May 6 Podcast #477: Panasonic DMP-BDT110 Blu-ray Player
We have been doing this show for the past six years and have had an opportunity to review a lot of Blu-ray players. So when the Panasonic DMP-BDT110 (Buy Now $135) showed up on our doorstep we were pretty sure we knew what to expect from a sub $150 Blu-ray player. We were wrong! Panasonic has raised the bar for every player out there regardless of price.
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Today's Show:
Blu-ray Reviews:
News:
- TiVo, EchoStar case ends with $500 million payout
- Ownership of TV Sets Falls in U.S.
- Plex on the Roku
- Vudu adds TV shows to its rental catalog, but only some are in HD
Other:
- Get Antenna help at http://www.tvfool.com/
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- TCL L40FHDF11TA 40-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV with 2-Year Warranty $400
- VIZIO XVT373SV 37-Inch Full HD 1080P LED LCD HDTV with VIA Internet Application $598
- Toshiba 55WX800U 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz Cinema Series 3D LED TV $1500
- VIZIO E320VA 32-Inch Class LCD HDTV $320
- VIZIO XVT323SV 32-Inch Full HD 1080p LED LCD HDTV with VIA Internet Application $498
- Samsung LN46C630 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV $990
- TCL L32HDF11TA 32-Inch 720p 60 Hz LCD HDTV with 2-Year Warranty $290
Panasonic DMP-BDT110 Blu-ray Player
We have been doing this show for the past six years and have had an opportunity to review a lot of Blu-ray players. So when the Panasonic DMP-BDT110 (Buy Now $135) showed up on our doorstep we were pretty sure we knew what to expect from a sub $150 Blu-ray player. We were wrong! Panasonic has raised the bar for every player out there regardless of price.
Features
- Skype™ Video Calls
- Wi-Fi Ready - You need an optional Wi-Fi antenna for this feature
- 2D to 3D Conversion
- VIERA CAST™ - Netflix, Vudu, Amazon Video, Youtube, Pandora
You notice that this is a different player before you even open the box. Its half as deep as a typical player. This is a great feature because you can plug in your cables and put it on a shelf in your rack and not have to worry about cable clearance. The player measures ~17" x ~1 1/2" x ~7" or (430mm x 37mm x 179mm) and has first rate fit and finish.
Setup
Setup is straight forward. For our tests we used HDMI to a switching receiver and we connected the device to the Internet via an Ethernet cable. The unit is Wi-Fi ready but it requires and optional antenna. If you want you can go with the BDT210 (Buy Now $170) with built in Wi-Fi. Once powered up we performed a firmware update. This is important because previous versions of the units firmware did not perform well with Netflix. The whole process with the firmware update took about 30 minutes.
Performance
With this player you will always have something to watch and you won’t have to leave your house to get to it. For this review we looked at DVD, Blu-ray, Netflix, and Vudu. We look at each one individually.
DVD - We watched a few movies and found the BDT-110 to be a capable upconverting player. The Harry Potter movies almost looked like HD. It could be due to the dark lighting but we were quite impressed with how good the video looked. Other movies showed improvement as well. What we found is that movies that have great Blu-ray transfers also have high quality DVD transfers which upconvert quite well. Regardless, your standard DVDs will look quite good on this player.
Blu-ray - Your HD movies will look stunning! But you expect that with any Blu-ray player today. One thing that irritates Blu-ray owners is how long it takes some players to load Blu-ray discs. The 110 does this quickly. Our baseline is loading Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Some of our early players would take as much as three minutes to load this title. The 110 was able to load it in 10 seconds. Audio was equally good. The player will decode all next generation audio formats or it will send the bitstream to your receiver.
Netflix - Streaming movies through Netflix looked quite good. We have a very high speed connection so there was no buffering of the movies. This experience will vary based on your connection. We also find hardwired works better than Wi-Fi regardless of the speed of your connection.
Vudu - This is where we were really impressed with this player. Vudu has a format called HDX which is high quality 1080p video. This video is the closest to Blu-ray you can get with any streaming technology. Vudu also includes a 5.1 Dolby Digital+ soundtrack that many say sound as good as lossless formats. HDX movies cost more to rent but for some titles its worth it. We compared Blu-ray versions of Harry Potter Deathly Hallows to the HDX version and couldn’t see a difference on our 58 inch plasma. Audio sounded as good as the Blu-ray as well. We remember when you had to buy a Vudu box for more than the price of this player.
