If you have a Panasonic BD60 I think the zoom function only applies to DVDs with original 4:3 aspect ratios. I might be wrong.

Anyway zoom functions are not really the same as upscaling. The quality is not really good. It's just like digital zoom vs Optical zoom in a Digital Camera.

This post has been edited by Ngto: Oct 6 2009, 12:51 PM

Nothing important. Just fixed some isssue with Viera Cast for Middle East and something to do with better DVD playback.

Don't know why this latest model loading time slower than Panasonic BD60. Quite surprising from a sony product.

Btw, when's your review of the A.C Ryan PlayonHD coming out

Well since Blu-ray IS their technology, and their previous models have fast loading times....... figure out yourself.

Reviews said 360 load time slower. Maybe with firmware upgrades things could change. But salesman says startup time faster. But I didn't hang around to check it out

Just like Panasonic improved loading times (a bit) with firmware upgrades.

I thought a seller over here selling for only RM850/-

With a dedicated Blu-ray player like BD60 you get more options to play around with the sound and video settings.

For video :- Brightness, contrast, color, sharpness, noise reduction options

Sound :- Dolby TrueHD, DTS-MA decoders (LPCM) or Bitstream, Dialog Enhancer (if use LPCM) , different sound remaster selection ....

Internet :- update firmware directly, play Youtube directly from Internet, Picassa photo albums from Internet etc.

Additional :- USB and SD slot , both for music and photos playback

This post has been edited by Ngto: Oct 21 2009, 11:17 AM

I have a few video devices connected to my TV. I wouldn't want to adjust my TV everytime I use a different device. Fix your TV settings, and adjust each of the devices to suit the TV, that's my way of doing and I am sure some others do the same way too.

That's why these features in a BD player are included for a reason.

Besides my answer is for someone who wanted to know the differences, so I am just pointing them out for his knowledge. Not here to debate what's best for your tastes or my tastes

This post has been edited by Ngto: Oct 21 2009, 11:48 AM

My old LCD also got only 1 HDMI . Still waiting for it to spoil so that I can upgrade.

I can still put up with the limitations for time being .

This post has been edited by Ngto: Oct 21 2009, 12:42 PM

Each TV has it's own set of adjustments. The BD60 player also got it's own set of adjustments. But it doesn't mean if I up 1 level of sharpness on the BD player it will be the same as if I up 1 level of sharpness in the TV. They both have different ranges for each level. Same applies for contrast , color etc.

That's why for people like me, if I can't get it right at the TV level , I will play around with the BD player settings as well in combination with the TV and and see how the combination goes until I get what I think is the best for me.

As for reviews which says the BD60 has better quality, it shouldn't be night and day. Most Blu-ray players nowadays and also the PS3 will have more or less the same picture quality, give or take very slight differences.

The small differences might be due to some players (the BD60 perhaps) enhancing the sharpness a little at default settings making it seem a little better at a certain viewing distance (Just a guess, if what you heard is true).

The purists of course recommend leaving the player's settings alone, so it's really up to your tastes

I can't say for sure because i haven't seen it, but there shouldn't be any major differences in picture quality. The picture quality itself on Blu-ray disc is already hi-def made for viewing on Hi def TV so it's pretty much the same pixel for pixel mapping on the TV screen.

Any differencees will probably be any sort of adjustments or enhancements (if any) made by the player.

To ease your mind go to one of the major Elect stores where they have both the sets on demo and ask them to test them out on the same TV and see for yourself.

Don't forget to come back and post here for feedback

Btw, I am speaking strictly on picture wise, and not on any other aspects like upscaling DVDs or other features. As for mkvs playback I am not too familiar with it, but I don't think any of the players have the feature yet. I have heard of Samsung TVs having it on some higher end models though.

This post has been edited by Ngto: Oct 21 2009, 02:19 PM

From the little I read from google, it does have some juddering issues at 24P output. It doesn't have optical but does have Coaxial output (if using non-HDMI AVR) . No DTS-MA decoding as well.

And also the USB is solely for BDLive! use and not for playing media files like MP3s etc.

But for Riddhy, I don't think the absense of the above features will matter to him.

This post has been edited by Ngto: Oct 21 2009, 03:07 PM

If you don't know what BD-Live is chances are you won't want to bother with it. If your main interest is just watch the movie and don't bother with extra contents related to the movie available online it's a waste of time.

If you don't have HDMI receiver with HD decoders, then you must bitstream your HD audio to the Coaxial input of your AVR. But by doing so your receiver (being backwards compatible) can only decode the standard DTS and DD 5.1 sound contained in/attached to the HD audio tracks. You won't get Lossless HD audio.

I don't have any knwledge of players with MKVs function so I won't comment on their compatibility or playback issues.

Just use your Sony to play both DVDs and Blu-rays. Don't think about it too much.

By the time it breaks down, you will be able to buy another Sony latest model at the Philips price.

If you have limited funds sure no problems turning back, like me . Like you said Blu-ray only for those movies worth keeping. I only got a handful for now.

For your info, your Sony 350 is also a DVD upscaler.

I think depends on whether the disc allows or not.

Why can't BD-J resume play?

Resume play won't work because BD-J application in the disc disables the resume function. The Java software controls playback plus all the interactive content (like what Windows OS does on the computer). When you hit stop, or turn off the player, the Java application on the disc reboots in the next playback. This results in resuming playback from the beginning of the disc. Therefore you should use pause instead of stop for Blu-ray disc that supports BD-J application.


Do all BDs resume playback correctly?

DVDs and non-Java BDs will resume playback correctly. Only BD-J* may not resume playback correctly.

* Depending on the BD-J application loaded in the disc. Some BD-J may support resume play.

I seldom use resume function. But from what I can remember I once tried the resume on one Non-Java disc but it will only resume if the disc is not ejected before power off.

On Universal titles (I think) they have a bookmark feature where you must press coloured buttons on the remote at the point you want to bookmark (resume) while watching the movie. This bookmark will always remain until you delete it using the main menu option.

Lol, they even have a user guide to explain how to use the function when you select the function in the menu.

This post has been edited by Ngto: Nov 3 2009, 01:01 AM