Panasonic DMP-BD60K?

[atari52]

I have seen this model at Wal-Mart for $196.99 Is this a good price? Is it a good player? any known issues? If any one has this model,please let me know how you like it. I would like to get,since I am a huge pany guy.Thanks!

[ObsoleteFuture]

Amazon has this listed at a WHOPPING $132.57! I would buy here, rather than walmart from what i hear its a solid player. at $132 you cant go wrong..

[Whirlygig]

I just got one today, to replace my BD35 (the previous generation).

The BD35 was the first Blu player to win editor's choice on cnet's review site. They rated the BD60 a bit lower, but I am pretty sure it's only because they were cranky that it didn't have Netflix streaming like other current gen models. To me that is a non-issue since I don't have Netflix and if I did I would stream it through my HTPC. It does stream Amazon VOD and some others.

So far, it seems to be as good as or better than the 35 but I have not run it through much yet. I did do some boot/load time comparisons that I wanted to post because I couldn't find any such information when I was trying to decide if I should upgrade. The following comparisons were done with an SD card inserted and a network connection available.

First, I tried Mad Men Season 2, Disc 1. Season 2 of this show has some of the worst load times I have ever seen in my life, so I was anxious to test with it.
-- Time from close tray to Lionsgate logo:
-- BD35 - 2:23
-- BD60 - 1:58
As you can see, the BD60 shaves 25 seconds off the load time here. Decent improvement, but I can't wait for the day this is more like 20 seconds total...

Then, I tried Ratatouille, another disc that I had noticed was a slow loader.
-- Time from close tray to first "trailer"
-- BD35 - 0:55
-- BD60 - 0:53
-- Time from pressing "menu" to having "menu" on screen
-- BD35 - 0:35
-- BD60 - 0:37
-- Time from pressing OK on play movie, to movie starting
-- BD35 - 0:33
-- BD60 - 0:25
-- Total
-- BD35 - 2:03
-- BD60 - 1:55
Here it saves 8 seconds total.

My last Blu test was Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2, Disc 1. This disc has a reasonable load time so I didn't expect much of a difference.
-- Time from close tray to first "trailer"
-- BD35 - 1:00
-- BD60 - 1:00
No difference.

Finally, I tried an SD DVD (Babylon 5 Season 4, Disc 1).
-- Time from close tray to menu
-- BD35 - 0:38
-- BD60 - 0:38
Again, no difference here.

As for boot times (from power on to the wallpaper screen appearing on the television), both were 20 seconds.

As you can see, in some cases there is a decent improvement, but nothing to scream about. Though with the excessive Mad Men times, any improvement is welcome. I can only imagine that as more and more advanced features (and trailers) are added to discs, load times will continue to increase.

Therefore I will keep the BD60 -- and probably give the BD35 away as a gift this Christmas. It's a shame, because the BD35 cost me around $230 and I just got this BD60 for $122.33 -- you heard me...that was the price on Amazon on Sunday morning and I couldn't pass it up. Just add it to your cart and check frequently for any decreases and you can probably get lucky, just as I did.

[Skwege]

It's a very good unit. I bought it when it first came out and haven't regret it since. It hasn't had ONE problem with any discs.

Panasonic has always had a history of reliability IMO.

[GSXRKID74]

The panny's a great player. You'll have no regrets. I opted for the DMP-BD80. Mainly due to the fact that its supposed to have better audio codecs built in and has an on screen output data feature that's really nice. The DMP-BD60 does not. Other than that, their the same player. Outstanding pq for bd and dvd upconversion! Yes, load times are a little slow, but who cares? The only bone to pick is both these players are plagued with a rare glitch. They sometimes will freeze during playback just for a split second and then continue like nothing happened. I've had mine for about a month and its only happened once? It's weird. I guess panasonic will eventually figure it out and give us a firmware update to fix it. I snagged my BD80 off eBay for $149.95 shipped (Beach Camera). They also have a store on Amazon. They must have sold out because their only showing the BD60 now and it's $139.95. You might call them, they ship fedex from NJ I had it in 3 days and I'm on the west coast. Otherwise, I'd stick w/Amazon especially if you've got prime. Anyways, for the coin, the Pannys are kickass......Go for it!.....

[Skwege]

Originally Posted by GSXRKID74

The only bone to pick is both these players are plagued with a rare glitch. They sometimes will freeze during playback just for a split second and then continue like nothing happened. I've had mine for about a month and its only happened once?

I have had mine for almost a year and it has done that maybe 3-4 times. No big deal IMO, it's less annoying than the ol' DVD Layer switch.

[Arkadin]

I thought there was a difference in the "K" in that it added Amazon streaming.
not sure, but I was thinking that the model being sold on amazon is the "old" model.
I have been wondering about this.
maybe someone else can clarify.
as far as the player--Panasonic is excellent for bd.
I highly recommend their players.

[dbacksfan]

I just got the BD60 a month ago and am very pleased with it!!

[Whirlygig]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

I thought there was a difference in the "K" in that it added Amazon streaming.
not sure, but I was thinking that the model being sold on amazon is the "old" model.
I have been wondering about this.
maybe someone else can clarify.
as far as the player--Panasonic is excellent for bd.
I highly recommend their players.

As I said I just got the BD60 from Amazon, no 'K', and it does have VIERAcast including Amazon VOD. May be necessary to update to the latest firmware though, which I did as soon as I hooked it up. I linked it to my account and streamed something just to be sure it worked -- but my TV, being Panasonic, also has VIERAcast so I likely won't use it on the BD60.

As far as I can tell, 60K and 60 were just two 'terms' for the same item -- despite how difficult that is for the brain to accept. Some say 'K' means black, others say characters are added/removed for different retailers.

[Arkadin]

great!
thanks for the info.

[Cochise]

Originally Posted by Whirlygig

As I said I just got the BD60 from Amazon, no 'K', and it does have VIERAcast including Amazon VOD. May be necessary to update to the latest firmware though, which I did as soon as I hooked it up. I linked it to my account and streamed something just to be sure it worked -- but my TV, being Panasonic, also has VIERAcast so I likely won't use it on the BD60.

As far as I can tell, 60K and 60 were just two 'terms' for the same item -- despite how difficult that is for the brain to accept. Some say 'K' means black, others say characters are added/removed for different retailers.

I'll bet if you look at box or manual it calls it the DMP-60K; yes, K stands for Kuro, the Japanese word for the color black.

[GSXRKID74]

Originally Posted by Cochise

I'll bet if you look at box or manual it calls it the DMP-60K; yes, K stands for Kuro, the Japanese word for the color black.

Ahhhhh..........Very good danielson..........

[ack_bak]

I have a BD35, and aside from the sometimes slow load times, I love the player. Very reliable and stable. Great PQ/AQ. Solid upconversion. I would not hesitate to recommend their Blu-Ray players to someone looking for one. Especially at the current prices. I have seen the BD60 at Costco for $129 a month or so ago (that price includes an HDMI cable and a lifetime return policy).

[Lordoftherings]

Hey, that's a real sweet player.

* http://hometheatermag.com/discplayer...lu-ray_player/

** Also, it was Certified & Recommended by "Sound and Vision Mag",
from the Semptember 2009 issue (page 49).

*** And for about only $130 street price!, what's not to like?

[atari52]

Do you guys think it will hit 99.99 at walmart for black friday?