Panasonic will soon have another notch on its 3D belt. The company just announced plans to release the entry-level DMP-BDT100 Blu-ray 3D player before the end of the summer.
The new addition will be the slimmest player in Panasonic's Blu-ray 3D family, which currently includes the DMP-BDT300 and DMP-BDT350. It will also be the most affordable, as it lacks the WiFi adapter, dual HDMI outputs and multi-channel analog outputs available on the two step-up models. Exactly how affordable we don't know yet as Panasonic has not formally announced pricing. It's expected to start selling next month. The models 300 and 350 currently list for $399.99 and $429.99 respectively, but the BDT100 should be appreciably less expensive.
The DMP-BDT100 promises full HD 3D, as well as upconversion of your standard-def DVDs to 1080p with 24 frame/second output (1080/24p) optional for DVDs as well as Blu-rays. Other features include Panasonic's PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus, P4HD enhanced Full HD upsampling, a 96-kHz Surround Re-master function, and an integrated SD card reader and USB slot. Panasonic also says that they've improved on the boot-up time with this one, reducing your wait time down to about half a second for initial power up.
Although the unit can be networked, it only does wired Ethernet right out of the box. To stream that goodness wirelessly, you'll need to add on the Wireless LAN Adaptor (DY-WL10). Either way, connectivity is important for this product. In addition to getting you automatic firmware upgrades and BD-Live, networking gives you access to VIERA Cast, Panasonic's on-demand content service. This allows instant access to Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, Twitter, YouTube, Pandora and a slew of other content partners, right from your remote.
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