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Panasonic DMP-BD50 Blu-ray Player

Author	Riyad Emeran
Published	24th Jul 2008
Manufacturer	Panasonic
Supplier	HomeCinemaTV
Price	£320.84 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£376.99 (Inc VAT)
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If you've got a large DVD collection you won't be disappointed either, since the upscaling capabilities of the BD50 are also impressive. Obviously, no amount of upscaling is going to make a DVD look as good as an actual high definition source, but the improvement is noticeable. Of course, over here in the UK the player isn't having to do quite as much as it would in the US, since the 576 line nature of PAL means that it has more resolution to play with.

So is this the perfect Blu-ray player? Not quite. One of the reasons I'm still using my PS3 as my main player is that it's a Japanese console, and therefore is happy to play pretty much any disc I put in it. The BD50 on the other hand, will only play Region B or multi-region discs, which means you can't order US movies unless you already know that they're multi-region. To be fair, this isn't Panasonic's fault, and the blame lays firmly at the door of the movie studios, who continue to artificially sectionalise the world.

The other main potential negative point comes down to your choice of TV. If you're not going to invest in a seriously good TV, it's unlikely that you'll see much improvement over using a PlayStation 3 as your Blu-ray player - and let's not forget that the PS3 is cheaper and a high definition games console to boot.

Despite the DMP-BD50 being feature rich and offering superb image quality, it's not as pricey as I had expected, with it already available online for as little as £377 - a stark contrast to Panasonic's original DMP-BD10 player, which had a worrying lack of features and a price tag of around £1,000! I appreciate that £377 is still a fair chunk of cash to many people, and the fact that the PS3 can be had for around £250 makes it seem even more steep, but if you're planning on buying a very good TV, it's worth investing a bit more in your Blu-ray player too.

Verdict

It has been a very long time coming, but Panasonic has finally created a Blu-ray player that has all the features that the format promised at launch. If you want to access online content, view picture in picture video, play Java based games or decode the latest audio codecs, the DMP-BD50 can do it all. Add to that, some of the best image processing available in the home, thanks to the UniPhier chip and the software/firmware driving it, and there's no doubt that this is a very special player.

The DMP-BD50 isn't cheap, but I don't think that it's overly expensive either considering the image quality and features. Ultimately, if you've been holding off on buying a Blu-ray player because of the format war, lack of features and high price, your wait is over. Is this the best Blu-ray solution out there right now? I certainly think so.

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Riyad said on 24th July 2008

All valid comments, which is why I said that you're going to have to be serious about your AV kit to consider this player. That said, if you're planning on investing in a... more

Pbryanw said on 25th July 2008

Actually, thinking about it, I bought my first DVD player in 2001. It was a Samsung - a great, big thing it was too. I was in my first job earning a minimum wage and I spent three... more

niftynigel said on 7th August 2008

Riyad, you can't really be serious to suggest that HD DVD was better than Blu-ray *just* because HD DVD had internet connection from day one? The picture in picture feature has been incorporated into Blu-ray Discs and works successfully without a Profile 1.1 player! With 50GB to play with, the studios have a lot more flexibility with the Blu-ray system!

If so, you're on pretty thin ground! At best, internet interactivity is a gimmick, a sideshow from the real important issues of picture and sound quality. I wouldn't suggest all Blu-ray discs so far have been excellent quality, far from it, but I have seen many HD DVD discs that we nothing more than upscaled DVDs. Thankfully, the main culprit, Universal appears to *respect* Blu-ray better and is making a fine job in it's Blu-ray productions. Long may it continue.

All the Blu-ray players from approx late 2007, when prices also came down, have been excellent machines in terms of image and sound quality, although start up times have been an issue.

Both the DMP-BD30 and DMP-BD50 Blu-ray players have redefined the market. As their availability increases their prices will come down further. Sony is also releasing it's direct competition, so the market is hotting up!

On the issue over internet interactivity, I think as well as a gimmick, it's actually a bad thing on a number of counts.

Firstly, it won't be too long, when the studios realise that they can charge for the *extra* content. How long will it be before extras that we take for granted (on our special or standard editions) start to be available through download only? For a fee obviously!

Secondly, there is the issue over the studios prying eyes on our viewing habits! Frankly, I view that as an invasion of privacy - just like spyware on our PCs!

There is also the issue over security. Blu-ray (and HD DVD) players probably have no security. It is possible that players connected to home networks could pick up viruses which by-pass security systems!

As you can gather, my family and I will not be connecting any Blu-ray player to the 'net for the above reasons (and more - I've said enough already)!!

Riyad, you can't really be serious to suggest that HD DVD was better than Blu-ray *just* because HD DVD had internet connection from day one? The picture in picture feature h... more

sqwonk said on 17th September 2008

Power on to visible GUI...PS3 10s
BD50 25s

From disc inserted to video on display...PS3 35s
... more

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