panasonic bd30, can i get better picture

ginge69 · 09-08-2009, 7:41 AM

Are there any blu ray players that will have any picture improvements on a blu ray picture over my current bd30. Picture being viewed via a dlp projector,if this matters.Max price £350. Thanks

24 P · 09-08-2009, 7:47 AM

The only real benefits will you get is Blu Live 2.0 as I know.
I would save my cash, and wait till the next gen of players comes out, ie newer and cheaper..
The one you have is fine and robust.. I doubt you will see any real improvement..
Get some movies instead...

kingfats · 09-08-2009, 7:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginge69

Are there any blu ray players that will have any picture improvements on a blu ray picture over my current bd30. Picture being viewed via a dlp projector,if this matters.Max price £350. Thanks

Hi ginge69.

I find Blu-ray PQ very similar between players regardless of price

to be honest i think it's hard to improve on the Panasonic image because it outputs everything correctly.
Cheers.

**Ian_S** · 09-08-2009, 7:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginge69

Are there any blu ray players that will have any picture improvements on a blu ray picture over my current bd30. Picture being viewed via a dlp projector,if this matters.Max price £350. Thanks

Can your projector handle 1080p/24? Do you watch many R1 DVD's?

If so, the BD35/60 may be worth a look. The BD60 is reported to have very good chroma resolution detail, so on on PJ may improve the picture. Also, if the PJ supports 1080p/24, then the BD35/60 can upscale R1 DVD to that and therefore remove 60Hz induced judder. The BD30 can't do this.

ginge69 · 09-08-2009, 8:19 AM

My projector can handle 1080p/24 but i really only watch blu ray films, are u saying the BD60 may improve a blu ray picture.

24 P · 09-08-2009, 8:24 AM

Before Ian answers, I will say a definite yes..
The improvement is great..
Also you will find that your audio is now played back at the appropriate speed... As intended, 24 FPS...

kingfats · 09-08-2009, 8:26 AM

Chroma resolution differs on all players clearly seen on test patterns.

ginge69 · 09-08-2009, 9:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24 P

Before Ian answers, I will say a definite yes..
The improvement is great..
Also you will find that your audio is now played back at the appropriate speed... As intended, 24 FPS...

Sorry i do not understand , in u first post u stated there would be no blu ray picture difference are u now saying a definite yes there will be.

kingfats · 09-08-2009, 9:59 AM

I think 24 P means (he can correct me if wrong) that the new Pansonics can playback NTSC DVD @ 1080p/24.

(less judder)

24 P · 09-08-2009, 10:31 AM

Not NTSC, Blu rays...
This is the only benefit the BD 60 will offer, not better PQ but proper 24 P playback of Blu Rays as filmed..
Hope this clarifies..
Not any better PQ, just the exact frame rate as film.. Looks great...

ginge69 · 09-08-2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24 P

Not NTSC, Blu rays...
This is the only benefit the BD 60 will offer, not better PQ but proper 24 P playback of Blu Rays as filmed..
Hope this clarifies..
Not any better PQ, just the exact frame rate as film.. Looks great...

u state not NTSC, in that case my DB30 outputs 1080p/24 on blu ray as well so no advantage there then.Thanks

kingfats · 09-08-2009, 11:02 AM

Yeah the BD30 does 1080p/24 for Blu-ray no problem

just not for NTSC DVD that's all.

**Ian_S** · 09-08-2009, 12:56 PM

There may well be a small increase in PQ from the BD30 for 1080p/24. All players are not absolutely identical here, but then neither are differences huge. The larger the screen the more noticeable, and potentially worthwhile such changes may become.

An area where the BD30 did not score so well on benchmarks was in it's 1080i decoding. This is starting to matter more if you watch TV sourced material. On Blu-ray you can't have 25p or 30p, so on disc it will be 1080i. You rely on the player to correctly turn this into 1080p 50/60, or your display, however this would need a player that does source direct if you don't want to fiddle with settings.

The BD35/BD60 are supposed to improve upon that performance, which means you may get a more rounded BD performance with all types of BD disc.

