Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Review

[spirovious]

It should play flacs in either way as it supports it.
DMP-BDT220 | Panasonic
Even USB as mentioned in the link.

 

[VMJ]

Seems like Panasonic is really pathetic on delivering good products - ST50, GT50, this BDP, and the list goes on ...

Its really shame.... looks like the last thing Panasonic wants is customers.... I have been trying to buy BDT220 since last week of Oct, but not available... neither in Mumbai nor in Pune....

 

[jsmithe]

Its really shame.... looks like the last thing Panasonic wants is customers.... I have been trying to buy BDT220 since last week of Oct, but not available... neither in Mumbai nor in Pune....

You could try Amazon US where it's going for US $99 right now. You will have to ship via SnS or Borderlinx etc. though. Price with the offer and including shipping, customs etc. should work out to what was quoted at Infibeam etc (around 12K INR). though am not sure about the price in the Panasonic brand shops. If you go the Amazon US route, opt for a free one month trial of Amazon Prime and you will get 2 day shipping in the US for free which will further lower your costs a bit (remember to cancel Prime if you don't want it, before the month expires or else you will be charged for the next year).

The warranty obviously will not apply in India, but if you use custom firmware, then the warranty is void anyway unless you restore the original firmware, if possible, at the time of warranty service claim.

 

[manzb]

Ebay India is showing something under 12k for BDT220 (imported from US).. looks like 110 volt input.. so need a step downer for power connection.. too much hassle.. better get from UK.. same power rating

BTW.. for the same reason of unavailability I bought a S490.. If reqd will go for hardware hacking.. else will live with Region C

 

[jsmithe]

^ Correct. I should have mentioned that the US version would be 110V. Also, one correction to my original post is that with the promotion + shipping + customs it works out to about 10K or less INR landed.

The UK version while having the same input voltage as used here works out to be a bit more expensive since there is no deal going on at the moment.

 

[just4kix]

Customs duty on DVD/BD players is 28.84%.

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2

 

[VMJ]

^ Correct. I should have mentioned that the US version would be 110V. Also, one correction to my original post is that with the promotion + shipping + customs it works out to about 10K or less INR landed.

The UK version while having the same input voltage as used here works out to be a bit more expensive since there is no deal going on at the moment.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I want to avoid US version just bcos of the 110V. dont want to add an extra converter.... already have a step down for my home theatre.

 

[manzb]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I want to avoid US version just bcos of the 110V. dont want to add an extra converter.... already have a step down for my home theatre.

Oh then I think you can go for this one, just use a spike guard with multiple plug points which can source power from the step down you already have and connect the HT & the BDP to it.

 

[jsmithe]

Customs duty on DVD/BD players is 28.84%.

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2

Customs Duty in India on , DVD player | Duty Calculator of 85219020, appears to be using 32%. Ishop used something like 24% in their quote and Borderlinx just used the base duty of 10% and will prolly have DHL charge at actuals. What actually gets charged is to be seen. Worst case I suppose it will work out close to 12-13K unless customs uses their own assessed value instead of invoice value in which case all bets are off else the landed best will be around 10K landed, anything else below that is gravy.

 

[Jams4znik03]

Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Review​

Having used this player for over a month now, I would like to share some of my own thoughts on the capability of the player.

Form factor: The first thing that one will notice with this player is how compact and light it is. I am a previous owner of Sony BDP-S360 (2009 model) and compared to that player, this one is very sleek. Because of this it is so much easy to fit/install anywhere.

Disk Loading time: The BDP is fantastic when it comes to disk loading. I felt it is only marginally slower than a DVDP. My other Sony takes ages to load in comparison. Of course, it is a much older model. But a search on the Internet shows that this Panasonic BDP is one of the fastest when it comes to the time elapsed between popping in the disk, closing the tray and main menu/advert appearing. My test with MI:4 took the player less than 15 seconds to display the menu.

User interface: Panasonic BDPs have a weird user interface. There are icons with small text. One needs to navigate with the cursor keys on remote to highlight. The highlighting of the menu icon is done by a faint sky blue colour that is very hard to distinguish. I had a tough time initially. Only now, I am a little used to it. But overall, the UI is crappy to say the least.

