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NEWS: Panasonic Blu-ray player supports Final Standard Profile v1.1 – but not v2.0

Andy Clough 26 February 2008 13:06

Pana1-1

Panasonic claims its DMP-BD30 Blu-ray player is the first in the world to support Final Standard profile (v1.1) that adds enhanced features and functionality to Blu-ray discs.

For example, a Picture-in-Picture feature displays a sub-screen, and an Audio Mixing function lets the user switch the playback sound between the main screen and sub-screen. Film studios can also add enhanced commentary and additional information about the film in pop-up sub-windows on the disc.

The £350 DMP-BD30 can also output Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Audio in bitstream form with no degradation via HDMI 1.3a, and it supports 1080p/24fps video playback.

Other technical highlights include 192kHz/24-bit digital-to-analogue converters, Panasonic's own P4HD (Pixel Precision Progressive Processing for HD) technology, and the inclusion of a PHL Reference Chroma processor to create clearer colour boundaries.

For networking convenience, the DMP-BD30 comes with an SD memory card slot for easy viewing of video or images from an HD camcorder or digital camera.

The player comes bundled with two Blu-ray discs, Ratatouille and Cars.

We'll be bringing you a full review of the Panasonic DMP-BD30 in the special High-Definition supplement free with the April issue of What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision, on sale from March 6.

Technorati Tags: 1080p, 24fps, Blu-ray, HDMI 1.3a, Home cinema

Comments

jamesbub February 26, 2008 14:03

Guess we wait until next year for a profile 2.0 player?

Will the Panasonic DMP-BD50 have it i wonder, due to be launched when?

mring February 26, 2008 14:11

Playstation3 is also a profile 2.0 player, the final standard is set to be finished in august 2008 and will be released as a firmware update for the PS3.

so right now the best player still is the PS3, if u want the 2.0 (BD live capability, which is just download service for BD movies)

jamesbub February 26, 2008 14:17

alas the PS3 CANNOT output DTS HD MA , so we have incomplete spec's.(Untill a firmware update when SONY?)

When will there be a player that can play ALL BD VERSION PROFILES,AND AUDIO?

Musn't grumble thou, we are Birtish!

Clare Newsome February 26, 2008 14:31

The Panasonic BD50 is profile 2.0 - it's due "in Autumn" according to Pana.

jamesbub February 26, 2008 14:50

and will the DMP-30 output DTS HD MASTER AUDIO?

rjbreslin February 26, 2008 14:50

I imported this player for my US Region BDs and its awesome. I picked mine up for $399 which is a great price. I will pick up the BD50 later this year.

DLeslie February 26, 2008 15:30

To bad the PS3 looks like a toy. I'll wait for a home-cinema looking device with a proper remote, thanks.

Eddiewood February 26, 2008 15:31

This is the player that I am probably buying. Not waiting for Profile 2.0, don't intend to run a cat-5 cable to my TV stand!

jamesbub February 26, 2008 15:38

CLARE, could you please find out if the DMP-30 is upgradeable to PROFILE 2 via firmware update.

I don't want to spend money only to find its out of date 3 months later! Thanks

rjbreslin February 26, 2008 15:46

It is not upgradeable to Profile 2.0 as it has no Ethernet port. Profile 2.0 is only necessary if you want to connect to the web.

jamesbub February 26, 2008 15:55

Many thanks, i can now see that HD DVD was finite, blu ray is going from 1.0 to 1.1 to 2.0 to get there! (apart from the PS3 of course)

Profile 2 requiring two secondary decoders, 1GB of local storage for updates and content, and an Internet connection!

jamesbub February 26, 2008 16:19

So it was assumed when the PS3 launched that the gaming system would be the Trojan horse that brought Blu-ray into the homes of the mass market. Now? The inexpensive and future-proofed Blu-ray functions of the PS3, matched with the high-quality upscaling the system brings to normal DVDs, may be the Trojan horse bringing gaming to home theater enthusiasts!

EAC63 February 26, 2008 17:27

Does anybody know if this player will output the high quality audio via the analogue outputs ? I don't particularly want to have to change my Arcam to cope !

jamesbub February 26, 2008 18:05

Heres the US Model Imstructions:

Only get ALL the full HD audio through the HDMI connector - page 21

heres the link:

service.us.panasonic.com/.../DMPBD30-MUL.PDF

mring February 27, 2008 00:04

Profile 2.0 isn't even finished yet, the release is currently set for august.

and it's not even a rumor the PS3 is getting it.

jamesbub February 27, 2008 13:19

tthanks, profile 1.1 it is then!

niftynigel February 27, 2008 17:23

I'm not sure the Profile 2.0 feature of internet access to exclusive features is such a good thing! That might sound strange, but lets look at the possibilities for the studios.... Up until now, the exclusive content has been free? How long until the popularity of Profile 2.0 / internet access the features becomes popular, maybe even commonplace? Will the studios start to charge for the extra features? You bet they will! Doesn't sound such a good idea now! Maybe as Blu-ray grows, the studios will start to release two (or more) versions of new Blu-ray titles, like they do for DVD now, maybe a standard no frills / no / limited extras version and a super edition crammed with extras. The internet content maybe for those who don't want all the super edition features, but want to pick and chose? This may also help to reduce the price of the standard edition Blu-ray titles for those who only have a limited budget and their priority is the film / concert etc. Either way, I'm sure the studios will want to create extra revenue streams!

kacey68 February 28, 2008 21:31

Its a disgrace that people finally buying a high def player after waiting to see which format wins and in the next breathe the players are out of date... No sooner that they finally start talking about release dates for players supporting 1.1 - profile 2 is the next BIG thing... I am just glad i got a PS3 so i can keep downloading the firmware and it sounds great with outputting pcm via a compatible amp

jamesbub February 29, 2008 12:47

If your disgusted then i think eveyone is AS THERE IS NOT ONE BD player capable of everything until Profile 2 is out, even the new Denons to br released later in the year will only be Profile 1.1.

I bet this Pana is rubbish at playing and upconverting standard DVD's due to the chip it uses?

PS3 can't output DTS MA HD due to it's internal chip (maybe decode interanally via firmware).

One year we will have a COMPLETE BD player, maybe?

Whiteknight February 29, 2008 22:56

Hello, I'm new to this...in fact, these few words are the first ever for me in a Blog...but I'm mystified as to why people want Profile 2...what purpose does it serve unless presumably you want to download HD movies...or am I incorrect in this assumption? Also, as 85% of my dvd's are Region 1 is there any Blue-Ray disc player out capable of playing multi-region?

brazil10 March 1, 2008 01:29

Good God !! as someone just loves movies,i`m struggling with trying to make sense with what the hell is happening here? I`m trying to find the best possible system to enjoy my movie experience without doing a grad degree at M.I.T. Every time i think i have; theres a newer spec,sound,vision,cables ......yada yada yada....am now going back to looking for a guy playing an upright piano in a smokey,dank theatre,with slightly sped up blacka and white pictures....version 1.0 i think its called .....loud sighs !!!

Clare Newsome March 1, 2008 14:18

Wightknight - although all Blu-ray players are supposed to be strictly region-coded, we've recently seen many advertised (including the Pana BD30 plus the Award-winning Pioneer LX70A) by retailers as multi-region for DVD (though not for Blu-ray).

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About Andy Clough

Andy Clough studied English and French at Leeds University and has been a journalist for 20 years. Andy was editor of What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision for five years, before launching Home Cinema magazine and editing the Ultimate Guide series. Andy is now Editor of whathifi.com