) capable of delivering 7.1-channel surround sound if mated to an A/V receiver equipped with 7.1-channel inputs and an HDMI terminal. The DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray can also output analog signals for 7.1-channel sound, so even receivers without an HDMI input can produce 7.1-channel surround sound.
The DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray features BD-Live compatibility, a technology that enables users to connect to the Internet to download Blu-Ray discs extra-contents and bonus features like subtitles, interviews, images, and other data. BD-live also lets users partake in interactive activities and multi-player games linked to bonus cinema content found on Blu-ray Discs. There is an RJ-45 port on the back of the unit for connecting to the internet. Firmware updates can also be automatically downloaded and install on the player if it is connected to the internet.
Front controls are few, so most of the players operation can be carried out via the remote control.
Use
All I can say is WOW! Sight and sound: WOW!
Setting the DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray up for initial use was surprisingly easy; all I needed was one HDMI cable (not included) to my HDTV and away we went.
The quality of the sound was on par with that found in any Cineplex; yes it's that good! I have 5.1 speakers connected to my A/V receivers; I can only imagine how much better the sound would have been if I had, had a 7.1-channel surround sound.
The image quality via Blu-Ray discs is outstanding! Mated to my Sony HDTV the colors are rich, vibrant, shockingly sharp & clear, and everything I heard Blu-Ray could be. Boot-up time is minimal. Regular DVD disc playback is also outstanding and truth be told, there is little difference between the two formats. And of course any audio formatting is also present.
Conclusion
Since installing the Panasonic DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray1080p DVD Player on Christmas Eve, the unit has performed flawlessly, though I was not able to manually update the firmware as prescribed in the instruction manual. I will eventually break down and buy a wireless bridge to use with the player. At a retail price of approximately $399.00 the Panasonic DMP-BD35K Blu-Ray1080p DVD Player is in the middle-of-the-player pack. The Panasonic DMP-BD55K Blu-Ray1080p DVD Player, the BD35K's big brother, brings more advanced audio processing to the table, but at a much higher price-point. But, for my needs the DMP-BD35K fits the bill quite nicely, thank you.
