Panasonic DMP-BD55K 1080p Blu-Ray Player | 
 enlarge | Brand: Panasonic
Category: CE
Buy New: See price in cart
New (29)
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 68
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries: 2
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5.7
Dimensions (in): 16.9 x 9.8 x 1.7
MPN: DMP-BD55K
Model: DMP-BD55K
UPC: 037988257171
EAN: 0037988257171
ASIN: B001GAOYCI
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Blu-ray Player | | • | BD Live / 7.1 Lossless Decode and Analog Output | | • | VIERA Link: Operate with your VIERA Remote Control | | • | SD Card Slot |
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Product Description
BD-Live: Enjoy Additional Content via Internet (requires optional SD card) / PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus / Also plays DVD, CD, DiVX
Amazon.com Product Description
Panasonic's two new slim, BD-Live compatible, feature-filled Blu-ray players, the DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55, offer cutting edge technologies focused on producing the ultimate movie-viewing experience.
 The BD35 and BD55 both feature an HD Audio Decoder (Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTSTM-HD Master Audio Essential), delivering 7.1-channel surround sound through a 7.1-channel receiver equipped with an HDMI terminal. The DMP-BD55 features high-end audio components and can also output analog signals for 7.1-channel sound, so even receivers that are not compatible with HDMI can produce the newest 7.1-channel surround sound.
Both models are equipped with an SD Memory Card slot that makes it easy to transfer images from an HD camcorder or digital still camera that uses SD Memory Cards and are compatible with Panasonic’s VIERA Link function so they can be operated by the VIERA HDTV remote control.
The combination of a Panasonic Blu-ray player, Home Theater audio system and a VIERA HDTV converts the home entertainment experience into a true-to-life cinematic experience. Consumers can now view and enjoy movies the way the film maker intended -- in stunning High Definition video and audio – right from the comfort of their own home.
Learn More
True-To-Life Colors The PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus video processor was developed after more than 15 years of collaboration between Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory and professional cinema studios in Hollywood. With PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus, users viewing content on Blu-ray Discs enjoy crisp, vivid colors that are extremely close to the original. A high-precision 4:4:4 function creates video signals in which each pixel of the signal from the Blu-ray Disc is color-compensated, so when the player is connected to a Panasonic VIERA HDTV, the colors are even sharper and more vivid.
UniPhier System UniPhier is a Panasonic-created system LSI developed by applying 45-nanometer processing to a consumer product – a world’s first. This single-chip integration technology also contributes greatly to the BD35’s world's slimmest height of 49mm.
Blu-ray Video Features More Picture |  See Everything Your HDTV Can Show You with Full HD.
6 Times the Picture Data on DVDs
See everything your HDTV can show you. Blu-ray Disc's Full HD 1080p resolution produces over 2 million pixels per frame to produce a razor-sharp picture with unmatched depth and clarity that takes full advantage of the capabilities of today's 1080p HDTVs. That's six times the picture data contained on DVDs, which are encoded at only 480p. 24p True Cinema Video Output
Most of all Hollywood movies are shot at 24 frames per second, and Blu-ray Disc movies are mastered at 24 frame per second. Blu-ray Disc Players can output films at 1080/24p for a true film-like experience at home, as well as 1080/60p for more traditional HDTV sets on the market.
Backwards compatible and Upscaling
All existing Blu-ray Disc players will play your standard DVD collection without a problem. And with built-in 1080p video upscaling, they'll look even better. |
More Space | Blu-ray Disc has 5x more storage capacity than DVD, which allows more content to fit on the disc. The extra storage capacity also means more room for special features like inline navigation, Bonus View, interactive games, deleted scenes, director commentary and more | Navigate to special features, other scenes, or settings without leaving the content you are watching.
| Bonus View lets you watch special features and commentary inline without leaving the movie.
| More Bits  In the digital world, picture quality is not just about resolution, but also about bit rates. The higher the bit rate, the more data that is processed, typically resulting in higher video quality. DVDs have a maximum video bit rate of about 10 megabits per second (Mbps). In comparison, Blu-ray Disc is capable of video bitrates up to an incredible 40 Mbps. The bottom line, higher bit rates allow for the least amount of data compression for HD video that looks closest to the original video source.
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BD-Live  Both the BD35 and BD55 feature BD-Live compatibility which enables users to connect to the Internet to download images, subtitles and other data, and take part in interactive activities and multi-player games linked to bonus cinema content found on Blu-ray Discs.