Picture Quality: The PQ of the player is very good. When playing BDs, it really excels. Last weekend while playing Kung Fu Panda 2, I was very pleased to see that colours are very nicely reproduced. I cannot honestly say whether it is the TV (ST50) or BDP that is being so faithful to colours but whoever "the culprit", BDs playback is superb. I watched other BDs also such as MI:4, In the Line of the Fire, Pan's Labyrinth, etc. The last one is one of my favourites to test the black levels. The blacks were smooth and deep. The Burj Dubai scenes in MI:4 were superb in rendering the sky, brown sand, etc.

3D performance: The only 3D movie that I have at the moment is Hugo. Needless to say that the 3D effects were good. But I expect that it is the movie talking. I expect that the player is being very faithful to the 3D content. I have no basis of comparison here.

Upscaling: Now this is where I am most impressed. The only frame of reference I have is the Sony BDP-S360. Compared to the Sony, the Panasonic's upscaling is better - definitely better. I connected both players to the TV and I could feel that Panasonic upscaled a notch of a degree higher. I used The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Extended Edition. My favourite part of the movie is the opening of the movie in the Shire (just after the introduction) where Bilbo Baggins is writing About Hobbits. The middle earth and the whole Shire makes me want to retire and move there.

Playback compatibility: The specs say a lot of things. The only stuff I tested were donwloaded DVix movies (via USB and burnt to DVD) and 3D-SBS movies. Compared to the DVD upscaling, the DVix (700mb AVIs) upscaling was not that great. The HDD mkv format was supported. So are there any limitations? Well, the player player will not play DVD-Audio and SACD and vinyl records are also out of bounds.

Picture/Sound Settings: The Panasonic BDP has some slew of settings to tinker with colour, gamma, picture noise, chroma processing, etc. This is most welcome for videophiles. I am not one and hence did not play around with the settings much.

Remote: The remote is simple, functional and adequate. One of the biggest complaints that I had with the Sony BDP remote was the lack of tray open/close button. Thankfully this is not missing on the Panasonic remote. Remote can also control some basic functions of the TV (being same brand).

Ports: The player has one HDMI-Out and one Composite AV-Out. There is no component out. There is an optical out but coaxial out is missing. This is a bummer and Sony wins here. Most of their players have all types of ports. There are two USB ports - one in front for media playback and one at the back is for storage, BD-Live downloads, Skype camera, etc. There is also a port for SD card.

Networking: There is an ethernet LAN port for wired connectivity and the player has a built-in wi-fi. This is a big plus. It can connect to Viera Connect and smart Apps. I haven't found much use of networking apart from firware updates and BD-Live. My internet speed is very slow and I rarely ever tried BD-Live (just takes ages).

Region-free: This player can be easily made region free with a firware update from www<dot>firmwareinfo<dot>com. To get the firmware update, you must register there with your Ethernet (wired) MAC-Id and if your registration is accepted, you can request for a firmware update after paying a donation to the website (Paypal only). Refer to the website for further details. The firmware update also unlocks many advanced features for picture and sound settings that enhance effects further. I prefer making the player via firmware update anyday to the hardware mods.

Price: The player sells for around Rs. 12,000. I feel that this price is a bit high than the competition.

Do's and Don'ts: It is worthwhile to make this player region free - so I recommend it. If you have applied the region-free firmware, do not apply the Panasonic offical firmware updates or your region-free capability will be lost. You will have to request fresh firmware again.

Final Word: A bit expensive player. Making it region-free will hike the cost further. However, this is well compensated by the excellent Vision and Sound performance. The upscaling is very good. If I may be so bold, I would say that the upscaling is probably the best in the class. I have not talked about general features such as bitstreaming. I have not tested this for pure Sound either. Overall, highly recommended.

