This is my 2nd BD player. I owned a DMP-BD10 for 9 months. The unit was absolutely flawless. Never had a problem with it. I wanted to upgrade to a 1.3 HDMI unit for HBR capability into my new Pio Elite 92TXH. In addition, early reviews mentioned improved PQ, perhaps the best PQ of all the stand alone BD players.
My display only accepts 1080i but will output 1080p. So I can't comment on 1080/24. Eventually I will get a display that will do it but for now, I have the BD player outputting 1080i
First off, DTS-HD master audio is such a revelation, it is hard to put into words. I have a DTS-HD MA sampler in both BD and HD DVD. I used the HD DVD one to test out MA out of my A35 (mentioned in my review of the A35) and the BD version was just as good. Actually it is better because the BD version also has movies such as FF and Ice Age 2. They are 3-5 minute action scenes that show you how good MA audio is.
Next I popped in Kingdom of Heaven. PQ was just as good as the BD10...didn't really notice any difference but I kind of expected that since I can only output 1080i out of the player. But the MA track is so good, it didn't really matter. I heard things in the movie I hadn't heard before. Background sound effects such as leaves rustling, swords clanging, birds, and a crackling fire I had never heard before. Not to mention the overall sound field just being more expansive and enveloping. It just felt like I was right in the middle of a circle of sound. During the first action scene where Liam Neeson and Orlando Bloom are attacked, arrows zing through the air at such an audible level, it really feels like they were coming through the living room.
Next I tried out Ratatouille...loaded in about half the time of the BD10. Java stuff flowed seamlessly. I did about half of the Cin-explore feature in the BD10 and there was about a 2 second pause in between the movie and the branching features (such as an animation briefing or deleted scene). On the BD30, I did the 2nd half of the movie in Cin-expore mode, it was about a second at the most to go back and forth between the movie and the features. Almost instant. Very nice upgrade. Now on this movie, the PQ did seem a bit sharper than the BD10. I didn't think it could get any better than when I watched the movie for the first time on the BD10, but it just seemed a tad sharper. As opposed to KoH, I did notice a slight upgrade in PQ on the BD30. A good example of this is the scene where Remy reads the will and letters in the chef's office and realizes that Linguini is Gusteau's son. The writing on the letters was just a tad blurry on the BD10. Still readable but just a slight blur. The same scene on the BD30, the words are crystal clear...no blur at all. Again, not much of a difference but when you look for it, it is there.
Next I tried out an SD DVD for upconverting review: Robocop 20th anniversary edition. Picture looked great. I would say right there with the A35. I wouldn't be disappointed playing an SD disc in either player.
So overall, I am very satisified with the upgrade right now. HBR audio is terrific and things like load times and functionality are so much better now. I can't wait to try out a 1.1 disc like Sunshine or War that will be coming out early next year.
My display only accepts 1080i but will output 1080p. So I can't comment on 1080/24. Eventually I will get a display that will do it but for now, I have the BD player outputting 1080i
First off, DTS-HD master audio is such a revelation, it is hard to put into words. I have a DTS-HD MA sampler in both BD and HD DVD. I used the HD DVD one to test out MA out of my A35 (mentioned in my review of the A35) and the BD version was just as good. Actually it is better because the BD version also has movies such as FF and Ice Age 2. They are 3-5 minute action scenes that show you how good MA audio is.
Next I popped in Kingdom of Heaven. PQ was just as good as the BD10...didn't really notice any difference but I kind of expected that since I can only output 1080i out of the player. But the MA track is so good, it didn't really matter. I heard things in the movie I hadn't heard before. Background sound effects such as leaves rustling, swords clanging, birds, and a crackling fire I had never heard before. Not to mention the overall sound field just being more expansive and enveloping. It just felt like I was right in the middle of a circle of sound. During the first action scene where Liam Neeson and Orlando Bloom are attacked, arrows zing through the air at such an audible level, it really feels like they were coming through the living room.
Next I tried out Ratatouille...loaded in about half the time of the BD10. Java stuff flowed seamlessly. I did about half of the Cin-explore feature in the BD10 and there was about a 2 second pause in between the movie and the branching features (such as an animation briefing or deleted scene). On the BD30, I did the 2nd half of the movie in Cin-expore mode, it was about a second at the most to go back and forth between the movie and the features. Almost instant. Very nice upgrade. Now on this movie, the PQ did seem a bit sharper than the BD10. I didn't think it could get any better than when I watched the movie for the first time on the BD10, but it just seemed a tad sharper. As opposed to KoH, I did notice a slight upgrade in PQ on the BD30. A good example of this is the scene where Remy reads the will and letters in the chef's office and realizes that Linguini is Gusteau's son. The writing on the letters was just a tad blurry on the BD10. Still readable but just a slight blur. The same scene on the BD30, the words are crystal clear...no blur at all. Again, not much of a difference but when you look for it, it is there.
Next I tried out an SD DVD for upconverting review: Robocop 20th anniversary edition. Picture looked great. I would say right there with the A35. I wouldn't be disappointed playing an SD disc in either player.
So overall, I am very satisified with the upgrade right now. HBR audio is terrific and things like load times and functionality are so much better now. I can't wait to try out a 1.1 disc like Sunshine or War that will be coming out early next year.
The only solution is to put the “Transfer” option from “Auto” to “Video”. However I don’t know if it’s good to use it. I don’t know if it has a negative effect on a film source playback.
I hope I’m missing something!
