Pros: Quick load time, Great image quality, Built-in Wi-Fi, DLNA support, Touch-free sensory, Internet streaming, including
Skype support
Cons: Some gaps in video file support, Lack of on-board memory, No 7.1 surround-sound analog outputs
The Panasonic DMP-BDT210's built-in Wi-Fi, simple user interface, Amazon Instant streaming, and blazing fast disc-loading speeds make it our favorite Blu-ray player of 2011 so far. It's tough to stand out in the Blu-ray player market, with all the midrange models having the main features we think are important: built-in Wi-Fi, Netflix streaming, and excellent image quality. Though the Panasonic DMP-BDT210 doesn't have any single killer feature that puts it head and shoulders above the competition, it does just about all the little things right. It has the fastest disc-loading speeds we've seen on a player so far, coming in a good deal faster than its competitors. Its user interface is very simple to use and we love that the remote includes a button for directly accessing Netflix. And while it doesn't have the most comprehensive suite of streaming-media services, it does have Amazon Instant, which isn't available on competitors like the Samsung BD-D6500, Insignia NS-WBRDVD2, or the PS3 Slim.
There's not much to the exterior design of the DMP-BDT210, which sports a typical glossy black front panel. Unlike other Blu-ray players, when you hit the eject button, the entire front panel flips down, exposing the disc tray and a few front-panel buttons. The flip-down front panel allows the DMP-BDT210 to have seamless look when it's flipped up, but the downside is that if you have a USB drive in the port, it forces the door to stay down and you're stuck looking at the unattractive interior. The DMP-BDT210 doesn't look quite as slick with the front panel flipped down. Just wave your hand over the top of the player and the disc tray opens.
The DMP-BDT210 home screen is a little unusual, but it works well once you get used to it. The Viera Cast home page has large icons for each service, and you can customize it to your liking. There are even more services available if you click the More button below the center icon, bringing you to the next "layer" of screens. The whole layer concept seems a bit more complicated than it needs to be, but, since you can fit seven services on the main page; most people will never need to navigate beyond the main screen anyway. Like on the other players, the Panasonic has the most recent Netflix interface, which lets you search and browse movies that aren't in your immediate Queue.
The DMP-BDT210 includes standard features for a midrange Blu-ray player, including built-in Wi-Fi and 3D Blu-ray support. There's also 2D-to-3D conversion, although we wouldn't put much stock in that feature, it's hard enough to find native 3D material that looks good. There's no onboard memory, which means you'll need to insert an SD card to use BD-Live features. Again, that's not a big loss in our book, as we never find ourselves using BD-Live, but we'd prefer if Panasonic included an SD card in the box. The player is DLNA-compatible, which means you can stream digital media files over your home network. Supported digital media file formats include DivX, MKV, MP3, and JPEG.
Amazon Instant Streaming is our favorite extra, especially for cord-cutters without cable. While competing services like Vudu are a compelling alternative for video-on-demand movies, Amazon Instant offers by far the largest selection of TV shows for pay-per-view watching, including both network and cable shows. If you want Amazon Instant, we'd consider Panasonic's main competition to be LG's Smart TV. Sony offers Amazon, too, but its user interface isn't quite as good.
The Panasonic DMP-BDT210 has a CNET speed rating of 112, which means it's significantly faster than an average 2011 midrange Blu-ray player. When talking of image quality, most buyers should not worry about image quality when deciding which Blu-ray player to buy. The differences, especially on the Blu-ray side, range from minute to nonexistent, and even DVD performance is very close between players.
However the image quality of Netflix streaming video varied a little bit last year between players, we haven't observed any differences so far this year. The DMP-BDT210 provides the same Netflix image quality as other players, but remember that streaming image quality varies a lot on a title-by-title basis, and also depends heavily on the quality of your broadband connection and home network. Again, the DMP-BDT210 did not fare well with test patterns, but it passed all CNET’s actual program material tests.
The Panasonic DMP-BDT210's built-in Wi-Fi, simple user interface, Amazon Instant streaming, and blazing fast disc-loading speeds make it our favorite Blu-ray player of 2011 so far.
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