Panasonic's DMP-BDT110 Pros: Fine picture quality, 3D support, Streaming from the Internet or a PC, Quick performance, Good value
Cons: Video file support could be broader, Wi-Fi requires extra cost adapter, Need to supply memory for BD-Live
So, this is the year that 3D seems to be entering the mainstream and your home. Don't try to fight; it's quite unavoidable. Every manufacturer seems to be going to the hoop with a mass of 3D-capable products, so you may not have a choice. 3D is being built in as a feature, not just to high-end HDTVs but also to far less costly Blu-ray players. The prices are dipping, making it a nice option to have in your back pocket, even if you don't aim to use the 3D feature now or in the immediate future. Panasonic has released a few interesting Blu-ray 3D players this year, offering such particulars as built-in Wi-Fi networking and a touch-free sensor that opens the disc tray with a wave of your hand. The DMP-BDT110 WiFi-ready Blu-ray 3D player may not have those particular bells and whistles, but it does provide all the essentials of solid disc playback and a nice selection of streaming options, and all at a good price.
Panasonic's DMP-BDT110 is very slim for an entry-level product. Since it's about half the size of our ancient Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player, swapping them out left a gaping, but welcome, hole in our A/V cabinet.
With a respectable start-up time of 20 seconds to the new Home screen, the DMP-BDT110 is perfect for the impatient viewer with a shaky attention span. However, this player can do better, by using the Quick Start mode, which can be enabled under the player's Settings menu. The newly redesigned graphical Main Menu or Home screen offers five options: Network, Music, Videos, Photos, and Setup. One fun little feature under Photos allows you to change wallpaper along with your mood. The player only comes with basic blue and frilly orange options. Panasonic allows you to personalize the wallpaper, via a USB stick, an SD card or DLNA access.
All of the VIERA Cast items can be found under the Network section, although it's easier to access these features through the VIERA Cast button on the player's included remote. If you really have a case of short-attention span, this remote also has the new Netflix button that's becoming a standard on remotes that accompany new, shiny products. So now your Netflix instant queue is just a single click away at all times. Besides the dedicated Netflix button, it should be noted that the DMP-BDT110 offers Netflix's newer interface, which not only provides access to the user's queue, but also other recommendations, options to rate selections, and search features.
It should also be noted that this player's VIERA Cast interface offers a few new options, some of which are not available on our Panasonic VIERA TC-P50GT25 plasma. Aside from Netflix, menu selections include Skype, CinemaNow, Picasa, YouTube, Amazon Instant Video, Pandora, Twitter, Bloomberg Television, Fox Sports, Weather, and the German news service Tagesschau. The player can also do VUDU, which opens up a world of movie options with Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as HD or VUDU's HDX format. Earlier this year, VUDU announced plans to add 3D movies into that streaming mix. However, even though the player does VUDU and it does 3D, you cannot stream VUDU 3D on this player. We're hoping a firmware upgrade can enable this at some point in the future. So you can't stream VUDU's 3D content, but you are more than welcome to get your own, since the DMP-BDT110 plays both 2D and 3D Blu-ray discs and very nicely, we might add.
A Blu-ray only takes 12 seconds to load, while other might take upto 24 seconds. VIERA Cast offers a total of 13 content options on two different menu pages. If you like those amazing effects toned down a bit, Panasonic is offering something called the 3D Effect Controller on all of its newer Blu-ray 3D players, including the BDT110. This basically allows you to go in and mess with the 3D depth settings of real 3D content and also to twist the effects of the 2D to 3D conversion, should you choose to use that feature. Having the option to pinch your 3D is very cool. They are fun to experiment with in the 2D to 3D mode, however.
The folks worried about taking the 3D force, Panasonic is a real blessing. The DMP-BDT110 offers excellent 3D and 2D Blu-ray playback, and can even trim up a few of those golden-oldie DVDs with excellent upconversion. It also opens a fortune chest of entertainment for those without a web-enabled HDTV or other streaming box. The DMP-BDT110 is not the world's best player, but it's one of the most affordable out there right now, especially considering what it's packing.
