Hands on with the Panasonic DMP-BD80 Blu-ray player - initial thoughts

[dinosofos]

Hi, just wondering if someone can help me?

I've just plugged my USB key with Divx files on, into my Pana BD80 (I'm also using a Pana Viera TV). The aspect ratio is squished though. I've tried changing the settings but it doesn't seem to help. Is there anything obvious I'm doing wrong?

Thanks

[MrBoylan]

Hi, just wondering if someone can help me?

I've just plugged my USB key with Divx files on, into my Pana BD80 (I'm also using a Pana Viera TV). The aspect ratio is squished though. I've tried changing the settings but it doesn't seem to help. Is there anything obvious I'm doing wrong?

Thanks

You sure it's Divx and not maybe Xvid? I did have some aspect ratio issues on a couple of Xvid files but these are not officially supported. They just happen to work. You can adjust aspect ratio in two places: the sub-menu on the player (see "sub-menu" button on the remote then "aspect ratio" to adjust) or on the TV via its "Wide" settings (I think that's what aspect ratio is called on the Panasonic TVs). If you can't get the right aspect ratio through a combination of one of these buttons then unfortunately you're out of luck.

If it is indeed a Divx format file, in one of the player's supported releases and resolutions (see manual for details) then contact Panasonic to complain about the aspect ratio not being correct.

Good luck!

-CB

[risingstar]

You sure it's Divx and not maybe Xvid? I did have some aspect ratio issues on a couple of Xvid files but these are not officially supported. They just happen to work. You can adjust aspect ratio in two places: the sub-menu on the player (see "sub-menu" button on the remote then "aspect ratio" to adjust) or on the TV via its "Wide" settings (I think that's what aspect ratio is called on the Panasonic TVs). If you can't get the right aspect ratio through a combination of one of these buttons then unfortunately you're out of luck.

If it is indeed a Divx format file, in one of the player's supported releases and resolutions (see manual for details) then contact Panasonic to complain about the aspect ratio not being correct.

Good luck!

-CB

MrBoylan,

I'm not sure if you're still around... Hopefully, you are!
If you don't mind, I have a few Qs regarding the BD80 too.

I'm having the same AVI issue where the aspect ratio did not look right. The characters looked somewhat squished. Sadly, no matter what I tried, I just couldn't get either the Panasonic BD80 or the Panasonic 50PZ700 to get the aspect right. Am I truly out of luck? Thing is, the AVIs work just fine on my $50 upgrade DVD player (when connected to the same the Panasonic TV).

Sadly, the BD80 also does not play DVD-RW discs which means that if I want to watch this week's Law and Order, I'll either have to burn it (or anything else) on a disc forever, or play the DVD-RW on my $50 upgrade DVD player. Why would Panasonic not include this feature???

For some reason, whenever I play DVDs of non-widescreen TV shows (The Backyardigans or the early X-Files, for example), I get these bright gray bars on the sides of the TV screen as opposed to black bars. I can't seem to get rid of the gray bars. This isn't a question of zooming into the picture as zooming is not what I want to do. Also, zoom is not the right aspect anyway. Thing is, I never had this gray bar issue on my $50 upgrade DVD player (when connected to the same the Panasonic TV). ...What's especially strange is when the TV-show DVD first starts, I get the black bars on the side for a split second. It then immediately switches to gray.

While the machine appears to play BluRays just fine, it did freeze once during 21 (Kevin Spacey flick) during playback. When I went back to that spot to see if it was a disc issue, the player played right through it. This was the first bluray I played on the machine too so that didn't feel good. However, it seems the latest firmaware upgrade corrected it as I have't had a freezing incident since -- I hope!). Thing is, I bought this (expensive, and apparently top notch) bluray player to replace the other machine I had connected to the TV at the time... In essence, I wanted a bluray player that plays everything I used to be able to on my $50 machine PLUS blurays. Sadly, that didn't turn out to be the case.

I'm disappointed to learn that Bluray players still seem to have a number of glitches.
I waited years to finally get one and we still have issues, or machines that leave something to be desired.

1) Other than return it and wait even longer for an all purpose Bluray machine to be produced, is there anything I can do?
2) Are firmware updates in the works to fix these issues? Is it even possible? Does Panasonic care? LOL

P.S. You may be my last best hope. Panasonic reps tried to be helpful, however, I'm not sure they know these pieces backwads and forwards.

[risingstar]

After some crazy searching, I discovered how to get rid of the gray bars on the right and left sides of the picture (which I prefer to be black) when playing TV-show DVDs. Users will note that the BD80 has this default or fail safe function in place so that images don't get burned on to TV screens. However, I think this function was put in place to protect less expensive pieces...