3D - The 110 supports native 3D and will convert your 2D content to 3D as well. Native 3D looked quite good when displayed on our 58 inch plasma. For the 2D to 3D conversion... let’s just say its still a work in progress in our opinion. Sure you get 3D elements and you can dial in how much of the effect you want, but it just didn’t look right at times. The best we can say is that sometimes it looked really good and sometimes it looked pretty bad. One final note about the 2D to 3D conversion, we have read that if you own a Mitsubishi or Samsung DLP '3D Ready' TV, you will not be able to use the feature.
Everything Else
This player is loaded with a lot of cool features.
- Skype Button - Launch Skype without going through the Viera Cast menus
- Netflix Button - Launch Netflix without going through the Viera Cast menus
- VIERA CAST
- DLNA
- SD Memory Card
Conclusion
The Panasonic DMP-BDT110 has become our Blu-ray player of choice for anyone who wants it all! The only downside with this player is that it does not support WiFi natively. Great performance and tons of useful features combined with two high quality movie services means you will always have something to watch.
Reader Comments (12)
I know a lot of people are mad at the Playstation Networking being down and not being able to get to Netflix.
I have been getting to my Netflix this whole time. it's been down. I just keep telling it to sign in even though it can't and Netflix still loads in the back ground. So if people keep hitting sign-in and then the back button you will be able to get to Netflix while it's loading in the background. I have the PS3 80 gig(put in a 640 gig HDD) but it's the old fat one. Anyways hope this helps anyone that uses the PS3 and Netflix. Takes at least 5-6 times to sign in then it tells you to hit the O(back button).
IMO no DirecTV DVR can ever favorably compare to a TiVo until DirecTV eliminates the overly restrictive 50 series scheduling limit.
I used this player and 2D-3D on a 2011 Mitsu DLP, worked fine. The BDT-110 does not have a Touch Free Sensor.
Hi Elway,
You are correct, I mixed up the 210 and 110 on the touch free sensor feature. Nice to know that the conversion does indeed work with your Mitsubishi. The post has been corrected.
Ara
No problem, keep up the good work!
TCL is a Chinese company that bought the RCA TV business from Thompson. I remember seeing TCL sets on a visit to China last year.
Ht guys and listeners,
Did you have a chance to look at the specs of the upcoming 310? Any thoughts if it's worth the wait? Does anyone know which players they bundle with the latest HTIB? I'm looking to replace a system and want to stay with panasonic to reduce remote issues and increase compatibility to TV. Harmony one sounds great but is too much for me, we don't watch that much tv. Is there a good stand alone panasonic receiver if the HTIB options aren't good?
Only difference between the 210 and 310 is a Dual HDMI output. If you do not need that, save your money.
Thanks that was fast! what would I need that for? panasonic doesn't list the 310 to compare to 210 and 110. how did you find that, i missed it in my research. thats a good catch, now i don't have to wait! any thoughts on the receiver and/or player in HTIB? thanks again!
The Dual HDMI option really comes in handy if you have an AVR that does not support 3D. You run one HDMI direct to the display for 3D, then another to the AVR for HD Audio like Master HD.
There have been some comparo articles written in recent months. I went with a BDT110 because I did not need wifi at that location, but the 210 adds built in wifi and high clarity sound. The 110 is a super value IMO, but the 210 is probably the best unit for most to buy.
Ok, this is good info because I'm learning, another reason I love this show. So I'm confused, what's an avr? As I wrote I'm looking at getting a new receiver and speaker set and am thinking getting a panasonic since it'll match tv and blu ray and get me shared remote functionality. That's why I was wondering if the blue ray receiver combos include a blu ray player like the 210 in the package or am I better off getting a separate unit? I'm not an audiophile per se, like good sound and think that sometimes HTIB can be a good bet, sometimes and I'm not sure if this is one of those times. Thoughts? Thanks again for the lessons and help!
Audio Video Receiver (Denon/Onkyo)
Something like a Panasonic BTT370 system is nice, and it's main unit is a BDT210 equal, but also has 2 HDMI in's. You can run a DVR to one and play that thru the surround sound Im assuming. Only caution here is, if the main unit goes, you are kinda stuck, where as a Onkyo HTiB actually gives you a real AVR to use after upgrades of say speakers.
Im actually looking at the BTT770, it's rear speakers are wireless.