My settings for the Panasonic DMP-BDT500EB

[psurquhart]

cheer's for the review oldboy,shall def have to have a look at a new bdp,but maybe one that plays sacd this time.

by the way,when you play your disks,does your tv switch to cinema mode?

cheers

Hi GSB,

My Panasonic - same as Oldboy's - switches to Cinema mode every time too - its a bit annoying but the easiest thing is to calibrate the cinema mode settings on your tv.

It also switches my Sony av amp to tv mode which I cant seem to stop it from doing either. This is really annoying too as my player goes through the HDMI 1 input and I have to reach for the Sony remote to change it every time. Plus it confuses the wife.

Other than that it's a brilliant player.

Interestingly, I too have found the picture motion to be the best I have ever experienced from a blu ray player - their is nearly no judder on anything I play on it. However, the original Star Wars triology is awful - has anyone else noticed this ? I wondered if I should not be playing it back on 24f settings ? I appreciate this was a converted to Blu Ray set of films.

 

[Oldboy]

cheer's for the review oldboy,shall def have to have a look at a new bdp,but maybe one that plays sacd this time.

by the way,when you play your disks,does your tv switch to cinema mode?

cheers

No worries happy to help and yes my tv does switch to cinema mode just as my 310 did. Seems to be only when a Panasonic player is connected to a Panasonic tv so i'm guessing it's something built into Viera link, when i use my Sony 570 player on occasion (for some free 3D content) the tv never switches over to cinema mode and since my GT30 went off for repair my Samsung 32 inch LED tv doesn't switch picture mode when using the BDP500.

As psurquhart suggested it just means that cinema mode needs calibrating but i must admit it would be nice if you had the option to stop it switching picture mode as i use three different modes for movie viewing and the one i use depends on what content i'm viewing. Only a minor annoyance though on what is a fabulous tv and bd player combo.

 

[Oldboy]

cheer's for the review oldboy,shall def have to have a look at a new bdp,but maybe one that plays sacd this time.

by the way,when you play your disks,does your tv switch to cinema mode?

cheers

Hi GSB,

My Panasonic - same as Oldboy's - switches to Cinema mode every time too - its a bit annoying but the easiest thing is to calibrate the cinema mode settings on your tv.

It also switches my Sony av amp to tv mode which I cant seem to stop it from doing either. This is really annoying too as my player goes through the HDMI 1 input and I have to reach for the Sony remote to change it every time. Plus it confuses the wife.

Other than that it's a brilliant player.

Interestingly, I too have found the picture motion to be the best I have ever experienced from a blu ray player - their is nearly no judder on anything I play on it. However, the original Star Wars triology is awful - has anyone else noticed this ? I wondered if I should not be playing it back on 24f settings ? I appreciate this was a converted to Blu Ray set of films.

Strange issue with your Sony amp psurquhart, have you tried running the player through a different hdmi socket on the amp to see if this resolves it? Sounds like a hdmi handshake issue, the other option would be to switch off hdmi control on the amp and/or tv and if this stops it then you know it's a handshake issue. The only option then is to either leave hdmi control off on the amp or live with it swtiching the amp to tv mode and just be prepared with Sony remote in hand.

Totally agree with the motion on the BDP500 as it was a revelation to me when i fired up the first disc on it and made me realise the advantages of not buying a budget player, it's just lovely saying goodbye to all that nasty judder eh

You are not seeing things with Star Wars....i was shocked at just how awful it looked. It seems to be that A New Hope is the worst affected of the movies with Empire slightly better and Jedi better still with picture quality but the latest (worst by a mile) movies are almost reference material by comparison. My old BDP310 dealt with the original trilogy far better but was softer in comarison to the 500, i've not thought about trying the 24p setting but it seems logical to leave it on as that's how film works...all movies are shot at 24 frames.

I will have another look at the original Star Wars trilogy tomorrow when my tv arrives back from repair and see if there is a setting that changes things for the better, if you do the same then hopefully between the two of us we might be able to solve the issue as i was very disappointed with the picture quality of the original trilogy through the BDP500

 

[Anonymous]

cheer's for the review oldboy,shall def have to have a look at a new bdp,but maybe one that plays sacd this time.

by the way,when you play your disks,does your tv switch to cinema mode?

cheers

No worries happy to help and yes my tv does switch to cinema mode just as my 310 did. Seems to be only when a Panasonic player is connected to a Panasonic tv so i'm guessing it's something built into Viera link, when i use my Sony 570 player on occasion (for some free 3D content) the tv never switches over to cinema mode and since my GT30 went off for repair my Samsung 32 inch LED tv doesn't switch picture mode when using the BDP500.

As psurquhart suggested it just means that cinema mode needs calibrating but i must admit it would be nice if you had the option to stop it switching picture mode as i use three different modes for movie viewing and the one i use depends on what content i'm viewing. Only a minor annoyance though on what is a fabulous tv and bd player combo.

