# Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Panasonic DMP-BD60 BluRay Disc Player with Ethernet connection and SD Memory Card Slot.









I picked up one of these during our boxing day sales after reading up on various different players in the under $200 range. With a good recommendation from Shack staff member Jack I decided that the Panasonic BD60 was the player to get. 

At first look the BD60 does not look like a high quality player although the picture on the websites did not give it as glossy a look as it really has. The front is sleek and clean with no visible buttons and SD slot as they are hidden behind a small flap on the bottom right.
The disc tray is centre top located and is solid with no flap like some players like Samsung or Sony use.
The LCD display is located on the far left and shows very minimal information other than the time and what kind of connection the player is using IE: HDMI.
On the back of the BD60 there is a HDMI connection, optical out, Component out and strangely no s-video only composite out. The player has an Ethernet connection as well.

The user menu is clean and very easy to navigate with bold fonts and clear descriptions as to what some options do. The player turns on fairly fast from power on to disc loading is less than 15seconds and even faster if you turn on the quick start function but this causes the unit to draw a little more power in standbuy. From disc in to previews start is about another 20 seconds faster than my previous Samsung 1400 but not as fast as some newer players available.
The BD60 has a built in SD card slot that supports 2-32gb SD cards for not only BD live content but also reads picture files and music and video files as well.
The BD60 also has Panasonics VIERA Link and a new feature VieraCast that gives you access to YouTube and Picasa a weather and news screen that I found quite nice to use.

The real plus to this player over most is what is under the hood. The Panasonic BD60 employs the PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus with 4:4:4 signal technology That samples all the video the P4HD processes more than 15 billion pixels per second and applies the optimal processing to every pixel giving one of the best Bluray images I have seen in a sub $200 unit. The video output of this player is to say the least very impressive. I tried a couple of standard DVDs and they looked equally impressive upconverted As I have the Toshiba HD AX2 with the Raon HQV chip and I could not see a difference in quality between the two units. 
The playback and upconversion has been said to be as good or even better than the PS3.

The Audio was also a bit of a surprise as i really thought that most Bluray players in this class would be the same but playing the uncompressed audio through my onkyo 805 sounded fuller and more dynamic than before. The audio processing in this player seems to be much better quality. 

The remote control is fairly straight forward with easy access buttons and simple layout however it is not backlite and is very hard to see in a dark room. The main navigation buttons are large and easy to use and is well planed out.

I would have to say for a entry level player the Panasonic delivers I would have to say my only minor complaint is that it lacks the progress bar showing where the movie is when you pause it during playback but other than that it gets my vote.

One final note:
The BD60 and the BD80 are identical except the 80 has 7.1 analog multi channel outs and a feature where it turns off all internal processing when playing back audio CDs. It also is said to playback DivX.

Another nice feature is that both players will do 1080p 24fps on standard DVDs as well something very uncommon. You will need to turn on the 24fps every time you insert a standard DVD but this was made necessary as DVDs do not automatically flag this option and playing back a made for TV DVD looks awful if it it turned on.

For individuals looking for a VCR BluRay combo unit the BD70 is also available with all the same features as the BD60 and full upconversion of VHS movies as well (one of the first BluRay VHS combo units available).


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

Hello,
Tony, very nice writeup. I am glad you are enjoying it. Panasonic really does make excellent BDP's and the Professional Reviews for the BD60 have been overwhelmingly positive.

With fast load times and Profile 2.0, you really should be set until the HDMI 1.4 BDP's start coming out.
Then, we will all need to start rebuilding our digital gear and displays. Not exactly looking forward to it, but some of the new features are worthwhile.
Cheers,
JJ


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## recruit (May 9, 2009)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

Congrats on your new toy tony and nice write up, Panasonic make some very solid players and should certainly do the job it was intended to do well !

Enjoy :T


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## BrianAbington (Mar 19, 2008)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

bought one on sale the day after christmas my self.

Only hooked it up last night so I have not had alot of time to play with it yet.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

Its a great player, doesn't look like it but it really packs a punch for the money.


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

I agree the player is good. The software is a bit akward, but it does it's job. I don't think it's better than any other player in it's price range though. I'd say for audio and video it's dead even with the Samsung 1590, PS3 or the LG players.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*



lsiberian said:


> I don't think it's better than any other player in it's price range though. I'd say for audio and video it's dead even with the Samsung 1590, PS3 or the LG players.


Not according to all the reviews I've read, Although just as good as the PS3 it preforms better than the Samsungs , Sonys and LG for under the $200 range. For BluRay playback it aced all the HQV Tests.


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*



tonyvdb said:


> Not according to all the reviews I've read, Although just as good as the PS3 it preforms better than the Samsungs , Sonys and LG for under the $200 range. For BluRay playback it aced all the HQV Tests.


