PANASONIC DMP BDT330 BLU-RAY PLAYER TAKE

JoeRod

So with the Panasonic BDT330 being out about 6 months now I was expecting it to be free from its early bugs. Much to my surprise they are still there! When using the Dual HDMI outs 7.1 soundtracks are downgraded to 5.1. Sure this is not the end of the world and I am positive can be fixed with a new firmware release though they just releases a new one (1.54) recently. When using the Main HDMI out by itself it works fine. Now for the other even bigger issue which I find intolerable. When viewing 3D using the Main HDMI out only you will experience a flicker or loss of signal every few minutes. To make sure I put a PS3, Samsung 7500, Sony S790 and Oppo 103 in its place and all worked perfectly fine viewing the same titles. Iron Man 3, Titanic, Despicable Me, Avatar and IMAX Under The Sea were my test titles. When you try and use both HDMI outs it attempts to send out a 4K signal. Before I get emails asking if I could have had a defective unit let me just say I confirmed these issues with others and they are universal. 

So is it completely a lost cause? I am sure the above issues can be fixed. On a positive note the image is spectacular. Especially in 3D. I was very impressed with it. The other "Reviews" out there are correct about that.  As for the 4K up scaling it is very impressive as well. Very close to the Samsung BDF7500 which I consider the best besides my Sony 1000ES. Not sure how the other "Reviews" missed the issues considering the sound issue has been there since day one. Either way this newer player from Panasonic is a big step back until it is fixed. The 310 and 500 are still among my top favorite Blu-ray players on the market. Panasonic also is known for their great Streaming abilities. Still the case with the 330. The remote is also on the small side but at least they ditched that awful joystick attempt from last year. The 330 has amazing potential and could be an update away from being there.

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In conclusion. I have been asked why I hardly ever do a "thumbs down" Take or Review. Truth is I fund my own projects and it is hard to justify spending the time and money on a negative write-up. From time to time I will report a product that has issues like the BDT330 but for the most part I only want to Review products that are worth the time, energy and funds. Thanks for reading and see you soon.

Thanks again to Jaclyn! : )

4K Up scaling looks excellent. 

Iron Man 3 also looks and sounds excellent!

​9/17/2013