Panny BD35 or the BD55?

[speakerman39]

Guys, I am going to get one of these two BR players. From what I can tell, they are essentially the same with the main exceptions:
The BD55 can decode the new codecs internally and has 7.1 multi-channel outputs. So, if my receiver can do the decoding why should I go with the BD55 then? I would have no need for the multi-channel outputs. I am leaning towards the BD35 as I type this. Can any of you chime in and offer some advice?

Cheers,

Phil

PS I am also looking at the Sony 350/550. But, it seems the Panny's are doing quite well from what I garner. Am I right here?

 

[jostenmeat]

You nailed it. Go with the 35 model.

Its the same thing between Sony stuff, 350 vs 550. I think someone (avs) even opened up the players, side by side, and all of the video stuff was identical. There might be photos posted in fact... don't remember.

 

[speakerman39]

You nailed it. Go with the 35 model.

Its the same thing between Sony stuff, 350 vs 550. I think someone (avs) even opened up the players, side by side, and all of the video stuff was identical. There might be photos posted in fact... don't remember.

Thanks Jost for your help. Do you think the PS3 would be a better option than the BD35? Just curious is all.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Emusica]

Thanks Jost for your help. Do you think the PS3 would be a better option than the BD35? Just curious is all.

Cheers,

Phil

Depends on what you want to do. Right now, you can get the BD35 for $267 on Amazon. That's a lot cheaper than a PS3. I elected to get the BD55 ($344) because I wanted the analog outs. That was really one of main reasons for me not getting a PS3. Now, these players are cheaper, so I jumped on it. If you want to play games, stream music, blu-ray, etc, then PS3 will be the way to go. If you can hold off, they will be even cheaper in the coming months

 

[Emusica]

If you can hold off, they will be even cheaper in the coming months

They, meaning stand-alone players, not the PS3. If I wasn't clear, sorry.

 

[jostenmeat]

Thanks Jost for your help. Do you think the PS3 would be a better option than the BD35? Just curious is all.

Cheers,

Phil

The PS3 is a really special creature. It boasts a video gaming console, media center for streaming, has wireless capability to update easily, software based system that makes it very future-proof, coupled to a badass Cell processor, etc.

It has good sd-dvd playback, has good BD playback, loads the fastest of all (IIRC 35 secs from insertion to video, whereas BD-50 is 8 seconds longer).

It can play SACD.

There is nothing else like it, and if you actually use all of its features, its an incredible bargain. Because, that is a ton of features in one machine.



OTOH,

It doesn't have m-ch analogs, but that's pointless to you.

It can't bitstream, but that's a non-issue for 99.99% of the world.

No IR sensor, which bothers me, but the IR/BT converter is said to be $20 or so. I'd love to see a pic to see how much ugliness, if any at all, that entails. (I control everything with a URC).


So, the advantages of going with BD-35:

- most likely better BD video quality, measurably*, if only going by its predecessors. (But, can you even tell the difference, subjectively?).

- Cheaper. That's the best benefit.

- Bitstream. (hey, cool logos popping up on receiver). It may also make it easier to turn off auto-DRC that TrueHD tracks seem to employ (I guess that doing so in receiver, rather than player, is easier/convenient). Not sure, YMMV.


So, if it was me, I get the Panasonic. However, for most of the world, PS3 is preferred.

 

[speakerman39]

They, meaning stand-alone players, not the PS3. If I wasn't clear, sorry.

Yeah, have had several people mention to me that the stand-alone players will come down for the holiday shopping season. Thanks for the info.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[speakerman39]

The PS3 is a really special creature. It boasts a video gaming console, media center for streaming, has wireless capability to update easily, software based system that makes it very future-proof, coupled to a badass Cell processor, etc.

It has good sd-dvd playback, has good BD playback, loads the fastest of all (IIRC 35 secs from insertion to video, whereas BD-50 is 8 seconds longer).

It can play SACD.

There is nothing else like it, and if you actually use all of its features, its an incredible bargain. Because, that is a ton of features in one machine.



OTOH,

It doesn't have m-ch analogs, but that's pointless to you.

It can't bitstream, but that's a non-issue for 99.99% of the world.

No IR sensor, which bothers me, but the IR/BT converter is said to be $20 or so. I'd love to see a pic to see how much ugliness, if any at all, that entails. (I control everything with a URC).


So, the advantages of going with BD-35:

- most likely better BD video quality, measurably*, if only going by its predecessors. (But, can you even tell the difference, subjectively?).

- Cheaper. That's the best benefit.

- Bitstream. (hey, cool logos popping up on receiver). It may also make it easier to turn off auto-DRC that TrueHD tracks seem to employ (I guess that doing so in receiver, rather than player, is easier/convenient). Not sure, YMMV.


So, if it was me, I get the Panasonic. However, for most of the world, PS3 is preferred.

Thanks Jost. It seems just like in life, everything is about trade-offs. You know, the lesser of two evils so to speak. I may just wait a bit longer to see how much prices drop before making my decision. The PS3 probably will remain at $399 no matter what. That in and of itself may be the determinant factor to go with the Panny.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[jostenmeat]

Thanks Jost. It seems just like in life, everything is about trade-offs.

QFT.

You know, the lesser of two evils so to speak.

I encourage you to look at it as the glass being half-full, rather than half-empty.

I may just wait a bit longer to see how much prices drop before making my decision. The PS3 probably will remain at $399 no matter what. That in and of itself may be the determinant factor to go with the Panny.

Cheers,

Phil

Sounds like a plan, and you are quite welcome.