BD-Live is a Blu-ray feature that enables you to access special content via an internet-connected Blu-ray player. Because it's not coded into the disc, BD-Live content is always updated, always fresh. With BD-Live, your Blu-ray disc is different every time you view it.
Check out the latest previews, download special scenes, exclusive features and ringtones, and participate in online communities or games.
As BD-Live continues to grow and expand, even more features will become available, customizing features and content to your location or preferences.
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Life-Like Surround Sound The BD35 and BD55 both feature an HD Audio Decoder (Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTSTM-HD Master Audio Essential), which supports the 7.1-channel surround sound newly adopted in Blu-ray Discs. Users can enjoy 7.1-channel surround even with systems that do not support HD Audio -- as long as the DMP-BD35/55 is connected to a 7.1-channel receiver equipped with an HDMI terminal. The DMP-BD55 can also output analog signals for 7.1-channel sound, so even receivers that are not compatible with HDMI can produce the newest 7.1-channel surround sound by simply connecting to the DMP-BD55.
Dolby TrueHD, Dolby’s next-generation lossless technology developed for high-definition disc-based media, delivers tantalizing sound that is bit-for-bit identical to the studio master.
- Delivers enthralling studio-master-quality sound that unlocks the true high-definition entertainment experience on next-generation discs.
- Offers more discrete channels than ever before for impeccable surround sound.
- Compatible with the A/V receivers and home-theaters-in-a-box (HTIBs) of today and tomorrow.
- Dialogue normalization maintains the same volume level when you change to other Dolby Digital and Dolby TrueHD programming.
- Dynamic range control (Night mode) enables you to customize audio playback to reduce peak volume levels (no loud surprises) while experiencing all the details in the soundtrack, enabling late-night viewing of high-energy surround sound without disturbing others.
The Panasonic BD55 goes a step further with a high-end audio design and components. Thanks to a 192kHz 24bit audio digital-analog converter and high quality insulators, electrolytic capacitors, copper-foil film capacitors and ultra-low-impedance electrolytic capacitors, the DMP-BD55 delivers the same kind of exciting surround effect and lifelike ambience as today's finest cinemas. The DMP-BD55 can also output analog signals for 7.1-channel sound, so even receivers that are not compatible with HDMI can produce the newest 7.1-channel surround sound by simply connecting to the DMP-BD55.
HDMI Features x.v Color 
RGB Color Range
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xvYCC Color Range
| Standard RGB color space allows the display of a portion of the colors that are viewable to the human eye. The next generation "xvYCC" color space (Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications), or "x.v. color" for shortactually offers an available range of colors that exceeds what human eyes can recognize. - Next-generation "xvYCC" color space supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals
- Lets HDTVs display colors more accurately
- Enables displays with more natural and vivid colors
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Deep Color  | So, where x.v. color expands the available range of colors your HDTV can display, Deep Color increases the number of colors your HDTV can display within that range, for smoother transitions from color to color.
- Lets HDTVs and other displays go from millions of colors to billions of colors
- Eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors
- Enables increased contrast ratio
- Can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white
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Connectivity Both models are equipped with an SD Memory Card slot that makes it easy to transfer images from an HD camcorder or digital still camera that uses SD Memory Cards. Simply insert the SD card into the DMP-BD35/55 and it plays AVCHD-format video images or JPEG stills in full 1920 x 1080 resolution on your flat panel HDTV. The DMP-BD35/55 can also play slide shows, complete with background music.
The DMP-BD35/55 models are also compatible with Panasonic’s VIERA Link function so they can be operated by the VIERA HDTV remote control.
