This does not compute!!!

[bferr1]

Two very different opinions on the Panasonic

1) http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&&#post8619151

Originally Posted by Asab

The Sammy is a good player but the Panny is a better built and thought out unit...The Sammy's audio is poor to my ears, the Panny has great audio now and more to come later..300 dollars more but to me very worth it..I will pick up the Sony when it arrives too......."

2) http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&&#post8619486

Originally Posted by tsd2005

Ok we spent all day playing with this baby.

We spent 2 hours doing a blind test 1080p connected to the new Sony Pearl, and about an 1 hour doing a blind test connected to a 1080p DLP Mitsu TV.

There were 8 of us. We used the following software: Training Day, Corpse Bride, and Blazing Saddles. We also used the Incredibles DVD.

Nobody could tell the difference between the Samsung unit and the Panasonic when displayed on either display in PQ or AQ. Didn't matter the title.

On the DVD, 5 out of 8 preferred the Samsung.

When comparing the Panasonic to the HD-DVD player (in this case the X1): Nobody could tell a difference in PQ. In AQ it was unanimously decided that the Toshiba sounded better.

The Toshiba also without any doubt was the better DVD player, unanimously.

For $1,300 the Panasonic is an overpriced unit. It just doesn't have anything going for it but its Analog outputs. The remote was difficult to use as well, but that is purely nit-picking.

We threw in the 5th element just to see... and it's the disc not the player. It looked like crap on the Panasonic too.

The Panasonic just isn't better than the Samsung. We had no idea which unit we were viewing. We left the room between units being turned on so we wouldn't know which was which by the menu systems. All we did was walk in while it was playing a scene, were told it was Unit A, etc. It was a well run test.

It's good gear, and it should be noted runs as well as the Samsung right out of the Box. There is no reason to get a firmware update or anything. It has run solidly in every aspect of viewing.

It is my opinion as it is the opinion of others that the Panasonic unit is built slightly better than the Samsung and appears at first glance much more reliable. Is that worth $300?

I don't know. We have so far sold ZERO, and that was after contacting about 200 people who'd left contact information for when it finally came out. 6 people today looked at it and 4 bought the Toshiba. We're now out of Toshibas and need more.

There just isn't a real world scenario right now that has us pointing consumers to BD. So far the Samsung and Panasonic just aren't the great deal that the Toshiba is. If they were priced the same I'd advise people to buy BD and keep their DVD player as their DVD player.

I know it all boils down to opinions and how everyone has one, but sheesh this is a hard decision to make, and these reviews ARE NOT HELPING!!!