**Upfront advice:
if you're looking for excellent disc playback and streaming performance, buy this player.
This is my fourth network streaming BD player in the past 15 months, and it's the only one that seems to do everything right.
**Positives:
Wireless streaming totally works on the BDT320. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon have not given me any problems. No rebuffers, no freezes, no disconnections. This was my single biggest complaint about the other players I tried (two Samsungs and one LG).
The player's picture quality from discs is excellent, for either Blu Ray or DVD (the DVD picture is surprisingly good, actually).
This thing is fast -faster than the other three players I had. It's fast to load, and fast to navigate. The menus are clean, polished and responsive. Even the streaming app menu responds quickly, although the Netflix app itself is rather slow.
Build quality is quite good, and the design is very attractive and unique.
**Negatives:
There's really only one, and it's minor: the remote uses a touchpad that can be tricky. I applaud the concept, because it's a great way to control the player without having to look at the remote. And it does work...sort of. It's just too inconsistent, sometimes missing gestures, and other times responding incorrectly to gestures. Also, some of the player functions are accessible only through the touchpad using onscreen menus. This means that there's no way to teach these commands to a universal remote, so accessing them will require several button presses instead of one.
All in all, the remote hasn't been an issue. I use a Harmony One universal remote, and although the code set for the BDT320 isn't yet in the Harmony online database, by using the code set from last year's Panasonic BD players I was able to get most of the functionality of the BDT320's stock remote. As I noted above, some functions are menu driven, so the remote can't learn them, but on the upside, using last year's player codes gave me buttons not available on the BDT320 remote such as Eject and discrete On and Off.
**Unknown:
I have not attempted to play burned DVD media, and I don't do network (DLNA) or hard-drive streaming (such as for DiVX files) so I can't comment on any of this.
**Bottom line:
For user-friendly, high-quality playback of discs and streamed content, this player is a winner. As an early adopter, I paid $180.00, and I definitely believe I got my money's worth.
For newest updates please read down to bottom...
I have just spent the last few hours having fun with my new Panasonic 320 and am excited to replace my Samsung BD-D6500. Good Riddance!
First of all, I have to say I like the remote overall. It seems that this little device seems to generate the only well-founded criticism of this player. It is a little strange to have a remote without a button covering every possible function of the player. After getting over this fact the remote was surprisingly easy to use and setup was a breeze. You can always hit a single button and bring up a virtual keypad onscreen. So even if you don't memorize the swipes you can always cheat by hitting one simple button.
The form factor and look is great! The player is TINY. It's very thin and very shallow. So I had to find a prop to go under the rear legs of a component that rests on top. Also you have to leave the front inch or so on top clear as there are top-mounted buttons. Optimally this player should sit at the top of a component stack. But my other device has a curved surface so...
Setup and initial configuration was simple and easy. This applies to Netflix login too. Again super-easy. I saw another review where someone complained about the lack of alpha keys on the remote and another complaint about network logon/ Netflix login difficulties. I have no idea what these people were doing to make their situation so difficult. Its really not hard. Also the initial software update went smooth, taking about 10 minutes to complete. I had no need for the owners manual throughout my setup process though some might need to reference it.
Netflix loads very quickly and the menu navigation is easy. Also the video quality while streaming is great. Not one single,"Rebuffering," as my Samsung used to do several times over the course of shows. Blu-rays load very quickly and I found that menu navigation within the disc was smooth and easy. At this point I really began to love the remote swipe and tap functionality.
I am very happy with my purchase so far and really appreciate Panasonic building such a great and simple player. I was almost convinced that Blu-ray was a joke technology and streaming was going to be terrible at best. This player has restored my faith in this area of consumer electronics!
UPDATE: The correct App in Apple's App Store that is compatible with this player is "Panasonic Blu-ray Remote 2012." Trying to use the 2011 version is of no use with this player. There are a bunch of negative App reviews that come from people who, I believe, are maybe using the wrong version of the app. Maybe Panasonic will merge the different editions.
Also it took me 5 minutes to explain the remote's operation to my wife. That makes two of us who can use it easily now.
Still love this little player and no hiccups. I experimented with family photos on an SD Card and all went easy.
*** Update 4/28Still love this player. No issues with it at all. Its very stable. Love the remote and the response time for loading discs and apps. Using Amazon Instant in addition to Netflix. Love it. The picture is AWESOME!!!
*** Update 5/28I am revising my review way down!!!
About a week and a half ago I started experiencing issues with the player losing connection with the internet. We'll be watching a show on Amazon or Netflix, then suddenly the image will disappear and I get a message that the player cannot connect to the internet. After dealing with this about 8-9 times and unplugging to reset and get a working connection again, I called Panasonic support. (I note that during this time none of our other connected devices like Wii and iPad have any issues.)
