Review: Panasonic DMP-35K 1080P Blu-ray player

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Panasonic has backed Blu-ray from the very beginning and was alongside Samsung and Sony in being the first to release BD players. Their latest products, the Panasonic DMP-BD35K and DMP-BD55K, mark their fourth generation of players, and they are the most solid yet (more on this later.)

Like many people, I have been using the Playstation 3 as my main Blu-ray player for some time and for good reason. It was no secret that Blu-ray was not completely finished when it was first released as version 1.0. We recognized that a Version 1.1, known as "Bonus View," and a Version 2.0, known as "BD-Live," were in the works. So, it was important at the time for me to get a player that was upgradeable. The Playstation 3 was and still is that player. Much water has run under the bridge, and the format has grown since its birth a little more than two years ago. Almost all new players are now compatible with Version 2.0 and have come down in price. So, it was time to look for a stand-alone player to replace the Playstation 3.

Could the Panasonic DMP-35K be that player?

Unwrapping:
The first thing you notice about the new unit is the size. Blu-ray players are starting to look and feel like DVD players in term of their dimensions and design. It still has a fan, though, which reminds you that it has to process a lot of data compared to a DVD player. Another pleasant surprise is a little sticker that tells how much power the unit consumes. Only 20W! The first HD DVD player used close to 90W, and the Playstation 3 has been measured at close to 200W during movie playback (higher in games), so 20W is very impressive for a player that has to move so much data.

I connected the player using HDMI and mainly had it connected to my 1080/24p projector, but I also tested it with a Panasonic 1080/24p plasma and a Toshiba LCD. For audio I used the Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V receiver hooked up to Paradigm speakers.

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Video:
The player uses the latest 45 nanometre UniPhier video processing LSI chip with P4HD picture processing and the PHL Reference Chroma processor. The chip has been developed closely with the Hollywood lab authoring facility in L.A. that has produced many of the current Blu-ray titles.

In general, the player does an amazing job, especially on a good display. Colors have a natural feel to them that makes the picture both amazing and easy on the eyes. It delivers some of the best images I have ever seen on any display.

Some of the finest Blu-ray demo material can be found on the "Batman Begins" Blu-ray disc. I'm not talking about the movie itself but the "The Dark Knight: IMAX Prologue" found on the disc. Words that comes to mind are "Oh my god!" I have never seen sharper and better defined HD when I had it hooked up to the Panasonic plasma (which has a advertised contrast ratio of 30.000:1.) I could not believe my eyes. It is one of those few times where you really get the feeling you are looking out the window and not watching a TV. Amazing.

Since I like disaster movies, I also watched "The Guardian" with Kevin Coster. I know this might not be the best movie in cinema history, but it contains some very dark yet detailed scenes like a rescue mission on the high seas at night. Even on my projector, it delivered amazing detail and again natural colors.

Overall, you sit back with a feeling that this is how the various movies were intended to look. You never feel that your player or projector isn't true to the source. Great feeling.

Other Blu-rays I watched include "Mad Men," "The Dark Knight," "Planet of the Apes," "A Bridge Too Far," and "Hellboy 2."

Upscaling:
When you rate upscaling capabilities, it is important to watch scenes you have seen many times before so you can notice the subtle changes. So, for me it had to be "A.I.: Artificial intelligence" (one of my favorite movies of all time) and "Apollo 13." Both movies I have seen many times, including the first time they ran in theaters.

It was a pleasant surprise to see how the player handled upscaling. Unlike the Toshiba XDE, the video did not feel too sharp or too smooth. Instead, it comes very close to both the Toshiba AX2 HD DVD player and the Playstation 3.

Again, you will not be let down, but SD will never be HD. Period!

Other DVDs I watched: "The Abyss."

Audio:
The player will allow for high-definition audio bitstreams to be sent to an external receiver. If your receiver cannot decode the higher audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio) or if you prefer that the player decode them internally, this is also possible: The DMP-BD35K allows for HD audio to be decoded and sent as PCM to the receiver over HDMI. In addition, the higher-priced DMP-BD55K has 7.1 analogue outputs to older receivers that do not have HDMI inputs. You can also output normal Dolby Digital and DTS through coaxial and optical connections as well as HDMI.

I mainly used the HD audio bitstream output directly to the receiver, allowing the Onkyo TX-SR805 to do the decoding. Here I found the sound to be as precise, crisp, and powerful as I expected.

Blu-ray titles sometimes also contain what is called "Bonus View," which basically is a picture-in-picture (PIP) function that allows for a "video commentary" or "making-of" as the movie plays. To enjoy this feature, you need to set the player to decode the audio because it has to mix two audio sources (the movie and the extra PIP video) before sending it to the receiver. Here the player also excels with high quality and options.

It is not always easy to get audio on Blu-ray right. Which way is best? What hardware do I need to get it? The good news is that with the DMP-35K and DMP-55K (if you need analogue outs) you make sure that it is not the player that holds you back. The DMP-35K and DMP-55K players deliver all audio options possible and do it with impressive quality and fairly easy use.

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BD-Live and Speed:
The player is BD-Live compatible, too, and has an Ethernet port that allows you to connect it to the Internet. Now, that means it can do BD-Live, but not out of the box. You need to add extra storage in the form of a SD card to meet specifications. The various services worked fine on the player, but it can't do anything about the fact that the current offerings from the various studios are quite limited and in the present form leave much to be desired.

The player can also receive firmware upgrades directly to the player when hooked up to the Internet.

It also played all JAVA heavy discs without problems and was only slightly slower than Playstation 3.

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Conclusion:
In direct comparison with the Playstation 3, the DMP-35K has a slightly smoother, more natural, and more detailed picture, and if you top that with the multiple audio options, you get an amazing player, which in many places you can buy for under $250. That makes for a package that´s hard to beat, especially if you find little interest in games or perhaps prefer to use a Wii or Xbox 360 for gaming.

The Panasonic DMP-35K (or DMP-55K if you need analogue outputs) are the first stand-alone players I can heartily and without hesitation recommend to a friend. It is a testament to these players that they can deliver such high-end quality at such a low price, but it is also a recognition of the fact that the Blu-ray format is finally a complete and solid product.

Buy from Amazon.com:
Panasonic DMP-BD35K »
Panasonic DMP-BD55K »

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Please Note - More details:
Be sure to check out the full details under related releases.

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