We'll have to agree to disagree on this point. Still we both agree this is the best value on the market if you don't want Netflix streaming. 

After all it's only 120 now.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

I dont understand the netflix craze, the quality is poor compared to the DVD and in Canada you cant get it anyhow.


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## recruit (May 9, 2009)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*



tonyvdb said:


> I dont understand the netflix craze, the quality is poor compared to the DVD and in Canada you cant get it anyhow.


I agree you buy a player for HD playback so why use one for inferior quality video, just does not interest me at all...


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

I like the idea of netflix streaming allthough and I even use it a decent amount. Though, it is not a selling point in any way, shape, or form. I agree that the quality is nowhere near even DVD quality, which is why it is not a selling point. The convenience factor of being able to check out stuff that you normally wouldn't wait or giving a second chance for is kind of nice.


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## recruit (May 9, 2009)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

I have downloaded movies via my XBOX360 before but they have been in HD, well 720p.....


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## BrianAbington (Mar 19, 2008)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

streaming netflix is nice on snow days/sick days because you can stay home and watch a lot of movies for free. 


I rented a couple blyrays yesterday when my wife and I were both home sick. 

Kung Fu Panda. The color looks much richer and fuller, more vibrant. more detail in the animated fur, and the leaves from the peach tree when the turtle dies, alot more detail in that segment than I could see in the DVD.

I rented forest gump and away we go as well but have not watched those yet.

I also rented it might get loud (dvd)...briliant film, and honestly well filmed, and has really good audio. It really captured the tones of the guitars, and when jack, jimmy, and edge are working out riffs together they obviously had to talk loud/shout to be heard over the guitar amps, and this was really captured in the audio track.

more to come...on break at work and out of time.


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## F1 fan (Jul 6, 2006)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

Congrats on your Panny purchase,by all accounts it looks like a great player for the money.I was torn between it and the Sony S360 to replace my aging Denon DVD player.I decided to go with the bare bones Sony as it was $50 less and it also had good reviews and I have zero interest in using it to stream video.So far I'm pleased with this budget player.


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## recruit (May 9, 2009)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

Don't forget that even on most budget players BD playback will more or less be the same when output at 1080p24, so all of them offer great VFM.


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## BrianAbington (Mar 19, 2008)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

I turned off the feature that speeds up the turn on time of the player, it honestly is not slow at all when coming on, however it pulls 5 watts in stand by with it on so I honestly prefer to take a bit longer and only pull .5 watts.


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## BrianAbington (Mar 19, 2008)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

I take that back, it took about 5 minutes to load 500 days of summer, which is not a very bd live intense movie...however if you put the disc in and then go to make pop corn you will not even notice the delay.

I really like the picture quality on dvd upconversion. I have not noticed any morie in panning shots or jaggies in subtitles. 

this unit, even when its not in 24p mode does not give movies that overly real look that most people associate with bluray. I also have a tube tv so I think that helps prevent that look as well, compared to 120+ hz tv's.

I notice that it actualy looks very similar to the picture quality on my samsung upconvert dvd player...however the bluray version of films has alot more fine detail, and sharpness. 

I also notice a huge difference in over all sq improvement. 

My reciver does not have hdmi input so I send picture to the tv through hdmi...and audio to the reciver through optical cable. I know its not uncompressed by any stretch of the imagination, but I had been using my 360 as a dvd player and it does not have the greatest audio out put.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

Ive watched 4 BluRay new release movies on it now and so far there have been no glitches at all during playback its been rock solid.
5 min load time seems long to me, I wonder if the disc was scratched causing it to have a tough time reading it. Non of the 4 movies took more than about 45seconds to load for me. But then again I guess it depends on the BD Live content it needs to get.


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## BrianAbington (Mar 19, 2008)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

we just moved in so I don't have internet yet...so its not hooked up. I thought not being online was suposed to make these units load faster.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

Do you have an SD card in the slot? I wonder if that helps speed it up?


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## BrianAbington (Mar 19, 2008)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

not yet, I forgot I need one when I bought it...and have not had any free time to go get one.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

Updated some more info in the original post:

The BD60 and the BD80 are identical except the 80 has 7.1 analog multi channel outs and a feature where it turns off all internal processing when playing back audio CDs. It also is said to playback DivX.

Another nice feature is that both players will do 1080p 24fps on standard DVDs as well something very uncommon. You will need to turn on the 24fps every time you insert a standard DVD but this was made necessary as DVDs do not properly flag this option and playing back a made for TV DVD looks awful if it it turned on.

For individuals looking for a VCR BluRay combo unit the BD70 is also available with all the same features as the BD60 and full upconversion of VHS movies as well (one of the first BluRay VHS combo units available).


