# Panasonic BD85



## browndk26 (Jan 3, 2011)

I was looking at this player at Best Buy(mainly for the 7.1 analog outs). The box said internet connectable, wi-fi ready. A LAN adapter is in the box. 

A player like this can stream movies, music, etc from Netflix, Pandora and other services wirelessly. Is it safe to assume that if I connected this player to my router with an ethernet cable, I could use the above services that way as well?


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## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

browndk26 said:


> Is it safe to assume that if I connected this player to my router with an ethernet cable, I could use the above services that way as well?


Yes.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

browndk26 said:


> I was looking at this player at Best Buy(mainly for the 7.1 analog outs). The box said internet connectable, wi-fi ready. A LAN adapter is in the box.
> 
> A player like this can stream movies, music, etc from Netflix, Pandora and other services wirelessly. Is it safe to assume that if I connected this player to my router with an ethernet cable, I could use the above services that way as well?


Hello,
An Ethernet Connection would actually be ideal. Especially for Streaming Media. Panasonic makes excellent BDP's that usually feature fast loading times.

The OPPO BDP-93 is excellent as well, but costs twice as much. However, if DVD's are really important, the OPPO's Marvell Processor might make the juice worth the squeeze.
Cheers,
JJ


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

Has Netflix been added to the Panasonic streaming options? I have not used it in a while, but IIRC it had movies from another service (Amazon?) but not netflix. It does have pandora.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
The BD85 comes with Viera Cast which offers Netflix, Amazon VOD, and access to You Tube. Much to the dismay of many Physical Media fans, Streaming Media is a major deal for current BDP's with even the 100 Dollar Insignia BDP offering these services.

It really does seem we are moving to a World where almost all Media comes via the Internet. Netflix has already said straight up they are transitioning into a Streaming Only Company. Kinda scary to me to require Internet Connectivity to have any access to Media.
Cheers,
JJ


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

This is one advantage of the higher end Panasonic players. The lower end machines do not have Viera cast and while they do have some network associations, Netflix is not one of them, at least on the BD60. Mine has Amazon and Pandora and a few other things but not Netflix.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

I have the BD80 and it is limited as well, no Netflix. I have heard that Viera Cast with the BD65 & BD85 does include Netflix but is limited to what is in your queue.


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## luey123 (Feb 2, 2011)

My Panasonic BD-85 is not reflecting my actual internet speed when connected by either the adapter provided via USB or when ethernet cabled to a brand new Linksys WET 610n adapter gaming/streaming bridge. I have a solid 10 Mb provider connection as registered on all computers wired or wireless. I've confirmed BD 85 as the problem by plugging a laptop into the ethernet cable output of the bridge and I have full speed on it. If I do a speed test on VUDU I'm lucky to get 3Mb (barely HD) and Netflix signal strength meter puny as well. Panny has never heard of the problem but had me do a reset to no avail. Im waiting for a store mgr to decide on replacing it as Ive owned it 2 mos. or sending it in to Panny. Has anyone else experienced anything of the sort or have any suggestions as to what may be the issue here? Thank you.... my first post.


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

Jungle Jack said:


> Hello,
> An Ethernet Connection would actually be ideal. Especially for Streaming Media. Panasonic makes excellent BDP's that usually feature fast loading times.
> 
> The OPPO BDP-93 is excellent as well, but costs twice as much. However, if DVD's are really important, the OPPO's Marvell Processor might make the juice worth the squeeze.
> ...


I just replaced my Samsung with the BD85. I want to get the Oppo, but I'm still recovering from the build and Christmas. I'm hoping to ask for the BDP-93 or 95 for my birthday in a few months.

Anyway... so far I'm pretty impressed. Fast load times, great Blu Ray picture, and very good DVD upscaling. I watched a few minutes of Empire Strikes Back and it handled the opening crawl and some of the space scenes pretty well where my Samsung (was reviewed to have decent upscaling) left a lot to be desired. This is no substitute for Blu Ray - when available (just 8 more months for Star Wars) - but might make some of my DVD's tolerable on the big screen where before it was hardly worth it. The Viera Cast stuff is nifty but, since I won't get streaming movies and am not going to burn off PJ lamp time surfing YouTube videos, I'd be as happy without it. It is also noticeably quieter than my "old" Samsung. 

For straight BluRay and DVD performance, this is a very good unit at its price point (I paid $200). 

Regards,
sga2


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
Panasonic makes some of the best BDP's on the market and unless SACD/DVD-A is important to you, the OPPO really might not be necessary. Especially if there are other areas of your HT that could benefit from upgrading.
Cheers,
JJ


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## jtcustoms (Feb 10, 2011)

very good player!


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