Panasonic DMP-55K and 35k tech question

[k2208]

Glad to see other people getting use out of this thread. Some very interesting stuff for sure.

I have had the BD55 for over a week and it is awesome! No complaints.

Chris,

I was wondering your take on the Samsung 2500 model vs. the BD55. The 2500 is on sale at Circuit City for $299 and I believe it has the analog outputs as well.

Regards,
Kirk

[n9949y]

Yes. Keep in mind that the decoding of the lossless codecs is done in the player with the BD55. By the time it is output, it is a pure analog signal with no memory of that fact that it was once Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio. By turning off the subwoofer channel in the BD55 configuration menu, you will route all LFE information to the main left and right channels. You can then use the Yamaha surround processor to split out the bass and route it to the subwoofers.

-CB

Thanks Chris. With your tips I'm already set for the plug in. Now I'm waiting a bit to see whether Amazon price for the BD-55 drops a bit more. I've got a $200 gift credit there. Any advantage/break with/through your site?

[MrBoylan]

Thanks Chris. With your tips I'm already set for the plug in. Now I'm waiting a bit to see whether Amazon price for the BD-55 drops a bit more. I've got a $200 gift credit there. Any advantage/break with/through your site?

Yes, the advantage is you know you're supporting a site that's helping people like you make informed choices about their home theate!

Here's our link for the BD55:

DMP-BD55 on Amazon.com

-CB

[bamafamily]

Chris,

I was using Google to find out more information on the DMP-BD55K and found this site.
First time poster, but I must say that the information you have given in this thread alone concerning this unit is outstanding!! A lot of the other sites have hundreds of posts with a lot of disjointed info. Your answers are very succinct and in laymans terms so even a neophyte like myself can understand.

I am also in the camp of waiting on a price drop for the 55K. I have an older receiver (Yammy HTR-5250 or RXV-496), and will be utilizing the analog connections...

I do have a quick question....In theory, could I hook up all the HDMI connections to my Sony KDS-60A3000 for the Video and run all the Audio (whether it be Optical, coaxial or Analog) through my receiver?? I am assuming the answer is Yes, but is there a function in the HDMI outputs to disable the sound?? or do I just disable the sound on the Sony TV like I am presently doing???

thanks and great site!!
bama

[MrBoylan]

Chris,

I was using Google to find out more information on the DMP-BD55K and found this site.
First time poster, but I must say that the information you have given in this thread alone concerning this unit is outstanding!! A lot of the other sites have hundreds of posts with a lot of disjointed info. Your answers are very succinct and in laymans terms so even a neophyte like myself can understand.

I am also in the camp of waiting on a price drop for the 55K. I have an older receiver (Yammy HTR-5250 or RXV-496), and will be utilizing the analog connections...

I do have a quick question....In theory, could I hook up all the HDMI connections to my Sony KDS-60A3000 for the Video and run all the Audio (whether it be Optical, coaxial or Analog) through my receiver?? I am assuming the answer is Yes, but is there a function in the HDMI outputs to disable the sound?? or do I just disable the sound on the Sony TV like I am presently doing???

thanks and great site!!
bama

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, the Panasonic player does have an option to set HDMI audio=OFF but you may not need to even specify that. You can use the HDMI output for video, and use the multi-channel analog outputs concurrently with the fiber/coax digital outputs if you like.

Looks like Sony just cut the list price of the BDP-S350 to $199 and Samsung cut (possibly temporarily) the BDP-2500 to $299, so I expect Panasonic is going to be feeling some pricing pressure soon on both players.

Regards,

-Chris

[k2208]

Chris,

How does the Samsung 2500 compare to the BD55?

Kirk

[MrBoylan]

Chris,

How does the Samsung 2500 compare to the BD55?

Kirk

Theoretically the Samsung player should be better at upconversion of DVDs due to its on-board Silicon Optix HQV processor. But it currently does not support decoding DTS-HD Master Audio. This may be coming in a future firmware upgrade.

We have a BD-P2500 coming in for review next week but it may take me a few days to get through it. I think the Netflix feature is pretty cool. And they just announced support for Netflix HD downloads.

Will know more in a few days.

-CB

[k2208]

I talked with Samsung and they said DTS-HD HR is available. Is DTS-HD Master Audio different?

Kirk

[wink110]

Theoretically the Samsung player should be better at upconversion of DVDs due to its on-board Silicon Optix HQV processor. But it currently does not support decoding DTS-HD Master Audio. This may be coming in a future firmware upgrade.

We have a BD-P2500 coming in for review next week but it may take me a few days to get through it. I think the Netflix feature is pretty cool. And they just announced support for Netflix HD downloads.

Will know more in a few days.

-CB

Chris thanks for all the info-anxious to get your take on Samsungs 2500-my main concern with it would be "glitches"-their track record is less than stellar-this a great site! Rich

[MrBoylan]

I talked with Samsung and they said DTS-HD HR is available. Is DTS-HD Master Audio different?

Kirk

DTS-HD High Resolution Audio (DTS-HD HR) is a lossy codec. DTS-HD Master Audio is a lossless codec (lossless means its loses nothing in the compression). DTS-HD Master Audio is much more popular and is currently not supported by the Samsung BD-P2500 or BD-P1500 except as bitstream out.

-CB