Okay, here is the troubleshoot:

Go to 'Set up' on the BD80. Click on display. Turn off screen saver function. If you have the screen saver function on, you will have gray bars on the sides (instead of black) when watching TV-show DVDs. Sadly, classic shows like the Star Trek weren't presented in WS format like most TV shows prior to 1998 or something (I think).


It would also appear that the BD80 cannot play RW discs. The discs have to be finalized, that is, burned from the get-go. Bummer. I've been using my RW discs for ages. It's the modern age videotape. I hate to lose this fabulous feature. Darn, I really wanted to only have one machine connected to the boob tube.

No luck on the aspect ratio issue at all. I have no idea how to futz with the image so that I can get the right aspect with AVIs. If there was some way to stretch the top and bottom of the image just a bit, I could make up for the present annoying stretch from right and left sides. The zoom isn;t a good function here because it just zooms into the aforementioned incorrect aspect.

One other thing... If you want your music cds (love Springsteen!) to play through all of your wonderful speakers, don't use the DVD/coaxial mode/connection as the music will likely only play through 2 speakers at that point (not sure why). I suggest using the cd-analog feature on your receiver. Connect cables via the audio/cd outputs behind the bluray player and receiver and you'll get all the speakers playing the music.


Any ideas?

[MrBoylan]

MrBoylan,

I'm not sure if you're still around... Hopefully, you are!
If you don't mind, I have a few Qs regarding the BD80 too.

On vacation actually with no high speed internet and no cell phone access. Very nice place to be.

I'm having the same AVI issue where the aspect ratio did not look right. The characters looked somewhat squished. Sadly, no matter what I tried, I just couldn't get either the Panasonic BD80 or the Panasonic 50PZ700 to get the aspect right. Am I truly out of luck? Thing is, the AVIs work just fine on my $50 upgrade DVD player (when connected to the same the Panasonic TV).

If they're DivX files, of a release supported by the player (the user manual says what's supported), then you can contact Panasonic to complain about aspect ratio not working properly. If they're Xvid or some Divx release not supported by the player, then yeah you might be out of luck or will need to use a different player. The Panasonic Blu-ray players don't support XVid AVI files as well as some cheaper DVD players which are designed expressly for that purpose.

Sadly, the BD80 also does not play DVD-RW discs which means that if I want to watch this week's Law and Order, I'll either have to burn it (or anything else) on a disc forever, or play the DVD-RW on my $50 upgrade DVD player. Why would Panasonic not include this feature???

Not sure what you mean here. The Panasonic players do support playback of DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM. Of these the only ones that do not need to be finalized are DVD-RAM. But if you are recording shows from a DVD recorder onto a DVD-RW or DVD+RW then these should play back fine on the Panasonic BD80 as long as you finalize the disc. When you're done you can wipe and re-use it if it's a DVD-RW or DVD+RW even if it's "finalized."

If you're specifically talking about Divx AVI file playback from disc then yes, you cannot use DVD-RW or +RW for that. If you want to use a re-recordable media for AVI file playback, then use USB or CD-RW.

For some reason, whenever I play DVDs of non-widescreen TV shows (The Backyardigans or the early X-Files, for example), I get these bright gray bars on the sides of the TV screen as opposed to black bars. I can't seem to get rid of the gray bars.

Turn the screensaver off in the set-up menu. This turns the gray pillarbox bars black.

While the machine appears to play BluRays just fine, it did freeze once during 21 (Kevin Spacey flick) during playback. When I went back to that spot to see if it was a disc issue, the player played right through it. This was the first bluray I played on the machine too so that didn't feel good. However, it seems the latest firmaware upgrade corrected it as I have't had a freezing incident since -- I hope!).

I never saw the random Blu-ray freeze on our review sample of the BD80 but I did see it twice on our BD70V. Annoying to say the least though the freeze doesn't usually last more than 5-10 seconds and doesn't happen often.

From my discussions with Panasonic, it seems they have not yet been able to reproduce or isolate this issue. They can fix reproducible disc compatibility problems but this issue is not so simple. I'm not sure if it's something that varies from sample to sample or if were were just lucky to never see it on the BD80 in the three months or so we were using it. But it definitely is annoying if/when it happens.

Thing is, I bought this (expensive, and apparently top notch) bluray player to replace the other machine I had connected to the TV at the time... In essence, I wanted a bluray player that plays everything I used to be able to on my $50 machine PLUS blurays. Sadly, that didn't turn out to be the case.

None of the players is perfect. The Samsung BD-P3600 seems to work with AVI files a bit better than the Panasonic, but it has problems with PC streaming. The LG BD 390 actually plays back MKV files as well as Divx files and may be a better choice for multi-media playback than the Panasonic players but right now it's selling for about $100 more than the BD80.