Strange that your TV switches to Cinema mode when playing a Blu-ray/DVD, as both my 310 & 500 leaves my TV on the 'Normal' picture mode, maintaining my preferred picture settings. I pass through my Onkyo HDMIs from my BDT500 to my 46GT30B, and have never seen a switch to Cinema mode when playing a Blu-ray/DVD.

Paul.

 

[Oldboy]

Paul,

That is very odd indeed as we have the same amp and tv combo plus a Panasonic bd player, my tv always switches to cinema mode and i can't find a solution to stop it from doing it....i'm wondering just what is different in your set up to mine now. I will have a play around with my tv and player tomorrow when my tv comes back from repair and see if i can stop it from doing it, it's very strange that your tv never switches to cinema mode.

I can't explain it, but if you have any suggestions i would love to hear them as i find it very annoying that the tv keeps switching picture modes by itself....there must be a solution if your tv, bd player and amp combo doesn't do it.

 

[beachBOYken]

Thanks for your settings Oldboy , the only thing I have different is Picture mode is Cinema ,by the way I noticed that when High Clarity sound is enabled you still have to turn it on when playing a disc by going into options.

Wonder why this is?

Can't say I notice any difference either with it off or on though.

 

[beachBOYken]

Thanks for your settings Oldboy , the only thing I have different is Picture mode is Cinema ,by the way I noticed that when High Clarity sound is enabled you still have to turn it on when playing a disc by going into options.

Wonder why this is?

Can't say I notice any difference either with it off or on though.

 

[Anonymous]

Paul,

That is very odd indeed as we have the same amp and tv combo plus a Panasonic bd player, my tv always switches to cinema mode and i can't find a solution to stop it from doing it....i'm wondering just what is different in your set up to mine now. I will have a play around with my tv and player tomorrow when my tv comes back from repair and see if i can stop it from doing it, it's very strange that your tv never switches to cinema mode.

I can't explain it, but if you have any suggestions i would love to hear them as i find it very annoying that the tv keeps switching picture modes by itself....there must be a solution if your tv, bd player and amp combo doesn't do it.

Oldboy,

Maybe it's the TV settings? Under 'Setup' & 'Link Settings', I've always had 'HDMI Content Detection' set to OFF.

Just a thought, as it would appear to be an HDMI control function for the behaviour that you mention.

What benefit would I get by having 'HDMI Content Detection' set to ON?

The only other thought would be a setting in 'Picture Mode' on the BDT500?

Paul.

 

[Oldboy]

Nice one Paul that stopped it from switching picture modes! Thank you very much that was quite annoying and so simple to fix that i can't beleive i missed it

 

[Oldboy]

Thanks for your settings Oldboy , the only thing I have different is Picture mode is Cinema ,by the way I noticed that when High Clarity sound is enabled you still have to turn it on when playing a disc by going into options.

Wonder why this is?

Can't say I notice any difference either with it off or on though.

You are welcome, the only difference with using cinema mode is that the picture settings on the player are changed and the picture dulled a little but a well calibrated screen means it's not needed.

I only had to turn high clarity sound on the once from the options button on the remote and it's remained on ever since no matter what disc i play, in fact it's the first notice to appear on screen when i start a disc or turn the player on. As for the merits of high clarity sound i've found it improves the sound at higher volumes nicely and keeps everything sounding cohesive and even no matter how hard i push it and gives a little extra depth to bass sounds. At lower volumes it's not really needed but at least if you leave it on you don't have to remember to turn it on when needed

 

[Anonymous]

Nice one Paul that stopped it from switching picture modes! Thank you very much that was quite annoying and so simple to fix that i can't beleive i missed it

Oldboy,

No problem, just glad it fixed the problem!

One other question on the BDT500 is the remote. For me the touch pad is driving me crazy, as is using the 'Keys' button to navigate. This is because I have severe osteoarthritis (all fingers/thumbs on both hands have either had joints fused/pinned and/or joint replacements) and I end up choosing something I don't want rather than moving to another Top Menu selection.

I am tempted to contact Panasonic and ask if my previous remote (for the 310) would work, and if they could send me one free of charge to replace the touchpad version (I gave the old one away with the 310 to my daughter)? Do you think they would be receptive to that, and who should I contact? I do have a Harmony 700, but the better half never got on with that so not an option. Alternatively, I look for a generic BDP remote that would work with the BDT500 on Amazon / Ebay.....

Interested to hear what you think.

Paul.

 

[psurquhart]

Nice one Paul that stopped it from switching picture modes! Thank you very much that was quite annoying and so simple to fix that i can't beleive i missed it

Eureka

Thats me sorted too. Thanks Paul.

