Customer Reviews

Panasonic DMP-B500 WiFi Enabled 10.1-Inch Screen Portable Blu-ray Disc Player

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you are someone who needs a fifty inch screen to watch movies on, this machine is not for you. If you are someone with a Blu-Ray collection who travels and wants a way to watch them on the move, keep going. The DMP-B500 has a 10.1 inch screen that operates on a 1024x600 screen resolution. The DMP-B500 does NOT have a native 1080P screen. It is, however, an excellent screen for it's size. Colors are vivid and accurate, though if you're like me, you will have to turn down the color saturation. The default settings run a hair deeper to the red then they should, but it is easily fixed. There is no ghosting in the screen, nor are there artifacts or dark 'bricking'. While the screen is in operation there is no glare in a dark room, while still being easily visible in sunlight and room light.

The built in speakers won't drown out a room, but are easily heard with surprising depth and quality. You wont' be rewinding constantly to hear what someone said. The DMP-B500 only has one headphone jack, however, so if you have to share it in a car or on a plane you will have to buy a headphone splitter. The DMP-B500 will start a dvd instantly, though most Blu-Ray discs require five to fifteen seconds to go from main menu to movie. Native firmware will run every movie on the market at the moment, however there have been two firmware updates since I purchased my DMP-B500. Avatar and Alice in Wonderland both play flawlessly as does the rest of my collection. Of the fifty odd Blu-Ray I own, none have had any issues being played on the DMP-B500.

On a full battery charge you will get three hours from the DMP-B500, with headphones plugged in and the screen's brightness turned down, you can get four hours.

The DMP-B500 can connect to any HD television with an HDMI cable. While connected to the television, the DMP-B500 transmits at full 1080/24P with excellent video and sound quality.

The DMP-B500 can play Div-x .AVI files. However these files can NOT be placed on an SD card. Div-X files must be burned to disk or played off a standard usb thumb-drive. I have not yet convinced my DMP-B500 to read Div-x files from an external hard drive. The DMP-B500 can play MPeG2 files from the SD card. Fair warning, to activate the DMP-B500's Div-X capabilities you MUST burn the activation file to a cd or dvd. The activation file will not play via usb thumb drive, nor SD card.

.JPG files are supported, though the support if 'iffy'. Pictures taken from your camera in .JPG will show on your DMP-B500, but the machine 'sorts' the photos for you. A pictures of your nieces birthday party will find its way from the rest of the party photos and straight into those of your vacation. As of you, I don't know how the DMP-B500 sorts photos, as they aren't sorted alphabetically by name, nor by capture date.

MP3's play from burned disk, SD card, and USB drive. I have had no problems with any of my MP3's, those purchased from I-tunes and Amazon both worked fine.

Internet video is an interesting feature. You can watch Youtube, Amazon movies on demand, and Netflix via the built in Wifi adapter or the built in ethernet jack. So far all I have tried have played, but Youtube videos are not played in full screen. Instead they get roughly half the screen on the right side of the display. Picasso photo albums, Pandora internet radio, Fox Sports, and a weather network are additional internet features with more being added all the time. Firmware is updated either via cd or the built in ethernet connection. Updating the firmware takes around ten minutes.

The only true negatives about the DMP-B500 I can offer are the design and the price. The screen does not clam-shell, therefore it can't be tossed into a backpack as the screen is ALWAYS exposed. You need a dedicated carrying case to move the DMP-B500 around. Also, you must lift the screen to change discs. Neither are show stoppers, but both are annoyances. There is also the price to consider. The DMP-B500 is not a machine that's worth eight hundred dollars. Watch Amazon's daily price and wait for a good deal. Six hundred dollars for a machine of the DMP-B500's capabilities is a very good price, but not eight hundred.

Pro's: Display, sound, portability, multiple features, battery life, Disc read time.
Con's: SD Card not supporting DivX files, Screen always exposed, price, no included travel charger.

This machine is worth a purchase if you want to watch your Blu-ray's on the move. The DMP-B500 is vastly superior to the US release of the DMP-B100 in every way but price.

