What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
28 AUG 2008
Panasonic DMP-BD35
Awesome all- round performer and one of the best budget Blu-ray players money can buy
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The DMP-BD35 is Panasonic’s second-generation entry-level Blu-ray player. It’s Profile 2.0 enabled and BD-Live compatible. There’s an Ethernet socket for accessing online content and firmware updates released by Panasonic, but you need to use the onboard SD card slot to add memory for disc specific content and BD-Java applications.
Inside the ’BD35 you’ll find Panasonic’s proprietary picture processor, the PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus, designed to produce a clearer and sharper picture than its predecessor, the DMP-BD30.
The player can output a 1080p/24fps Blu-ray signal and is also compatible with DVDs formatted in 24fps (although we don’t currently know of any that meet this specification).
Aside from the more expensive DMP-BD55, it’s the first time we’ve seen this feature on a Blu-ray player.The only slight drawback is the lack of a 5.1 multichannel analogue output.
We know this is a bargain Blu-ray player, but it would have been nice to have – owners of old-school receivers that don’t have HDMI inputs would then be able to enjoy the benefits of HD audio, too.
Sonically, the ’BD35 can decode all HD audio formats onboard and output them as LPCM over HDMI.
Images look real enough to touch
So the features impress, but the proof is in the picture performance – and it’s here that the ’BD35 leaves us scrambling for superlatives.
It paints a glorious, punchy Blu-ray picture, delivering amazing levels of detail during Spider-Man 2. The texture of Spidey’s suit looks real enough to touch, while the blue and red hues maintain a natural balance.
As the superhero swings through the city, the ’BD35 handles the rapid movement with ease.
The player is one heck of an upscaler, too. Spin Forgetting Sarah Marshall on DVD and you’re treated to a vibrant picture that’s detailed and sharply defined.
As for the sound, the HD audio is clear and open. The Dolby TrueHD soundtrack of Spider-Man 2 highlights the DMP-BD35’s dynamic strengths.
This Panasonic doesn’t quite have the solidity of the Sony BDP-S350 but we found decoding onboard the player can bring it closer to matching the Sony’s sonic character.
The ’BD35 is a feature-packed and exceptionally talented machine, and even in the face of falling prices it still deserves the full five stars.
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