Panasonic DMP-BD60 Review Thread

[un4gvn94538]

Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray Player

Home Theater Magazine Review
Blu-Ray.com Product Page
Panasonic Product Page
User Manual

[un4gvn94538]

i have to say im enjoying this player very much. at first is was frustrating getting the auto sensing of the hdmi of both the player and the receiver to play nice. the hdmi video out defaults to 1080p when you turn it on so i was unable to change the resolution since i can only use up to 1080i. i had to first get the receiver to sense the hdmi via audio then the player was able to sense the receiver only then allowing me to change resolution before i was able to select the video out to on while view all of this via component. but im sure im in the minority as most have 1080p displays.

right now im finding im not watching movies rather im watching a lot of youtube videos speciffically star trek episodes. never using youtube before, im now a fan.

[Colglizity]

I should get mine in the mail tomorrow!!! I'm sooo excited!!!!!!

[brettallica]

I think I'm gonna order this for the bedroom TV to match my new Panasonic Viera. I just installed the HDTV up in our master bedroom this weekend and was thinking of going with a matching setup. Looks like you can't go wrong with this player; 7.1 surround (if I decide to go with a surround setup), BD-Live, ethernet. Sweet.

Look like 6ave is selling them on Amazon for about $258 (as of this post). I paid about $300 for my Sony BDP-S550 a few months ago and thought I was getting a rockin' deal. It looks like this Panny has just about all the same features -- at least the relevant ones. Blu-ray players are really coming down.

[sodrock]

Originally Posted by brettallica

I think I'm gonna order this for the bedroom TV to match my new Panasonic Viera. I just installed the HDTV up in our master bedroom this weekend and was thinking of going with a matching setup. Looks like you can't go wrong with this player; 7.1 surround (if I decide to go with a surround setup), BD-Live, ethernet. Sweet.

Look like 6ave is selling them on Amazon for about $258 (as of this post). I paid about $300 for my Sony BDP-S550 a few months ago and thought I was getting a rockin' deal. It looks like this Panny has just about all the same features -- at least the relevant ones. Blu-ray players are really coming down.

6ave has a name your price promotion right now and got mine for $230

[brettallica]

Originally Posted by sodrock

6ave has a name your price promotion right now and got mine for $230

Im not familiar with how that works. Can you please elaborate? I could certainly go for a name brand/high-quality $230 Blu-ray player.

EDIT: never mind. I see how it works. I'm gonna give this a shot!

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by brettallica

Im not familiar with how that works. Can you please elaborate? I could certainly go for a name brand/high-quality $230 Blu-ray player.

EDIT: never mind. I see how it works. I'm gonna give this a shot!

that would be an awsome deal. the cheapest ive seen is 250. amazon refunded me 10 bucks because they had a lower price while my player was in transit. is that including shipping?

[Arclite]

I've done the research and for the money this player looks like it will suit me best. However, I live in an apt, and need to hook this up to headphones. I think one of the reviews I read said that the optical out will downscale to 2 channel, so you'll lose the surround. Does anyone know what I'd need to do to get surround sound in some headphones using this player? Or do I need to upgrade to the BD80?

[Road Rash]

Originally Posted by Arclite

I've done the research and for the money this player looks like it will suit me best. However, I live in an apt, and need to hook this up to headphones. I think one of the reviews I read said that the optical out will downscale to 2 channel, so you'll lose the surround. Does anyone know what I'd need to do to get surround sound in some headphones using this player? Or do I need to upgrade to the BD80?

The optical outputs 5.1 DTS, 5.1 DD and 2 channel PCM. You will not lose surround via optical unless the Blu-ray only has a 5.1 channel PCM track which the player will downmix to 2 channel.

[gekke henkie]

Originally Posted by Arclite

... I live in an apt, and need to hook this up to headphones. I think one of the reviews I read said that the optical out will downscale to 2 channel, so you'll lose the surround. Does anyone know what I'd need to do to get surround sound in some headphones using this player? ...

