Panasonic DMP-BD80 Blu-ray Disc Player

[MrBoylan]

Hi, I've just bought a bd80 and trying to set it up with my old multi channel receiver. I'we read about the bass issues, and that you have to boost the lfe in the receiver.

Yes, but this is not unique to the Panasonic players. The LFE channel is recorded low on the disc so as not to overload analog transmission. Only the LFE channel is affected. There's a good description of how to work with multi-channel analog outputs in Peter O'Connell's multi-channel analog set-up tutorial. So give that a read if you haven't already. But based on your additional information below (no sub), this probably would not apply to you.

But what I can't seem to figure out is what setting you should use it you dont have a sub. Shall I just switch it of in the settings? Well, i've done that, but I feel the lower bass details are not there. I have 2 good front speakers that used to deliver nice bass in regular DD.

The correct setting if you have no sub is to turn off the subwoofer channel and set the front right and left speakers to LARGE in the BD80 multi-channel analog speaker configuration panel. This menu is a little tricky to find. Have you done that already in the player?

One thing that I do not agree with Panasonic on is that the BD55 and BD80 actually discard LFE channel information (the ".1 channel") in the analog outputs for those who have no subwoofer, rather than mixing the LFE channel into the front left/right channels over analog. Again, they say they do this to prevent overload over the analog outputs and they say that this is done per the Dolby specs. But I have yet to confirm this with the Dolby people. Per Panasonic the LFE channel is "optional" and any necessary bass information is contained in the main channels.

Note that this does not affect the PCM or bitstreamed digital outputs over HDMI or S/PDIF (fiber/coax). This only applies to multi-channel analog output. With the digital outputs bass management is done by your receiver.

You should hook up both the S/PDIF (fiber or coax) and multi-channel analog outputs of the BD80 to your receiver, use the S/PDIF for regular DVDs and use whichever connection you think sounds best for Blu-ray Discs. S/PDIF of course cannot handle multi-channel PCM or high bitrate DTS-HD, DD+ and Dolby TrueHD, but it does support high bandwidth versions of Dolby Digital (640 KBPS) and DTS (1.5 MBPS) which sound very good on their own.

The player is showing me about 2 mbps variable bitrate on True HD, This is correct right?

Depends on the title. The number of channels in use, the sampling frequency and the bit depth as well as the actual content will all define how much audio bandwidth is required. In other words "Nightmare Before Christmas" which uses 7.1-ch TrueHD 24bit/48KHz is going to use more bandwidth than "10,000 BC" which includes a 5.1-ch 16bit/48KHz mix. I think "AKIRA" with its 5.1-ch/24bit/192KHz Dolby TrueHD track uses something like 16 MBPS just for audio.

Ive also hooked it up to my Plasma panna Th-42px80, but cant get the viera link to work. Its just unavailable. Link is switched on in both units. Could it be the HDMI cable, or is it because the units have different viera control versions.(3 and 4)

Not likely to be the cable but I can tell you I hooked up a BD35 to my parents' TV (exact same model as yours) and VIERA Link worked there. Powering off the TV powered off the player automatically and the TV remote did operate the player (but that last part could just be because they were both Panasonic models). I don't see why VIERA Link in the BD80 would be any different in compatibility from VIERA Link in the BD35. They should all be backwardly compatible with previous Viera Link versions, but this is really something you need to pursue with Panasonic support directly and report it as a problem.

Tried calling up panasonic support, but the only thing they could tell me was that the bd80 was not capable of delivering true hd through analogue cables heh..

Technically true but it misses the point. By the time it comes over the analog cables, it's no longer TrueHD or PCM or anything else digital - it has already been expanded from TrueHD to PCM and then converted from PCM to analog by the player.

Hope that helps.

-CB

[ramgeio]

Thanks alot for the detailed answers. I have read the tutorial on analog multi ch, and its really informative, as is your review of my player btw.

I have been testing around with the analog setup and I think I've got it right from the start, but it seems like the bass is lower when I play regular dvds over coax.

Example is the chase sequense in casino royale were the bomb goes of. The lower bass field seems to be gone.