I'm disappointed to learn that Bluray players still seem to have a number of glitches.
I waited years to finally get one and we still have issues, or machines that leave something to be desired.

1) Other than return it and wait even longer for an all purpose Bluray machine to be produced, is there anything I can do?
2) Are firmware updates in the works to fix these issues? Is it even possible? Does Panasonic care? LOL

I can't speak for Panasonic, but this freeze issue is tough because it can't be easily reproduced. And if the aspect ratio problem you're seeing is on XVid files which are not technically supported, then I doubt they are going to offer a fix for that.

P.S. You may be my last best hope. Panasonic reps tried to be helpful, however, I'm not sure they know these pieces backwads and forwards.

Wish I had better news but the above answers are the best I can give you based on my experience with the various players.

Regards,

-Chris

[MrBoylan]

After some crazy searching, I discovered how to get rid of the gray bars on the right and left sides of the picture (which I prefer to be black) when playing TV-show DVDs. Users will note that the BD80 has this default or fail safe function in place so that images don't get burned on to TV screens. However, I think this function was put in place to protect less expensive pieces...

Okay, here is the troubleshoot:

Go to 'Set up' on the BD80. Click on display. Turn off screen saver function. If you have the screen saver function on, you will have gray bars on the sides (instead of black) when watching TV-show DVDs. Sadly, classic shows like the Star Trek weren't presented in WS format like most TV shows prior to 1998 or something (I think).

Yup, strange but true. Screensaver off turns grey bars to black.

It would also appear that the BD80 cannot play RW discs. The discs have to be finalized, that is, burned from the get-go. Bummer. I've been using my RW discs for ages. It's the modern age videotape. I hate to lose this fabulous feature. Darn, I really wanted to only have one machine connected to the boob tube.

Again, not sure what you mean here. Finalizing a -R, -RW, or +RW DVD for playback on another DVD player is a pretty standard requirement. And you can wipe the disc and re-use it on your recorder when you're done watching it on the Panasonic. I assume you are talking about shows recorded on a stand-alone DVD recorder right? If you're talking about downloaded TV shows in Divx or Xvid format, then yeah you'll need to use USB or CD-RW for that (or finalized DVD-R or DVD+R) or a different player but I don't know if any Blu-ray players support Divx AVI playback from a non-finalized Disc.

No luck on the aspect ratio issue at all. I have no idea how to futz with the image so that I can get the right aspect with AVIs. If there was some way to stretch the top and bottom of the image just a bit, I could make up for the present annoying stretch from right and left sides. The zoom isn;t a good function here because it just zooms into the aforementioned incorrect aspect.

Sorry, no suggestions here. It shouldn't affect the supported releases of Divx-encoded AVI files but if you do have examples of standard Divx files which don't work properly, then definitely open a ticket with Panasonic - they might need you to send the actual files to reproduce the problem. As you've discovered, media files generally playback better on DVD players that are designed with all of the various codecs in mind. You might try out an LG BD 390 and see if it works better for your specific needs.

One other thing... If you want your music cds (love Springsteen!) to play through all of your wonderful speakers, don't use the DVD/coaxial mode/connection as the music will likely only play through 2 speakers at that point (not sure why). I suggest using the cd-analog feature on your receiver. Connect cables via the audio/cd outputs behind the bluray player and receiver and you'll get all the speakers playing the music.

Well I disagree with that one. You may have your receiver set to a stereo-only mode when it receives a 2-channel digital signal over it's coax digital input. Might be a Pioneer set to "direct" mode or something similar on a different brand.

I've used the coax output of the BD55 and BD80 and engaged simulated surround modes like Dolby ProLogic IIx and 5-way stereo to get sound from all 5 speakers. Not sure what receiver you have but most good surround sound receivers do have a way of setting the default surround mode for specific inputs. First try out the surround mode button on your remote (if you have one) or on the receiver itself to get it from stereo mode into one of the surround modes and then, assuming you can get the surround modes engaged, then check the set-up menus on your receiver to see if you can change the default mode for that input. I usually use PLIIx Music or PLIIx Movie as the default mode.

Regards,

-Chris

[risingstar]

On vacation actually with no high speed internet and no cell phone access. Very nice place to be.

Oh my! I could have waited until you got back.
Thanks for taking the time. What a sport!

If they're DivX files, of a release supported by the player (the user manual says what's supported), then you can contact Panasonic to complain about aspect ratio not working properly. If they're Xvid or some Divx release not supported by the player, then yeah you might be out of luck or will need to use a different player. The Panasonic Blu-ray players don't support XVid AVI files as well as some cheaper DVD players which are designed expressly for that purpose.

