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The connectivity package on the DMP-BD30 is very good. The main video output is naturally HDMI, which is capable of outputting both 1080p video signals (at either 24 or 60 frames per second) and multichannel, high-resolution audio signals. For analog video, there is a component video output, as well as S-Video and composite video output. Blu-ray discs can be outputted at 1080i over the component video connection, although DVDs are limited to 480p output.
Audio can also travel via the aforementioned HDMI output, as well as via optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, although only the HDMI output has enough bandwidth to pass the high-resolution audio bitstreams mentioned above. The DMP-BD30 also has 5.1 multichannel analog outputs for making the connection to older receivers, although the lack of internal high-resolution audio decoders makes these analog outputs less useful than on other Blu-ray players. Additionally, there is a standard analog stereo output.
Panasonic stashed an SDHC card slot under the flip-down panel on the front. This slot can read many different media types, including MP3s and JPEGs with resolutions up to 1,920x1080. More interestingly, it can play back high-def AVCHD video from high-def camcorders that record on SD cards. According to Panasonic representatives we talked with, it's also possible that in the future movie studios will make extra content available for Blu-ray movies, which you could download to the SD card, and then watch on the DMP-BD30. That's certainly not the ideal case--it's really just a workaround because the player lacks an Ethernet port--but it's better than nothing.
Blu-ray performance
We started off by looking at some test patterns via Silicon Optix's HQV test suite on Blu-ray. The DMP-BD30 performed excellently by properly deinterlacing 1080i signals to 1080p without artifacts or jaggies. It passed the video resolution test easily and also had no problem with the film resolution test, including the slow pan across Raymond James Stadium. The DMP-BD30 did stumble on the two video-based HQV tests--showing some jaggies on a rotating white line and three pivoting lines--but we tend to give these tests less weight as there is very little Blu-ray content shot on video (as opposed to film) currently available. Considering the lackluster 1080p performance from some recent high-def disc players, including the Toshiba HD-A30 and the Sony BDP-S300, we were happy to see the DMP-BD30 passed the important film-based tests--especially considering its price point.
Moving on to actual movies, we started with Mission Impossible: III. We immediately took a look at the stairs at beginning of Chapter 8, and the DMP-BD30 had no problem outputting a clean image. We also looked at trimming on the limo in Chapter 16--another tough scene--and there wasn't a jaggy in sight. Switching to Ghost Rider, the DMP-BD30 passed the difficult sequence at the end of Chapter 6, having no problem rendering the grill of the RV in the background.
After spot-checking some known problematic scenes, we sat down with the excellent-looking Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. As usual, the image quality of Blu-ray was vastly superior to DVD when viewed on a big screen. Details are razor sharp, and the jaggies of the DVD era were nowhere to be seen. Details as minute as individual strands of hair and facial stubble were easy to make out and the colors were nicely saturated to give the image "pop." The jaggies seen on the video-based HQV tests were nowhere to be found in all the program material we watched. Overall, home theater fans will be wowed by the image quality of the DMP-BD30.
While the DMP-BD30's Blu-ray image quality is excellent, we wouldn't say that it's necessarily better than other top-performing Blu-ray players. In fact, as along as the player is capable of properly performing 1080i deinterlacing, we've seen virtually no performance differences between Blu-ray players, including the PlayStation 3. Similarly, we've seen no difference in image quality between Blu-ray and HD DVD.
Standard DVD performance
We were impressed by the DMP-BD10A's performance on standard DVDs, so we had high hopes when we fired up Silicon Optix's HQV test suite on the DMP-BD30. The initial resolution test looked rock solid, clearly displaying all the detail of DVD without any flicking or image instability. The results on the next jaggies tests were more disappointing--while it did a decent job with a rotating white line, it performed rather poorly on three pivoting white lines. The DMP-BD30 also struggled on the relatively easy scrolling titles test, with words exhibiting comb-like tearing as they moved horizontally across the screen. On the upside, it performed well on the difficult 2:3 pull-down test, by kicking into film mode in under a second as the racecar drives by the grandstands.
Nobody sane likes to watch just test patterns, so we moved on to actual program material. The DMP-BD30 showed off its 2:3 pull-down prowess once again on the introduction to Star Trek: Insurrection by smoothly rendering the curved railing of the bridge and the hulls of the boats. We also looked at the difficult opening sequence of Seabiscuit, and, for the most part, it performed well. While many players struggle and display lots of jaggies, the DMP-BD30's image was clean aside from a few instances of flicking on the grilles of cars. Overall, we were disappointed that the DMP-BD30 didn't handle the difficult video-based HQV tests as well as its predecessor, but it still did a solid job with film-based DVD content.
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Panasonic DMP-BD30K:
$228.96 - $399.99
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