Early Blu-ray Impressions - Blu-ray Forum

centenaryman · 08-24-2009, 08:48 PM

So I've been a blu ray owner for less than a week and to be honest I'm not totally happy. I purchased a Panasonic DMP BD60 and have since watched 5 movies, the last 3 being from Warner Bros. 2001 A Space Odyssey, The Watchmen and The Dark Knight.
2001 looked great I've been a fan of the movie since childhood and I've never seen it looking better, however 2hrs in a the picture freezes for about 4 seconds then carries on as if nothing happened. The The Watchmen did the same thing 25min into the movie & finally The Dark Knight as the credits are rolling again pauses for 3-4 seconds.
The 2 movies that seem unaffected are Cloverfield & The Mist.
Now, I'm new to this stuff so forgive me if I'm a little naive. I presume this isn't a layer change or anything. I would be very grateful for any info or advice you may have. Apart from this issue blu ray is superb quality.

richieb1971 · 08-24-2009, 09:09 PM

I'm not familiar with that player, but it sounds like its the players fault. Discs should not pause at all unless you pause it.

popcultureboy · 08-24-2009, 09:37 PM

I'm inclined to agree that it's your player is at fault. The glitch that's occurring is the same across several discs, so it's highly unlikely to be the discs that are the problem. Have you googled to see if anyone on other forums is reporting the same problem?

I had a similar experience with my first DVD player, back in the day. They'd rushed production on them to meet demand and completely effed them up so 90% of the DVDs I bought skipped.

Baker1000 · 08-24-2009, 11:03 PM

I have 2001: A Space Odyssey and it doesn't freeze at all for me, so like everyone else I'm inclined to say it is a player fault. Perhaps a firmware update? (if one is available) because that's the only thing I can think of that would affect playback quality, especially on a new release like Watchmen.

Alex DeLarge · 08-25-2009, 01:46 AM

Trade in that Panasonic and get a Oppo BDP-83, upload the 601 firmware then grab the region free hack. This is the best player for the money: both blu-ray and DVD! If your display handles all sources (PAL/NTSC) and supports 1080p 24/fps then set to Source Direct for the best picture quality. I've owned many blu-ray players and this Oppo has never given me problems. Even my PS3 has a few quirks like only passing 4:4:4 colorspace and no bitstream...and terrible upconversion with no pass-through processing. But the freezing problem can probably be fixed with a firmware updat on your Panny, but there are better players for your money.
No layer change should ever be detected on a blu-ray.

Mr. Brightside · 08-25-2009, 06:35 AM

I own an entry level player that my wife won in a competition. By and large, we've been fine with most of the titles we rent and all of the few discs we own. Every now and then, we do encounter the odd problem: Slumdog refused to play with 2 rental discs, always reverting back to the menu and same thing happened with Thunderball and Australia. A few titles have froze up part way through the film such as W, Defiance and and Silence Of The Lambs.

Sorry to read you have encountered problems. Hope you get a nice, uninterrupted run with no further problems. Blu really is a great format.

centenaryman · 08-25-2009, 08:54 AM

I'm getting a replacement player from Amazon tomorrow so hopefully that'll be ok, but I'm certainly staying with blu-ray as even in my short time with the format the pros definately outway the cons. Again thanks for the advice.

popcultureboy · 08-25-2009, 03:16 PM

I hope the replacement works out for you. I know what you mean about the format pros. I'm watching Cronenberg's The Fly right now and it just looks incredible.

MattDean · 08-25-2009, 05:53 PM

It is a recognised 'invariable' glitch with your player model.

If you look at personal reviews on this forum, several members have had the same problem. The pauses apparantly are not predictable - they don't happen at the same places each time and sometimes they don't happen at all! These pauses only began after a frimware upgrade was released and it seems Panasonic is still trying to get to the bottom of it. It's complicated because not all BD60's are effected.

It's still meant to be a great player though and Panasonic, I'm sure, WILL get it sorted.

Matt

M · 08-25-2009, 06:16 PM

Certain players can be touchy from what I heard, but my PS3 has never given me any problems when it comes to blu-ray (or otherwise).

Connected to a High Definition TV Blu-Ray can be quite powerful, 32'' and higher like, 37'', 40'' you will notice it alot more, it looks amazing.