I purchased this player to watch movies when my business sticks me in low budget hotels with subpar cable TV. The player works well. I stream Netflix movies with no problem, even over my WPA2 encrypted wireless network at home. The wireless is though the included USB WLAN card that you must remember to plug in before using the network features.

The display is sharp and bright. You can navigate using the remote control or with the control knob on top of the unit. The remote is simple enough, though I wish it was smaller.

The fact that the screen is always exposed, even when the unit is off and closed does worry me. Especially when TSA demands I pull it out of the case I bought and put it in a bin for the XRay machine. I keep waiting for disaster as it gets bumped around on the conveyor belt. And it's way too expensive and fragile to leave in checked luggage.

The HDMI output is nice if the hotel room has a TV that supports HDMI and the hotel hasn't disabled it to try and force you to pay for their on demand movies.

You can buy cheaper non-BluRay players but this unit makes a nice portable unit and the wireless streaming makes it super, as even crappy hotels have free wireless these days.

But the price and exposed screen make you handle it with a very gentle touch.

This is my first portable blue ray player and the visual clarity is outstanding. I would definately recommend this product to everyone.

The B-500 looks like a very nice unit, but unfortunately mine is a lemon. I have returned it to Panasonic for repair once already, received it back and still does not work. After about 15 minutes of use the screen goes all milky white and you have no picture. Still have audio just no picture. Returning it again to Panasonic and they are presumably sending me another B-500 as a replacement. They will not send you a new replacement unit only a refurbished unit. I personally think this a crappy deal and will never buy another Panasonic product. I bought this unit in June, 2010 and think I should receive a new unit as a replacement. It has not worked from day one. When you call in to Panasonics repair center allow yourself at least 30 minutes for the process. You end up being transferred about six times and generally end up having to make the call twice to finally get to the right department. In other words Panasonics customer service center is a really frustrating experience. So good luck if you purchase this model because you've been warned.

May 2011 - This is an update on my last review. I received my player back from the Panasonic repair center. It worked perfectly, for a total of about 40 hrs in a six week period. This player has been well cared for never having been used anywhwere but in the home. The only conclusion I can draw from this experience is this particular player (maybe even model) is a piece of crap and I'm out the purchase price. The only positive thing I can say about this particlar unit is it may look nice but looks isn't everything.

I almost bought Panasonic's previous model last year. Glad I didn't. This is just what I was looking for, and after spending a few hours with it, I'm happy to report that it does well what it's supposed to do. I couldn't be happier. I bought my first portable Panasonic DVD player in 1998, the first one on the market. It had a 5" screen, stereo speakers, and there were only 100 or so DVDs available to purchase. It set me back about $1,500 but served me well at home and on the road for many years and now belongs to a friend of mine named Bennie living in the Eastern Cuban town of Velasco. I'm a Mac guy and this is the only way to play my BluRays on the road. Hopefully Apple will see the light and start making BlueRays an option on their computers ... but until then, I'm happy with my new Panasonic DMP-B500. The only change I'd make is to have a dedicated Subtitle button on the remote for easy on and off. Thanks Panasonic. Good night and Godspeed.

Gregg

I now own both the DMP B15 and the DMP B500. The B500 is definitely superior in terms of Sound and Picture Size. The extra functions such as the Photo Frame and Calendar are cool Add Ons.

Definitely reccomend this product for anyone who prefers to watch Hi Dep Movies on the run.

Brilliant product from Panasonic.

Suggestions: Clam Shell and extended Battery life.