Whether that is worth the money is up to you. If you can find a cheap BD35, it might not be much of a risk to try.

ginge69 · 09-08-2009, 5:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian_S

There may well be a small increase in PQ from the BD30 for 1080p/24. All players are not absolutely identical here, but then neither are differences huge. The larger the screen the more noticeable, and potentially worthwhile such changes may become.

An area where the BD30 did not score so well on benchmarks was in it's 1080i decoding. This is starting to matter more if you watch TV sourced material. On Blu-ray you can't have 25p or 30p, so on disc it will be 1080i. You rely on the player to correctly turn this into 1080p 50/60, or your display, however this would need a player that does source direct if you don't want to fiddle with settings.

The BD35/BD60 are supposed to improve upon that performance, which means you may get a more rounded BD performance with all types of BD disc.

Whether that is worth the money is up to you. If you can find a cheap BD35, it might not be much of a risk to try.

Having just seen the Blu-ray Player Shootout at TLC Broadcast everyone seemed to be in agreement there are definite improvements in picture quality the more u spend. I dont really get that feeling from these post.

nbat58 · 09-08-2009, 8:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginge69

Having just seen the Blu-ray Player Shootout at TLC Broadcast everyone seemed to be in agreement there are definite improvements in picture quality the more u spend. I dont really get that feeling from these post.

What's this Blu-ray Player Shootout at TLC Broadcast, was it at their shop, if so elaborate please I am sure I am not the only one that is interested.

Also please do mention what equipment they were using, ie television, amp, speakers etc..

The use of high end quality equipment will be more than likely be the cause for the perceaved differences.

kingfats · 09-08-2009, 9:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nbat58

What's this Blu-ray Player Shootout at TLC Broadcast, was it at their shop, if so elaborate please I am sure I am not the only one that is interested.
.

The thread is here.

p.booth · 09-08-2009, 9:19 PM

Having moved from Panny bd30 to the Oppo83 bd player,I can say there is a big difference in Audio and picture,from the Oppo.

emthree · 09-08-2009, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by p.booth

Having moved from Panny bd30 to the Oppo83 bd player,I can say there is a big difference in Audio and picture,from the Oppo.

I moved from Panny BD 35 to Oppo; can't say I will be able to tell the difference in PQ in a blind test.

(May be able to do it for DVDs though

)

ginge69 · 10-08-2009, 4:13 PM

Still confused, have thought about buying a Pioneer 51FD but it could be a waste of money.As far as i can see it seems to be about 50-50 as to whether there are improvements or not.

kingfats · 10-08-2009, 4:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginge69

Still confused, have thought about buying a Pioneer 51FD but it could be a waste of money.As far as i can see it seems to be about 50-50 as to whether there are improvements or not.

If your spending money and the ONLY reason is for an improvement with Blu-ray PQ then personally i would say dont' bother.

But of course entirely up to you.

DrGekko · 25-08-2009, 3:37 PM

As an owner, I've had no problems with pq via my Panny AE2000 on a 77" screen. The picture is superb and continually impresses family and friends. My only gripe (and I have no idea why this occurs) is that during blu-ray movies, there is a second or so of audio loss which occurs 3-4 times randomly during any movie. I've ordered a new Cat 2 HDMI cable to use between the player and the amp to see if this makes any difference.

General question along the same lines as the OP....

On the settings menu, is it worth changing anything to enhance the picture? eg. the black/white enhancement thing?

I purchased my machine May 2008 and haven't uploaded any firmware updates as yet. Do all of them have to be done chronologically or just the latest? Also, how do you unlock the player to make multiregion? I have a Harmony 525 remote.

kingfats · 25-08-2009, 3:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrGekko

On the settings menu, is it worth changing anything to enhance the picture? eg. the black/white enhancement thing?

.

Usually fine just left on default.

DrGekko · 25-08-2009, 3:55 PM

kingfats You should get an AV Forums Award for most rapidly responsive and succinct reassurer!

How about this bit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrGekko

I purchased my machine May 2008 and haven't uploaded any firmware updates as yet. Do all of them have to be done chronologically or just the latest? Also, how do you unlock the player to make multiregion? I have a Harmony 525 remote