Panasonic Panasonic DMP-BD10

Image quality wasn't the only issue I had with this player. Though it looks sleek, and a flap on the front panel hides unsightly buttons, Panasonic took this flap idea too far, concealing everything but the power button. Even the tray and eject button are concealed; you must lower the flap every time you want to use the machine.

The remote control is a mixed bag. Among its strengths: It has an easy-to-use, unusual combination navigation pad and dial; and the buttons are large and easy to see. Unfortunately, many of the remote's buttons are concealed under--you guessed it--a flap. Even something as basic as selecting a number requires opening the flap. The remote feels cheaply made, as if you could squash it in your hand. Plus, it lacks an eject button.

The DMP-BD10 does have some noteworthy attributes. Our test unit was reasonably responsive: It took just under 16 seconds to power it up and open its tray. By comparison, some of its competitors took over a minute.

Panasonic also did a good job with its Easy Setup on-screen menus and its thorough documentation. The accompanying instruction is clear, well-organized, and thorough.

The player's built-in audio decoding is a step above that of some of the other Blu-ray players: The unit can decode Dolby Digital Plus 5.1-channel audio--the only Blu-ray player in our roundup to do so. Panasonic says it intends to release a firmware update so that the player can decode Dolby TrueHD 7.1 and DTS-HD Audio as well (the player should output those formats as uncompressed PCM). In our audio tests, the player was average: It fell somewhere in between the top performers--the Sony BDP-S1 and the Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1--and the Samsung BD-P1000 and the Philips BDP9000, whose audio was rather cloudy.

To perform a firmware upgrade, you'll need to get a disc from Panasonic, or download the firmware from Panasonic's Web site and burn it to CD-R.

Unfortunately, the DMP-BD10's steep price outweighs its abilities. You shouldn't have to pay $1300--$411 above the average price of players we've tested--just to get good documentation and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1-channel audio.

Lincoln Spector