 

[Davemcc]

I just went out and bought the BD35 today. Maybe you guys can tell me if what I'm thinking is correct. The BD35 cannot bitstream the HD audio codecs. It can only decode them internally and send the HD codecs via PCM, correct?

 

[Adam]

Dave, the BD35 can decode them itself or pass out the bitstream for your Integra to decode. Your choice.

 

[speakerman39]

QFT.



I encourage you to look at it as the glass being half-full, rather than half-empty.



Sounds like a plan, and you are quite welcome.

Hey Jost, nothing like positive thinking. Guess, we all need reminded of that from time to time. Thanks once again.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Davemcc]

Dave, the BD35 can decode them itself or pass out the bitstream for your Integra to decode. Your choice.

In the digital audio output section of the menu, I get the following instruction.

"When 'bitstream' is selected in each setting below with the BD-Video Secondary Audio set to 'On', the audio or the BD-Video is converted and output as follows"
-Dolby D+, Dolby TrueHD to Dolby Digital
DTS-HD to DTS

If you want to enjoy the original audio, please set the BD-Video Secondary Audio to 'Off'"

I tried to bitstream with the secondary audio off and no sound was output (The movie Sunshine set to DTS-HD). If I read this correctly, it I set the secondary audio to on, it sends out a standard DD or DTS signal. If I set the secondary audio to off, I get no sound. If I choose PCM, with secondary audio on, I get sound and the Integra display says 'multi channel'.

Now, if I am bitstreaming the original DTS-HD track, should not the Integra display say something like DTS-HD? Instead, I get no audio at all.

 

[Adam]

Let me see if I can find that manual. I was going off of what Cnet said in their detailed review.

 

[Adam]

Well, the BD35 can definitely output the HD audio tracks. As you said, you would turn the secondary audio to "off" and set the audio to output as "bitstream".

Now, are you sure that your Integra is set up to handle the bitstream input? Perhaps you need to set something up in that menu. I'm guessing that this is the first time that you've tried these codecs with the Integra.

At the end of the day, though, I'll bet that it'll sound just about (if not exactly) the same if it's decoded by the Panasonic or the Integra.

 

[Adam]

Dave, I just skimmed through the manual for your 9.8. I don't know if the following applies because I don't know how it handles a switch from PCM to bitstream, but this might be it. For the PCM input, you probably selected "Multichannel" as the listening mode. That mode won't work for the bitstream signals. You would want to select a different listening mode (assuming that the 9.8 doesn't switch it automatically).

 

[jostenmeat]

In the digital audio output section of the menu, I get the following instruction.

"When 'bitstream' is selected in each setting below with the BD-Video Secondary Audio set to 'On', the audio or the BD-Video is converted and output as follows"
-Dolby D+, Dolby TrueHD to Dolby Digital
DTS-HD to DTS

If you want to enjoy the original audio, please set the BD-Video Secondary Audio to 'Off'"

I tried to bitstream with the secondary audio off and no sound was output (The movie Sunshine set to DTS-HD). If I read this correctly, it I set the secondary audio to on, it sends out a standard DD or DTS signal. If I set the secondary audio to off, I get no sound. If I choose PCM, with secondary audio on, I get sound and the Integra display says 'multi channel'.

Now, if I am bitstreaming the original DTS-HD track, should not the Integra display say something like DTS-HD? Instead, I get no audio at all.

Under connections I have:
Speakers as multi channel
HDMI Audio On

Audio:
DRC off, PCM down conversion off
Bitstreaming everything (x4)
Secondary audio is off

HOWEVER, I have no idea how audio would work on extras, for I have yet to play a single extra. Not once have I even tried. We will see on that. . . someday . . .

Also note my player is not the BD-35, but the BD-30 . . . however, I imagine the settings have to be pretty darn similar.

Congrats on your new toy.

 

[Davemcc]

Weird stuff going on. First DRC seems to have no effect. There is a menu item in the player that allows you to select it off. There is no indication that DRC or night mode is turned on on the Integra. There is no light to indicate that and when I push the night button it says "not available".

Second, when choosing bitstream and BD-Video off, I still get no sound but the Integra display says "Dolby Digital". When choosing bitstream and BD-video on, I get sound but the Integra display says "DTS" just as the players menu instruction indicates. I assume that if I am bitstreaming DTS-HD the the Integra will display DTS-HD.

Third, if the player is actually bitstreaming DTS-HD, I see no way of setting the Integra so that it will identify that signal. Maybe that's why I get no sound. The Integra isn't recognizing the players DTS-HD bitstream for what it is?

I would like to see the Integra display DTS-HD at least once to know that I have succesfully bitstreamed the hi-def codec. If I set the player to PCM, I can't really confirm that I'm listening to the hi-def version. Actually, I pretty sure I'm not since when I bitstream with BD-video off, the player info icon indicates DTS-HD but the Integra indicates Dolby Digital. That's certainly a conflict I'd like to resolve.

 

[Adam]

Dave, have you tried changing the listening mode on the Integra, or does it do that automatically?

 

[Davemcc]

I've got my manual open in another browser window right now. It says it selects automatically. But it also indicates something about the Audio Select button that I'm going to try now.

This whole process is like pulling taffy because every change I make in the player takes 5-10 minutes with stopping the disc then having to back through all the Interpol, FBI and other warnign screens to get back to the movie.

Edit, you know what. I'm going to bed. The player says it's sending out bitstream of DTS-HD MA but the Integra is only showing that it's receiving 2 channel digital audio. Somewhere, I'm losing my hi-def audio and I don't know how to find it. This is my first attempt at HD audio. Was I naive in thinking that it should be PnP like every other sound field on the market?