Since there is no more options for this in the player it seems its time to get a sub
Do you think it is possible there will be more analog speaker options in a firmware upgrade?

Casino Royale runs at about 2 mbps over True Hd. Why I asked about this in the first place was because I thought maybe it was outputting something else than True HD.

[MrBoylan]

Thanks alot for the detailed answers. I have read the tutorial on analog multi ch, and its really informative, as is your review of my player btw.

I have been testing around with the analog setup and I think I've got it right from the start, but it seems like the bass is lower when I play regular dvds over coax.

It's possible. The receiver's EQ and bass management are generally bypassed from the multi-channel analog inputs, as are things like Audyssey and MCACC auto calibration functions. With the analog inputs, everything is manual (channel level and delay), so it's certainly possible things will sound different between analog and digital inputs.

Example is the chase sequense in casino royale were the bomb goes of. The lower bass field seems to be gone.

Since there is no more options for this in the player it seems its time to get a sub
Do you think it is possible there will be more analog speaker options in a firmware upgrade?

Possible but unlikely since it has not been changed since the BD55. Getting a sub and/or an HDMI-equipped receiver is a fine idea. Stimulate that economy!

Casino Royale runs at about 2 mbps over True Hd. Why I asked about this in the first place was because I thought maybe it was outputting something else than True HD.

Well you do need to make sure to set BD-Secondary Audio OFF in order to guarantee the player is decoding the lossless soundtrack, but I assume you've done that. Casino Royale's TrueHD track is 16-bit/48KHz, so 2 MBPS sounds about right.

-CB

[cjcollard]

Hey Guys. I just picked up the DMP-BD80 yesterday and was blown away by the Bluray performance, but am having serious issues with the DVD feature. I don't know if it is just a defective unit, but it will not play DVD's. I have tried over 10 different titles, and it says "Cannot read. Please check the disc." Has anyone else encountered this feature? I already updated the firmware, but that didn't make any difference. I don't think there are any settings that would prohibit them from playing. I have it connected to the PDP-5080FD via HDMI and audio running to my older Elite receiver via 8 analog interconnects. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[MrBoylan]

Hey Guys. I just picked up the DMP-BD80 yesterday and was blown away by the Bluray performance, but am having serious issues with the DVD feature. I don't know if it is just a defective unit, but it will not play DVD's. I have tried over 10 different titles, and it says "Cannot read. Please check the disc." Has anyone else encountered this feature? I already updated the firmware, but that didn't make any difference. I don't think there are any settings that would prohibit them from playing. I have it connected to the PDP-5080FD via HDMI and audio running to my older Elite receiver via 8 analog interconnects. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately it sounds like you got a bad unit. Blu-ray Discs and DVDs/CDs use different pick-up assemblies and lasers so it's possible for one to be bad while the other is good (as seems to be the case for you).

You should contact the place where you bought it immediately and request a replacement. If you got it on Amazon then you shouldn't have to pay the return shipping for a defective player and I believe they'll even send you the new one without waiting for the original to be received.

Sorry for your trouble!

-CB

[cjcollard]

Thanks for the quick response Chris. I swapped out the unit and that did the trick. Now the issue is getting all the multichannel settings correct....where is that bloody multichannel speaker level menu? I can't find it for the life of me and the manual is very ambiguous. And once I get that dialed in, should I be able to boost the LFE from the player itself? Or will I have to figure something out on my receiver? I read the article on setting up a multichannel analog set up and it sounds like its going to take a lot of tweaking. Thanks for the help!

[MrBoylan]

Thanks for the quick response Chris. I swapped out the unit and that did the trick. Now the issue is getting all the multichannel settings correct....where is that bloody multichannel speaker level menu? I can't find it for the life of me and the manual is very ambiguous. And once I get that dialed in, should I be able to boost the LFE from the player itself? Or will I have to figure something out on my receiver? I read the article on setting up a multichannel analog set up and it sounds like its going to take a lot of tweaking. Thanks for the help!

No HDMI audio capabilities on your receiver, eh? Bummer. Yes, multi-channel analog set-up can be a pain but it is all worthwhile in the end when you hear that glorious Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio sound.