I have had no problems with this blu-ray player. There are a couple of things I don't like about it. One is if I wanted to pause a movie I have to use the remote and cannot use any buttons on the player it self. Another thing is it doesn't seem to charge the battery if the player is on. I had the clock function on and the battery which had died during a movie, didn't show any sign of recharging a little bit after being plugged in all night, even though the clock function doesn't take much power. Some of the power could have gone to the battery to charge it. The other thing is the player has to stand upright in order to watch the movie. Most players lye down and the screen flips up to watch, but this on you flip the screen up to get to the disk door and then lower the screen to watch the disk. Because of this I cannot lay in bed with this on a table next to the bed and watch it because the screeb is angled up slitely causing the picture to be dark. I have to use the power converter under the leg so the screen can be at an angle that I can see the picture. It would have been nice if they would allow you to flip the screen so you could lay the player down and flip the screen to an angle that you can watch it. I do like the option of using it as a digital picture frame, that is a great option in the player. So insted of having it sit in a closet or chest when not watching a movie, you can put a SD card, or thumb drive in it to show digital pictures.

I have been having a lot of fun with this Player. In hindsight I bought it too early (700 here on Amazon) so therefore those of you that have waited until now to buy it, good move! My bad though, can't blame Amazon!

The unit is very well designed with solid construction; However, do know that when I unpackaged my DMP-B500, I noticed a piece of dust that was stuck UNDER the display's protective screen and that dust partical wound up being a bit annoying, at least from a perfectionist perspective (so much for a super clean environment production facility eh?). Though difficult, I was able to jiggle the dust partical to a new location so it wound up "disappearing" under the matted top portion of the display (though it has since moved down into the viewable area again). I must add that this dust-spot is only really noticable when power is off and/or if you are looking really closely at the screen. Put it this way, it wasn't enough of a problem to make me want to return the unit to Amazon since I was heading out to Vacation in Gloucester MA a few days later and really wanted to have the DMP-B500 with me on Va-Ca.

Like the other reviewers have stated, the screen does not clamshell which is a shame. Because of that, a case is an essential add-on for your purchase. I am giving my highest recommendation to the Case Logic WDEC-10 EVA Molded 10-Inch DVD Player Case. It's almost as if that case was made for this player! The semi-hardshell case protects the DMP-B500 extremely well and I have even added my own extra layer of screen protection by first wrapping a T-Shirt around the player and then placing the player (and shirt) inside the case which is a perfect fit. There is also room for the disconnected battery plus the remote to be placed in the same side of the case (with the T-Shirt providing a cushion between the items). The other zippered half of the case holds all of the other accessories (power, LAN wireless adaper, etc) with no problems. See the link below...

WDEC-10 EVA Molded 10-Inch DVD Player Case (Black)

Got a DMP-B500 unit a few months back for around $275 + tax used (a freaking steal!) because I wanted to have an option to bring some BD movies on the road (or work) since I own so many. Ironically, despite having watched some BD's in it ("The Outlaw Josey Whales," etc.), most of my viewing has been regular DVD's and streaming programs from Amazon Prime (to which I was already a subscriber). Because it's 10.1 inches big and has 1024x600 resolution (higher than most cheap portable players on the market) even standard definition programming jumps out on this thing, and BD's look even sweeter. Crappy-looking SD will still look like crap (I'm looking at you "She-Wolf of London" TV series) but not on account of the machine. Wireless streaming is simple and easy with the included adaptor. Watched all of "Primeval" (loved it!), lots of "MST3K" experiments (the perfect companion for lonely late nights stuck at work) and, now that CBS and NBC-Universal are on board with Amazon Prime, bring on "Star Trek" and "The Tudors" (and a lot of movies too). Again, I bought this planning to primarily watch my BD collection and instead I've found myself streaming away from Amazon Prime (don't have Netflix) or just watching DVD's like a fiend (went through a couple of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" DVD Box Sets in just days).

For a tiny portable the speakers on the DMP-B500 kicks mucho aural ass; it's not Dolby Surround, but loud stereo is a pretty good substitute (headphones are even better when applicable). Never use it for stick playback or for the decorative photo display (big whoop) but it's nice to have options. Battery lasts a little under 2 1/2 hours (not great but good-enough, plus at the office 99% of the time it's plugged to an outlet) and I wish there was a way to customize the settings for the screen a little more than 10 degrees (-5 to +5) on just one user setting (along with four more you can't alter). It's an OK display but every time I use it I feel I could do so much better if I could tweak away the display. Contrary to other reviews here you can operate the unit without the remote (just slide the controls with the 'V' arrow below the screen and voala, no remote needed) but the latter is still the handy and better of the two in order to access menu/option for other features. Menus are fugly (Panasonic really doesn't seem to try or care about their UFI's; only old JVC HDTV's had uglier menu interfaces/fonts) but functional.