Cons: Video file support could be broader, Wi-Fi requires extra cost adapter, Need to supply memory for BD-Live
So, this is the year that 3D seems to be entering the mainstream and your home. Don't try to fight; it's quite unavoidable. Every manufacturer seems to be going to the hoop with a mass of 3D-capable products, so you may not have a choice. 3D is being built in as a feature, not just to high-end HDTVs but also to far less costly Blu-ray players. The prices are dipping, making it a nice option to have in your back pocket, even if you don't aim to use the 3D feature now or in the immediate future. Panasonic has released a few interesting Blu-ray 3D players this year, offering such particulars as built-in Wi-Fi networking and a touch-free sensor that opens the disc tray with a wave of your hand. The DMP-BDT110 WiFi-ready Blu-ray 3D player may not have those particular bells and whistles, but it does provide all the essentials of solid disc playback and a nice selection of streaming options, and all at a good price.
Panasonic's DMP-BDT110 is very slim for an entry-level product. Since it's about half the size of our ancient Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player, swapping them out left a gaping, but welcome, hole in our A/V cabinet.
With a respectable start-up time of 20 seconds to the new Home screen, the DMP-BDT110 is perfect for the impatient viewer with a shaky attention span. However, this player can do better, by using the Quick Start mode, which can be enabled under the player's Settings menu. The newly redesigned graphical Main Menu or Home screen offers five options: Network, Music, Videos, Photos, and Setup. One fun little feature under Photos allows you to change wallpaper along with your mood. The player only comes with basic blue and frilly orange options. Panasonic allows you to personalize the wallpaper, via a USB stick, an SD card or DLNA access.
All of the VIERA Cast items can be found under the Network section, although it's easier to access these features through the VIERA Cast button on the player's included remote. If you really have a case of short-attention span, this remote also has the new Netflix button that's becoming a standard on remotes that accompany new, shiny products. So now your Netflix instant queue is just a single click away at all times. Besides the dedicated Netflix button, it should be noted that the DMP-BDT110 offers Netflix's newer interface, which not only provides access to the user's queue, but also other recommendations, options to rate selections, and search features.
It should also be noted that this player's VIERA Cast interface offers a few new options, some of which are not available on our Panasonic VIERA TC-P50GT25 plasma. Aside from Netflix, menu selections include Skype, CinemaNow, Picasa, YouTube, Amazon Instant Video, Pandora, Twitter, Bloomberg Television, Fox Sports, Weather, and the German news service Tagesschau. The player can also do VUDU, which opens up a world of movie options with Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as HD or VUDU's HDX format. Earlier this year, VUDU announced plans to add 3D movies into that streaming mix. However, even though the player does VUDU and it does 3D, you cannot stream VUDU 3D on this player. We're hoping a firmware upgrade can enable this at some point in the future. So you can't stream VUDU's 3D content, but you are more than welcome to get your own, since the DMP-BDT110 plays both 2D and 3D Blu-ray discs and very nicely, we might add.
A Blu-ray only takes 12 seconds to load, while other might take upto 24 seconds. VIERA Cast offers a total of 13 content options on two different menu pages. If you like those amazing effects toned down a bit, Panasonic is offering something called the 3D Effect Controller on all of its newer Blu-ray 3D players, including the BDT110. This basically allows you to go in and mess with the 3D depth settings of real 3D content and also to twist the effects of the 2D to 3D conversion, should you choose to use that feature. Having the option to pinch your 3D is very cool. They are fun to experiment with in the 2D to 3D mode, however.
The folks worried about taking the 3D force, Panasonic is a real blessing. The DMP-BDT110 offers excellent 3D and 2D Blu-ray playback, and can even trim up a few of those golden-oldie DVDs with excellent upconversion. It also opens a fortune chest of entertainment for those without a web-enabled HDTV or other streaming box. The DMP-BDT110 is not the world's best player, but it's one of the most affordable out there right now, especially considering what it's packing.
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