At CES 2012 in Las Vegas earlier this month, Panasonic showed off its upcoming Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D players including a CEA Innovations Award winner and their smallest ever wall-mountable home Blu-ray player. But size and awards aside, we were interested in what has been improved from the current slate of players. In a nutshell, the new players are faster, lighter, more energy-efficient, with more streaming apps and networking features and offer a new touchpad-based remote control. Also, enhancements to Panasonic's proprietary UniPhier video processor allow for further improvements to picture quality, not only for DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, but also for streaming sources.
From the current stable of four players, Panasonic will offer six players in 2012, two of which are 2D only and four of which support 3D output. The 3D players include the DMP-BBT01, DMP-BDT500, DMP-BDT320, DMP-BDT220. All four Blu-ray 3D players include Panasonic's recently enhanced VIERA Connect app and streaming suite. The 2D Blu-ray players -- DMP-BD87 and the DMP-BD77-- offer IP VOD, a smaller subset of streaming services, including Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow and YouTube.
The Blu-ray 3D players all feature an improved UniPhier chip with 1080/24p output for VOD and streaming services. Audiophiles will be happy to hear that three of the four 3D players (excluding the BBT01) include support for FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) audio files with a newly enhanced 192KHz/32-bit DAC (Digital/Analog Converter).
The VIERA control remote app for iPhone and Android can be used to control all of the Blu-ray 3D players, while the three high end 3D players (DMP-BBT01, DMP-BDT500 and DMP-BDT320) all come with a new touchpad-based remote control that eliminates most of the hard buttons from earlier remotes. The new remote allows you to swipe and tap you way through the menus as well as through your favorite audio and video content. In actual use at the Panasonic booth at CES, I'm not sure I'm a fan of the new touchpad remote as even basic playback controls have no hard buttons and require interaction with an on-screen virtual button layout, but like anything new, it might just take getting used to.
The DMP-BBT01 and the DMP-BDT320 featured a slot-loaded disc drive, while the other players include a standard sliding disc tray. The petite model DMP-BBT01 (measuring just 7-1/16 x 7-1/16 x 1-1/16 inches) comes with a stand and can also be wall mounted in either a horizontal or vertical orientation.
The UniPhier video processing chip has been enhanced in 2012 specifically in the areas of DVD processing and upconversion. The chip's built-in Super Resolution Processor helps reduce false contours, enhance perceived resolution and reduce noise in the input signal, all resulting in a higher quality, more realistic image from standard def sources. The UniPhier chips also adds support for 1080/24p (24 frame per second) native output for streaming sources, in addition to 24p output for DVDs, Blu-rays and Blu-ray 3D Discs. The 3D players include a 2D to 3D conversion feature which supports DVDs, Blu-ray Discs and streaming video sources.
On the audio front, Panasonic has made a few improvements as well. The DMP-BDT500, DMP-BDT320 and the DMP-BDT220 Blu-ray 3D players all use an upgraded 192kHz/32bit audio DAC (Digital Analog Converter) for on-board decoding of high quality digital sources (such as FLAC files), while the BDT500 improves things further using audiophile grade parts such as gold-plated terminals, high grade electric capacitors and insulators. This year, Panasonic has brought back the high quality analog 7.1 outputs in the DMP-BDT500 only. If you're planning to use the player as the centerpiece of a high-end analog audio system, the BDT500 is the player for you.
The BDT500 is also the only player to offer dual HDMI outputs, for compatibility with non-3D-capable HDMI switching audio receivers. Audio is further improved via Panasonic's anti-jitter clock control technology that significantlly reduces jitter during HDMI transmission, improving sound in the digital domain. This technology was first introduced with the 2011 players. Also carried over from 2011 are Panasonic's tube effects for those who want to impart their silver discs with that "warm, comforting tube sound" without incurring the cost of an actual tube amp or preamp.
Panasonic's IPTV platform VIERA Connect, now under the new Smart VIERA umbrella, has been expanded and now leverages the cloud for entertainment, social networking, gaming, health & fitness, sports and news apps. Some of the standout apps and services available include Skype, Netflix, Amazon VOD, YouTube, huluplus, CinemaNow, Vudu, Pandora, Facebook, twitter, Accuweather, AP, Wall Street Journal, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS. New additions include My Space, so you can watch TVs and movies while chatting with your friends around the world, Disney Publishing for interactive storybooks and Flixster, which provides access to UltraViolet digital copies. The two 2D players (DMP-BD87 and DMP-BD77) offer a more limited subset of video streaming features called "IP VOD," with access to Netflix, CinemaNow, Vudu and YouTube.
We're All Connected
The entire 2012 Blu-ray player line from Panasonic features DLNA (Digital Living Networking Alliance) support for streaming content from a compatible PC or other DLNA server as well as access to Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices. This year's players are also compatible with NTFS formatted hard drives.
For connecting to all those home network and internet goodies, five of the six players feature built-in WiFi, while the entry-level DMP-BD77 connects via a hard-wired network port (though wireless connectivity can be added via a wireless bridge or gamaing adapter). To personalize the streaming/VOD/app experience, a new multi user mode allows one player to store favorite settings for up to 4 different users.
In an effort to stay environmentally friendly, all players are Energy Star qualified, and the DMP-BDT320 features a new Smart Eco Sensor, which detects movement within 16 feet and switches itself into quick start mode (with a boot time of approximately a half second) automatically. This allows you to keep the unit in ECO mode, consuming about 0.1 watts during periods of non-use and the player will switch over to a still efficient quick start mode that uses only 3.2 watts when it is most likely to be needed.
The new players are expected to roll out early this spring. Pricing has yet to be determined.
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