The rep was very courteous and I connected with him fast. He had me go through a software reset process and explained that there was a firmware update that occurred that resulted in the connection problems. He told me that they were taking a ton of calls over it. After completely resetting I had to go back through the apps and reenter all my login info for my streaming services. It took forever with Pandora, Netflix, Amazon etc all requiring a re-login. So its been reliable for a couple(2) days then, all of a sudden, the same gremlins return with frequent dropped connections require an unplug, replug to connect.
I'm very letdown after writing a great review following a terrific experience with the player. Although I have had no issues with discs, the streaming part of the player has failed to live up to its promise.
*** Update 6/3/12OVER IT!!! Panasonic support has been terrible. I have spoken with multiple reps in an attempt to resolve the streaming issues. THERE IS NO ISSUE WITH MY WIRELESS NETWORK. Talk about playing the blame game. The support techs are inept to say the least. I had one real interaction prior to my 5/28 update. The rest have been canned, scripted finger pointing at everyone from my ISP to Cisco. Every other product in the house works on wireless. This includes Roku streaming, Wii streaming, iPad streaming, iphone streaming. The issue is this. The player loses connection midpoint during a show (Netflix, Amazon, Pandora.) I go into the settings menu and lo and behold there is no network detected. Unplug from power, replug, back up and running until the next fail. I have revised to one star as a very highly touted function of the unit does not work as advertised. This unit will now be used for disc only and streaming will happen with my old Roku device.
*** Update 9/26/12
So I pretty much wrote off the unit as disc only but I didn't toss it out. I downloaded firmware update 1.4X last week and now it is streaming very well. There have been no other changes in my network or hardware. Over the past week we have had no dropped connections and the wireless issue seems resolved (knock on wood). Both Amazon Instant and Netflix are performing as designed. I moved to 2 stars and if this continues I will revise up again. I still loathe the support team that doesn't know how to troubleshoot or correctly support the product and only knows how to point the finger at other factors, but the product seems to be ok.
*** Update 11/2/12
The streaming has been mostly stable since the 1.4 firmware update. I have had maybe 3 drop issues from Amazon, but no Netflix issues. I am moving to 3 stars. I also ordered the remote control for the DMP-BDT220 from Panasonic's website for easier remote operation. It was only $9.00 and is perfectly compatible.
Buy Panasonic DMP-BDT320 Integrated Wi-Fi 3D Blu-ray DVD Player Now
I purchased this unit from Amazon last week. The DMP-BDT320 is extremely lightweight and sleek.
The setup seemed simple. My plan was to hard wire the internet using a LAN connection and not to the wireless since LAN speeds are faster. After fumbling with the mouse pad remote for a few minutes, I soon realized it is ultra sensitive. Only a slight sweep across the pad works. After following the screen setup instructions everything worked. I didn't even have to mess with the setup for the LAN it was already on and working at least I that's what I thought.
I connected to the internet by touching the internet button on the remote. By the way, the remote also has a separate NETFLIX button which is quite nice actually. I then setup my existing NETFLIX account without any apparent issues. I then tried the internet and watched a couple of You-Tube videos. Then inserted a Blue-ray movie into the player. The sequence is the same as if you were inserting a DVD into a auto dash unit. The movie started fast much quicker than my previous Blue-ray unit. I then discovered the remote apparently does not have an eject button. Back to the manual only to discover you must touch an eject button on top of the unit in order to release the Blue-ray disc.
I turned the unit off and a few minutes later decided to test watch a NETFLIX movie. I soon found out NETFLIX's streaming selections are terrible maybe one out of 20 fairly new DVD releases might be offered. So, if you are considering a NETFLIX streaming account for purely economic reasons you might want to think again. I personally am going back to the mail program and a much better selection of newer movies. Anyway, after I turned the unit back on I could not get my LAN connection to work. After gaining some insight from googling a few online sites, I determined the DMP-BDT320 has to be connected to your home network. This of course requires network instructions from your computer and cablemodem/router. The DMP-BDT320's instruction manual does not offer any insight on connecting to the internet using a LAN connection via a home network. I guess I'll get that done later. I have no idea why the player recognized the LAN at the time of my initial setup. I went ahead and connected by wireless through the unit's setup instruction. Setup was easy and after inputting my router's WEP security code, the wireless connection was solid and steady.