Inputs/Outputs - HDMI
- Component Video Out (Y, PB, PR)
- Video Out
- 7.1 ch Audio Out analog
- Digital Audio Out: 1 optical, 1 coaxial
- SD Memory Card Slot
- Ethernet for Network
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Specifications VIDEO PHL Reference Chroma Processor Yes
P4HD (Pixel Precision Progressive Processing for HD) Yes
Precise Pixel Generation: Yes
16-Level Motion Detection w/ Pixel-Based Motion Adaptive Yes
Diagonal Processing Yes
3:2/2:2 Pull-Down Progressive Processing Yes
i/p Conversion for 1080p 4 Playback Yes
Up-conversion to 1080p 5 Playback Yes
Video D/A Converter 148.5MHz/12bit
Progressive Scan Yes
Digital Noise Reduction 3D-NR/Integrated NR
1080/24p Playback Yes
Deep Color Yes
x.v.Color Yes
Picture Mode Yes (Normal/Soft/Fine/Cinema/User)
Picture Adjustment Yes (Brightness, Color, Contrast, Sharpness, Gamma Correction)
AUDIO Audio D/A Converter 192kHz/24bit
Dolby Digital/Dolby Digital Plus Decoder Decode and Bitstream output
Dolby True HD Decoder Decode and Bitstream output
DTS/DTS-HD High Resolution Audio Decoder Decode and Bitstream output
96kHz Surround Re-Master (for all formats)
Advanced Surround (V.S.S.) Yes
Night Surround Mode Yes
Dialogue Enhancer Yes
Dynamic Range Compression Yes
Audio S/N 115dB
Dynamic Range 100dB CONVENIENCE Super Hi Speed Scan Yes
Audio/JPEG Navigation Menu Yes
VIERA Link (HDAVI Control 3) Yes INPUT/OUTPUT HDMI: Support features: Deep Color, x.v.Color, High Bit Rate Audio
Component Video Out (Y, PB, PR) Yes
Video Out Yes
7.1ch Audio Out analog
2ch Audio Out No
Digital Audio Out 1 optical, 1 coaxial
SD Memory Card Slot Yes
Ethernet for Network Yes FORMAT BD-ROM Playback BD-Live
BD-RE / BD-RE DL BD-MV (BD-RE version3), BDAV (SESF), JPEG (HD)
BD-R/BD-R DL BD-MV (BD-R version2), BDAV (SESF)
DVD Playback DVD-Video
DVD-RAM Playback DVD-VR, JPEG (HD), AVCHD
DVD-R/-RW/-R(DL) 1 Playback DVD Video, DVD-VR, AVCHD, DivX (DVD-R/-R DL only)
+R/+R(DL)/+RW Playback DVD-VR, AVCHD
CD, CD-R/-RW 2 Playback CD-DA, DivX (CD-R/-RW only), MP3 3 (CD-R/-RW only), JPEG (HD) (CD-R/-RW only)
SD Memory Card AVCHD, JPEG (HD)
POWER Power Source AC 120V, 60Hz
Power Consumption21W (approx)
DIMENSIONS (H x W x D) 23/16 inches x 1615/16 inches x 913/16 inches
Weight 5.7 lbs
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Incredible November 14, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
The picture the BD55 player puts out along with the sound quality will blow you away. There is no downside to this player. I never knew my Sony HDTV could look so good.
Best Blu-ray Player and I've tried Three November 12, 2008
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
Pros: Excellent Picture Quality for both Blu-ray's and Standard DVD's. Sound using analog output sounds amazing. It's 2.0 right out of the box. Can play pretty much anything. Has lot os extras in menu to work with. Slick and pretty dang cool to look at.
Cons: Not really a con but it uses SD cards rather than USB. But I guess that's actually a good thing so you can view photos and such.
Summary: I have tried three different players. I have a Samsung TV and thought that it would be a good thing to have a Samsung Blu-ray to go along with it. I had immediate problems with it. I then tried the Sony 350 which I had problems and some personal dislikes so I returned that one. After realizing I just needed to spend the money I went and picked up the Panny BD55. It is worth every penny. It surpases the picture quality and the sound quality of boththe Samsung 1500 and the Sony 350. The analogs out are great for anyone with an older receiver. The sound is fantastic. I picked up the incredible Hulk on Blu-ray and it was shaking the room. The menu is great and has tons of settings for those of us who like to tweak things. It is a beautiful looking player which you can easily find yourself staring at it. One thing that was very surprising is that the Vierra link works with My Samsung LN46A650 AnyNet function so the Blu-ray player and my tv will interact with one another. I turn the player on and the tv will turn on and change to the Blu-ray source. I turn the TV off and the player will turn off. It's pretty nifty. All in all it's a great player and probably the best that's out there right now. If you have the money go for it, it's worth it. If you don't need the analog out go for it's little brother the BD35.
Amazing November 6, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Starts up fast, upconverts great, sound is amazing. Easy to use ... As soon as I got it I upgraded from ver 1.0 of the firmware to 1.5 (worth knowing its there). 1080 over component for blu ray DVDs or non HMDI tvs and 480 over component for non blu ray dvds
Best Blu-ray Bang for the Buck October 31, 2008
41 out of 43 found this review helpful
Many people have been waiting a long time for a Blu-ray Disc player like the DMP-BD55 to come along: one that supports native decoding and bitstreaming of *all* of the high definition audio formats (Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, multi-channel PCM), with full Profile 1.1 and 2.0 support (BonusView and BD-Live), with reasonably fast loading times and good BD-Java interactivity, with outstanding Blu-ray Disc image quality and acceptable upconversion of standard DVDs. And I'm happy to say the BD55 satifies on all of these levels.
