Panasonic DMP-BD10A - TechRadar UK

There's little doubt that the makers of Blu-ray machines are playing catch-up with HD DVD. A cursory glance at the hardware specification reveals it is still in flux and that feature specs are fluid. So how does this updated version of Panasonic's innovative DMP-BD10 compare with its predecessor?

Curiously, not all BD players are created equal. Consequently, buyers need to be sure that the player they shortlist performs the way they're expecting. Even if it does, when you buy into BD at the moment, you can expect an ongoing series of firmware updates and revisions.

The DMP-BD10 player, launched at the back-end of 2006, and reviewed in issue 316, is already subject to a series of firmware updates. The newest patch will install a spanky new audio decoder, offering compatibility with lossless 7.1 audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD High-Resolution Audio.

While there are precious few Dolby lossless soundtracks on BD discs, Fox appears to have standardised on this high-spec DTS variant as its preferred 7.1 sound system; consequently, this update can be considered vital. It follows an update which adds AVCHD (H.264) compatibility. Slip in a DVD, recorded on an AVCHD camcorder and you'll be able to enjoy gorgeous HD home movies.

While firmware may have been upgraded for the 10A, there's no change to the actual chassis. So there's still no Ethernet connector, denying online access to interactive Blu-ray content. However given that there are no BD Live discs available (or even planned in the short term) this may not be an issue.

Unfortunately, neither are there media card reading slots on the player. This is very much a disc spinner, and not a general entertainment hub with delusions of grandeur.

Room for expression

Visually, the player is a little bland, hiding most of its buttons behind a wide, transparent fascia, which needs to be lowered to access the disc tray. Connectivity includes a single HDMI output, component video, a Scart, 7.1 phono outs, supplemental stereo phono outputs and a pair of digital audio outputs (one optical, one electrical).

The DMP-BD10A is a relatively easy machine to live with, thanks to its wide ranging disc compatibility, and a nifty new feature called Viera Link. Essentially a buffed up version of HDAVI system control, this offers system-wide user control. Hook up compatible Panasonic components, such as a receiver and screen, via HDMI, and you'll be able to direct all from one remote via a seamless multi-component GUI.

For example, with One-Touch Home Cinema Playback, pressing a single button on the remote switches on the TV, BD player and receiver at the same time and starts playback of the disc.

Operationally, there are few quirks, although we found the large remote control rather clunky. For the record, the player takes about 30 seconds for the player to ready a BD for playback (a consequence of all the heavy copy-protection handshaking it must complete). Compared to most modern DVD players, this seems quite slow.

Image quality is in line with our expectations of the Blu-ray format. That's to say, well encoded discs far exceed the clarity of DVD and tend to offer less artefacts than SkyHD. Helping things along is a raft of picture modes, best of which is Panasonic's proprietary P4HD processing. This has enough silicon muscle to handle more than 15 billion pixels per second and apply processing to every one.

Of course, Blu-ray is, by definition, a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to picture quality. BD discs can come in a variety of flavours and formats. The majority of movie material is encoded at 1080/24Hz. However material can also be encoded at three additional frame rates: 59.94i, 50i and 23.976p. It can also come in MPEG2, MPEG4 AVC or VC-1 formats. P4HD can work with any and all combinations, guestimating new pictures from information gathered from up to 60 surrounding pixels and correcting diagonal errors.

It can also up-convert to 1080p from 1080i, 720 and standard-definition sources. It's worth noting that the player itself up-converts BD's 24Hz frame rate to 60Hz, before squirting this out of the player. This can lead to some motion judder on pans.

Behind it all is a cutting-edge 297MHz, 14bit video DAC (digital to analogue converter) from Analog Devices. This is used for 4x oversampling for 1080i/720p and uses NSV (noise shaping video) processing to edge non-essential digital garbage out of the picture area.

Colour fidelity is just breathtaking: the stunning stylised cinematography of Black Hawk Down looks at once rich and denuded in a way that we've never seen from the DVD release, while the explosive actioner SWAT is all glint and gorgeous gradations.

The deck also makes a cracking audio player, using a 192kHz/24bit DAC for each of the eight available channels, as well as Panasonic's own Advanced Segment processing. The lossless sound format offered by most BD discs is simply sensational. Offering a dramatic step-up from Dolby Digital, Blu-ray movie soundtracks are expansive and dynamic. The player can even handle DVD-Audio discs, which sound great.

The DMP-BD10A is effectively the most advanced Blu-ray deck you can buy. And while still ferociously expensive at around £900, it offers an enviable level of picture and sound performance.