And if the aspect ratio problem you're seeing is on XVid files which are not technically supported, then I doubt they are going to offer a fix for that.

I called Panasonic. While nice about things, I basically got the "it is what it is" response. The rep said she'll forward the aspect ratio issue to their Japanese counterparts. Maybe someone over there will deem it worthwhile to do something about. No guarantees or promises. I wonder if an upcoming firmware update could address it?

As we watch lots of AVIs, we would have liked this feature to have worked properly. We use it quite a bit with the cheaper player. Oh well. I guess for now, we'll keep both players connected to the TV. Thankfully, I have extra HDMI and coaxial cables.

Not sure what you mean here. The Panasonic players do support playback of DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM.

If you're specifically talking about Divx AVI file playback from disc then yes, you cannot use DVD-RW or +RW for that. If you want to use a re-recordable media for AVI file playback, then use USB or CD-RW.

I thought RWs in general were a write-off because I could not play any AVIs (burned from my PC). It will play non-avi films though so that's a definite plus.

However, I hadn't considered using USB for AVIs! Thanks!
That should help!

May I ask why you aren't working for Panasonic??
Clearly, you know more than the reps I talked to... lol.

I never saw the random Blu-ray freeze on our review sample of the BD80 but I did see it twice on our BD70V. Annoying to say the least though the freeze doesn't usually last more than 5-10 seconds and doesn't happen often.

It only happened once to me -- and on the first bluray I played. I installed the latest firmware following the film and haven't had an issue since.

If it happens again, I'll mention it here.
I'll also identify the disc.

None of the players is perfect.

Why not? (insert head banging emoticon)
Alas, I'm not am electronics engineer, so what do I know... lol.

Wish I had better news but the above answers are the best I can give you based on my experience with the various players.

Regards,

-Chris

Actually, your post was very helpful and reassuring.
It was truly appreciated!

[risingstar]

If you're talking about downloaded TV shows in Divx or Xvid format, then yeah you'll need to use USB or CD-RW for that (or finalized DVD-R or DVD+R) or a different player but I don't know if any Blu-ray players support Divx AVI playback from a non-finalized Disc.

I will certainly do that.

Sorry, no suggestions here. It shouldn't affect the supported releases of Divx-encoded AVI files but if you do have examples of standard Divx files which don't work properly, then definitely open a ticket with Panasonic - they might need you to send the actual files to reproduce the problem. As you've discovered, media files generally playback better on DVD players that are designed with all of the various codecs in mind. You might try out an LG BD 390 and see if it works better for your specific needs.

Hmmm... I might just do that too.
Hopefully, no one will care that I'd be sending a protected property like a TV show.

Well I disagree with that one. You may have your receiver set to a stereo-only mode when it receives a 2-channel digital signal over it's coax digital input. Might be a Pioneer set to "direct" mode or something similar on a different brand.

I've used the coax output of the BD55 and BD80 and engaged simulated surround modes like Dolby ProLogic IIx and 5-way stereo to get sound from all 5 speakers. Not sure what receiver you have but most good surround sound receivers do have a way of setting the default surround mode for specific inputs. First try out the surround mode button on your remote (if you have one) or on the receiver itself to get it from stereo mode into one of the surround modes and then, assuming you can get the surround modes engaged, then check the set-up menus on your receiver to see if you can change the default mode for that input. I usually use PLIIx Music or PLIIx Movie as the default mode.

Regards,

-Chris

Hmmm... That could very well be possible. I'll take another look.
It's so funny how all some things need is a click of a button...


Thanks again, Chris!
You are a total credit to non-electrofiles like myself!

[gozoogle]

I haven't really played around with this feature too much so I can't say whether it has much of an impact on the sound, but yes, it should improve the sound quality over the multi-channel analog outputs. I am holding onto the player to do some testing of the Amazon on-demand movie download service when it becomes available so if I get any free time between other reviews, I'll see what this does for the sound quality.

Hi Chris,

Any chance you got around the testing this? I'm trying to decide whether to spend an extra $80 for the "high clarity audio" feature of the BD80 and any extra speed it might have over the BD60.

Thanks,
Andy

[MrBoylan]

Hi Chris,

Any chance you got around the testing this? I'm trying to decide whether to spend an extra $80 for the "high clarity audio" feature of the BD80 and any extra speed it might have over the BD60.

Thanks,
Andy

Sorry, no. We had to send the unit back after our review was completed and I didn't get a chance for any intense comparative listening with the feature on and off. My guess is that the difference would be fairly subtle but that's just a guess.

-CB