Just need to get my Sony av amp to stop switching itself to tv mode now and I would be sorted too.

Oldboy - I have tried putting the 500 into different HDMI inputs and nothing works - its driving me crazy.

Weird isnt it ?

Im glad you gave feedback on the Star Wars triology too - thought it was just me but you have reassured me now, cheers.

 

[psurquhart]

Nice one Paul that stopped it from switching picture modes! Thank you very much that was quite annoying and so simple to fix that i can't beleive i missed it

Oldboy,

No problem, just glad it fixed the problem!

One other question on the BDT500 is the remote. For me the touch pad is driving me crazy, as is using the 'Keys' button to navigate. This is because I have severe osteoarthritis (all fingers/thumbs on both hands have either had joints fused/pinned and/or joint replacements) and I end up choosing something I don't want rather than moving to another Top Menu selection.

I am tempted to contact Panasonic and ask if my previous remote (for the 310) would work, and if they could send me one free of charge to replace the touchpad version (I gave the old one away with the 310 to my daughter)? Do you think they would be receptive to that, and who should I contact? I do have a Harmony 700, but the better half never got on with that so not an option. Alternatively, I look for a generic BDP remote that would work with the BDT500 on Amazon / Ebay.....

Interested to hear what you think.

Paul.

Hi Paul,

Was just wondering why you dont use your tv's remote to control the 500 ?

I cant get on with the touch pad either - my 42" GT30's remote works fine with the player. The only slight annoyance is that theirs no open / close disc tray on the tv remote but I get round this by using the button on top of the player.

Perhaps that's too small for you but works well for me.

Thanks again for the hdmi switching to tv's cinema mode solution.

 

[Oldboy]

Nice one Paul that stopped it from switching picture modes! Thank you very much that was quite annoying and so simple to fix that i can't beleive i missed it

Oldboy,

No problem, just glad it fixed the problem!

One other question on the BDT500 is the remote. For me the touch pad is driving me crazy, as is using the 'Keys' button to navigate. This is because I have severe osteoarthritis (all fingers/thumbs on both hands have either had joints fused/pinned and/or joint replacements) and I end up choosing something I don't want rather than moving to another Top Menu selection.

I am tempted to contact Panasonic and ask if my previous remote (for the 310) would work, and if they could send me one free of charge to replace the touchpad version (I gave the old one away with the 310 to my daughter)? Do you think they would be receptive to that, and who should I contact? I do have a Harmony 700, but the better half never got on with that so not an option. Alternatively, I look for a generic BDP remote that would work with the BDT500 on Amazon / Ebay.....

Interested to hear what you think.

Paul.

Many thanks again Paul for the tip!

Regarding the remote i can understand how that would be difficult for you and as psurquhart has stated you can use the GT30 tv remote for the basic functions on the player by flicking the switch at the bottom of the remote to DVD, or if you have a smartphone, iPad or iPod Touch you could download the free Panasonic remote app and use your device to control the blu ray player via wi-fi.

Regarding the 310 remote idea i would say it's worth a call to Panasonic, explain your condition and the difficulties you are having with the remote and see if the standard 310 design would work with the 500. I'm sure that if it's an option they would be open to sending you one considering your condition and the difficulties you are having with the touchpad interface, i would presume they use the same frequency so it shouldn't be a problem but only Panasonic can answer that for certain so contact them for some advice.

Report back with how you get on of course or alternatively keep an eye on ebay to see if a remote turns up as a last resort.

Hope that helps.

 

[Oldboy]

psurquhart,

Yep that issue with your Sony amp is very strange and i'm still of the opinion that it's some sort of hdmi handshake conflict and it may not be solveable by the sounds of it, if you've tried all the inputs and resetting the hdmi control then it may well be the case that you will have to live with it.

The only other thing i can think of as an outside shot would be to unplug the amp from the mains for 30 mins and see if that solves it, turn hdmi control off on the amp before you do it then plug it back in and have the tv and blu ray player on with Viera link on and then turn the amps hdmi control on and see if that solves it. This is normally how you do a complete reset of hdmi control but there are no guarantees it will work i'm afraid.

 

[Larry]

I´m considering the BDT500 myself, so I´m glad to see this tread and look forward to be inspired of your settings. I have wondered if I will gain picture and sound quality with using both HDMI outputs on the player and split the sound and picture into two. I have a Onkyo TX-SR608 receiver and a 3 years old Sony TV (non 3D), so it´s more about to get the best possible setup with some "old" gear. I have searched around on the web and on the panasonic homepage but find no clear answer. Hope any of you can help me

Edit : Forget my question, I found your answer on another tread that one or two output brings the same result. It seems that I can´t delete my post, so it has to be here for now. Looking forward to joining the BDT500 club 8) .