Hi, It was good meeting you a the meet. As mentioned, I am looking for a good source to play thru my PM6004. More of a music guy but yes movies too sometimes. Have been looking around for a good n/w /media/BDP.. Any suggestion> I have checked out Pioneer LX55 as well. & saw some good reviews too. I need a one stop place/source for all media in its purest form (ofcourse leaving out the vinyl piece!).. & where did you get the 220 from ? .. Seems to a little exp though one ebay.. BTW I have a 2D TV & dont intend upgrading

 

[just4kix]

Hi, It was good meeting you a the meet. As mentioned, I am looking for a good source to play thru my PM6004. More of a music guy but yes movies too sometimes. Have been looking around for a good n/w /media/BDP.. Any suggestion> I have checked out Pioneer LX55 as well. & saw some good reviews too. I need a one stop place/source for all media in its purest form (ofcourse leaving out the vinyl piece!).. & where did you get the 220 from ? .. Seems to a little exp though one ebay.. BTW I have a 2D TV & dont intend upgrading

The pleasure was all mine.
It was a pity that due to lack of time we could not test the BDP. I got the BDP from Pune by seeking it as a replacement for the htib with Panasonic TV.

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2

 

[joshiks7]

hi,
can this BDP be made region free for DVD's?

 

[jsmithe]

hi,
can this BDP be made region free for DVD's?

Yes. Either by a firmware hack that makes it region selectable both for BD and DVD or by a remote keycode that makes it region free only for DVD.

 

[just4kix]

hi,
can this BDP be made region free for DVD's?

Yes. Please read post 1.

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2

 

[jsmithe]

Customs Duty in India on , DVD player | Duty Calculator of 85219020, appears to be using 32%. Ishop used something like 24% in their quote and Borderlinx just used the base duty of 10% and will prolly have DHL charge at actuals. What actually gets charged is to be seen. Worst case I suppose it will work out close to 12-13K unless customs uses their own assessed value instead of invoice value in which case all bets are off else the landed best will be around 10K landed, anything else below that is gravy.

I just got my DMP-BDT220 and can confirm that no extra duty was charged by customs. :yahoo: There was no duty paid receipt from DHL who delivered the shipment in 3 days flat, so I don't know if there was any customs duty paid at all. I am going to see if Borderlinx will refund the duty they collected.

I'd appreciate information from FM's regarding Borderlinx's policy as regards refund of duty they pre-collected when DHL does not provide a duty paid receipt.

 

[saketb]

I just got my DMP-BDT220 and can confirm that no extra duty was charged by customs. :yahoo: There was no duty paid receipt from DHL who delivered the shipment in 3 days flat, so I don't know if there was any customs duty paid at all. I am going to see if Borderlinx will refund the duty they collected.

I'd appreciate information from FM's regarding Borderlinx's policy as regards refund of duty they pre-collected when DHL does not provide a duty paid receipt.

Great news and congrats on your purchase.

I checked with the Bangalore Panasonic office and they said that it may be available by mid Jan, so the hope is very thin.

If you could share the details about the purchase it would really help me in deciding to take the plunge.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jsmithe]

Great news and congrats on your purchase.

I checked with the Bangalore Panasonic office and they said that it may be available by mid Jan, so the hope is very thin.

If you could share the details about the purchase it would really help me in deciding to take the plunge.

Thanks in advance.

10chars

PM sent.

 

[saketb]

10chars

PM sent.

Thanks for the information.

 

[prasanth.kumar81]

I have more or less decided to go in for this player. My Sis is in Germany and is coming to India this Christmas. So i will try and procure the player from her. I will be ordering from amazon.de site. I think the price there is 135 EUR so comes somewhere close to 9500K.

I Guess it is not that bad a deal. Even though the prices in the US are much lower.

Points to Be considered.
1) Warranty: No Warranty will be available. But i guess the warranty will anyways be void if i do a firmware update.
2) Germany also uses 220 V so should not be a issue i guess.
3) Region Lock, I just read that DVD can be unlocked using remote and BD needs a firmware update. Can a noob like me do a firmware update? I think it also has some cost associated with it as i need to buy the same from some site.

All in all looks like a good deal. Anything else I am missing.

 

[jsmithe]

Can a noob like me do a firmware update? I think it also has some cost associated with it as i need to buy the same from some site.

All in all looks like a good deal. Anything else I am missing.

INR 9.5K is a great price especially since you don't have the cost of shipping to India. If you don't have to pay customs duty, you will further save approx. 26 to 30% or so.

The firmware update process to make it region free is the same as the official offline firmware update process, so if you can do the official update the unofficial update shouldn't be a problem. Getting the unofficial update is another story, but I've heard that if you follow the instructions to the letter you'll have no problems. Yes, a donation to the project is required to get the unofficial update.