Although some say the PS3 is still the best Blu-ray Disc player, the PS3 lacks bitstreaming support for DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD (which some people want), and it does not integrate as well with a home theater system due to its lack of IR or RF remote control support. Yes I know all about the Nyko IR remote for the PS3, but that is missing some core controls like POWER so it will not get you the whole way there. Also, the BD55 (and its little brother, the equally impressive BD35) are actually less expensive than the PS3, and they've come a long way in disc loading and boot-up times such that these new BD players actually load some discs a little bit *faster* than the PS3 (details below). The PS3 still wins in overall boot-up time and in loading and interaction with BD-Java discs, but the new Panasonics are among the first to give the PS3 a run for its money in this department.
Where the BD55 wins over virtually all of the competition (including the PS3) is in its treatment of Blu-ray Discs, both from a picture performance standpoint and in the audio department. On the "big picture" front, the unit includes Panasonic's newly improved UniPhier chip which intelligently upconverts the native 4:2:0 encoding on a Blu-ray discs to 4:4:4 output. What this means from a layman's perspective is that the player restores missing color detail to each pixel in the 1920x1080 image. And while this doesn't make a big difference on smaller sized screens, it does noticeably improve color detail on the larger flat panel and projection screens which you're likely to find in a home theater system. Also, the BD55 has enhanced SD upconversion over its predecessors that makes watching DVDs a lot more enjoyable. It's not quite the equal the the best upconverting DVD players on the market, but it's not that far off either.
On the sound front, the BD55 includes 5.1 and 7.1-channel analog outputs with full decoding of multi-channel PCM, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. This makes it an excellent choice to add to a high-end multi-channel preamp/processor or receiver which lacks HDMI inputs. The multi-channel analog output allows you to take full advantage of the latest and greatest audio formats available on Blu-ray Disc. If you haven't heard these new formats yet, you're in for a treat as they exactly match the original studio recordings in quality and it can give your home theater system quite a work out! The BD55 is one of very few players on the market today that offers this feature (multi-channel analog out). The PS3 does not offer this. And while the Samsung BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 do offer multi-channel analog outputs, they do not currently offer native decoding of DTS-HD Master Audio (though there is some conflicting information as to whether this may be delivered in the future via a firmware upgrade).
For those with more modern surround sound equipment, the BD55 can output multi-channel Blu-ray Discs and DVDs in the native "bitstream" or it can decode the bitstream to full resolution uncompressed PCM. The choice is yours based on the capabilities of your specific home theater system.
One of the first things we measured when we got the BD55 in for review was the boot-up and disc-loading time. First and second generation BD players were painfully slow to boot up and to load discs. While the BD55 does take 24 seconds to boot up (vs. the PS3's 9 seconds), the BD55 was actually quicker to load a standard (non-Java) Blu-ray Disc than the PS3 - about 9 seconds faster, to be precise - and it was about 6 seconds faster to load a standard DVD. For a BD Java-heavy disc like "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," the BD55 loaded up the disc in about 45 seconds, which is only about 5 seconds slower than the PS3. The PS3, with its super-fast Cell processor, is still better (and quicker) in its interactivity with BD-Java-based menus and BD-Live, but the BD55 is certainly in the same ballpark. What's important here is that the delays in playback are short enough that they won't bother most people, and the huge improvement in picture and sound quality over standard DVD make Blu-ray playback on the BD55 worth the wait.
The DMP-BD55 is by no means a "perfect" player - all CE components have their quirks. SD conversion on specialized upconverting DVD players such as the higher end Oppo players or the Silicon Optix HQV-based players is definitely better than the SD upconversion on the BD55, but not so much as to bother me (and I'm pretty picky). Overall, the BD55 provides one of the stongest feature sets and performance packages available today, and it does it at a price in line with most home theater fans' budgets. So it gets my enthusiastic recommendation.
More information is available in our full review on Big Picture Big Sound.
 Not bad, but there's competition October 30, 2008
15 out of 59 found this review helpful
This Blu-Ray player is not bad in terms of build quality but it cannot compare to the Samsung BD-P2500 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player or The Samsung BD-P2550 (P2550 is available exclusively at a certain nationwide retail chain only). The Samsung upscales standard DVDs much better due to a very good high quality HQV chip. It also does Netflix instant watching (and the p2550 adds Pandora streaming too!), all for about the same price as this Panasonic.
So while this Panasonic certainly isn't a bad player, for the money you could get better picture quality for standard DVDs and a lot more features and enjoyment with the Samsung.
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