Panasonic DMP-BD70V

The earliest Blu-ray players released focused entirely on Blu-ray playback without regard for older formats. At that time, as HDTVs were not reasonably affordable to the masses, many did not know of blu-ray technology. In the past year, these TVs are more affordable and Blu-ray players are finally evolving to become fully-fledged multimedia devices. The Panasonic DMP-BD70V Disc/VHS Multimedia Blu-ray player is one example of a highly evolved Blu-ray player because of its support for the ancient VHS tapes. But it isn’t just the VHS compatibility that takes the center stage because the DMP-BD70V also has plenty of interesting features to make this a worthy Blu-ray player.

Panasonic DMP-BD70V | Player Details

Design

With VHS functionality, the design may seem a bit confusing, but surprisingly, the Panasonic DMP-BD70V takes a rather simple approach with the top part of the front panel bearing the VHS slot on the left and the Blu-ray tray on the right each complimented by their open/close and eject buttons. The power button is visible on the bottom right and the small info display on the bottom center is shared. Regarding the overall thickness, it almost looks like there are two modern Blu-ray players stacked together which isn’t that bad for a hybrid player. It surprisingly matches very well with any of the modern setups and looks good when paired with any of the latest Panasonic VIERA television displays.

Features

The Panasonic DMP-BD70V has similar features to the DMP-BD60K, which is basically the same player without the VHS functionality so people who have that player should know what to expect from the DMP-BD70V. The DMP-BD70V is capable of playing regular VHS tapes for people to enjoy their old collection and one of the rather surprising features is that it actually upconverts the VHS playback output to full 1080p resolution so this unique Blu-ray player singlehandedly beats out all the other VHS players. In addition, it can play all of the other DVDs that the user may have as well as enjoying their latest and favorite Blu-ray titles.

The list of Blu-ray features is pretty solid since it carries just about all the features that the less expensive DMP-BD60K has. This includes the BD-Live and BonusView compatibility, which translates to Profile 2.0 support making it possible to view all the latest Blu-ray titles and take advantage of any Internet content that is included if the user has an Internet connection via Ethernet.

It does not have any internal memory, but fortunately, the Internet content may be stored in a USB flash drive by plugging it in the USB 2.0 terminal or optionally inserting a SD memory card in the card slot. These two terminals also allow users to view all of their favorite digital media without burning them to a disc. Even JPEG slideshows are possible just by loading the memory card or USB drive with photos and then letting the DMP-BD70K handle the rest. It also has decent audio features, including a built-in decoder that supports Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTSTM-HD. With the VIERA Link, it is also possible to access YouTube and Picasa services.

Actual user review:
“As far as I know this is the only combo of this kind on the market, and I couldn’t be happier. Despite the outdated format and my dwindling videotape collection, I wanted to replace my old Magnavox VCR instead of abandoning VHS altogether. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I not only could still do that, I could additionally upgrade to Blu without having to find more shelf space or another power outlet. Since it isn’t really all that versatile otherwise, this player is a snap to hook up. There are no inputs (except LAN) and the outputs consist of HDMI, component and composite video, with analog and digital audio (fiber optic only). It only comes with a set of RCA analog audio/video cables, so plan ahead. I am only using the HDMI video and optical audio and it plays discs flawlessly. Pop in a videotape and it automatically switches to VHS mode and reformats itself to 4:3, while still outputting only through the digital ports. Yes, this is only a player–I prefer DVD-RAM for recording these days, anyway–but if you want the ultimate in all-in-one playback, including USB devices and SD cards, this device is for you.” – J.Cannon (MD,USA)

Performance

The performance of the Blu-ray and VHS playback is surprisingly good as there are a few interesting technologies that are easily recognized by Panasonic fans including the PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus which individually processes each pixel of the video signal for more accurate colors. When playing back old VHS tapes, people should notice the colors being much brighter than standard VHS players, all thanks to the processor that sharpens edges efficiently. There are several picture modes and adjustments to choose from to enhance the performance further.

Bottom Line

The Panasonic DMP-BD70V strives to be the best in blu-ray and VHS playback. It doesn’t have any other advanced features, but with the price comfortably under $500, the Panasonic DMP-BD70V Blu-ray Disc/VHS Multimedia player has great value that is highly recommended for any person with a huge VHS collection.

Average User Rating:

• “The DMP-BD70V upconversion of the VHS to 1080p is really quite amazing. My current television is a 42″ HDTV (one year ago it was a 19 inch color set) When I connected my previous standard VHS player to the HDTV, the picture quality, as expected, was quite poor, with much of the image being rather pixelated – it was quite painful and distracting to watch. Then I hooked up the DMP-BD70V, and lone behold, the picture quality was much, much better – and very watchable. At first I almost thought that the VHS tape had been replaced by a DVD – the improvement was that great. There was no pixelation at all, and the colors were quite bright. The overall quality of the picture was much better than the picture obtained with my old 19″ color TV and VHS player. The upscaling features of the DMP-BD70V is almost as if a magician had waved his wand over your entire library of VHS tapes, and suddenly replaced them, Cinderella-like, with a much higher quality product. For a few years, I will have several options for my home movie viewing. On one end, the $1 VHS tapes (upgraded to 1080p), in the middle the standard DVD format, and on the high side, the Blu-Ray format. This DMP-BD70V allows me to watch all three formats, and allows me to choose whether I want to pay $1, $15, or $30 for each movie format. That is what I call flexibility.” – V.Stoltz (Virginia,USA)

Click Here for Latest Offer on Panasonic DMP-BD70V
Enjoy Free Shipping & Secure Shopping