Panasonic DMP-BD55 Home cinema setup

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I am looking at a home cinema setup to compliment the Panasonic PZ81B. First I looked at the Panasonic SC-BT100 but was put of by the poor sound quality reviews it revieved. I then looked at the new Panasonic DMP-BD55 which seems like a great player.

Would I be able to set this player up with the Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 Speaker Package to form a worthy home cinema package or would I be better looking at other options? I want a blue ray player and the Ethernet for Network connection on the BD55 is a must for linking my pc for video and music.

 

[Andy Clough]

The Panasonic DMP-BD55 and Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 speakers will make great foundations for a home cinema system, but you'll need a multichannel amp or receiver to drive the speakers. Not sure what your budget is, but Sony's STR-DG820 (£300) or Yamaha's DSP-AX763 (£400) are both good choices.

 

[Anonymous]

Given the escalating cost, what speakers can you plug in to the BMD-BD55 for a surround sound package, or should I look at another option?

 

[Andy Clough]

Well the point is there's no amplification built in to the DMP-BD55, it's purely a player. So at the very least you'll have to add some sort of amp/speaker system to it.

There are a couple of options: there's an all-in-one Sound Projector such as the Yamaha YSP-40D (£900) which will fit neatly under your TV and give 'pseudo surround', but if that's too pricey they also do some cheaper models: the YSP-30D (£600) and YSP-600 £400).

Alternatively, you could ditch the DMP-BD55 and go for an all-in-one Blu-ray home cinema system such as the Samsung HT-BD2 (£775) which has all the amplification and player built in.

However, a system of separates will generally give you better sound and vision performance, and you can always upgrade the individual components at a later date.

 

[Anonymous]

What is your total budget?

 

[professorhat]

horne65:I want a blue ray player and the Ethernet for Network connection on the BD55 is a must for linking my pc for video and music.
I think it's also important to note the ethernet port on a Blu-Ray player will not allow you to do this - the ethernet port on this is purely for what is known as the Profile 2.0 standard of Blu-Ray which includes interactive content and extras.
Linking your PC to your sound system for music is a whole new kettle of fish as is connecting it to your TV for video. Generally, the AV receivers which have ethernet ports built in for playback of music over a network are quite expensive so if you're on a budget here, you might be better looking into this as a separate project with a separate budget.