08-24-2009, 08:48 PM	#1
centenaryman New Member Member since:Aug 2009	Early Blu-ray Impressions So I've been a blu ray owner for less than a week and to be honest I'm not totally happy. I purchased a Panasonic DMP BD60 and have since watched 5 movies, the last 3 being from Warner Bros. 2001 A Space Odyssey, The Watchmen and The Dark Knight. 2001 looked great I've been a fan of the movie since childhood and I've never seen it looking better, however 2hrs in a the picture freezes for about 4 seconds then carries on as if nothing happened. The The Watchmen did the same thing 25min into the movie & finally The Dark Knight as the credits are rolling again pauses for 3-4 seconds. The 2 movies that seem unaffected are Cloverfield & The Mist. Now, I'm new to this stuff so forgive me if I'm a little naive. I presume this isn't a layer change or anything. I would be very grateful for any info or advice you may have. Apart from this issue blu ray is superb quality.

08-25-2009, 08:54 AM	#7
centenaryman New Member Member since:Aug 2009	Thanks for the advice really appreciate it I'm getting a replacement player from Amazon tomorrow so hopefully that'll be ok, but I'm certainly staying with blu-ray as even in my short time with the format the pros definately outway the cons. Again thanks for the advice.

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08-24-2009, 09:09 PM	#2
richieb1971 Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Aug 2007 4K collection:89 Blu-ray collection:706 Trading Score:16	I'm not familiar with that player, but it sounds like its the players fault. Discs should not pause at all unless you pause it.

08-24-2009, 09:37 PM	#3
popcultureboy Active Member Member since:Aug 2009 Blu-ray collection:101	I'm inclined to agree that it's your player is at fault. The glitch that's occurring is the same across several discs, so it's highly unlikely to be the discs that are the problem. Have you googled to see if anyone on other forums is reporting the same problem? I had a similar experience with my first DVD player, back in the day. They'd rushed production on them to meet demand and completely effed them up so 90% of the DVDs I bought skipped.

08-24-2009, 11:03 PM	#4
Baker1000 Active Member Member since:Jun 2009 Blu-ray collection:54	I have 2001: A Space Odyssey and it doesn't freeze at all for me, so like everyone else I'm inclined to say it is a player fault. Perhaps a firmware update? (if one is available) because that's the only thing I can think of that would affect playback quality, especially on a new release like Watchmen.

08-25-2009, 01:46 AM	#5
Alex DeLarge Active Member Member since:Nov 2008 Location:Central, PA 4K collection:317 Blu-ray collection:3151 DVD collection:638	Trade in that Panasonic and get a Oppo BDP-83, upload the 601 firmware then grab the region free hack. This is the best player for the money: both blu-ray and DVD! If your display handles all sources (PAL/NTSC) and supports 1080p 24/fps then set to Source Direct for the best picture quality. I've owned many blu-ray players and this Oppo has never given me problems. Even my PS3 has a few quirks like only passing 4:4:4 colorspace and no bitstream...and terrible upconversion with no pass-through processing. But the freezing problem can probably be fixed with a firmware updat on your Panny, but there are better players for your money. No layer change should ever be detected on a blu-ray.

08-25-2009, 06:35 AM	#6
Mr. Brightside Active Member Member since:Nov 2007 Blu-ray collection:76	I own an entry level player that my wife won in a competition. By and large, we've been fine with most of the titles we rent and all of the few discs we own. Every now and then, we do encounter the odd problem: Slumdog refused to play with 2 rental discs, always reverting back to the menu and same thing happened with Thunderball and Australia. A few titles have froze up part way through the film such as W, Defiance and and Silence Of The Lambs. Sorry to read you have encountered problems. Hope you get a nice, uninterrupted run with no further problems. Blu really is a great format.

08-25-2009, 03:16 PM	#8
popcultureboy Active Member Member since:Aug 2009 Blu-ray collection:101	I hope the replacement works out for you. I know what you mean about the format pros. I'm watching Cronenberg's The Fly right now and it just looks incredible.

08-25-2009, 05:53 PM	#9
MattDean Senior Member Member since:Sep 2008 Trading Score:10	It is a recognised 'invariable' glitch with your player model. If you look at personal reviews on this forum, several members have had the same problem. The pauses apparantly are not predictable - they don't happen at the same places each time and sometimes they don't happen at all! These pauses only began after a frimware upgrade was released and it seems Panasonic is still trying to get to the bottom of it. It's complicated because not all BD60's are effected. It's still meant to be a great player though and Panasonic, I'm sure, WILL get it sorted. Matt

08-25-2009, 06:16 PM	#10
M Special Member Member since:May 2008 Trading Score:1	Certain players can be touchy from what I heard, but my PS3 has never given me any problems when it comes to blu-ray (or otherwise). Connected to a High Definition TV Blu-Ray can be quite powerful, 32'' and higher like, 37'', 40'' you will notice it alot more, it looks amazing.

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