 

[Oldboy]

No worries Larry, i got confirmation from Panasonic that sound quality is not affected by using either method of connection so you can connect with one hdmi with absolutely no loss in sound quality.

Really hope you are happy with the BDT500 when or if you get one, the Sony BDP-S790 is a tempting alternative but the BDT500 was my preferred choice and i'm extremely happy i chose it as it's simply brilliant.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, i just got one of these players so i didnt have to change my denon 2310 although i cant get my blue light to come on saying its playing dts hd or dolby hd...i have the av out to tv and 2nd hdmi out to my amp, can anyone help with this? Ive had a look at empire strikes back on this player with my gt50 in thx mode and it looks amazing! Im a die hard starwars fan and this is the best ive ever seen it!

 

[bigboss]

If your Panasonic player decodes audio, there's no way your amp will know if it's DTS HD etc. If you set the player to "bitstream", your amp will then have to decode audio, & your "blue light" should come on. Let us know how you get on.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey, thanks for the reply! Got the audio working nice! But now it wont connect over wifi the tv picks up wifi great and the player finds the router but wont connect, im starting to think i have a faulty player as i keep losing the settings page too, i had the 220 before and it worked perfectly with wifi...after 4 weeks of returning 5 et5s and deciding to go plasma the gt50s good but the bdt 500 is proving a pain to set up.

 

[Larry]

I just got mine Pan. 500 today and it really put new life to my old Sony W4500 TV. Avatar looks- WOW, amazing details with Super Resolution on.

I also had some problem with connecting to the web. First no luck with updating firmware with wire, but I had Youtube and the other channels going. Then I went wireless and got connection, but it said I needed wire to watch content. Went back to wire and then it worked with firmware update. I will mostly use the Blu-ray for movies, not the stream stuff, so don´t know how much time I will look into the connection. Maybe it´s just beginner problems for me, but I understand your frustration.

I have the same setup as Oldboy except that I have :

Picture mode : cinema

Detail Clarity : 3

Quick Start : on (Only some noise when loading disc at start, not under movie playback)

It´s only my first day with the player, so maybe Picture mode goes back to setting : normal, but I´m really impressed by this machine. Best cheap upgrade I could make in my home cinema right now. Also got the Audioquest Pearl HDMI cable, works nice. Tried out with video from main HDMI and sound from HDMI 2, but I couldn´t see or hear any difference. I will go with the single Black Pearl HDMI

 

[Anonymous]

Such a richness of great information, thank you. I have a query that if anybody could help me with, would stop me going mad!

I have set the Picture Settings to upscale to 1080p and 24fps to ON. This option also states that one needs to press the 'OPTION' button on the remote and also set 24fps to ON in that menu too. However, whenever I go to this 'OPTION' menu and try to set 24fps to ON, it says this option is not available. Is this because of my TV? I run a ONKYO 609 and Samsung UE46ES8000. I have tried connecting the DVD player to the tv directly, as well as through the AMP and no matter what, I cannot activate 24fps in the OPTION menu. Sorry to labour a point, but to clarify, it does set succesfully to ON in the Picture Settings menu, just not in the OPTION menu.

Any thoughts?

 

[Anonymous]

Such a richness of great information, thank you. I have a query that if anybody could help me with, would stop me going mad!

I have set the Picture Settings to upscale to 1080p and 24fps to ON. This option also states that one needs to press the 'OPTION' button on the remote and also set 24fps to ON in that menu too. However, whenever I go to this 'OPTION' menu and try to set 24fps to ON, it says this option is not available. Is this because of my TV? I run a ONKYO 609 and Samsung UE46ES8000. I have tried connecting the DVD player to the tv directly, as well as through the AMP and no matter what, I cannot activate 24fps in the OPTION menu. Sorry to labour a point, but to clarify, it does set succesfully to ON in the Picture Settings menu, just not in the OPTION menu.

Any thoughts?

 

[Anonymous]

Such a richness of great information, thank you. I have a query that if anybody could help me with, would stop me going mad!

I have set the Picture Settings to upscale to 1080p and 24fps to ON. This option also states that one needs to press the 'OPTION' button on the remote and also set 24fps to ON in that menu too. However, whenever I go to this 'OPTION' menu and try to set 24fps to ON, it says this option is not available. Is this because of my TV? I run a ONKYO 609 and Samsung UE46ES8000. I have tried connecting the DVD player to the tv directly, as well as through the AMP and no matter what, I cannot activate 24fps in the OPTION menu. Sorry to labour a point, but to clarify, it does set succesfully to ON in the Picture Settings menu, just not in the OPTION menu.

Any thoughts?

 

[beachBOYken]

I think 24p mode is only available under remote options when playing dvds as thats the only time I notice it there.

If I play bluray its not there.

If you play a bluray press status on the remote and you should see that you are getting 24fps ,you dont need to enable it threw remote options to get 24p on bluray