So why not a five rating star after such a rave? First, it doesn't charge the battery when connected if the unit is on. Minor thing, but I want my machines to charge the battery while in use. Second, the back of the unit heats up pretty quickly (plugged to an outlet or with battery) and, while so far this hasn't affected DVD/BD/streaming performance, it's a little alarming to need gloves or a piece of clothing to hold the BMP-5000 while on your lap or hands (not as big an issue if the unit is set up on a table or flat surface). Last but not least, EXPOSED SCREEN. Seriously, who makes a portable BD player with an exposed screen that needs either an old t-shirt or a customized carry-on (or both) for peace of mind? I've learned to live with it and the unit sits proudly exposed in my office (whenever I'm not using it for work purposes; every client that has seen it is blown away by both the quality of the pic/sound and that it also plays Blu-rays) most of the time. It's those times I take the train Upstate to visit relatives (hours-long rides that go much faster when you're watching "The Sopranos" or "Dexter") or I'm on the bus for work (long-enough for a "Seinfeld" episode or an old "Pink Panther" cartoon) that I have to unwrap a t-shirt from my pag to use the thing that I ask myself 'why do I even bother?' Then I get lost into whatever I (and my fellow rubber-nucking NY'ers) am watching and it's all good. :-)

I have not had my portable blu-ray player long enough to try all features. However, I'm going to review as much as I've tested and will update the review later after i've had more time to play with it. So far what I've done is watch one clasic DVD (not Blu-ray) titled "Gone with the Wind". The Panasonic DMP-500 performed up to my exp[ectations for that test. The picture was sharp and colors excellent. Sound was loud enough to disturb people watching TV in the next room. I rate this 4 stars (not 5) because it does not have a "clam shell" to protect the screen when not in use. We purchased a nylon case which is designed for a 10" screen DVD player to protect the screen when not in use. The case is for a 10" DVD player but fits perfectly for the 10.1" Panasonic DMP-500.

I am particularly interested in testing the wireless network capability and the capability to access the internet. However, I have not had the opportunity do use these features yet, so will defer evaluating those features until a later date. I will say however, that the instructions for using the wireless network features are not real clear. For instance, the DMP-500 comes with a USB plug in card for use in a wireless network application. It was not clear whether that card should plug into the DMP-500 or my PC. As stated above, I'll figure that out and update this revue later.

UPDATE: 4-18-11
I have now verified all functions for the Panasonic DMP-B500 and find everything works as advertised. I was able to connect to a wireless network on my PC. This requires (in my case at least) a external router connected to my PC which creates a wireless network. I was able to access the wireless network from the
DMP-500 fairly easily following prompts displayed on the DMP-500. I then was able to connect to the internet through the DMP-500. Unfortunately, the DMP-500 currently allows access to only a few (4-5) web sites at present. I would have preferred being able to access ANY web site, but that capability is not an option at present. I did find the web sites I could access on the DMP-B500 to be useful however. Finally, I was able to connect the output of the DMP-B500 to one of the HDMI inputs on my Panasonic 50" Plasma TV and view the internet in 720P on a 50" screen. My TV has a MAX resolution of 720P.

Overall I am happy with my purchase and recommend the Panosonic DMP-B500 to anyone looking for a quality portable BLU-Ray player. Note that there are cheaper choices out there. However, if you want the internet access via wireless connection in a player with EXCELLENT video and sound quality and HDMI connection to your TV, I would recomend this unit. I took my Panasonic DMP-500 to a gun show to demo DVDs I had for sale. It turned out that more people had questions about the DMP-B500 than about the DVD being demonstrated. Note that for some basic functions (like changing the volume on the DMP-B500) you require the Remote that comes with the unit. Volume changes can't be made using buttons on the unit.