Panasonic offers several Blu-ray players, but none quite as attractive as the DMP-BDT220. What about Panasonic's other Blu-ray players? You're better off picking a player based on which model has the features you want and is easiest to use. If you want all the testing details, check out CNET's 2012 comprehensive Blu-ray chart, but the main takeaway is that Blu-ray player performance just isn't that important as a distinguishing feature. Still, if I had to pick a player for myself based on speed, I'd go with the Panasonic because of its quick-start mode. On the other hand, the Samsung BD-E5700 and LG BP620 players aren't that far behind and are faster in other areas the DMP-BDT220 is particularly slow when skipping chapters. ![]() That's largely due to a superfast quick-start mode, which enables it to go from off to playing a movie in under 10 seconds. The DMP-BDT220 (like all recent Blu-ray players) loads movies considerably faster than the Sony PlayStation 3, and it's slightly faster overall than its 2012 competitors. (I didn't have problems with Netflix on my review sample of the DMP-BDT210 either.) Because many buyers complained about problems with last year's DMP-BDT210's Netflix streaming, I watched several programs, but didn't see any major issues, aside from occasional lip sync problems that occur on all Netflix devices. Netflix streaming quality was also great, looking as good with HD content as any other player. Blu-ray and DVD image quality were unsurprisingly excellent, as you'll find on any modern Blu-ray player. I still put the DMP-BDT220 through its paces to check Blu-ray image quality, DVD image quality, disc-loading speed, and Netflix image quality. ![]() Last year, we found that all major manufacturers' Blu-ray players had nearly identical image quality, and so far in 2012 the players show similar performance in terms of speed, too. Performance may be the most important criteria for HDTVs and speakers, but it's almost irrelevant when it comes to choosing a Blu-ray player. The only "extra" feature worth caring about is the SD card slot on the front panel, which is nice for quickly viewing images from a digital camera. That's fine by me, as it was only needed for the (nearly useless) BD-Java features. There's no onboard memory, but most manufacturers are omitting that feature too. Rounding out the features list is 2D-to-3D conversion, but I've never seen that functionality work well, so I wouldn't put much stock in it. ![]() If you're a heavy torrenter or digital music streamer, you're better off with a more specialized device. That's frustrating, but not a dealbreaker in my book, since all Blu-ray players are mediocre local-media streamers at best. While it played back an MKV file with no trouble, neither DivX or Xvid files played back, nor did any ripped DVDs. I tested a mishmash of digital video and audio files, with largely disappointing results. The Panasonic can also play back a variety of digital media files over its USB port, its SD card slot, or over your home network using DLNA. You can always use the optical audio output for audio (without losing much, if any, sound quality) if you have an older non-HDMI receiver. The DMP-BDT220 doesn't have dual HDMI outputs like Panasonic's step-up DMP-BDT500 or Samsung's flagship BD-E6500, but they're not that useful anyway. There's also a USB port called "communication camera" that's used for connection with Panasonic's Skype camera. Basic Blu-ray ports, plus a USB port for a Skype camera.Īround back there's a basic set of ports, including an HDMI output, optical output, and Ethernet jack.
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