LFE must be boosted in the receiver or preamp/processor - it cannot be done in the player. This is typical of all Blu-ray or DVD players with multi-channel analog outputs. The LFE channel is actually mixed 10 dB low in order to prevent distortion over analog connections. It is generally boosted digitally (automatically) in the receiver but when you use the multi-channel analog outputs you usually do have to manually "flip a switch" in your receiver or preamp/processor to apply the boost. In some cases, though, the boost is applied by default to the LFE input (notably on many of the Onkyo/Integra receivers). What receiver do you have?

And as for how to find the multi-channel speaker configuration screen, get into the audio set-up menu and select either 2+5.1-ch or 7.1-ch (depending on how many channels you use in your system), then click on the next screen that appears again and it will take you to the speaker configuration menu where you can adjust levels, delays and speaker sizes. It isn't obvious that clicking on the 7.1-ch or 2+5.1-ch "button" will take you to a deeper menu but trust me - that's how you get there.

This is from memory though (not near the machine) so let me know if you still have trouble finding it.

Good luck!

-CB

[cjcollard]

I am running an older Pioneer Elite Receiver, the VSX-74VXi. It is an HDMI 1.1 switching receiver, but it does not internally decode any of the new surround formats so I figured the analog set up would work best. I have never connected anything to the analog connections so this is all new to me. In addition to hooking up the analog interconnects, I hooked up a fiber optic cable in case I want to run cd's and such.

[MrBoylan]

I am running an older Pioneer Elite Receiver, the VSX-74VXi. It is an HDMI 1.1 switching receiver, but it does not internally decode any of the new surround formats so I figured the analog set up would work best. I have never connected anything to the analog connections so this is all new to me. In addition to hooking up the analog interconnects, I hooked up a fiber optic cable in case I want to run cd's and such.

Well the good news is that, from what it seems, your receiver does handle multi-channel PCM audio decoding over HDMI, so if you set the Panasonic's digital audio outputs to PCM for DTS and Dolby (instead of "bitstream") then you should be able to send this multi-channel PCM stream to your receiver digitally over HDMI. This means you can get the full quality of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA over a fully digital connection. The player will decode these formats to multi-channel PCM with no loss.

I would definitely try that first as it's much simpler to connect that way, it maintains all the goodness of the lossless audio formats and you'll still get all the benefits of your receiver's MCACC auto-calibration software (bass management, EQ, levels, delays, etc.), which you would NOT get from the analog inputs.

Please try connecting it this way and let us know the results.

-CB

[VanDarak]

Hi

I have to say that there is some great and really useful information in this thread especially from you MrBoylan.

With that in mind I need some help. I have just bought the Panasonic DMP-BD80 and want to set in up right.

I have the Sony DA1200ES Receiver and could someone tell me the best way to interface between that and the Panasonic especially for audio? Obviously the Blu-ray has the 7.1ch output but also HDMI AV out. Which would be the best (or even only) audio solution?

Thanks for any help or insight anyone can give.

Sony DA1200ES Specificaition:
Decoding format:
96k 24Bit PCM - YES
Dolby Digital - YES
Dolby Digital EX - YES
Dolby Digital+ - NO
Dolby Dual Mono - YES
Dolby Prologic - YES
Dolby Prologic II - YES
Dolby Prologic IIx - YES
DolbyTruHD - NO
dts - YES
dts 96 24 - YES
dts HD - NO
dts NEO6 - YES
dts-ES (DISCRETE 6.1) - YES
dts-ES (MATRIX 6.1) - YES
Inputs/Outputs
Audio In Out(excl. tuner) - 3/1
Coax. (IN OUT) - 2/0
Component Video D-terminal I O (grade) - NO
Component Video In Out (Pass through) - 3/1(HD)
Digital Input Assign - YES
Front Input - AV+S+Opt
HDMI (IN OUT) - Yes (2 IN x 1 Out)
Monitor Out (S-Video Out) - 1(1)
Multi-channel In - 1(7.1)
Opt. including Front A V (IN OUT) - 4/1
Phono(MM) - YES
Pre Out - 7.1(SB:Stereo, SW x1)