Pardon me asking, but which surround-headphones do you have (or want to buy) and how were you going to hook it up to an optical output

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by gekke henkie

Pardon me asking, but which surround-headphones do you have (or want to buy) and how were you going to hook it up to an optical output

for example: surround headphones

[Sonny]

This is such a good player at such a good price , its tuff not to order one! I'm waiting (3 months!) for the Pioneer BDP-320, but its not going to be out till May 11th...which is not that far off now. I'm tempted to just get both! I just with these players had WiFi. I know the Sammy & sharp do, but i have no interest in either of those.

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by Sonny

This is such a good player at such a good price , its tuff not to order one! I'm waiting (3 months!) for the Pioneer BDP-320, but its not going to be out till May 11th...which is not that far off now. I'm tempted to just get both! I just with these players had WiFi. I know the Sammy & sharp do, but i have no interest in either of those.

i agree with the youtube and other features that it should have wifi but i personally have no use for wifi.

[Arclite]

Originally Posted by Road Rash

The optical outputs 5.1 DTS, 5.1 DD and 2 channel PCM. You will not lose surround via optical unless the Blu-ray only has a 5.1 channel PCM track which the player will downmix to 2 channel.

Thanks RR. 5.1 DTS is what DVDs that have DTS use, right? But any PCM stream will convert to 2 channel. So, any blu-ray that uses Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD soundtracks will convert to 2 channel? How common is it for BR discs to have either Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD soundtracks and not have one of the older ones like DTS 5.1 or Dolby 5.1? If possible I'd like to have surround sound in my headphones that converts the newer Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD soundtracks. In that case I'd need the BD80?

[Sonny]

I went ahead and ordered one , it should be here tomorrow.

[Arclite]

Originally Posted by gekke henkie

Pardon me asking, but which surround-headphones do you have (or want to buy) and how were you going to hook it up to an optical output

Right now I have a pair of Tritton AX 51 Pros that I use for my PC. They have separate 3.5mm jacks for each channel: front, center, & rear. However, I was considering getting some dedicated headphones for my BR player, so that was my next question:

Is it better to go with headphones that have separate speakers for each channel (like my 8 speaker Trittons), or use something like the JVC SU DH1 that converts to virtual surround for a standard 2-channel pair of headphones?

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by Arclite

Thanks RR. 5.1 DTS is what DVDs that have DTS use, right? But any PCM stream will convert to 2 channel. So, any blu-ray that uses Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD soundtracks will convert to 2 channel? How common is it for BR discs to have either Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD soundtracks and not have one of the older ones like DTS 5.1 or Dolby 5.1? If possible I'd like to have surround sound in my headphones that converts the newer Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD soundtracks. In that case I'd need the BD80?

its not common or rare. in fact all true hd has the core dd 5.1 tracks in it as well as all dts ma tracks have the core dts 5.1. the only thing to watch for is movies with only pcm audio tracks. they contain neither dd or dts.


edit: the only way to get true hd or dts ma in surround on your headphones is if your headphones has a hdmi input that is able to process pcm audio or multi channel analog inputs. you may find this thread useful.

[Road Rash]

Unforgiven is right. The lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD on Blu-ray will downmix to the DD/DTS 5.1 core over optical.

Your headphones would have to either have 5.1/7.1 analog inputs or a HDMI input to accept the lossless codecs. I'm not sure if there are any surround headphones out there that do that. Lossless cannot be transmitted via optical or digital coax.

[Arclite]

RR, Un4gvn, again, thanks.

Next question:
I can get DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1via optical, since all decoding is done in the player. What kind of headphones do I need to connect to optical and deliver 5.1 surround? The kind that I"m familiar with have either 1 3.5mm jack or 3 separate 3.5mm jacks. Do they make them with an optical connector to plug in directly to the optical jack, or do I need some kind of converter?

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by Arclite

RR, Un4gvn, again, thanks.

Next question:
I can get DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1via optical, since all decoding is done in the player. What kind of headphones do I need to connect to optical and deliver 5.1 surround? The kind that I"m familiar with have either 1 3.5mm jack or 3 separate 3.5mm jacks. Do they make them with an optical connector to plug in directly to the optical jack, or do I need some kind of converter?

for surround sound on headphones, youll need to see the link i posted above(post 11). otherwise, im not sure what your talking about other than stereo headphones. there are also cheaper models