Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray player

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By Ian Morris, CNET.co.uk
Mar 31, 2009

The Panasonic DMP-BD60 is a capable and likeable Blu-ray player. We love the simple styling even if it is unexciting, and we think this is likely to be a really popular machine. A USB port and SD card reader add to the features, but this kit is first and foremost about getting Blu-ray movies onto your TV with minimum fuss and maximum quality. Overall, it's a great performer.

Editors' note:

This review is based on evaluations conducted by our sister site CNET.co.uk. Review ratings on similar products may differ due to differences in regional market trends and competing product lineups.

Design

Like all Panasonic hardware, the DMP-BD60 is a stylish-looking machine. It doesn't appear particularly exciting, but it certainly won't upset the style dynamics of your lounge.

At the back, you get access to an HDMI socket, Ethernet port, component-video output and optical digital connection. Sadly, there's no 7.1 analog audio output. Panasonic leaves this feature off its base models, probably to upsell you to the more advanced model, the DMP-BD80.

The remote control isn't much changed from previous iterations. It's a perfectly usable design and is more than pleasant to use. The buttons are big enough even for our chubby fingers to use. We do get confused sometimes between all the different menu buttons, though.

Features

The most distinctive new feature is the Viera Cast. The idea behind this is that you can connect to the Internet and enjoy content from a number of Panasonic partners. At the moment, the service offers access to Picasa Web photo album and YouTube videos.

Of course, this being a modern player, you get access to Profile 2.0-specific content, too. We've yet to see much that grabs our attention, but if you want access to it, the DMP-BD60 can provide it. That said, you will need to install an additional USB thumbdrive to supplement the Panasonic's onboard memory capacity.

You also get an SD card slot for viewing photos and videos. The latter will appeal to camcorder owners who shoot in either standard-definition MPEG-2 or high-definition AVCHD format for display on TVs. We can't see it being a feature you use everyday, but, it's a handy function to have nevertheless.

DivX support is also included. We'd like to see access to MKV format video in the future, but players that support this modern format seem thin on the ground. Still, the DivX support is good, and there is plenty of material out there to take advantage of.

Tags: DivXNetworks, camcorder, video, SD card, HDMI

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