Panasonic DMP-BD655 (BD65) or Sony BDP-BX37 (S370)

[gpod]

I went to Costco yesterday and saw the Panasonic DMP-BD655 and the Sony BDP-BX37 and would like to which one is better to buy. I read on another forum the BD655 has inconsistent brightness or contrast levels that causes flickering on the tv screen while watching dvds and that it also has a noisy blu-ray drive. I also read that the Sony lowered the picture quality level for blu-rays and dvds, and that it has very poor netflix streaming quality. Blu-ray and dvd picture quality is important to me, also very good netflix streaming is important to me. Out of the two blu-ray players which one do you recommend? The display that I would be using is the Panasonic TC-P46G15.

[thebat356]

I would go with the panasonic 65.

Jacob

[MrBoylan]

I went to Costco yesterday and saw the Panasonic DMP-BD655 and the Sony BDP-BX37 and would like to which one is better to buy. I read on another forum the BD655 has inconsistent brightness or contrast levels that causes flickering on the tv screen while watching dvds and that it also has a noisy blu-ray drive. I also read that the Sony lowered the picture quality level for blu-rays and dvds, and that it has very poor netflix streaming quality. Blu-ray and dvd picture quality is important to me, also very good netflix streaming is important to me. Out of the two blu-ray players which one do you recommend? The display that I would be using is the Panasonic TC-P46G15.

We haven't looked at the BD65 yet, but are in the process of reviewing the BD85. I would actually recommend that one - the BD85 - it has built-in 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi (with included WiFi adapter) and a more advanced video processor than the BD65. Last year's models had identical video processing in the BD60/BD80 but that is no longer the case this year. The BD85, BDT300 and BDT350 all include an enhanced Uniphier chip which improves upconversion over last year's models. The BD65 has the same video processor as last year's models.

Don't limit your choices to only what's available at Costco or you may end up with buyer's remorse. The BD85 is only $221 on Amazon, and with the picture quality improvements, sound enhancements and included WiFi, I think it's worth the upgrade from the BD65. Here's a link:

Panasonic DMP-BD85 on Amazon.com

Oh, and so far, Netflix has been solid on the BD85 - I've watched a few movies now in HD and they looked as good as they do on other Netflix HD client devices.

-CB

[gpod]

We haven't looked at the BD65 yet, but are in the process of reviewing the BD85. I would actually recommend that one - the BD85 - it has built-in 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi (with included WiFi adapter) and a more advanced video processor than the BD65. Last year's models had identical video processing in the BD60/BD80 but that is no longer the case this year. The BD85, BDT300 and BDT350 all include an enhanced Uniphier chip which improves upconversion over last year's models. The BD65 has the same video processor as last year's models.

Don't limit your choices to only what's available at Costco or you may end up with buyer's remorse. The BD85 is only $221 on Amazon, and with the picture quality improvements, sound enhancements and included WiFi, I think it's worth the upgrade from the BD65. Here's a link:

Panasonic DMP-BD85 on Amazon.com

Oh, and so far, Netflix has been solid on the BD85 - I've watched a few movies now in HD and they looked as good as they do on other Netflix HD client devices.

-CB

Thanks for your recommendation on the BD85. I just ordered it through amazon.com with my prime membership. I think that the picture quality will look great on my Panasonic TC-P46G15 plasma tv. I now have a few questions on it.
1. According to its specs, it has an HDMI jitter purifier. Will I notice a difference in sound quality in audio cds, blu-ray, and dvd when its connected to my Yamaha RX-V1800 receiver?
2. Do you recommend turning on the High Clarity Sound, even though the BD85 is not going to be directly connected to my tv?
3. Is it necessary to buy a SDHC memory card to use this player?
4. If there is different settings for HDMI color mode (YCbCr 4:4:4, YCbCr 4:2:2, or RGB) which one is the best for my tv?

[thebat356]

when will you be posting a review on the 85?
how does it compare to the oppo?

Jacob

[MrBoylan]

Thanks for your recommendation on the BD85. I just ordered it through amazon.com with my prime membership. I think that the picture quality will look great on my Panasonic TC-P46G15 plasma tv.

I would tend to agree.

I now have a few questions on it.
1. According to its specs, it has an HDMI jitter purifier. Will I notice a difference in sound quality in audio cds, blu-ray, and dvd when its connected to my Yamaha RX-V1800 receiver?

If you are using the HDMI connection and that specific Yamaha decodes audio over HDMI, then the jitter purifier will be engaged both for PCM and for bitstream. Apparently it creates a new, more accurate audio clock from the video clock and this reduces or eliminates jitter. As to whether you can hear a difference or not, that may be subjective. The feature cannot be disengaged so you can't really do A/B comparisons. I have had the BD85 hooked up to my system using the multi-channel analog connections so far but will definitely do some HDMI listening before completing the review.

2. Do you recommend turning on the High Clarity Sound, even though the BD85 is not going to be directly connected to my tv?

Yup. Disabling the analog video circuitry by turning on "High Clarity Sound" is a good idea if you aren't using the component or composite video outputs for anything as it will eliminate any potential interference between that processor and other components.