I had difficulty getting the unit to connect me to my existing NETFLIX account. I kept getting an error message. I went back to my computer and my NETFLIX account online. NETFLIX's online instruction said I needed to obtain an "activation" code from my Blue-Ray player. I went back to the player and could not come up with any screen that gave me a NETFLIX activation code.
I called Panasonic support and had difficulty getting a phone connection. When I finally did, the representative said that since I had setup the unit already, the activation code would not be displayed again unless I "reset" the player. That sounded reasonable but they gave me reset instructions for another Panasonic unit because their instructions discussed buttons and features on a remote that I did not have. I called back again. Panasonic support again me reset instructions for a unit other than the DMP-BDT320. I tried again and this time was elevated to a third level support desk. This person finally supplied me with the reset instructions for the DMP-BDT320. For those interested here are the instructions which will reset the DMP-BDT320 back to a new factory unit:
Turn off the electricity or power to the DMP-BDT320 (Player) wait a minute and then replug the chord back into the wall outlet or electrical strip.
Do not turn on the power to the unit using the remote.
Using the remote, press the "Key" Button along with the "B" and "Y" buttons at the same time for about 10 seconds or until the players screen displays "00 RET."
Immediately press the "R" button until the player's screen rolls over into the "08 FIN" display.
When "08 FIN" is displayed, hold down the "G" button until the screen says "Hello."
When the screen says "Goodbye" you are finished. The player will turn itself off and the unit will have been reset.
After I reset the unit, I went back and sure enough the player asked me instructions as if I was turning on and programming the DMP-BDT320 for the first time. Please remember this has nothing to do with setting the unit to the "default" setting which is available on the remote and player setup. That command does not bring the machine back to first time use.
Lastly, I returned to NETFLIX only to find out my NETFLIX account settings were in error and I did not even need to input an activation code. I guess knowing how to reset the machine was worth the trouble.
Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DMP-BDT320 Integrated Wi-Fi 3D Blu-ray DVD Player Here
I have been looking for something to replace my ps3 for streaming videos/blu-ray playing as well as something that supports Amazon Prime video streaming. This thing fit that niche perfectly for me. Not only can it stream videos but it can do it wireless without the annoying stuttering I used to get with my PS3 when streaming HD files wireless within my home network. The interface for Amazon Prime videos is pretty nice and since it is a blu-ray player I played a few from my collection to test it out and well.... it plays. Very easy to set up and being it is only half the size (depth) of a conventional blu-ray player is a plus.
The only thing I can see that might be a problem though is the remote. It's not like a regular remote since it has that swipe pad in the center of it. It really limits what you can do since you need to go to different screens within the interface instead of simply clicking a button on the remote. Having to navigate around instead of just having a button to push is going to irritate some people.
UPDATE: Universal remote works fine with this unit, eject works as well so the remote that comes with it gets put in the drawer along with the rest of them.
Want Panasonic DMP-BDT320 Integrated Wi-Fi 3D Blu-ray DVD Player Discount?
This machine is exactly the same as the 220 model but it has 1) a slot loading drive and 2) a fancy remote with a touchpad and minimal buttons.
No real complaints about the slot loader. It looks sleeker but it's otherwise immaterial. I would note that there's a flip-down panel on the front and mine broke the first week under normal usage. Now the panel is stuck in the down position which ruins the sleek look they're going for. Pretty poor design and engineering. The size/shape is also non-standard and it doesn't lend itself to have other AV devices stacked on top of it.
My main gripe is the touchpad remote. It sounds like a good idea but it doesn't work well at all. It's not precise and mis-reads your gestures. It also requires the screen to be on so you can see the available menu choices. This is hugely annoying if you've already turned off the TV and/or only want to listen to audio CDs. There's no eject button or any of the other choices you're accustomed to on a remote (forward, rewind, pause). My Bluray player is in my cabinet at above-eye-level so it's really hard to find the eject button on the player by fishing around on top. I completely regret buying this and I wish Panasonic would offer free BDT220 Remotes to anyone stuck with these awful things.
Traditional remotes with dedicated buttons are tried and true. There's no reason to change the format. This seems like somebody at Panasonic had an invention in search of a purpose. If I needed fancy, pointless gadgetry that actually made my life *more* complicated, I'd shop at Brookstone.
Second rant: It's hard to type/navigate the on-screen keyboard with this thing (also true of the BDT220). Using Netflix and other online applications that require typing is painful via this remote. Instead of adding a pointless enhancement that does nothing for the users, they should have had a small flip-up (or slider) QWERTY keyboard in the remote ... like some of the smartphones have.
The other aspects of the player are fine, as expected. But I can't give this product a decent rating considering how poorly designed the hardware and UI are.
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