Review on 📀 Panasonic DMP-BDT220: The Ultimate Wi-Fi 3D Blu-ray DVD Player with Integrated Functionality by Jeff Leu

I am a home theater professional and bought this unit for my own use. After reading the negative reviews, I decided to buy the device. Most of the negative reviews seem to have focused on more complex setups, and since complex setups come with problems (Murphy's Law, he loves the fearless), I blamed the setup redesign. Since my requirements were simple and I was more interested in Panasonic's reputation as a reliable manufacturer with above-average performance, I didn't expect any problems. The device has a small footprint, which allows for more placement options. Always very attractive. There aren't many connectivity options, but that's fine for most users. Those looking for advanced, high-end installation options will look to more sophisticated devices. My big needs were a good disc player with reliable scaling to improve the video quality of this random weird movie. Panasonic has always been my number one choice for video enhancement. An analog audio product is not available, so it is not a topic in this review. My second and most important requirement was the streaming ability, which is as reliable as Apple TV or Roku. With DSL internet powered by predictably bad copper (thanks again to AT&T), the best download speed I can get is 1.10 Mbps. I needed a device that could work with it effectively, which is a big IF. Unpacking and setting up is a breeze. The network connection menu is straightforward and simple. They haven't changed it for a couple of generations, and there's really no need for it. That's great. The remote has shrunk a bit, but the buttons I need are gone, and the button size is no longer an issue for my big fingers like it used to be with larger remotes. No stupid screen trying to get you to work and getting stuck when it fails. There are some important basic controls on the top of the device that are clearly visible, making them easy and convenient. PERFORMANCE: Disc playback was everything I expected, great video. The menu options for videos have been significantly reduced, but in my case it wasn't a huge issue as I wasn't interested in 3D and there isn't currently a medium or standardized format for 4K. Now we come to the really BIG part, the streaming. This device works like it's connected directly to a Netflix server, even with my horrible service, and it makes that direct wired or Wi-Fi connection to my Apple Airport Exteme. Let me mention that most of the HT service issues we cover are related to Wi-Fi connectivity, so this performance is partly due to the very robust Wi-Fi Airport Extreme feature. The new menu layout is great, the connection to a selected film is fast, and screenshots of a film or TV show will help you find the feature whose name you forgot, but remember the actors' faces. It really stumbled when bandwidth became valuable during peak usage hours, but it has more to do with peer-to-peer bandwidth sharing than device capabilities. Great video, great sound (thanks in large part to the rest of my system, the Marantz SR5009, and a hot 60-inch Panasonic LED LCD TV). So it turned out better than I expected and I was delighted. PROBLEMS So why only 3 stars? LUCK. When streaming on the second day of using Netflix, it just stopped playing after about 45 seconds. I was able to go back to the film the first few times, but by the end I was so disappointed that I canceled the show. As there is usually a spike indicating a problem with the network which is causing the error, this simple dimming was a problem with the evaporative electronics in the DMP BDT 270. After this problem appeared the unit started to hang randomly and would not accept any Commands from the remote control. Control processors and video processors do not get along. I'm not sure. The simple fix is to turn off the power, but the only way to do that is to completely unplug the device (power, HDMI, and network patch cords). The reset restored the function, but the problems reappeared, so I sent the device back. The vendor, Discones for you, readily accepted returns (or Revain did), but doesn't offer free shipping on returns, a policy that would make sense if the device wasn't a DOA. For me, less than 24 hours of normal operation is DOA. I hope this review is helpful, I'm not getting paid,