Panasonic dmpb55 vs sony bdps550

[dc6]

Which player would be the better one to have?I can can a panasonic player for 399 up here in canada or try and find sony for around 350.I would prefer to wait for the new Oppo coming out later but 500 may be out of my price range.Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Nomo]

Pretty much a toss-up IMO. They both have nearly identical features. I went with a Panny 35 over the Sony 350. Similar comparisions there. I have a bit of a personal dislike for Sony, but their players have always been solid performers.

 

[OttoMatic]

I have a bit of a personal dislike for Sony.

Agreed! Go with the Panasonic.

 

[surveyor]

Another vote for the Panasonic here.

 

[jostenmeat]

Which player would be the better one to have?I can can a panasonic player for 399 up here in canada or try and find sony for around 350.I would prefer to wait for the new Oppo coming out later but 500 may be out of my price range.Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Panasonic pros vs Sony:

only players to pass all HQV tests at AVS shootout, with Sony players in the mix, both 350 and ps3.

recodes mch pcm into dd/dts for spdif users

does not require delving into menu to select audio outputs

Cons:

cannot be forced to output DVD at 480i if outboard VP is desired.

doesn't have as pretty of a faceplate


otherwise, the players are more comparable than not. If there have been any reviews that rate one better than the other for BD PQ, its always the Pana. I think the GUI is sexier looking on the Sony, but the Pana's is nice in its straight forwardness. However, those are things I play with only once every blue moon.

You simply can't go wrong with Panasonic, unless you demand 480i or prettier faceplate.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Which player would be the better one to have?I can can a panasonic player for 399 up here in canada or try and find sony for around 350.I would prefer to wait for the new Oppo coming out later but 500 may be out of my price range.Any help would be greatly appreciated.

So far I like my Panny I am surprised there is no bargains out on it with free BD like when I got mine.

 

[dc6]

thanks for the info....I will probably give the panny a go

 

[allargon]

So far I like my Panny I am surprised there is no bargains out on it with free BD like when I got mine.

The HD DVD fanboy in me would say the Blu-Ray folks stopped giving away discs when HD DVD went away. However, the player prices dropped, so the free movies included with them went away. Seriously, would you rather go back to spending $500-700 for a slow, gimped profile 1.0 (not even 1.1) player that can't decode DTS-HD MA or upscale worth anything just for 5 bad Blu-ray movies? Of course not, that's why we can now spend $400 or less ($250 for the BDP-S550) for a profile 2.0 player that decodes everything and use the savings to buy movies we might actually want to watch more than once.

 

[Nomo]

The HD DVD fanboy in me would say the Blu-Ray folks stopped giving away discs when HD DVD went away. However, the player prices dropped, so the free movies included with them went away. Seriously, would you rather go back to spending $500-700 for a slow, gimped profile 1.0 (not even 1.1) player that can't decode DTS-HD MA or upscale worth anything just for 5 bad Blu-ray movies? Of course not, that's why we can now spend $400 or less ($250 for the BDP-S550) for a profile 2.0 player that decodes everything and use the savings to buy movies we might actually want to watch more than once.

Jeez! That last part was all one sentence. it's like you didn't even breathe while you were typing that.

 

[mtrycrafts]

The HD DVD fanboy in me would say the Blu-Ray folks stopped giving away discs when HD DVD went away. However, the player prices dropped, so the free movies included with them went away. Seriously, would you rather go back to spending $500-700 for a slow, gimped profile 1.0 (not even 1.1) player that can't decode DTS-HD MA or upscale worth anything just for 5 bad Blu-ray movies? Of course not, that's why we can now spend $400 or less ($250 for the BDP-S550) for a profile 2.0 player that decodes everything and use the savings to buy movies we might actually want to watch more than once.

I got mine with 4 BD as Warner had a $100 off with 4 Bd, and ended up paying $307 with 4 BD.
The I discovered that DD was not mandatory soundtrack on BD and some only had DTS

I also have the XA2 and just found out over the weekend how to make it deliver the DD TruHD sound out of it. Frustrating experience.