3. Is it necessary to buy a SDHC memory card to use this player?

SD or SDHC 1 GB or more will work to enable BD-Live, but a faster (class 4 or above) SDHC card is best. I noticed differences in load times on the BD-Live-heavy "Inglourious Basterds" when using a plain old 1 GB SD card vs. a 6 GB Class 4 SDHC card. Having a little more than 1 GB means you won't have to worry as much about clearing out the card if you start to accumulate any BD-Live content. SDHC cards are cheap - I'd recommend picking one up on Amazon, along with an HDMI cable. Since you're a Prime guy, you won't have to pay for shipping. I've been using the Amazon Basics HDMI cables lately and so far so good. Here are a couple of links/suggestions:

• Amazon Basics 2 meter Ultra High-Speed HDMI cable
• Kingston Class 4 4GB SDHC Card

4. If there is different settings for HDMI color mode (YCbCr 4:4:4, YCbCr 4:2:2, or RGB) which one is the best for my tv?

I believe you'd need YCbCr 4:2:2 for your TV. I am not sure it will accept a 4:4:4 output signal. But you can try it. I think it will set itself back to 4:2:2 mode if it cannot accept the 4:4:4 signal. You can get into the "Playback Information Window" (via the "Display" menu to confirm whether the player is putting out 4:2:2 or 4:4:4.

-CB

[gpod]

I would tend to agree.


If you are using the HDMI connection and that specific Yamaha decodes audio over HDMI, then the jitter purifier will be engaged both for PCM and for bitstream. Apparently it creates a new, more accurate audio clock from the video clock and this reduces or eliminates jitter. As to whether you can hear a difference or not, that may be subjective. The feature cannot be disengaged so you can't really do A/B comparisons. I have had the BD85 hooked up to my system using the multi-channel analog connections so far but will definitely do some HDMI listening before completing the review.


Yup. Disabling the analog video circuitry by turning on "High Clarity Sound" is a good idea if you aren't using the component or composite video outputs for anything as it will eliminate any potential interference between that processor and other components.


SD or SDHC 1 GB or more will work to enable BD-Live, but a faster (class 4 or above) SDHC card is best. I noticed differences in load times on the BD-Live-heavy "Inglourious Basterds" when using a plain old 1 GB SD card vs. a 6 GB Class 4 SDHC card. Having a little more than 1 GB means you won't have to worry as much about clearing out the card if you start to accumulate any BD-Live content. SDHC cards are cheap - I'd recommend picking one up on Amazon, along with an HDMI cable. Since you're a Prime guy, you won't have to pay for shipping. I've been using the Amazon Basics HDMI cables lately and so far so good. Here are a couple of links/suggestions:

• Amazon Basics 2 meter Ultra High-Speed HDMI cable
• Kingston Class 4 4GB SDHC Card

I believe you'd need YCbCr 4:2:2 for your TV. I am not sure it will accept a 4:4:4 output signal. But you can try it. I think it will set itself back to 4:2:2 mode if it cannot accept the 4:4:4 signal. You can get into the "Playback Information Window" (via the "Display" menu to confirm whether the player is putting out 4:2:2 or 4:4:4.

-CB

I received my BD85 today and my Panasonic TC-P46G15 accepts YCbCr 4:4:4 signal thats is outputed from the BD85. When I select the video options from the playback menu, there is an option of Chroma Process normal and advanced. What is the difference between the both chroma process modes?

[MrBoylan]

I received my BD85 today and my Panasonic TC-P46G15 accepts YCbCr 4:4:4 signal thats is outputed from the BD85. When I select the video options from the playback menu, there is an option of Chroma Process normal and advanced. What is the difference between the both chroma process modes?

Great that the G15 can accept a 4:4:4 signal. You verified that with the Playback Information Window right?

The "Chroma Processing: Advanced" setting (which is the default) is what activates the new 2010 UniPhier processing option for enhanced chroma upconversion. Basically it does the de-interlacing of the video signal first so it has more color detail information to work with before upconverting from 4:2:0 to 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 output. If you want to experiment, then change it from Advanced (improved processor) to "Normal" (same processing as 2009 models) to "off" (primitive 2-tap color conversion). The differences will be most noticeable on areas of very fine color detail like where you have thin stripes or bands of color within the image. The borders of these color changes should look best with Chroma Process set to Advanced.

Have fun and enjoy the player!

-Chris

[MrBoylan]

when will you be posting a review on the 85?
how does it compare to the oppo?

Jacob

Sorry - missed this earlier. Hope to finish up my review of the BD85 by the end of next week. The OPPO BDP-83 is an excellent player. I think the BD85 can keep up with it in many areas, and is superior from a features standpoint (well, unless you need SACD, DVD-Audio playback, which the Panasonic does not offer). WiFi, Netflix, Amazon VOD, Pandora (coming soon), YouTube, etc. But there are some specific tests that the OPPO looks slightly better on. I haven't seen any real world material yet that looks significantly better on the OPPO but some of the odd cadence tests look better on the OPPO player. Whether this is a factor really depends on the content you watch. For most DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, these off-beat cadences simply do not apply. The Panasonic is extremely solid on 2:3 and 2:2 cadence material which is most of what you see on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

For more detail, you'll need to wait for the full review.

-CB