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## BrianAbington (Mar 19, 2008)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

also the BD 80 has a feature where it can turn off the signal to the component outputs so they do not generate noise for the audio stage. 

Now thats a cool feature for a fairly cheap unit.


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*



SQCherokee said:


> also the BD 80 has a feature where it can turn off the signal to the component outputs so they do not generate noise for the audio stage.
> 
> Now thats a cool feature for a fairly cheap unit.


I've never heard noise from the component outputs on the BD60. This is requirements gold-plating IMO.


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## BrianAbington (Mar 19, 2008)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

I did some experimenting this past weekend, and hooked up the R/L analog outputs to the multi channel inputs on my reciver. 

I switched back and forth from the toslink connection and the analog outputs and WOW what a difference uncompressed audio makes!

I like the simplicity of single cable hookups but honestly it is a huge difference in SQ and dynamics.

I used black hawk down to experiment and I immedeatly noticed that the gunfire and helicoptor blade noise sounded so much better in uncompressed than standard dts!


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## Blktre (Sep 11, 2008)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*



SQCherokee said:


> also the BD 80 has a feature where it can turn off the signal to the component outputs so they do not generate noise for the audio stage.
> 
> Now thats a cool feature for a fairly cheap unit.


I'm confident this setting is to turn off the signal to the 5.1/7.1 analog outputs if you are not using them. The BD60 does not have these outputs, therefore the setting is not needed.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

I do not believe you can turn off the analog outputs. 
The 2ch analog outputs have a dual function. When the unit is set for 2ch+5.1 the 2ch outputs send out a downmixed stereo signal with no surround functions.
The 5.1 analog outputs send out 5.1 signals
When you enable the 7.1 the 2ch outputs become the surround back outputs not a downmixed stereo signal.
I do not see any way to turn off the analog outputs. However, you can disable the audio going through the HDMI.


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## BrianAbington (Mar 19, 2008)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

no, it says in the manual that on the bd 80 you can turn off the component video outputs.


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## RBTO (Jan 27, 2010)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

Great initial review of this player, Tony. I've had mine for about a year now and am duly impressed with its features vs cost. Of note, is that the SD card doesn't support audio files - video only & JPEG, however, the unit has the capability of accepting thumb drives which can hold audio files (although not video files other than JPEG stills). One great feature I like is the unit's ability to decode mp3 files from DVDs. This let's me put about 30-40 CD albums worth of music on a DVD at the highest quality mp3 offers, and pop it in the player for hours of uninterrupted listening (the thumb drive can be used also). Alas, no shuffle play that I've been able to find.
The player includes a cooling fan but I've never heard it. As mentioned, a bit slow in some functions but I can easily live with that.
The front display could show a little more info so you don't need to keep a monitor powered to see what track you're on, but other than that, it's a nice little player for the money.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*



SQCherokee said:


> no, it says in the manual that on the bd 80 you can turn off the component video outputs.


Sorry, for some reason I was focused on the analog audio outputs not the component video. I'm with you now :R. When "High Clarity Sound" is enabled, analog video outputs are disabled but not analog audio.


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## BrianAbington (Mar 19, 2008)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

yeah, that seems like a unique feature.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

The other unique feature is that it can upconvert all DVDs to 1080p 24 something very rare for BluRay players the only other player that I know of that does that is the Oppo BD83 the Oppo BD80 coming out very soon wont even do that.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

*re: Panasonic DMP-BD60, BD80 & BD70V Blu-ray player review and discussion thread*

I am pretty well impressed with it (BD-80). I'm gonna have to find a top notch Blu-ray disc and compare with a DVD. So far everything I've watched with it looks great.


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

I just bought the DMP-BD60 at HHG for $99. I have been using an old Sony DVD and an LG that upconverts and have not had a Blu Ray player, other than a couple of borrowed units for testing purposes. I have to say that I am impressed with the Panasonic so far. The video seems as good as any of the higher end units that I have borrowed, but I have not done a direct comparison yet. The upconversion clearly beats the LG unit, which really was not bad.

My display is not the best, a 42" Vizio LCD that is a couple of years old. It is calibrated quite well, but lacking in its ability to deal with 1080p and 24 frame sources. It lacks in the blacks as well, of course, but overall is not that bad after careful calibration.

I will be curious to compare the BD60 to some of the higher end players when I get the chance. For $99, however, I am quite amazed.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

It does not look like a great player but once you put a disc in it, even standard DVDs you realize that Panasonic really put some great hardware under the hood. I dont regret buying one of these at all. I have not had one hickup with any BluRay disc I have played on it. My older Samsung had issues with at least every third disc.


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