Problems playing "Inception" blu-ray on Panasonic DMP-BDT220 (1 Viewer)

I purchased Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Player in September from Amazon and found out in the first week that it had problems when playing "Inception" on blu-ray.
It has pixilation and freezing problems in several scenes and when it happens it skips. This happens only for “Inception” blu-ray. I called Panasonic support and they said there was nothing they could do. They said they had no reports of that problem and they might or might not be able to release a firmware to correct it in the future. By the way I have the latest firmware update.
Unfortunately, I was too lazy to return the blu-ray and thought I would wait for a fix but I haven’t seen any other complaints about this issue so I am thinking maybe I am stuck with a bad unit. Do you think I should return this player? Thank you for your advice.
Regards,
Leila

I have the 220 also, but I don't have that movie to test. I assume the disc is in good condition? If it's not too late, it may be worth returning it. I just saw the 220 at our Best Buy for $99.

Hi,
Thank you for your response. I am returning the player but I need to get something to replace it. I like this player if it wasn't for this problem. So I am still looking for advice from HTF members if I should replace it with the same model, i.e. this is a bad unit, or with something different.
Regards,
Leila

Llappin said:

Hi,
Thank you for your response. I am returning the player but I need to get something to replace it. I like this player if it wasn't for this problem. So I am still looking for advice from HTF members if I should replace it with the same model, i.e. this is a bad unit, or with something different.
Regards,
Leila

Click to expand...

panasonic is known to have problems playing certain blu rays. I had problems playing the t2:skynet edtion on the 210 model. I heard some had trouble playing the original alien blu ray as well.. some players are better then others and some are worse then others.. just stay away from samsung. if you can afford it.. go with the oppo.
Jacob

This year's Sony BD players have been getting good reviews, and are much less expensive than Oppo players. For example, the BDP-S590 often can be found for only slightly more than $100. Mine had no problems at all while playing Inception.

Thank you for your recommendations. I checked Oppo player and it does seem quite top of the line. Unfortunately my current budget won’t allow it. But I will probably buy it when I am ready to switch to a 7.1 sound system. I think I may go with Sony. Thank you again.
Regards,
Leila

Try finding another BD player "open box"(so you pay less...and don't feel bad returning it) and play Inception in it.
It is not impossible you got a bad BD. Granted all my BD players are pre-3D....but mine (two Panny and one Sony) have no issues with Inception.

Just hooked up my Panasonic watched Arbitrage first and it stopped and started a few times then watched inception and it did it too. Started searching and found your post. Sounds like exactly the same probllem. Not sure what to do. Guess ill watch a few more and see how annoying it is. Too bad this is my first blue ray player. If you are aware of any fixes please let me know.

Jake12 said:

Just hooked up my Panasonic watched Arbitrage first and it stopped and started a few times then watched inception and it did it too. Started searching and found your post. Sounds like exactly the same probllem. Not sure what to do. Guess ill watch a few more and see how annoying it is. Too bad this is my first blue ray player. If you are aware of any fixes please let me know.

Click to expand...

If you "just hooked it up"...
1. Is it connected to the internet?
2. Is the firmware current?

Hi,
I returned my player. I had all the firmware updates and it did not help.
Regards,
Leila

If everyone returned their Blu-ray player because it wouldn't play a certain movie, no one would have a Blu-ray player.

Question - is the reason firmware may have to be updated somewhat often, a few times a year, due to the fact that the BR specs are not constant? Does the software code keep changing? Or is it that different players are just not fully "ready" when they first ship?
I've had a Sony BR player for a couple years. Have had no problems. It probably updates every couple months over Wi-Fi. I click ok, all seems well.

A BD player takes updates for the same reason a PS3, XBox, Wii, Roku, ATV, Vudu and your computer do...
Many times it is Java and Adobe updates...and actually have nothing to do with actual playback. It has been inferred that if you take your BD player "offline" and turn off all of its internet goodies...
It will never have a problem playing any disc...(YMMV)

Yes, I updated the firmware three days ago when installed and then checked again yesterday and it stated "firmware up to date".
I don't expect every disc to be perfect but when your 0 for 2 right out of the box you begin to wonder.
Did try Netflix last night and it worked pretty well. A couple of short pauses, but it kept on moving.

I expect a new 3D BD player play a relatively new movie. I could understand if the problem was playing some older DVD or older movies. Besides Inception is my favorite movie. It is one those rare movies that I can watch many times.
When I called Panasonic customer service they apologized for the problem and told me they couldn’t do anything about it and if I wanted to return the player I should go ahead and do it.

I agree. My 6 yr old DVD player worked fine. Expecting amazing results with first BR and 2 movies skip. Not sure what firmware would have to do with playing a brd but guess that's one reason I joined this forum? My families impressed with my purchase.